New to MPC - good for live retro sounds?

Hi there,

I'm new to the world of samplers and whatnot - spent a day googling but not finding anything that directly tells me what I need to know!

Basically, I'm wanting something that lets me take acoustic and analogue sounding hits (like an 80's drum machine). Our band has quite a dancey style mixed with a bit of post-punk. We originally used a Roland TR-55 beatbox, but when that got a bit limited, we moved to a Boss DR550.

Unfortunately, the boss is on the way out and I have taken up playing synthesizer. We're wanting something that has a bit more variety in terms of sounds than the boss (only 4 preset 'banks' with 12 sounds per bank). We still like the original TR-55 style beats, we only got a bit fed up with it because there was no way to program it.

Would an MPC work if, say, I had individual 'hit' sounds on each pad? Can I make a good drum beat with one either before going onstage or building one up on the spot (some of our songs have a 'constructive' intro.)?

I'm basically looking for something that's completely standalone - I don't want to have to hook up to a laptop because they're a bit bulky and I'm worried about latency issues.

Thanks!

Oh yes, the MPC can play one shot single sounds. Also its a sampler, so that means you can record your own sounds and manipulate and arrange them how you want.

Now the question is, which MPC will be right for you.

Seeing that you are new to this, I'll recommend either the MPC 500, 1000, and the 2500. They were the latest and more up to date.

Okay - looking at MPC1000's and they look pretty comprehensive. I understand that you have to set them up with a computer, but will I still be able to use it onstage completely on its own? I'd be running my Korg into it, and then output to an amp/PA...

**** no! You don't need a computer at **** all. You researched? Well your research sucks. Its a dedicated stand-alone sound modulator. Meaning its a dedicated stand-alone sound modulator. An MPC can alpha-male your whole set-up and leave the outputs of other gear a 1/2" wider.

Bah, it's all nonsense to me! It's hard to find any proper stuff online answering the questions online, so I thought I'd ask personally - the best form of research there is. I'm completely new to this sampling stuff, coming from a completely analogue background...

... a sampler is a sampler is a sampler ...

you can put any sound you want into it - in a thousand different ways - be it from records, cd, compact cassettes, of the interwebs, from any old analog keyboard or from anything that you can point a microphone to!

then you can use what you recorded ("sampled") as a whole phrase "as it is", or you can chop it into tiny pieces, reorder them any way you want, reverse them, push them thru effects or use creative resampling thru other gear you might own.

then you can play all that samples live with one of the best triggering devices ever invented - with the magical mpc pads - with zero latency and different velocities!

besides that the mpc is also a great sequencer so you can record your sample playing in different sequences and then chain them together to form a song arrangement.
or you can use the midi capabilities of this sequencer and record and play all you outboard gear or analog keyboards as long as they have a midi in. and if some old keybard has only cv in then use a midi to cv converter in between!

and all this without any computer!

(disclaimer: this is only true with "real" mpcs like the 60 (II), 3000, 2000 (xl), 500, 1000 or 2500, not with those "new" mpcs like the "ren" "studio" or "element", because they are just controllers!!!)

read these forums as much as you can and then be back with some "real" questions.
we will be here! have fun!

peace, jo

epsilon114 wrote:Bah, it's all nonsense to me! It's hard to find any proper stuff online answering the questions online, so I thought I'd ask personally - the best form of research there is. I'm completely new to this sampling stuff, coming from a completely analogue background...

Fair.

MPC is an instrument. You can fit it anywhere in your set as you would a guitarist. No computer unless you want to, because its possible via MIDI and an audio interface. But not necessary.

Sampling is just that, taking fragments of sound and making music with it. Once you learn your MPC, you'll be tempted to fire half the band when you figure that you can drum better than the drummer and play keys at the same time.

Maybe an MPC2000XL might be more up your alley