Serious Issue with Insert Effects

Hey Dudes,


For me this is a very serous problem. I need to learn how all the MPC effects work thoroughly.

I'm not new to music and have studied percussion, but the MPC is a different animal. Already I purchased the MPC Bible and Sampling laid bare. I have tons of field recordings I have made in India, and a number of expansion packs and samples that I bought.

The main problem is putting everything together. Of course, trial and error is fun but it wastes time also. I want to get into structuring layering and finishing tracks. Not understanding how the effects work leads to a lot of fiddling with dials.

Are there any sources to learn what all the effects do and how? Are there any MPC classes? It is surprisingly hard to find good basic youtube tutorials because there are so many. I want to start by getting the hang of making proper Hip Hop/Downtempo/Trip Hop type of instrumentals. From there I could experiment with sounds and time signatures.

Are there any walk through type of tutorials to understand how tracks can be put together??? I can learn anything someone shows me, but right now it is like walking blind.


Thanks so much in advance. I really appreciate any input.


William

Ooh I forgot to mention that!

I'm using an MPC Studio black. The software is 2.8.1.

Respectfully, I have to disagree about the manual. It touches on everything, but only gives a single sentence to describe each effect.

Maybe you have been working with music production for a long time and it has become intuitive. For me, I am coming from a percussion background. Apart from finger drumming, the whole thing feels unnatural!

Honestly, if you or someone you know has the knowledge and technical writing skill, an Ebook with tutorials working through the effects would be something people would definitely buy.

It's super important and nobody covers it in a way that makes sense to a novice.


I'll give you some examples:

-I love the delay effects you hear in reggae and dub music. The MPC software has several delays, but there is no way I could know which one to use, what settings work best, and why any of that makes sense.

-What is a mother ducker? how does it work and why? What is it good to use with?

-Compression is great, but what is the desired result and how do you get it? What is a knee?


If there was a guided tutorial that walked you through the arrangement of a Hip Hop instrumental, with pad mutes, inserts, and mixing , then I would have zero problem taking those ideas and making something my own way.

The effects don't need to get overly technical, but a basic overview explaining phaser, reverb, eq etc. and then what all the dials do would be of tremendous value. Right now, I am going to have to look all around to get these concepts down. I don't want to learn another DAW right now, but there is nothing that puts all this info in one place for a new MPC user.


So if you have any suggestions where to look up things like that or any arrangement walkthroughs please let me know. I was living in India for 6 years studying Bengali folk music, so this is a completely different way of thinking--but also a lot of fun.

Peace,

William

-I love the delay effects you hear in reggae and dub music. The MPC software has several delays, but there is no way I could know which one to use

Make a simple beat, practice with that and insert different effects to see how they react. Tweak the knobs, faders and sliders on the effect while the beat is playing. Experiment and you will begin to hear things that you can possibly use later on when making a real song. BEST is whatever you think is best for your music. You have to figure out what’s best for you.

What is a mother ducker? how does it work and why? What is it good to use with?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q4EVtXVv89Y

-Compression is great, but what is the desired result and how do you get it? What is a knee?

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+audio+compression&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS725US725&oq=what+is+audio+compression&aqs=chrome..69i57.11443j0j7&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8


The effects don't need to get overly technical, but a basic overview explaining phaser, reverb, eq etc. and then what all the dials do would be of tremendous value. Right now, I am going to have to look all around to get these concepts down. I don't want to learn another DAW right now, but there is nothing that puts all this info in one place for a new MPC user.
It’s a digital machine and you have no choice but to be technical.

Learn it by experimenting, figure out what can work for you in a real song. You will never get anywhere without experimenting, trying.

Everything you asked can be answered in Google searches.

http://blog.dubspot.com/understanding-audio-effects-an-overview/