Doubt with connections

Hello everyone,

I am planning on getting an AKAI MPC One+, but I dont know if it will be possible to connect it how I want to.

I currently have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Sound card, which I use to connect microphone, electric guitar, monitors and headphones. Then I connect the sound card to the PC.

My doubt is if, when I get the MPC, I will be able to use the sound card as input on the MPC (to bring guitar and microphone to the MPC), output the MPC to the sound card (so I can play it through monitors and headphones) and at the same time output the sound card to the PC, so I can use a DAW or stream it on Discord.

Thank you in advance.

Like almost all USB sound interfaces, yours only supports control by a single USB host. So, no - either the MPC or the PC.

Dual-host operations, including cross-connections, require something like an Iconnectivity Audio 4c

For just streaming out on the cheap, you may host the interface on the MPC and connect its analog output to the PC's microphone input.

Bear in mind that USB audio support on the MPC is not always perfect, varies by interface and even by MPC firmware version. Here's a topic where people discuss their experiences.

You could also consider using a mixer to handle all the various routing options. Something like a Tascam model 12 can be used both as a standard mixer or even as an audio interface (MPC USB support is generally good for this one)

It seems like your goal is to incorporate with a daw anyway, you can just connect the printer cable that comes with the mpc and put it in controller mode.

Set the mpc as a vst or use it in the software and select your Scarlett as the interface in the mpc and the software or daw. Plug your mic, headphones and guitar into the interface and use as normal.

Depending on what daw you use you can just render the audio from the vst within it without drag and drop or even exporting stems then edit from there.

You don’t even need to connect outs of the mpc to the Scarlett for this. Though you may want to at least use midi cables to sync or use as a controller with your daw/software.

If you care about the converters and actually tracking each sound of the mpc into the daw that’s a different conversation and will be a pain with only the limited inputs on your interface. But still doable with some workarounds.

Just plug the Scarlett into the pc as you have always done and the mpc into it with controller mode and work in the software or daw. Or just ignore them completely till your ready and do it all on the mpc.

You could also just run your guitar into the mpc and loop or do whatever and save the audio there and use the mic in the Scarlett etc. there’s a million ways to do it if you don’t care about the analog outs.