By m00dawg
Mon Mar 17, 2025 10:19 pm
I've got probably a weird question but definitely a newb one I've been trying sort out.
For the band, we want to go DAWless. That could mean a lot of things but among them could be looking at using an MPC instead of Live/Renoise like we do now. After looking at drum machines a few weeks back, I picked up a Drumbrute Impact and have been playing with it to help keep time when live playing synths down to a Portastudio (yes tape). It's been very fun!
But anyway, one less extreme scenario was gonna be to record MIDI (but not audio) using a DAW (Reaper specifically) since I only have two hands
I can of course record stuff to the Portastudio but of course one limitation is while composing a song I have to punch-in when wanting to add a bridge or a new song part and things. That's part of the point, but if I want to be less extreme, recording MIDI seemed like a good idea.
I then was pondering what options were available to record MIDI still not using a computer directly, including considering vintage gear since it's just MIDI. That got me to the world of MPC.
I know MPCs can do waaay more. Interestingly, they might help with occasional sampling (I do have my own lo-fi sampler on my Modular rig, called the WaveBoy, to augment drums from my Impact and an old DR770 we might use occasionally) but I was looking really at something that can just record MIDI data. Both for sequencer stuff (looping over chords, args) but also for recording sort of "conventionally" with recording unquantized live played pieces.
Kinda the end goal, at least initially, was to structure a song and then literally live play the thing to the Portastudio. But for song exploration, I don't mind using more modern tools though don't necessarily want to just shove a Live equivalent into a box.
Long preamble to say, are there any notable MPCs, used or new, that are particularly good at a "tape but for MIDI" kinda of workflow in addition to sequencing? For the newer line of MPCs, that seems to be the MPC One. But it's certainly more than I need. I don't need plugins and stuff. I really just need a MIDI sequencer first and maybe some sampling second.
Curious as to thoughts and apologies for the newb question. I tried hard to find a good explanation, both on the web and in videos, just showing off someone recording a live MIDI session to an MPC to get an idea of how that works and didn't come up with much. The Akai MPC One website is heavy on pizzaz and a bit light on details.
For the band, we want to go DAWless. That could mean a lot of things but among them could be looking at using an MPC instead of Live/Renoise like we do now. After looking at drum machines a few weeks back, I picked up a Drumbrute Impact and have been playing with it to help keep time when live playing synths down to a Portastudio (yes tape). It's been very fun!
But anyway, one less extreme scenario was gonna be to record MIDI (but not audio) using a DAW (Reaper specifically) since I only have two hands
I can of course record stuff to the Portastudio but of course one limitation is while composing a song I have to punch-in when wanting to add a bridge or a new song part and things. That's part of the point, but if I want to be less extreme, recording MIDI seemed like a good idea.I then was pondering what options were available to record MIDI still not using a computer directly, including considering vintage gear since it's just MIDI. That got me to the world of MPC.
I know MPCs can do waaay more. Interestingly, they might help with occasional sampling (I do have my own lo-fi sampler on my Modular rig, called the WaveBoy, to augment drums from my Impact and an old DR770 we might use occasionally) but I was looking really at something that can just record MIDI data. Both for sequencer stuff (looping over chords, args) but also for recording sort of "conventionally" with recording unquantized live played pieces.
Kinda the end goal, at least initially, was to structure a song and then literally live play the thing to the Portastudio. But for song exploration, I don't mind using more modern tools though don't necessarily want to just shove a Live equivalent into a box.
Long preamble to say, are there any notable MPCs, used or new, that are particularly good at a "tape but for MIDI" kinda of workflow in addition to sequencing? For the newer line of MPCs, that seems to be the MPC One. But it's certainly more than I need. I don't need plugins and stuff. I really just need a MIDI sequencer first and maybe some sampling second.
Curious as to thoughts and apologies for the newb question. I tried hard to find a good explanation, both on the web and in videos, just showing off someone recording a live MIDI session to an MPC to get an idea of how that works and didn't come up with much. The Akai MPC One website is heavy on pizzaz and a bit light on details.