KEYBOARD & M.P.C TOGETHER ?

I want to know if u can play a keyboard thru the m.p.c 2000xl, and record live performance's to diffrent sequence's, or tracks, not by pressing the pads but by using the piano keys.

I have a YAMAHA CS2X SYNTH & have read both manuals, both are mind bogling.
I sample the keyboard sounds into the m.p.c and play them, but thats not how i would like to execute them ! i would prefer to play the keys live thru the m.p.c on a sequence trk & record it whilst the beat is playing !!!
if u could help me out, much luv & respect.

If I understood your post correctly what you want to do isn't possible. You can sequence the CS2X with the MPC but you can't record the audio ouput from the CS2X into the MPC while the MPC is playing. What you would have to do is record the audio to another medium(computer, hd recorder, etc) and then import that as a sample into the MPC.

I wouldn't import the file back into the MPC though, I'd just sequence everything from the MPC and record the audio from the CS2X to whatever medium you have available.

No, it sounds like it will all work. Just remember that you are recording MIDI from the CS2X into the MPC Sequencer, then sending it back out to the CS2X on playback.

When you sequence MIDI, you're working with "events", not audio.
So if you control the synth from the MPC only the MIDI is going to and from the MPC, NOT the audio. You still have to hook up the synth's audio side the way you always do, through a mixer or whatever you have.

Here's a picture I drew a few months ago, for a MPC1000 user with a Triton, but the principles are the same...

double-post - how the..?

I heart Stereoroid.....
i used Stereoroids site to hook up my mpc1000 and yamaha CS2x. I had the same questions after looking at both manuals side by side. very mind boggling....
so if i understand this right, the best way to use a live performance from the mpc and the CS2x is to record it into a comp. then import that performance back into the mpc and thrn you can add another layer from the keyboard?

I'm still not sure if what villain wanted to do was just midi up his CSX2 and sequence it from the MPC(his best bet) or if he wanted to sequence the CSX2 and record the audio into the MPC while the sequence was playing which like I said, isn't possible.

As far as live performance, I couldn't say what would work best, I don't peform live but there are quite a few cats in here that do so I'm sure you'll get some help.

I'm not too familiar with the MPC2000XL, but I suppose it doesn't have enough memory to record a whole mixed track in one go, that is a better job for a computer or other recorder e.g. DAT or CD-R.

I thought the original question was about sampling the synth, which can work if you have the memory, but memory is tight on the 2000XL, right? Besides, my attitude in general is: if I have the synth in front of me, why would I want to sample it? Sampling is "freezing" the sound, like taking a photo. You can't do so much to it any more, a sample is never as flexible as the real thing.

You don't need to take a photo of the view from your window, do you? You can just go and look. In the same way, you don't have to sample a synth when it's in front of you, you can make it generate the sound live, using MIDI.

That's what I was trying to show with the picture, it's a typical live setup: note there is no Audio connection from the synth to the MPC. You don't need one unless you're sampling it, and you don't have to sample it if you don't want to. The audio comes together at the mixer, where you ... mix it. Then you record the full mix any way you want to e.g. computer.

So back to Villain's original question: by "playing a keyboard through the MPC" and recordng to multiple tracks, I assume you're talking about MIDI, because that's what the sequencer uses. You use the sequencer to record the MIDI to different sequences and tracks. Then you play the MIDI back, each Track set to send on a different MIDI channel, to match the Receive channels you set on the synth.

I pulled down the CS2X manual* and can see that it's 16-part multitimbral if you set it to "Multi Play" mode (Multi buttton). So you can send it up to 16 tracks (channels) of MIDI data and get 16 sounds ("Parts") back out, assuming you have enough polyphony for all that.

I hope I'm not telling you stuff you all know, but this is the Newbie Forum, we can't assume anything...

http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/emi ... CS2XE1.pdf