Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
By wysh Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:39 am
I've been working on some tracks with just a kit of drum samples and some waveforms. Once i get a nice sinebass running I'll lay down a drum part over it but I've been noticing that when I've got both tracks at the desired volume I hear a little bit of clipping, usually on the beats where the kick and the bass fall together. Anyone else get this? Am I doing something wrong? All of my samples are normalized to 0db and it isn't my mixer that is clipping. I'm running my 4k through an MFC-42 and in to a Mackie 1202 (not using 8outs). I've checked my levels everywhere, changed kits and bass samples. It seems to me that because I have both tracks around 0db in the mixer that it causes then to distort. That makes sense I guess but I'm having trouble believing that such a complex, expensive instrument would be guilty of such a petty crime as not having a whole lot of headroom. Is there somewhere on the MP that I can actually check my levels, a VU meter or something? Or must I get 8outs to be rid of this problem?
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By Rob Tue Nov 30, 2004 8:01 am
Does the clipping go away when you lower the MAIN VOLUME? If so, the clipping takes place *after* the mpc, maybe the MFC42, maybe the mixer.

Did you try to isolate the two tracks? Maybe one of the them simply always clips?

If that doesn't help, and it's indeed the MPC that does the clipping, you could try to decrease the Master Level in the GLOBAL page. Mine came with a default level of -12dB. Lowering this value will probably increase the headroom.

Of course, you could also try to lower the volume of the parts in the MPC mixer.

By wysh Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:23 pm
That Master Level parameter on the Global page did the trick. Thanks!