Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
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By YumYumRolex Sat Nov 26, 2011 12:30 pm
Any tips on workflow would be appreciated from all you MPCee's out there...

I have a question...Im changing up my workflow a little bit and I want to alternate in between sample chopping between Recycle and the 4000...Now Im in the 4000 right now Im in the Edit screen and Im about to start Manually chopping in the 4000...now once I chop my sample up to where I want my slices to be...How do I apply multiple samples into one program? I have 4 samples that I sampled out of Pro Tools and loaded into the MPC as if I sampled directly to the MPC...Thats actually a nice little tip to add some substance into the sample before it hits the MPC is to tweak it in the DAW but I want to go for a more realistic feel by chopping my own samples...Now Im looking at the manual and I seen where to set start and ending region points but how do I apply "Chop 1" through "Chop 4" and "Intro into One Program or Pad Bank? Im lost there...Other then that Im just messing around trying to figure out new stuff I can do as I come along.
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By YumYumRolex Sat Nov 26, 2011 12:34 pm
Can someone point me in the right direction in the manual to find out how to apply Effects and Filters to a sample on the 4k? I hit Window right and choose from those options and then I can apply the filters and whatnot? Ive done it before **Tweak a Sample** but I dont remember what I did...
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By YumYumRolex Sat Nov 26, 2011 12:42 pm
Man I need help this 4000 is trickier then I thought, I wanted to start doing more in the 4000 so I can use the effects there but I guess my workaround is going to have to be to tweak the sample in Pro Tools then Bounce it to Recycle chop it up and load in the 4000...

Im mad because I cant seem to figure out how to set the chop points...Im in Trim/LP screen and Im pressing P>All and trying to set the loop or slices...Am I even doing this right? Im reading the manual but Im lost on how to set manual slice points in the sample so that I can tweak the samples in the 4000 instead of doing everything on the computer...
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By YumYumRolex Sat Nov 26, 2011 1:06 pm
Im kinda getting the hang of this thing but not really ready to delve into the intermediate features...
Last edited by YumYumRolex on Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By YumYumRolex Sat Nov 26, 2011 3:01 pm
kaybee wrote:^this guy


At least Im trying famo...Thats all I can do until I grasp the technical aspects of the 4000...
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By Lampdog Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:01 pm
YumYumRolex wrote:Can someone point me in the right direction in the manual to find out how to apply Effects and Filters to a sample on the 4k? I hit Window right and choose from those options and then I can apply the filters and whatnot? Ive done it before **Tweak a Sample** but I dont remember what I did...


Effects are applied to parts and pads in the mixer screen. NOT directly to samples.

Edit 1, pg 211
Adjusting the pitch, filter, and amp
Here you can adjust pitch, filter, and amp parameters for each key group or note number.
To access this page ....... [PROGRAM] key → [F2] key (KG MIX) → [F4] key
(EDIT 1)

These were some of the very first things I learned in my first day of 4k'ing.
How don't you know this already dude?
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By YumYumRolex Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:05 pm
Lampdog wrote:
YumYumRolex wrote:Can someone point me in the right direction in the manual to find out how to apply Effects and Filters to a sample on the 4k? I hit Window right and choose from those options and then I can apply the filters and whatnot? Ive done it before **Tweak a Sample** but I dont remember what I did...


Effects are applied to parts and pads in the mixer screen. NOT directly to samples.

Edit 1, pg 211
Adjusting the pitch, filter, and amp
Here you can adjust pitch, filter, and amp parameters for each key group or note number.
To access this page ....... [PROGRAM] key → [F2] key (KG MIX) → [F4] key
(EDIT 1)

These were some of the very first things I learned in my first day of 4k'ing.
How don't you know this already dude?


Man I dont know, I never had a manual to begin with for none of my MPC's...I just learned the basics and went with that, I didnt really start to grasp the features of MPC's until I got the 4k and got on this forum...I just have a slow learning curve, it takes me awhile to comprehend some subjects, otherwise I just hop on stuff hands on cold turkey and learn like that...Im trying to push myself to better heights of producing.
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By YumYumRolex Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:07 pm
I basically just want to have the technical aspects down, Im pretty good with being creative but I want to know what shit actually does in scientific terms not just creative terms, I want to know what Im doing, like lets say I want to apply an effect or a filter to a sample...I want to be able to say well this needs a LFO of whatever and know what Im doing, thats why I ask the dumb silly questions because I still dont have a basic technical understanding of the machine, its not that I cant create with it...
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By Lampdog Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:18 pm
To add lfo to a pad you can use the above advice for filters, pg 211.
People learn all type of different ways, and most of us just wanna make music
so we jump on the gear and don't get off until we run into something we don't understand. I learn 3 different ways. Even before I had a 4k I read the manual a fwe times because I knew one day I'd end up with a 4k, I actually enjoy reading manuals. I can learn by someone showing me but that rarely rarely ever happens because I like to learn on my own, there's a certain feelings of accomplishment and self worth when you conquer shit on your own, even if my shit ends up ugly and a no go throw away beat, I accomplished the feature I set out to learn. Then I can learn by winging it, no manual, just me and the machine and headphones. I am good comprehending pages and features as well. Learning by reading and learning by experimentation are the ones that work best for me. I don't have a short attention span at all and I also have lots of patience.
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By YumYumRolex Sat Nov 26, 2011 5:23 pm
Thats wassup Lamp...I definitely have dealt with having a short attention span my whole life, Im probably ADHD or whatever and on top of that a damn schizophrenic so learning is a little bit difficult...I like to learn shit cold turkey though but I also like to be taught the proper techniques on doing something and then adapting my own style to executing nah mean? Im smart as hell by all means but learning is kind of hard for me to do...Im in college right now and I just bullshit my way through class, I dont know how I pass the classes because I dont retain information.
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By Lampdog Sat Nov 26, 2011 5:27 pm
Repitition, repitition repitition, it'll become second nature after a few times of doing the same thing over and over. If you don't do it for a long time, you'll slowly lose it though. That goes along with the old adage "use it or lose it" and that happens more often than not the older we get, it's just part of life.
By rogue scrunt Sat Nov 26, 2011 6:33 pm
repeat and refine,
just like kung-fu
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By MPCWeapon1 Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:32 pm
The YouTube video "MPC 4000 advanced sampling" gives you a walk thru on creating a sound and applying effects to it.