Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
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By feline1 Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:54 am
Yes but I got a Doepfer Drehbank today
64-knob MIDI controller, yay!! (http://www.doepfer.de )

My MPC4000 is gonna kick ass with that plugged in -
I'll be able to tweak all the program parameters in real time with
my fingers, rather than just 6 Q-links......

By bleepfreak Tue Jun 07, 2005 10:50 am
Nice! Wow, 64 knobs is something.

You might only use the drehbank routed directly from the midi input to INT-A/B, but could you please check for me if controllers are send to the sequencer while you are in the TRACK MUTE page? If I remember correctly notes are send thru but controllers aren't. If you can confirm this I can send it to AKAI.

Thanks.

By glide Tue Jun 07, 2005 3:59 pm
hmm.. ok-question, is there a way to store all your knob tweeks within prg, so u could basickly tweek a sound via the knobs realtime (set envelopes filters ect) and then store all these setting with the program (sysex?),

By drumtrack Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:27 pm
Nope

You cant really change the parameters. You can record changes in the sequencer and thats it. Everytime you select the program again, the parameters are like they are visible in the program page wich you cant change with midi cc
You can dump system exclusive to a track, not to a program

So making pads and synthsounds with a midi controller is just not possible.. You need to tweak, record and move on to the next program
Its a real bummer :(

[please correct me if Im wrong, it would be a killer if this was possible!]
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By feline1 Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:22 pm
Well if you really wanted,
you could save a load of SysEx tweaks for a program, into a Sysex file,
and fire the SysEx file at the MPC4000 when you load the program,
after a few seconds of churning, it would set the program how you wanted.

By drumtrack Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:35 pm
Yeah when you are on that specific track... So same problem. You are always stuck with a track

By elmacaco Tue Jun 07, 2005 9:33 pm
All this stuff is always better in theory than in practice. especially with doepfer midi stuff. But good luck none the less.
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By feline1 Wed Jun 08, 2005 7:28 pm
?

My SCI Sixtrak has been sooooooooo much more fun since I wired it up to a pair of Doepfer Pocket Controls -

I see no reason why wiring the MPC4000 up to a Drehbank shouldn't be equally cool!

51 of the program parameters can be tweaked directly via external MIDI cc messages (via the program mod matrix) - so if you set up all your programs to have those paths in the matrix, that'll always work.

Pretty much all the other parameters can be manipulated by "real time" SysEx controls.

sweet

By drumtrack Wed Jun 08, 2005 9:55 pm
so can you save sysex into a program then?

By renegadebliss Thu Jun 09, 2005 4:51 pm
drumtrack wrote:so can you save sysex into a program then?



I dont' think that's what's Feline is saying.

What he is saying is that he has a Midi Controller that handles both Midi CC and Sysex. -- You can program it's settings on the Drehbank side independant of the MPC. (One doesn't need to store settings in the program as they are stored in the Drehbank).


With that Midi Controller, he can control the MPC via Midi CC settings that he has setup in the Program via the Program Modulation window. This can be saved in the Program.


With that Midi Controller, he can control the MPC via Sysex settings that are hardcoded into the OS. (THere are Midi Sysex strings for controlling the Mixer levels for example). I don't think he should have to save any Sysex settings in the Program, because those are all handled independantly of us by the OS.


You can store Sysex settings in the Sequence Track (which is where it belongs), so if you want to do a filter sweep, the Sequencer will record your tweakings....



Let me know if my understandings is wrong.



***

Feline, I'm jealous, as all my Midi Controllers only handle CC :)


Cheers,

Dave
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By feline1 Thu Jun 09, 2005 6:14 pm
Yeah, the Drehbank (like my Kenton Control freak) can assign ANY MIDI message to a knob.

You can adjust any parameter in the currently selected multi or program using SysEx.
In fact, if you dick about with "handles", you can adjust any parameter in anything that's currently loaded into RAM.

But since cc's only a couple of bytes, and SysEx are dozen-odd, doing it with cc's is better (although of course then all yer tweaks are applied as an offset via the matrix,
rather than SysEx, which tweaks the absolute settings)

Of course, it will take me a few days to get this all programmed up and running.....

By elmacaco Thu Jun 09, 2005 7:10 pm
Let us know how it works out.
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By c.toon Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:15 pm
these joints are crazy dope. I once helped a dude in the US to get one from Doepfer in Germany. Cant even express how happy dude was. He had one a while ago and he sold it on some stupid shit or something - dont remember. Anyhow, good buy. I only heard sick stuff about this

By Altopiano Thu Jun 16, 2005 6:31 pm
yes but how is freestylin on the drehbank de facto? already some real use experince with 4k-drehbank?

congrats for the purchase btw - and i m sorta jelous too ... :lol: damn, i always hoped in an akai 4k qlink extension board in that size ... over the past year i tried some other ish ... got a phatboy from a mate here which is more hassle as fun with the 4k imo ... than i used my virus as a midicontroller for the 4k for a while ... kinda liked that better but its still a pain coz ya have to keep concentrated all the time not to screw up everythin else ... (but at least ya knew where your filters and envelopes are at)

as ever imo this drehbank looks like sort of the best qlink extension board atm ... gotta question: on their site doepfer says "configuration of Drehbank with free available editor program for PC ... " does that mean ya cant setit it up without pc (and some soundcart/midi interface?) for the 4k? ... also if ya could say some more things bout the interaction drehbank - 4k sometime it were greatly appreciated ...

also ... just browsed over the doepfer site ... i knew they got those amalog modular systems .... anyone in here uses any and can say somethin about them? ... imo all this doepfer ish looks extremely sexy ... check this http://www.doepfer.de/home_d.htm (damn - link aint workin the big analog a 100 modularsystem i mean - you gotta check it out on the german page - couldnt find it on big pic on the english one .. ) .... original s outta production! ... is it still possible to set it up gettin the sinlge modules?

enjoy the drehbank feline ...

By Altopiano Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:02 pm
sorry some nonsense .... have misread - the a 100 currently has 95 modules (beginning 2005 - seems those crazy dudes just build it on and on ).... its only the english manual they consider takin with it that is not available anymore .... :lol: ... sorry for confusion ...