Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
By oceanstatekillah Tue Aug 12, 2003 4:58 pm
whats good , i am still trying to figure out how to run sounds through the effects. we have the fully blown mpc with effects. can some one give me some examples how they use them on drums , samples , basses. and which ones to use where. i basically only use the edit screen to freak samples and sometimes add qfx but.i really want to find out about the 50 effects. i know they can boost production. anyone who messes with them throw me something to go off. i am trying to get more out of the machine
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By jues Tue Aug 12, 2003 11:59 pm
Ok, here's a quick guide to some FX and the uses of them:

Compression
Compression is an insert effect
Compression is quite a difficult concept to understand. I think it's best to think of it as a "phattening" tool. Compression can easily give stuff more punch - apply it correctly to basses, kick drums, snares, vocals, the entire mix, to add extra punch. Compression can be qutie tricky to work out. I reccomend reading some articles on it. There are some great ones just about here

Reverb
Reverb is a send effect[/b]
Reverb adds depth to a sound. The more reverb you put on a sound, the further away it appears to be to the listener. There are may different types of reverb, plates, halls and chambers are most commonly used. Reverb sounds good on snares, cymbols, vocals, guitar lines, etc. However, stay away from using reverb on bass or too much on kick drums as it will "muddy" things up quickly. Also, go easy on the reverb, too much and it sounds cheesy.

Delays
[i]Delay can be both a send effect and an insert effect
.
Delays help to "thicken" sounds and make them sound a lot bigger. For exaple, adding a delay to a vocal line will make it "fill space" in the mix and geneerally bring it to the front. Delay also sounds good on guitar and keyboard lines. It can sound very trippy if used on drums. It is also a good idea to "tempo synch" the delay time to the BPM of your track to keep everything sounding tight.

Phaser
Phaser can be both a send effect and an insert effect.
Phasers will add a very specific sound when used - kind of like a jet engine going past. Phasers can sound good on certain drum fills, vocal lines, guitar riffs, etc. However, it is not something you want to "overuse" as it can also sound very cheesy and dated. It is also a good idea to temp synch the LFO of the phaser to keep sweeping smoothly and in time.


And now, a couple of pointers. Compression after reverb will really help pull out the "decay" of the reverb and make things sound a lot chunkier. Also, don't forget EQ, EQ is an essential part of sound creation, and it's important to know when and how to use EQ correctly to make things sit together.

I can't think of any more effects on the MPC4ooo at the moment (I don't use them too often) - if you need to know more let me know...

laters
jues.

By oceanstatekillah Wed Aug 13, 2003 5:42 pm
i wanna know how to apply them to individual sounds . thanks for giving me pointers on what they do. i really need to get all the compresion eqing effects down. i am reading up on this caause i know this is how u make your mpc really bang. i have the digi 001 and the 4000 , both have effects so any one with pro tools le and a 4000 get at me how u use the 4000 effects in the machine. i have the adat 8 out on the 4000 so i know how to multitrack sounds out , i just cant put effects on them . someone hit me with some 4000 knowledge and a hip hop drum eq compression tutorial. thanks for the start jues , i am gonna get this eqing compression thing and engineer my tracks so they are super bangin

By oceanstatekillah Tue Aug 26, 2003 6:14 am
okay now how do i do in the 4000 , i know peeps have the effect board. whats good , hit me back

By Bitstreem Tue Aug 26, 2003 9:49 am
Hi!

Go to the "Multi" page, choose "Mix", assign an effects bus to the track of your choice by going to the "Send" item and dial in "A", dial in a sensible number on the "FX (dB)" item (try a high value so you can hear the FX). Now, go to the "Effects" page, and choose an FX of your choice on the "A" bus (like delay or a reverb). Repeat as needed, choosing other FX busses (you have four in total) when you need them.

Now, the FX send/return levels are a bit whacky, but it's still usable.

Pretty simple and it's all in the manual (sorry)... :wink:

Cheers,

Arne S.

By oceanstatekillah Mon Sep 01, 2003 3:17 am
word good looking , the efx are okay . good to have for the dirty south bangers. not my specific personal style but i live in atlanta and i gets down with everybody. my next thing i gotta learn is adding effect automation with the q link and other functions about the q link.