MPC5000 reviews, bug reports and fellow user support on the most recent standalone, hardware MPC from Akai
By imon1 Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:57 am
ok so im a rookie still not 100% with all the jargon terms so bare with me i have a couple questions which should be very easy for you pro's

ok so i wannted to know how to sample songs from my laptop? like im actually clueless
or how can i actually import song onto the mpc 5000 through my laptop and sample them?
and does the hd drive read burnt cd's? for example if i burnt songs onto a cd am i able to sample those songs from that burnt cd?
and another questions which might come accross as 'dumb' but how do i assign preferred samples to the pads? ie drums etc
By donlimpio Thu Jun 23, 2011 11:50 am
Have you read the manual? All the answers to your questions are in the manual, in plain english. If you've read the manual and still can't get anywhere, please ask one specific issue first and tell us your actions and why things don't work.

If you haven't read the manual, or won't post a more in depth description: don't expect people to put in the effort for you, if you can't do it yourself.
By imon1 Thu Jun 23, 2011 11:54 am
haha well i started reading the manual right after i posted that, actually learnt heaps
but still unsure about importing a song from my laptop through to the mpc to sample it ?
any help ?
User avatar
By gertie Thu Jun 23, 2011 11:57 am
why would he read the manual

hes going for rookie of the year title :lol:
By manji Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:51 pm
Theyre all right. The manual is pretty slammin. Good characters, well written, interesting plot twist at the end. Youll never see it coming. And the part where that chick dies? DAYUM.


So for rillz, read the manual.


ALL that said...are you looking to import or actually sample? You said youre unclear on jargon, so to help you out a little...

To IMPORT, hook your mpc up to your laptop through the usb cord on the back. The hard drive will pop up, just like an external hard drive, and which point just drag and drop your aiff or wav file. MP3s dont work, so you may need to get a converter. Google. This is importing. It means to just drag and drop files like you would in any computer app.

To SAMPLE, hook a cord up to your laptop audio out connection. Since youre new, Im guessing you dont have an external soundcard, which you dont need for just sampling songs. If you dont have an external soundcard, plug the cord into the headphone jack on your computer. That end will look just like a jack on a set of headphones. On the other end of the cord you need a RCA connection, which is one red plug, one white plug (sometimes red and black). If you dont have that cord, Radioshack has them the cheapest that I can find. Make sure on the back the switch is set to line. Phono is straight from a turntable and will sound horrible on a line connection. After youre hooked up, hit mode, record, make sure your time is right, hit record and THEN start the song on your laptop. Let it play through whatever you want to record, make sure you get a little extra on the end, but not too much. You can chop it off, but too much will waste memory. After that, assign it to a pad, and make sure to save it. Follow the sampling instructions in the manual. That is SAMPLING. What that technically means is to actually record the audio into your mpc.

You can get the same effect either way, sampling is usually done more with records, other sources of audio (synths, stuff youve recorded). Importing is for digital fies you already have.


Thats your freebee cuz youre new and even if they dont act like it, dudes are super helpful around here. And dont worry man, we were all there too at one point. My first sample I ever took wason an sp808 from my tv and it took me 40 min to figure out. Dont be scared to play around and figure stuff out. Itll help you learn the ideas, learn your machine and in all reality, you cant really hurt it. Read and experiment, thats really all it takes.
By imon1 Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:00 pm
man thanks alot, u simplified the shit outta that, appreciate that man, slowly starting to get the hang of it, u saved me alotta time man (y)
By manji Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:48 pm
No probem, man. Picking up the language is half the battle. And while I and everyone else will always say read the manual, its about the most obtuse shit on earth. I think Akai writes it in japanese, then translates it into english, then has someone who doesnt speak english edit it.