Timestretching with Patch Phrase Feature

Yes Sir, the mpc5000 has bugs & glitches and that's no bull. Some of the glitches perform randomally and then clears up. But, I really think the 5k is going to be very good machine after a few new operating systems, knock out the bug and
glitches. If the engineer stay on top of this machine and do right about it. You be looking at, wanting and owning a
classic. Like the mpc60 and mpc3k or the mpc we all thought the 4k was going to be when it was released.

I'm into making house music and most of the time I load up some drum kits and make my own beats. Sometimes I get lazy and like to sequence some beatloops in my tracks and enhance them in some way or use the beatloops for fill ins, in the
background of my tracks. The old ways of performing these tricks was you had to do some beatmatching. This took time, but I didn't mind because, I started out as a dj, beatmatching or blending music first and then I got in to making my own music.

Now we have timestretching feature to make things easier. Some machines it's not so easy and the sample sound compressed, bland and cheap. Over the years I tried timestretching on the Roland MC909 and still today I can't get the timestretch feature to work right to save my life. My MPC4k is a hit or miss problem and I loose patient trying to understand it and why I can get it to do what I need it to do.

The MV8000 is the first machine I own that has timestretching and is very easy to use. But, some reason the mv8k and I have disagreement in the feel and timing of the machine. In fact, until lately we weren't talking.


Now that I have the MPC5k under my wing and even though the bugs & glitches. I have major love for this machine. Not because I purchase it, so I have to love it. BUt, Although the glitches. The mpc5k is fun to use and it sounds warm, punchy and studio ready.

You may or may not notice this, but by default when you assign a sample to a pad in the program. The low pass filter
with 1 pole slope is automatically selected. If you turn the data wheel for filter type all the way to the right. You have
the option of selecting no filter or off. As matter of fact I did a sample sound comparsion with mpc5k with the filter off
and the mpc4k with the filters off and you can't tell the difference between the two. Also I notice that the master volume on the mpc5k is a lot lower, than the master volume on the mpc4k. No bull, the difference is almost between a person yelling

and another person talking low. In a way I was a little disapointed, because I was hopeing the mpc5k will sound better than mpc4k even if this default filter setting was off. Didin't the akai rep in all the internet videos say, the mpc5k has the best sounding converter of any mpcs to date? Maybe I heard wrong. The reason I'm saying this because, when I upgraded from the mpc2k to the mpc4k. I felt the mpc2k had a deeper low end sound that I like and was use too. The mpc4k sounded like it had higher midrange sound and the 24bit made it sound bit sterile. So I use the filters alot on the mpc4k.

Sorry for the long post and now I'm going to get on subject. I was messing around with mv8k and mpc5k today. Trying to get the timestretching feature down to a science and to see if the mpc5k's timestrech was as good as the mv8k's timestretch.
Well the mv8k took less steps to timestretch two different beatloops with different beats per minutes to sync up to a track.
But, the mpc5k beats the mv8k ass with sound and sync performance. I was very impress with Patch Phrase feature on the
mpc5k. Once you figure how to change a beatloop sample to a patch phrase beatloop sample. You can record that sample to any sequence with any bpm and the sample will be sync. You can select as slow AS 30bpm or as fast as 300bpm and the patch phrase sample will sync without sounding degraded. Every note sound clean and clear as if I was at the right bpm. Maybe this feature will stop you hiphop producer, from making tracks with the samples sounding like chipmunks or maybe that's your style. The mv8k sounded like the beatloop was under stress and compress when I change the bpm to far in both direction.

Another nice thing is when I set the sample to 16 levels of tuning. You get a more natural keyboard sound, than a sample
sounding in 16 pitches. Especially when dealing with synth, rhodes or bass samples. This is how the mpc4k keygroup program and mv8k keyboard patch should have sounded. Instead of five banks of a sample triggering to fast and to slow.

This is what I been waiting for with the timestretch feature. I just hope the engineers don't screw up this feature, when
they try to fix the bugs and glitches.

I notice that the master volume on the mpc5k is a lot lower, than the master volume on the mpc4k. No bull, the difference is almost between a person yelling

The default level of the MPC 5000 is -6db

Make sure you set it to 0db. ( mode, others )

Yeah, i can say naturally, My mpc 2000xl is thicker then the mpc 5000

tomazzzi wrote:

I notice that the master volume on the mpc5k is a lot lower, than the master volume on the mpc4k. No bull, the difference is almost between a person yelling

The default level of the MPC 5000 is -6db

Make sure you set it to 0db. ( mode, others )

Yes I know about the settings, thanks. The mpc4k has higher settings and it still louder at 0db.

Yeah, the volume is lower

The difference in loudness is because of the type of converters used. Higher bit depts usually mean a wider dynamic range, which equals to more headroom.

Does patch phrase on the new MPC involve timestretching? On the other models it's just automatic tempo spacing between auto chopped notes/hits in a phrase with dead space in between.

Patch Phrase is not like Timestretching on Roland products. It just basically chops samples and arranges them in a Patchphrase sequence that will automatically adjust with the tempo of the project. It assigns this sequence to just one pad instead of over multiple pads like a typical chopped sample program.

I find this only useful for drum/percussion loops and still I don't like it or care to use it. I feel Akai should scrap this feature and add something else.

elektrik_muz wrote:Does patch phrase on the new MPC involve timestretching? On the other models it's just automatic tempo spacing between auto chopped notes/hits in a phrase with dead space in between.

I did not know the other model mpc's had patch phrase. I thought it was new feature for the mpc5k. But, one thing for sure. I didn't hear any dead space and it lock tight. I was very impress. Maybe it's not timestretching, but it sounded more natural than timestretching on the mv8k changeing the different tempos.

Heavie wrote:I did not know the other model mpc's had patch phrase. I thought it was new feature for the mpc5k. But, one thing for sure. I didn't hear any dead space and it lock tight. I was very impress. Maybe it's not timestretching, but it sounded more natural than timestretching on the mv8k changeing the different tempos.

Well, yes not timestretching usually does sound better then timestretching. What sounds even better than that is ditching the whole feature and sequencing the individual slices/samples so you can control the envelope on each one. How good that feature sounds depends a lot on the dynamics of the phrase. For busier phrase the Roland realtime timestretch may actually sound better.

Then again, most of the producers I know only use timestretching when they want it to sound bad.