MPC Renaissance + Tempest

Well i've grabbed a Tempest lately and i use it along with the MPC Renaissance. It works awesomely.

Basic setup :
The MPC Ren is master and sends midi into the Tempest. (When i press start/stop on mpc, it starts tempest's sequencer)
Tempest outputs are going into the MPC Renaissance directly.
I use the MPC Renaissance audio interface.

Basically i create my patterns with the Tempest, and then i record them as sample inside the MPC Renaissance. Then go to sequence 2, change some stuffs, record again. Etc.
When i have my sequences, i'll use some mixing plugins like Satin, SDRR, Alloy2, and Ozone on the master.

That's pretty easy and straightforward. The Tempest is a really groovy machine, it's awesome.

If anyone was wondering how they compliment, well, you have your answer. They don't overlap in feature and they compliment perfectly. Go for it if you can.

Glad to hear you're having fun with your setup.

How do you find the timing when controlling the Tempest from the MPC?

I've synced my MPC500 to the Ren but find the timing starts slipping after a couple of minutes into the song :/

Nubian Mindz wrote:I've synced my MPC500 to the Ren but find the timing starts slipping after a couple of minutes into the song :/

Timing shouldn't slip with sync.

How are you syncing it, MIDI Beat Clock or MIDI Time Code, to sync the tempo or time position of one sequencer to the other (Master/Slave), or are you just using MIDI Machine Control to start both sequencers at the same time, and then they run at their own internal time?

I have it set up with the Ren as master and the MPC500 as the slave and use MTC.

Sometimes I think it's sorted but you leave it running and check again 10 minutes later and the timing has slipped out quite badly. Once you stop and start it again then it's tight but gradually slips out of sync again.

Nubian Mindz wrote:I have it set up with the Ren as master and the MPC500 as the slave and use MTC.

Sometimes I think it's sorted but you leave it running and check again 10 minutes later and the timing has slipped out quite badly. Once you stop and start it again then it's tight but gradually slips out of sync again.

I think that is probably because it 'triggers'/starts at the same/right time, then they probably run at their own internal time/clock.

You would probably need to sync the sample rate of the two devices, so their sample rates are running at exactly the same rate, so that they stay in sync after the intital 'trigger'/start.

Since they do not have a way to sync the digital word clock of the two devices, their internal sample rates can not run at exactly the same speed.

It is a common issue with syncing devices using MTC.

The internal sample rate on the Ren is set to 44.1, which is the lowest it can go to.

I'll try the midi clock and see if that helps matters at all

Yes, but you can not make the 44.1kHz sample rate of one device run at exactly the same rate as a 44.1kHz sample rate of another device, they will run at slightly different rates, unless you can sync the sample rates to each other, using a digital audio or word clock connection between the two devices, and setting one device as a word clock/digital audio slave to the other device.

MIDI Beat Clock should keep in sync over a long time period, as it is syncing the tempo of one device to the other, and following any variations in that tempo.

I'm with you now...kinda.

I've just realised the MPC500 was not set to slave and I've reverted back to MTC on the Ren and we'll see what my findings are.

See how it goes, it really depends on how the MPC handles syncing to MTC, whether it starts at the same time as the other device, then runs on it's own internal clock, or whether it starts at the same time, and then keeps referencing the incoming MTC to trigger each event in the sequence at the correct time according to the incoming MTC.

I have no sync issue but i use midi clock. The MPC is master so when i wanna change the tempo i use the mpc knob and i think it is better because if i want a fast change i can type it with digits on the mpc but it is not possible (afaik) on the tempest.

Also i like the fast that mpc ren can sequence midi polyphonic instruments. Tempest can only sequence one external gear and it's monophonic.

The MPC makes it for the downsides of the tempest and vice versa.

In studio it is a killer combo so far.

Starting to get the hang of how to use the Tempest with the MPC for a live set without using samples. The plan is to be able to do a gig with the drum machine, synth etc plugged straight into the desk. The Tempest has great sound, feel, groove,

Ren is the master, Tempest slave with Ren sending midi clock.
seems to stay in sync perfectly
I have my different beats on separate pads on the Tempest in 16beat mode then switch beat with a midi note.
You can send midi to use the poly synth at the same time as drums but it's tricky to do without the drums making the synth cut out.

I got a sub phatty and an mbase11 also played by midi
it works but sometimes misses out a bar on the synth or does a bank change wrong or something.
maybe work better with the next update.

I jammed like that too, worked nicely for me, i'm on 1.3.1.12

I think I'll stick to the main releases but the arpeggiator will be cool.
Hopefully with the Ren update there will be some way of synchronizing playback of external devices with sample recording. That would make sampling the Tempest easier.

I think the latest beta (1.3.1.12) was more stable than the last official release (1.3). Also it has fixed a lot of bugs and many more features are there. Indeed the arp is so damn great!

You can update within 5 minutes, it's actually easy. I recommend it.

To sample the tempest within the MPC Renaissance i prefer turning down the loop mode, i go to sample rec mode, and when i hit the "play start" button, it starts the tempest too.

And then....when you have it all it's fun to chop and resample to make some freaky punchy beats like you never heard before! Never ending fun...

OK I'm going to get the update. I did my first proper bit of recording of the Tempest drums and synth at the weekend. Sounds so good. I didn't really know how good it is until putting it in a track.