Instant pattern / sequence switching?

Been playing with the demo and reading the manual but can't find an answer yet.

I need the MPC to respond to sequences changes from the daw (via program change) instantaneously, not wait until the end of the sequence before switching. And for the sequences to play legato from the last one, not restart mid-bar. Is there any way to do this?

Really want to switch to the Studio/Ren but I need it to support instant pattern switches before I can let go of Motu BPM - which can do this in 'live mode'.

thanks

This isn't possible at the moment, it only switches at the end of the sequence as far as I know. Also when sending program changes (at least in 1.2) it would miss the first couple notes of the new sequence making it completely unusable. I gave up trying to use it with program change messages due to this bug.

I haven't tried it since the 1.3 update though. I'll try to remember and do it when I get home and get back to you.

Cheers,
~Airyck~

Hey, it looks like it's just not possible. I've since seen people complaining about the same lack of instant pattern change, but using different terminology, eg "non-quantized Next Sequence".

whatever you call it, it's kind of amazing to me that they didn't think of this. All other drum sequencers I've used do it, eg all Elektrons, BPM, Maschine.

dammn. bummed. will have to put off copping this then.

thanks for trying to help tho dude.

Best bet for now is resampling the sequences to the pads and using Mute Groups.

It doesnt have this feature - but it should.

Best bet for now is resampling the sequences to the pads and using Mute Groups.

This isnt a good work around. You would be as well to arrange the song linear. Next Seq + time linked seq switching is brilliant for jamming out arrangements. Being able to change mid bar between sequences can really enhance a song and its arrangement - especially if your feeling the moment.
Perhaps its not particularly useful for Hip Hop?

Edit
And recording the main outs/resampling assumes your completely done with the mix. Kinda limiting innit - or am I missing something?

77uu77 wrote:Really want to switch to the Studio/Ren but I need it to support instant pattern switches before I can let go of Motu BPM - which can do this in 'live mode'.

thanks

I have never used Motu BPM. You can't use Motu BPM as a plugin inside the Ren to accomplish what you are discussing here?

JAH wrote:

77uu77 wrote:Really want to switch to the Studio/Ren but I need it to support instant pattern switches before I can let go of Motu BPM - which can do this in 'live mode'.

thanks

I have never used Motu BPM. You can't use Motu BPM as a plugin inside the Ren to accomplish what you are discussing here?

He probably could. I have BPM and it's really good. But for some insane reason you can not turn off quantize. It's insane, you must be on some type grid no matter what. I wouldn't be surprised if that's why the OP wants to kiss BPM goodbye.

Motu BPM is basically as powerful software as Ren, having one CPU-heavy sequencing drum station VST inside another inside a daw would be a pretty janky way of working, not to mention CPU crushing. It would kinda defeat the purpose of using Ren at all.

BPM can record unquantized patterns dude, for sure. No the reason I need to leave it, is because it has no midi-out functionality. That's it. It's the best drum sampler/seq I've ever used, but it's had one half assed v1.5 update since it was released in 09, and they're charging EU users €99 for the privilege. Motu basically turned it into abandonware, and it's users are building kit libraries etc into an instrument that has a very uncertain future. Time to jump ship.

Ren is the only drum workstation I would leave it for, but it needs that instant pattern switching. I got Maschine fwiw, but its got a horrible workflow, cant vibe w it at all.

[quote=]It doesnt have this feature - but it should.

Best bet for now is resampling the sequences to the pads and using Mute Groups.

This isnt a good work around. You would be as well to arrange the song linear. Next Seq + time linked seq switching is brilliant for jamming out arrangements. Being able to change mid bar between sequences can really enhance a song and its arrangement - especially if your feeling the moment.
Perhaps its not particularly useful for Hip Hop?

Edit
And recording the main outs/resampling assumes your completely done with the mix. Kinda limiting innit - or am I missing something?[/quote]
Yeah you missing the power of the human brain.

He can do a kind of a 4 track thing with his resampled sequences. He can resample a song into Pads 1 to 4. Pad 1 can have the song in total, Pad 2 can have just the drums and bassline, Pad 3 can have just the synths and drums and Pad 4 can be just the bass and synth. Then Song 2 can be on Pads 5 to 8, Song 3 on Pads 9 to 12, Song 4 on Pads 13 to 16. Got more songs? Switch banks and repeat.

Or you can just put the parts you need to the pads, like Intro on Pad 1, verse on Pad 2, Chorus on Pad 3, verse 2 on Pad 4 etc.

Where there's a will there's a **** way.

Ill-Green wrote: Where there's a will there's a **** way.

I would applaud that attitude, and your resample-to-audio workaround (if i understood it) might work for your needs, but it's just not going to fit my process at all.

I have the main beat pattern on pad 1, with fills and variations on the other pads, e.g. a dense snare fill on pad 2, a triplet pattern on pad 3, a straight 8th hat pattern on pad 4, 4/4 kick pattern on pad 5, etc. I record me playing these in realtime into the daw, chopping and changing between them all in realtime. Often I'll record a 8 bar sequence of pattern changes that together are tight enough to replace the main beat pattern of the song. I just record the midi output of the drum sequencer spitting out all these daw recorded pattern changes, and load that midi file back into the drum sequencer on pad 1 - replacing the main beat pattern.

I leave all my mixdowns to the end of the whole track, I never let mixing get in the way of sketching & composing. And I go in when I mixdown, I need a couple of days free to mixdown, and almost every drum part available on its own channel. Resampling the whole drum channel straight to audio would force me to mix my drums before I even started jamming out a sketch. That goes against my whole process.

To add to that, nowadays I've got drum synths like elektron monomachine and drum spillage being triggered as part of the drum pattern, with automation on channels changing their sounds through out the track. Having to sample them just to change a pattern will dead all of that synth automation I had planned for later in the track, killing the whole reason I brought those synths.

So the patterns need to stay as midi any for this to work.

And it's a simple thing to implement, midi out's already there, just change the patterns instantly, without quantize.