Share tips, tricks, gear set ups and videos relating to the use of MPCs in live performances including MPC finger drumming, MPC scratching, using MPCs with decks, computers and other instruments.
By creatorlars Wed Jan 19, 2005 5:31 am
Hi Akai users---

I've been using an Alesis SR-16 for my band's live performances/recordings for almost a year now. We just finished a full length album with it and feel we've outgrown it's potential. The Akai MPC's were reccomended to me by a professional when I expressed my concerns to him. I don't want to buy a really expensive model if the extra features aren't going to be useful to me, however. Here are the main features I am concerned with:

1) being able to program beats in patterns and link the patterns together in song structures
2) being able to give each pattern within a song it's own specific BPM to allow for tempo changes within songs (there is no way to do this with the Alesis, short of simulating a tempo change with weird timings)
3) having a lot of storage memory for the patterns/songs (i use a lot of patterns, and the alesis only holds about 10 songs this way)
4) being able to sample/store my own drum sounds
5) having some sort of computer interface to program patterns/songs in graphically and then import into the drum machine
6) having a way to easily switch between songs and use a footpedal or something similar to start them for a live performance

these are the features i'm primarily concerned with. can anyone please tell me which of the Akai's will be most accomodating for my purposes? most of my beats are weird rock time signatures or electro/dance type stuff. i just need percussion/sampling capability, no basslines or melody lines. anyone that can reccomend a good place to buy (i'm assuming ebay) the advice is welcome too.

thanks in advance!

lars
By Scott Wed Jan 19, 2005 9:23 am
1) being able to program beats in patterns and link the patterns together in song structures

Yes, VERY easily

2) being able to give each pattern within a song it's own specific BPM to allow for tempo changes within songs (there is no way to do this with the Alesis, short of simulating a tempo change with weird timings)

YUP

3) having a lot of storage memory for the patterns/songs (i use a lot of patterns, and the alesis only holds about 10 songs this way)


MPC2000XLs can hvae internal/external zip drive, hard drive, card reader, whatever! But youll haev to install somethi like that yourself. a lot of mpc2000xls on ebay have internal 100mb zip drives, the disks are very cheap too.

mpc1000s have internal card reader, upto 2gb i think, but they can be very expensive.

4) being able to sample/store my own drum sounds

yes yes yes yes yes


5) having some sort of computer interface to program patterns/songs in graphically and then import into the drum machine

you can do nearly everythin on the mpc

6) having a way to easily switch between songs and use a footpedal or something similar to start them for a live performance

the mpc1000&3000 have inputs for pedals i think. the mpc2000xl can too if you use a midi pedal

sorry about my spelling in this post, im using this shitty wireless keyboard and its horible and misses letters and etc

peace!
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By stereoroid Fri Jan 21, 2005 7:24 pm
I have a MPC1000; compared to the other MPCs, it's not as flexible at real-time sample manipulation - no onboard timestretch or reverse, sliders are a little awkward, no live pitch-bend or modulation of samples. For the situation you describe, I think those missing features would not be a problem, since you talk about pre-programming a lot beforehand.
You can download and read the manual in PDF format too, to get a feel for the features: http://www.akaipro.com/int/mpc1k/index.html

MPC1000 vs your requirements:

> 1) being able to program beats in patterns and link the patterns together in song structures

Check.

> 2) being able to give each pattern within a song it's own specific BPM to allow for tempo changes within songs (there is no way to do this with the Alesis, short of simulating a tempo change with weird timings)

Absolutely. Each Sequence (pattern) keeps its own tempo and timesig settings.

> 3) having a lot of storage memory for the patterns/songs (i use a lot of patterns, and the alesis only holds about 10 songs this way)

You have about 12MB RAM usable on the standard MPC1000, for samples and sequences, upgradeable to 128MB. Sequences are limited to 100,000 notes total. Loading up new data is quick from CompactFlash card, depending on how long the samples are. I could see you fitting a whole set on a large CF card, loading new data into RAM every few songs while the singer fixes his mascara...

> 4) being able to sample/store my own drum sounds

Oh yes. Or import 16-bit 44k WAVs.

> 5) having some sort of computer interface to program patterns/songs in graphically and then import into the drum machine

Not as such, on any of the MPCs, but you can send Standard MIDI Files back and forth, and work on them using a standard PC or Mac sequencer. You can't emulate the full MPC Sequences + Samples environment on the computer, not without laying out the samples in your soft sampler, but there is always MIDI for controlling the MPC from the sequencer, 1 program only (it's not multitimbral over MIDI, only ia its own sequencer). The MPC1000's USB connection is for file transfer only, not MIDI data.

> 6) having a way to easily switch between songs and use a footpedal or something similar to start them for a live performance

I know the MPC1000 has two assignable footswitch sockets that can do start/stop and record functions and more, but no stepping through Songs there, I'm afraid.

By creatorlars Fri Jan 21, 2005 11:07 pm
Thanks for the feedback guys, it was really helpful. Yes, our show is very theatrical and involves lots of movement, props, costumes etc. so everything percussion/sample wise is preprogrammed.

My MPC1000 arrives next week. I've got FruityLoops Studio and I'm really comfortable with that as far as creating midi sequences. Will that be easily compatible? What software is good for sample editing? I want to transfer my old songs from the Alesis to the MPC, so that I can sell the Alesis, anyone know where I can download the samples from the Alesis to load into my new MPC1000? Are the RAM and CF cards things I could just run to Best Buy to pick up? Or are they specially made for the MPC's?

Thanks much.
Lars
www.theundoingofdavidwright.com