MPC Software & MPC Beats Forum: Bug reports, feature suggestions and discussion for the MPC Software and the free 'MPC Beats' application for Mac/PC. If you have hardware-specific questions, please post in the relevant MPC sub-forum.
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By quietizkept Sun Oct 28, 2018 7:57 pm
Hello! I was wondering about how people go about naming projects logistically. If anyone could walk me through their process that'd be great. None of these options seem ideal:

-Do you not save until you thought up a name?

-Do you save it with a temporary name until the track takes shape, and then change it?

-If you do rename a project, do you have to change both the project file and the folder name?

-Do you "Save As' with a new name, then delete the old one?

Each of these options has way too much potential to make a mistake. How do you guys do it? Right now my projects are just named as the date I started them. This is not ideal, either. Thank you.
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By Menco Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:14 pm
I always name it after the song/artist I sampled. Right now I’m working on a beat with a sample from ‘Ride on love’ by George Duke, so I named that sample, the main loop and the project ‘DUKE-RideLuv’. Sometimes I switch title and artist around, whatever is easier to remember the next day after.

‘What did I do yesterday? Oh yeah, I was working on that George Duke joint.’

That’s how I remember. I always keep the records I sampled on/ around my desk until the beat is finished so I can go back to the record if I need anything. That also helps me to remember the name of the beat and the beat itself I’m working on.

Plus if it’s a forgotten beat I find in the necropolis of my harddrive I can kind of guess what type of beat it was by seeing the name of the artist I sampled.
By A100Drumz Tue Nov 13, 2018 12:17 am
I number and date them very early in the process.. that way its always organized (you can also see statics like; how often you create and what percentage you finish, much easier).

I give them more official names once its complete and i can identify a name with the final vibe of the beat and include the BPM and my name/website in the beat.

Early Saving Ex.
MPC Ren 001 111218
MPC Ren 002 111318
...MPC Ren 919 120120

Final ex.
MPC Ren 001 Dope Beat Name 120BPM A100DRUMZ_COM wTag

Hope this helps
By CharlesRandolph Tue Nov 13, 2018 6:29 am
This is how I organized and number according to: Date / Letter (I composed 8 composition today.) This way helps me find beats, when searching through 1000's of them.


11122018A (PROJECT) saved inside 11122018A (FOLDER)
11122018B (PROJECT) saved inside 11122018B (FOLDER)
11122018C (PROJECT) saved inside 11222018C (FOLDER)
11122018D (PROJECT) saved inside 11122018D (FOLDER)
11122018E (PROJECT) saved inside 11122018E (FOLDER)
11122018F (PROJECT) saved inside 11122018F (FOLDER)
11122018G (PROJECT) saved inside 11122018G (FOLDER)
11122018H (PROJECT) saved inside 11122018H (FOLDER)


Each project is saved in it's own separate folder. When the months are single digits, I add a 0 in front.
0912208A (PROJECT) saved inside 11122018A (FOLDER)


Side Note:
I also export separate WAV stems and 2 track audio track. Just in case the project file is corrupted.
Inside each folder I have: Project, Stems, and 2 Track Stereo WAV file.
By RossPlunkett Mon Nov 19, 2018 5:23 am
I use random words and numbers. I was eating some yummy pesto when I was saving a beat once so it and all its programs start with PESTO. I save the first version as PESTO-001, the second as PESTO-002, etc, this way I can save before making big changes and track the progress of the beat. Shows up nice when you back it up on your comp too
By Eyalc Sat Nov 24, 2018 4:09 pm
I have a workflow for how I produce and write, and that influences how I name projects.

I work in terms of albums, so I first create a folder for the album (the name if I know it, else something generic). Inside of that folder I have an "mpc" and "logic" folders.

I use the MPC for 30%-70% of the song - depending on what I feel the song needs. Sometimes I know the title. If so, I name the project the song title. If not, I always use "Untitled{n} where "n" is just a sequential number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...). It always goes into the "mpc" folder.

Once I feel that I need Logic, I export from the MPC into wav files, and create a Logic Pro X project, and import the stems into it. I save it with the same name as the MPC project name - this save always goes into the "logic" folder. I continue working from there, adding in the things that I really can't add on the MPC, and recording scratch vocalist for the vocalist.

If during the time in Logic Pro X, the title needs to change to the official title of the song, I rename it in Logic, and put the MPC project name into the Logic Pro X "Notes" section. Sometimes it's easier to go back to the MPC to make certain edits, then re-export the stems back into Logic.

Everything from that point stays in Logic (editing, renaming, restructuring) until it goes to mastering, which happens in WaveLab.

I know more than you asked, but for me the names are very much related to albums, so I figured I'd give more insight into my process. Later today I'm going to make a thread to show how one of my songs sounded in the MPC, versus what the finished product sounds like.