By MikeNizo808
Fri Jul 09, 2021 10:52 pm
## Objective
The goal of this write-up is to teach you everything you need to know about "MPC X" as it relates to Synchronizing to your DAW.
## Formatting
I wrote this mostly in markdown and will just keep it like that for now. Where you see "##" just picture it as a section header in your mind.
## Intro
Greetings MPC X fans. I am new here, but a long time MPC user (since MPC 60 initial release). I recently picked up the "MPC X", and after scratching my head for a full month, I finally got the sync figured out.
## Video Version
If you like the topic, but can't be bothered to read (as thoughty2 would say), check out my channel on OdySee (it's like a new youtube). There, you will find my MPC Sync video.
https://odysee.com/@MikeNizo808:9/SyncYourMPC:4
## Disclaimer
Remember, I could be completely wrong about some stuff or it may change over time.
## Example Setup
I am running the latest everything, though you can choose to stay at older versions if desired.
- Akai MPC X, Firmware 2.9.1
- USB3 Type A cable (AKAI provided)
- 5-Pin MIDI DIN (i.e. your soundcard, mioXC, or Roland UM-One mk2, etc.)
- Apple laptop running macOS Big Sur (latest)
- Logic Pro (latest)
## Big Sur Support (Apple macOS)
Despite not having support for Big Sur, the "sync" has been working okay with USB or 5-pin DIN (remember, these are mutually exclusive meaning you must pick one technique, USB or DIN).
See below link for the official Akai support annoucement page, which has finally been updated on 07July2021, after a good year or so of tumbleweeds. Some products are starting to show as supported, while others are still shown as in testing.
https://inmusicbrands.force.com/akaipro ... r-Akai-Pro
## Akai Network Midi (out of scope)
In this write-up, we discuss everything related to sync, except for "Akai Network MIDI", which does not work on Big Sur. As we know, running the "Akai Network Midi" application in Big Sur results in an empty screen. Note that despite the application being broken, "MIDIServer" still runs in the background, so uninstall the Akai Network Midi driver if you are not using it.
Tip: Apple macOS already has an implementation of Network Midi available in Audio MIDI Setup, so the Akai Network Midi application should not be needed anyway.
The Akai Network Midi application seems to be based on an open source package from snoize called Midi Monitor (https://www.snoize.com/midimonitor/) which itself has already been updated to handle Big Sur so perhaps Akai will release an update soon.
Tip: Open a termnial window in macOS and enter "top | grep MIDI" or "top | grep -i midi" (no quotes) to see if the MIDIServer application is running. If you uninstall "Akai Network Midi" this should go away.
Note: If you go and install one or more of the aforementioned snoize open source products (which are really cool), you will see the same thing ("MIDIServer"). To stop it from running at start-up, open a Finder windows and drag it from Applications to some other folder (or to trash).
## What to Call Things
The developers refer to our ecosystem as "Desktop", "Plugin" or "Hardware".
- Desktop - The MPC Beats application
- Plugin - The MPC plugin added to a track in your DAW
- Hardware - Standalone on the MPC X itself
Here we will mostly ignore "Desktop". Instead, we will focus on the "Plugin" (for doing USB audio recording) and "Hardware" (for Analog audio recording).
## USB vs Analog
When recoring MIDI Audio you want the Akai-provided cable (USB3) connected. However, when doing Analog recording you want 5-pin DIN only (with no plugin running and no USB cable!).
The following is broken down into a "MIDI Audio Section" and "Analog Audio Section".
#################################
## MIDI Audio Section
#################################
## Acceptable USB
Use the Akai-provided "blue" USB cable. This is a highspeed USB 3.1 connection (type B to A). When connecting to a Mac, use an Apple-official USB to Thunderbolt adapter or plug the MPC X into a USB hub that is connected to your mac. Ideally, it should be a powered USB hub (meaning it plugs into the wall), but this is not required.
## Recording MIDI Audio
When recording MIDI audio, we have 16 Stereo Pairs or 32 Mono tracks that can be recorded into the DAW. The Channel Mixer has 32 outputs for routing when working in the DAW, compared to 8 outputs when doing Analog.
When doing MIDI audio recording, the "sync" is handled automatically by the "APIC" (Akai Professional Internal Controller). This is not a word you need to know or choose, it just happens in the background when using the plugin or Desktop application.
To record MIDI Audio, simply add a software plugin in Logic Pro and navigate to the MPC multi-output option. If you choose the stereo one, there will be no "plus" button to add the track busses, which we need.
Next, we can press "x" on the keyboard (Logic Pro shortcut) to open the Logic Pro mixer. Locate the MPC plugin and click "plus" to add as many tracks as you want to record. Then one at a time, click each track and change the output from "Stereo Out" to a unique bus (i.e. bus1, bus 2, etc) until you have all desired sounds pointing to some unique busses.
Then add an audio track and set the input to be the desired bus. For this step you can create several audio tracks at once and it will automatically number the bus input.
Hit record on the desired tracks in the DAW and press the DAW record start button. Ideally you should "pad" your MIDI audio with a blank bar at the beginning and at the end to give you room to add fade-in/fade-out in the DAW later.
When the MIDI Recording is done, hit stop in the DAW and disable the plugin! Save your work first of course, but you don't want the MPC still playing during playback.
That's it for MIDI Audio. Remember, your sync experience should be perfect (without effort) when using the plugin. Do not try to use MIDI Clock over the blue USB cable it is not made for that! The blue cable is a greedy bastard that only wants you to use the Akai plugin and their software. If you do this, you will be rewarded, but if you want analog outputs and DAW sync you have to work a little harder (by using 5-pin DIN which we handle next).
#################################
## Analog Audio Section
#################################
## Acceptable 5-pin DIN
Switching gears here to now discuss "analog" recording. To do this we need our 1/4" audio outputs connected to a soundcard that can handle it and also 5-pin MIDI DIN for sync.
If your soundcard has a MIDI port, then all you need is a good MIDI cable (and the expected 1/4" connections). If your soundcard does not have a 5-pin MIDI DIN port, you will need to buy a cable that connects from your computer's thunderbolt/USB port to the MPC X's MIDI DIN input/output.
Note: To be clear, no audio travels through the MIDI DIN cables. Those operate at only 12 Mbps and are intended only for communication.
## MIDI Cables from 2014 or later
The MIDI standard is mostly unchanged since the old days, but in 2014, "Electrical Specification Update 1.1" came out with additional options for ensuring clean connections such as the option for ferrite beads and additional grounding to protect against "RF" interference.
In general, your five-pin DIN cables used for "sync" should be modern, high quality cables to protect against interference from RF such as bluetooth, 5G, etc. When recording MIDI notes, you can literally use a cable from 80s and you will be fine.
See the updates to the spec at https://www.midi.org/specifications-old ... cification
## Example 5-pin DIN Products
If your soundcard has a MIDI port great, just use a high quality cable and you are done. But for those of us using soundcards like Apollo, we have no MIDI port.
As such, we can buy a high-end MIDI controller, or simply purchase a "USB to MIDI cable" such as one of the following:
- mioXC
- Roland UM-One mk2
Note: These kind of products have a microprocessor in them that handles the USB to five-pin business. You cannot simply make your own cable for this. See https://www.midi.org/midi-articles/may- ... ors-to-usb for more detail.
## MPC X MIDI Ports
The MPC X has the following 5-pin DIN ports on the back of the unit:
MIDI Input 1
MIDI Input 2
MIDI Output A
MIDI Output B
MIDI Output C
MIDI Output D
## Connect 5-pin MIDI Cable (back of the MPC X)
An example setup for your 5-pin MIDI sync could be to populate "MIDI Input 2" and "MIDI Output B". This would leave the first input/output open for a real MIDI device for playing music.
When connecting the cables, your MIDI cable will often have a label for Input and Output on the cable.
- Connect the cable that says "Output" to the desired "Input" port of the MPC X
- Connect the cable that says "Input: to the desired "Output" port of the MPC X
## Configure the MPC X
In order to take advantage of the MIDI DIN cables we connected, we must also configure the preferences on the MPC X hardware.
1. Power on the MPC X
2. Select "Empty Project"
3. Press Menu
4. Press the Gear icon
5. Navigate to "MIDI/SYNC" in the left pane
6. Observe the configuration menu on the right
7. Select the desired "Input Port" (i.e. MPC 2) and check "Master", "Control" and "Track".
Note: You do not need all of these, but it gives your DAW more control.
8. Scroll down to "MIDI Control Mode Output" and select the desired "Output Port" (i.e. MPC B).
9. Scroll down to the "Sync Receive" section, click the drop-down for "Receive" and select "MIDI Clock".
Note: You can optionally use Midi Time Code (MTC) instead of "MIDI Clock", but MTC is just slightly more complex and is not needed (unless you want it because you know what you are doing, such as film/tv).
10. Scroll down to "Sync Send", click the "Send" drop-down and select "MIDI Clock".
Note: When using 5-pin DIN and MIDI Clock, you can start and stop the MPC X from the DAW or the MPC hardware.
## Configure the DAW
For analog recording from the MPC X into Logic Pro, we should first use "MIDI Clock" to sync the DAW project to the MPC X hardware. We can do this from:
File > Project Settings > Synchronization > MIDI
In the "Destination" drop-down, select your 5-pin DIN (i.e. mioXC). Do not select anything that says "MPC X" since those are only available for the plugin (which we do not use during analog recording).
Finally, check the "clock" checkbox which allows the DAW to send MIDI Clock to the MPC X.
## Recording Analog Audio
Finally, we get to actually record analog audio. For this, of course we must run some audio cables from the MPC X to your sound card (i.e. 1/4" TRS). There are 8 outputs on the back of the MPC X; However, outputs 5-8 are the best quality (they have lower THD than 1-4). Check the spec sheet for details about the output specs.
Go to Channel Mixer on the MPC X and set the desired outputs under "routing". I like to do all of my routing based on "Programs", though you can also choose to do it by "Submixes", "Masters", etc.
Next, we need to know what our DAW will use for input when creating an audio track. For this example, I am using an Apollo UAD sound card, so I can use their "UAD Console" application and click "Settings > IO Matrix" to see what "Channel" number my input is.
Armed with the knowledge of my channel number, in Logic Pro I add an audio track, point to "Input 35" (in my case), and then type the number "8", to give me 8 audio tracks. When I hit enter, I get all 8 with each bus incremented by one (i.e. bus 1 to 8 for each of the audio tracks 1-8).
Much like MIDI recording, simply arm the tracks for recording in the DAW and hit the DAW record/start button. When the recording is done, leave some time before hitting stop, so any effects, etc, can finish nicely. You should always edit the resulting audio tracks with a fade in / fade out in Logic Pro.
Before playback, go back to settings in the DAW to stop the "MIDI Clock" we activated earlier. To do this, navigate to the path below and uncheck "clock" and set the Destination to none.
File > Project Settings > Synchronization > MIDI
## Troubleshooting
If you are having issues with sync, it is easy enough to set a "delay" in Logic Pro (i.e. 200ms or so). However, before using the delay feature, be sure that a clean start does not resolve the issue. Specifically, the MPC X can become "split-brained" when switching between using the plugin (USB sync) and 5-pin sync.
When ready to switch from one technique to the other, it is best to close everything (including Logic Pro) and start fresh. Always follow the correct order to disconnect the USB/SD on your desktop before exiting controller mode. Also, try to only connect things to the MPC X when it is powered off.
Tip: You can check your bus speeds and see each of the connections that the MPC creates (in Controller Mode) from the top left of your screen (macOS) by clicking the "Apple Icon > About This Mac > System Report > USB".
## End
Have fun and let me know of any questions or corrections. Remember that sometimes it just flat out will not work. My general opinion is that Akai has done us wrong; The stability of this "MIDI Production Center" is feeble at best. Even at version "2.9.1", of the software, the "MPC X Controller" that handles the sync is still at version "0.50". Hopefully they make some strides in this area.
Again the plugin and USB are stable, as is analog if you use 5-pin DIN. However, I feel that we should have limitless options like using the plugin and 5-pin DIN concurrently. Also, the setup should be resilient to what musicians will do with it, like switching back and forth from analog to MIDI audio recording without having to be so careful. Other than that this thing is beast mode and honestly you do not even need a DAW. All the best.
-Nizo
The goal of this write-up is to teach you everything you need to know about "MPC X" as it relates to Synchronizing to your DAW.
## Formatting
I wrote this mostly in markdown and will just keep it like that for now. Where you see "##" just picture it as a section header in your mind.
## Intro
Greetings MPC X fans. I am new here, but a long time MPC user (since MPC 60 initial release). I recently picked up the "MPC X", and after scratching my head for a full month, I finally got the sync figured out.
## Video Version
If you like the topic, but can't be bothered to read (as thoughty2 would say), check out my channel on OdySee (it's like a new youtube). There, you will find my MPC Sync video.
https://odysee.com/@MikeNizo808:9/SyncYourMPC:4
## Disclaimer
Remember, I could be completely wrong about some stuff or it may change over time.
## Example Setup
I am running the latest everything, though you can choose to stay at older versions if desired.
- Akai MPC X, Firmware 2.9.1
- USB3 Type A cable (AKAI provided)
- 5-Pin MIDI DIN (i.e. your soundcard, mioXC, or Roland UM-One mk2, etc.)
- Apple laptop running macOS Big Sur (latest)
- Logic Pro (latest)
## Big Sur Support (Apple macOS)
Despite not having support for Big Sur, the "sync" has been working okay with USB or 5-pin DIN (remember, these are mutually exclusive meaning you must pick one technique, USB or DIN).
See below link for the official Akai support annoucement page, which has finally been updated on 07July2021, after a good year or so of tumbleweeds. Some products are starting to show as supported, while others are still shown as in testing.
https://inmusicbrands.force.com/akaipro ... r-Akai-Pro
## Akai Network Midi (out of scope)
In this write-up, we discuss everything related to sync, except for "Akai Network MIDI", which does not work on Big Sur. As we know, running the "Akai Network Midi" application in Big Sur results in an empty screen. Note that despite the application being broken, "MIDIServer" still runs in the background, so uninstall the Akai Network Midi driver if you are not using it.
Tip: Apple macOS already has an implementation of Network Midi available in Audio MIDI Setup, so the Akai Network Midi application should not be needed anyway.
The Akai Network Midi application seems to be based on an open source package from snoize called Midi Monitor (https://www.snoize.com/midimonitor/) which itself has already been updated to handle Big Sur so perhaps Akai will release an update soon.
Tip: Open a termnial window in macOS and enter "top | grep MIDI" or "top | grep -i midi" (no quotes) to see if the MIDIServer application is running. If you uninstall "Akai Network Midi" this should go away.
Note: If you go and install one or more of the aforementioned snoize open source products (which are really cool), you will see the same thing ("MIDIServer"). To stop it from running at start-up, open a Finder windows and drag it from Applications to some other folder (or to trash).
## What to Call Things
The developers refer to our ecosystem as "Desktop", "Plugin" or "Hardware".
- Desktop - The MPC Beats application
- Plugin - The MPC plugin added to a track in your DAW
- Hardware - Standalone on the MPC X itself
Here we will mostly ignore "Desktop". Instead, we will focus on the "Plugin" (for doing USB audio recording) and "Hardware" (for Analog audio recording).
## USB vs Analog
When recoring MIDI Audio you want the Akai-provided cable (USB3) connected. However, when doing Analog recording you want 5-pin DIN only (with no plugin running and no USB cable!).
The following is broken down into a "MIDI Audio Section" and "Analog Audio Section".
#################################
## MIDI Audio Section
#################################
## Acceptable USB
Use the Akai-provided "blue" USB cable. This is a highspeed USB 3.1 connection (type B to A). When connecting to a Mac, use an Apple-official USB to Thunderbolt adapter or plug the MPC X into a USB hub that is connected to your mac. Ideally, it should be a powered USB hub (meaning it plugs into the wall), but this is not required.
## Recording MIDI Audio
When recording MIDI audio, we have 16 Stereo Pairs or 32 Mono tracks that can be recorded into the DAW. The Channel Mixer has 32 outputs for routing when working in the DAW, compared to 8 outputs when doing Analog.
When doing MIDI audio recording, the "sync" is handled automatically by the "APIC" (Akai Professional Internal Controller). This is not a word you need to know or choose, it just happens in the background when using the plugin or Desktop application.
To record MIDI Audio, simply add a software plugin in Logic Pro and navigate to the MPC multi-output option. If you choose the stereo one, there will be no "plus" button to add the track busses, which we need.
Next, we can press "x" on the keyboard (Logic Pro shortcut) to open the Logic Pro mixer. Locate the MPC plugin and click "plus" to add as many tracks as you want to record. Then one at a time, click each track and change the output from "Stereo Out" to a unique bus (i.e. bus1, bus 2, etc) until you have all desired sounds pointing to some unique busses.
Then add an audio track and set the input to be the desired bus. For this step you can create several audio tracks at once and it will automatically number the bus input.
Hit record on the desired tracks in the DAW and press the DAW record start button. Ideally you should "pad" your MIDI audio with a blank bar at the beginning and at the end to give you room to add fade-in/fade-out in the DAW later.
When the MIDI Recording is done, hit stop in the DAW and disable the plugin! Save your work first of course, but you don't want the MPC still playing during playback.
That's it for MIDI Audio. Remember, your sync experience should be perfect (without effort) when using the plugin. Do not try to use MIDI Clock over the blue USB cable it is not made for that! The blue cable is a greedy bastard that only wants you to use the Akai plugin and their software. If you do this, you will be rewarded, but if you want analog outputs and DAW sync you have to work a little harder (by using 5-pin DIN which we handle next).
#################################
## Analog Audio Section
#################################
## Acceptable 5-pin DIN
Switching gears here to now discuss "analog" recording. To do this we need our 1/4" audio outputs connected to a soundcard that can handle it and also 5-pin MIDI DIN for sync.
If your soundcard has a MIDI port, then all you need is a good MIDI cable (and the expected 1/4" connections). If your soundcard does not have a 5-pin MIDI DIN port, you will need to buy a cable that connects from your computer's thunderbolt/USB port to the MPC X's MIDI DIN input/output.
Note: To be clear, no audio travels through the MIDI DIN cables. Those operate at only 12 Mbps and are intended only for communication.
## MIDI Cables from 2014 or later
The MIDI standard is mostly unchanged since the old days, but in 2014, "Electrical Specification Update 1.1" came out with additional options for ensuring clean connections such as the option for ferrite beads and additional grounding to protect against "RF" interference.
In general, your five-pin DIN cables used for "sync" should be modern, high quality cables to protect against interference from RF such as bluetooth, 5G, etc. When recording MIDI notes, you can literally use a cable from 80s and you will be fine.
See the updates to the spec at https://www.midi.org/specifications-old ... cification
## Example 5-pin DIN Products
If your soundcard has a MIDI port great, just use a high quality cable and you are done. But for those of us using soundcards like Apollo, we have no MIDI port.
As such, we can buy a high-end MIDI controller, or simply purchase a "USB to MIDI cable" such as one of the following:
- mioXC
- Roland UM-One mk2
Note: These kind of products have a microprocessor in them that handles the USB to five-pin business. You cannot simply make your own cable for this. See https://www.midi.org/midi-articles/may- ... ors-to-usb for more detail.
## MPC X MIDI Ports
The MPC X has the following 5-pin DIN ports on the back of the unit:
MIDI Input 1
MIDI Input 2
MIDI Output A
MIDI Output B
MIDI Output C
MIDI Output D
## Connect 5-pin MIDI Cable (back of the MPC X)
An example setup for your 5-pin MIDI sync could be to populate "MIDI Input 2" and "MIDI Output B". This would leave the first input/output open for a real MIDI device for playing music.
When connecting the cables, your MIDI cable will often have a label for Input and Output on the cable.
- Connect the cable that says "Output" to the desired "Input" port of the MPC X
- Connect the cable that says "Input: to the desired "Output" port of the MPC X
## Configure the MPC X
In order to take advantage of the MIDI DIN cables we connected, we must also configure the preferences on the MPC X hardware.
1. Power on the MPC X
2. Select "Empty Project"
3. Press Menu
4. Press the Gear icon
5. Navigate to "MIDI/SYNC" in the left pane
6. Observe the configuration menu on the right
7. Select the desired "Input Port" (i.e. MPC 2) and check "Master", "Control" and "Track".
Note: You do not need all of these, but it gives your DAW more control.
8. Scroll down to "MIDI Control Mode Output" and select the desired "Output Port" (i.e. MPC B).
9. Scroll down to the "Sync Receive" section, click the drop-down for "Receive" and select "MIDI Clock".
Note: You can optionally use Midi Time Code (MTC) instead of "MIDI Clock", but MTC is just slightly more complex and is not needed (unless you want it because you know what you are doing, such as film/tv).
10. Scroll down to "Sync Send", click the "Send" drop-down and select "MIDI Clock".
Note: When using 5-pin DIN and MIDI Clock, you can start and stop the MPC X from the DAW or the MPC hardware.
## Configure the DAW
For analog recording from the MPC X into Logic Pro, we should first use "MIDI Clock" to sync the DAW project to the MPC X hardware. We can do this from:
File > Project Settings > Synchronization > MIDI
In the "Destination" drop-down, select your 5-pin DIN (i.e. mioXC). Do not select anything that says "MPC X" since those are only available for the plugin (which we do not use during analog recording).
Finally, check the "clock" checkbox which allows the DAW to send MIDI Clock to the MPC X.
## Recording Analog Audio
Finally, we get to actually record analog audio. For this, of course we must run some audio cables from the MPC X to your sound card (i.e. 1/4" TRS). There are 8 outputs on the back of the MPC X; However, outputs 5-8 are the best quality (they have lower THD than 1-4). Check the spec sheet for details about the output specs.
Go to Channel Mixer on the MPC X and set the desired outputs under "routing". I like to do all of my routing based on "Programs", though you can also choose to do it by "Submixes", "Masters", etc.
Next, we need to know what our DAW will use for input when creating an audio track. For this example, I am using an Apollo UAD sound card, so I can use their "UAD Console" application and click "Settings > IO Matrix" to see what "Channel" number my input is.
Armed with the knowledge of my channel number, in Logic Pro I add an audio track, point to "Input 35" (in my case), and then type the number "8", to give me 8 audio tracks. When I hit enter, I get all 8 with each bus incremented by one (i.e. bus 1 to 8 for each of the audio tracks 1-8).
Much like MIDI recording, simply arm the tracks for recording in the DAW and hit the DAW record/start button. When the recording is done, leave some time before hitting stop, so any effects, etc, can finish nicely. You should always edit the resulting audio tracks with a fade in / fade out in Logic Pro.
Before playback, go back to settings in the DAW to stop the "MIDI Clock" we activated earlier. To do this, navigate to the path below and uncheck "clock" and set the Destination to none.
File > Project Settings > Synchronization > MIDI
## Troubleshooting
If you are having issues with sync, it is easy enough to set a "delay" in Logic Pro (i.e. 200ms or so). However, before using the delay feature, be sure that a clean start does not resolve the issue. Specifically, the MPC X can become "split-brained" when switching between using the plugin (USB sync) and 5-pin sync.
When ready to switch from one technique to the other, it is best to close everything (including Logic Pro) and start fresh. Always follow the correct order to disconnect the USB/SD on your desktop before exiting controller mode. Also, try to only connect things to the MPC X when it is powered off.
Tip: You can check your bus speeds and see each of the connections that the MPC creates (in Controller Mode) from the top left of your screen (macOS) by clicking the "Apple Icon > About This Mac > System Report > USB".
## End
Have fun and let me know of any questions or corrections. Remember that sometimes it just flat out will not work. My general opinion is that Akai has done us wrong; The stability of this "MIDI Production Center" is feeble at best. Even at version "2.9.1", of the software, the "MPC X Controller" that handles the sync is still at version "0.50". Hopefully they make some strides in this area.
Again the plugin and USB are stable, as is analog if you use 5-pin DIN. However, I feel that we should have limitless options like using the plugin and 5-pin DIN concurrently. Also, the setup should be resilient to what musicians will do with it, like switching back and forth from analog to MIDI audio recording without having to be so careful. Other than that this thing is beast mode and honestly you do not even need a DAW. All the best.
-Nizo