Sorry, noob MPC X questions!

Hey folks,

Thinking about picking up an MPC X to mess around making beats with my son.

Have been searching the interwebs but there are some things not clear to me, i'd be grateful if anyone can help clear this up.

Right, so you have two modes, standalone and controller. In controller mode the MPC X acts like a big controller. And all sound is generated by the computer, right? But then you're still (optionally?) using the X as a soundcard, i presume?

And when you want to go back into standalone with that song, you'll need to bounce any plugin generated audio (done automatically i guess?).

But what about samples being triggered, these samples also get transferred to the X and you can continue drum programming right?

And the thing i REALLY don't understand: in controller mode you can use any VST plugin installed on your computer, right? Or do they need to be special AKAI format or something? Or is it only plugins that have implemented some kind of "AKAI" mode?

Because i also read about some "AKAI" plugins, but i guess these are special plugins you install on the MPC X itself and are accessible in standalone mode, right?
If so, are these free or paid? And where can i see a list of these standalone plugs that are available?

And comparing controller to standalone again: i guess things like number of busses and number of FX are limited, to stop you creating a CPU hungery mix that will play ok on the computer, but will bring the X weeping to it's knees in standalone mode?

Sorry for so many questions and sorry if i got anything bass-akwards!

Cheers!

Sorry, just one other question: when creating in standalone or controller mode, are their two separate libraries? One on the X hard disk, the other on the computer hard disk?

But do these get "sync'd" when you switch between modes with the same song?

Dazzer1234567 wrote:Hey folks,

Thinking about picking up an MPC X to mess around making beats with my son.

Working on the coolest dad award?

Dazzer1234567 wrote:Right, so you have two modes, standalone and controller. In controller mode the MPC X acts like a big controller. And all sound is generated by the computer, right? But then you're still (optionally?) using the X as a soundcard, i presume?

Yes, in standalone mode the MPC will act as a controller, display, audio interface, midi interface, and cv interface for your computer.

Dazzer1234567 wrote:And when you want to go back into standalone with that song, you'll need to bounce any plugin generated audio (done automatically i guess?).

You are correct that you'll need to freeze/sample/etc... your VSTs if you wanted to use them in standalone. Otherwise you'll see the track on the MPC in standalone, but you cannot do much of anything to it because it isn't actually able to load the VST. Some folks will print to audio tracks, others will auto sample the VST... depends what you want to do and how much work you want to put into it.

Dazzer1234567 wrote:But what about samples being triggered, these samples also get transferred to the X and you can continue drum programming right?

Any Drum Kits or Key Groups that you setup in the software can be used on the MPC X if you save it to storage the MPC X can see... i.e. internal SSD, USB Drive, SD card...

Dazzer1234567 wrote:And the thing i REALLY don't understand: in controller mode you can use any VST plugin installed on your computer, right? Or do they need to be special AKAI format or something? Or is it only plugins that have implemented some kind of "AKAI" mode?

If it follows the proper VST protocol, and is a 64 bit plugin... you can use it in the software to load it like any other plugin on other DAWs. There is nothing special about Akai's software and how it interacts with VSTs really.

Dazzer1234567 wrote:Because i also read about some "AKAI" plugins, but i guess these are special plugins you install on the MPC X itself and are accessible in standalone mode, right?
If so, are these free or paid? And where can i see a list of these standalone plugs that are available?

Akai chose to release a bunch of plugins as part of a bundle pack that you will get when you register the MPC X to your account. Some of them are 32 bit, or otherwise won't work as a plugin for various reasons due to modern architecture compatibility issues. Is it dumb... sure... but it's also effectively free software that you can run on older systems or in their standalone software mode. If you're on Windows you'll have more options to actually access this stuff... OS X and the yearly upgrades tends to make this more complicated.

Dazzer1234567 wrote:And comparing controller to standalone again: i guess things like number of busses and number of FX are limited, to stop you creating a CPU hungery mix that will play ok on the computer, but will bring the X weeping to it's knees in standalone mode?

It is correct that standalone is more limited than the PC, but that's to be expected since you've got a slower CPU, less memory, all that. I wouldn't say it is limited in a way that you cannot make or finish music on it... because you absolutely can... it's more limited on how complicated you want to get.

Hope that helps.

Dazzer1234567 wrote:Sorry, just one other question: when creating in standalone or controller mode, are their two separate libraries? One on the X hard disk, the other on the computer hard disk?

But do these get "sync'd" when you switch between modes with the same song?

You can (read have to) export your Expansion library from the software to the hardware for quite a few expansions. Some will let you export straight to USB/SD/SSD... but if you want to keep them in sync you are best off installing the expansion into the software and then exporting it to the MPC.

For other files, .midi, sample/loop libraries, etc... that are not in MPC Expansion format... you'll be on your own to keep them in sync.

That said... Projects are self contained, so you don't have to keep slugging all that content around as long as you save the project... it will contain all the samples, audio tracks, sequences, etc... so that you just have to copy that over to continue to work on the project "somewhere else"

A million thanks for taking the time Near Tao!

Just a couple of things i'm not clear on.......you mentioned about 32 bit plugins not being compatible..... so i guess you're talking about legacy plugins from older MPC systems? So what are the actual plugins you can install on the X, is there a list somewhere? Or are there not even enough to bother with a list?!

And you said that all media from a project gets exported when you transfer a song. Does that mean the same files are being duplicated on your hard disk? So if you start standalone, go controller, then back to standalone, it'll duplicate, or will it just over-right? Or i guess in a more general way, i'm asking, are these file issue well implemented or is it a pain in the butt?

Sorry, actually just one more: what are the pads like? Are they up to the quality / sensitivity of Ableton Push 2?

(BTW, i never touched an MPC in my life, although i did have Akai samplers back in the 90's)

Dazzer1234567 wrote:Just a couple of things i'm not clear on.......you mentioned about 32 bit plugins not being compatible..... so i guess you're talking about legacy plugins from older MPC systems? So what are the actual plugins you can install on the X, is there a list somewhere? Or are there not even enough to bother with a list?!

The legacy plugins are software you'd run on your computer, not on the MPC X. Any plugins that are available in standalone mode are already baked into the firmware, so you cannot add or remove plugins for standalone mode other than changing your firmware revision.

There is a list, best to just go to the Akai website and grab the manual, it outlines all of the 4 available standalone instruments, and there's probably about 20-30 effects as well. It covers a pretty good amount of ground, especially if you don't have any other hardware that does those functions.

Dazzer1234567 wrote:And you said that all media from a project gets exported when you transfer a song. Does that mean the same files are being duplicated on your hard disk? So if you start standalone, go controller, then back to standalone, it'll duplicate, or will it just over-right? Or i guess in a more general way, i'm asking, are these file issue well implemented or is it a pain in the butt?

Yes, the MPC Software in standalone or controller mode duplicates all of your files. So there's no weird deep linking or references, it is either there as part of the project or it is not.

If you save your project, make some changes, and save it again, it will overwrite your project. If for example you only change a sample, it will overwrite the sample. If you want to save a completely new version of your project then you need to save it in a new directory. Again, not a big deal, but it will create more copies of your files.

Dazzer1234567 wrote:Sorry, actually just one more: what are the pads like? Are they up to the quality / sensitivity of Ableton Push 2?

While I've been a heavy user of Ableton Live, I have never used the push. I know Akai was involved with the production of the original Push, not sure about Push 2... though I'd guess they were probably deeply involved there as well. The material for the pads at least looks similar to what they have in the X/Live. At any rate... I've used plenty of MPCs, and for me personally... the MPC X/Live are probably the best pads I've ever used in the MPC line. Aged in 10-20 years... not so sure, but for now I think they are plenty reactive, and don't feel like you're tapping on a tabletop either. Compared to other machines I've used, I still like the pads a lot, maybe not "the best ever" award, but I'd say the X/Live is definitely in my top 3... and I'd have to think hard about where it stands in that mix.

Alrighty, thanks again, much appreciated, i think we'll go for it, will report back here once we've had a good mess with!

Good luck, have fun, and above all sample everything!