is it possible to record tracks in song mode?

Hi there,

Please forgive me if my question is too noob, I certainly am one, but I haven't found a clear answer in the manuals.

Let's say I've created all the sequences that form a song structure: one for the intro, a couple for the verses, another one for a bridge, a variation, an outro, etc... and I've moved to song mode and arranged all of them in the right order to form a song.

But now I want to add additional tracks to the song, like a lead voice or a solo instrument. These kind of tracks are usually apart from the patterns/sequences that form the song (for obvious reasons, I.E: the singer might start singing before the pattern actually starts). In a DAW we would just add a track and record there, but in the MPC -at least in standalone- I don't see a way to do this.

Another example would be an automation: let's say I want to perform an automation that spans across several iterations of the same sequence in song mode. Do I need different sequences?

The only workaround I see is to export the whole song as a sequence and record there, but it seems more like a workaround than a real functionality... Is it really the only way to do this?

Thank you so much for your answers, even if you send me to RTFM (in that case, I would appreciate if you can point me to the section where this is explained)

bitermc wrote:Hi there,

Please forgive me if my question is too noob, I certainly am one, but I haven't found a clear answer in the manuals.

Let's say I've created all the sequences that form a song structure: one for the intro, a couple for the verses, another one for a bridge, a variation, an outro, etc... and I've moved to song mode and arranged all of them in the right order to form a song.

But now I want to add additional tracks to the song, like a lead voice or a solo instrument. These kind of tracks are usually apart from the patterns/sequences that form the song (for obvious reasons, I.E: the singer might start singing before the pattern actually starts). In a DAW we would just add a track and record there, but in the MPC -at least in standalone- I don't see a way to do this.

Another example would be an automation: let's say I want to perform an automation that spans across several iterations of the same sequence in song mode. Do I need different sequences?

The only workaround I see is to export the whole song as a sequence and record there, but it seems more like a workaround than a real functionality... Is it really the only way to do this?

Thank you so much for your answers, even if you send me to RTFM (in that case, I would appreciate if you can point me to the section where this is explained)

The "song mode" is a way to automatically play a series of chained sequences, it is a playlist of sequences. You talk about DAW but your DAW project is exactly like a single sequence on the MPC so there is absolutely no difference here.

Convert your chain of sequences into a single sequence, it's not a work around, it is how a sequencer is supposed to work.

ace_of_dub wrote:The "song mode" is a way to automatically play a series of chained sequences, it is a playlist of sequences. You talk about DAW but your DAW project is exactly like a single sequence on the MPC so there is absolutely no difference here.

Convert your chain of sequences into a single sequence, it's not a work around, it is how a sequencer is supposed to work.

I slightly disagree, because while it's true that in a DAW you have a single sequence, parts are organized in clips, and clips can even be grouped in some of them. This makes further edition a lot easier.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if I want to make additional arrangements after recording the vocals I'll have to deal with individual events in a large sequence... This is far from ideal and makes the MPC unusable for remixing. In this scenario, all the arrangements and decisions need to be made in advance, before recording the vocals. A downer for such an amazing box.

Btw, thanks for the answer

Lampdog wrote:Audio tracks are recorded in the main page.

Song mode is for chaining sequences together.

Convert a song to seq and use audio tracks on the main page afterwards.

Before converting ensure all tracks are lined up the same because mpc will use the very first sequence's track assignments as a basis for the resulting converted seq.

seq1, trk1=piano, trk2=drums, trk3=horns, etc, etc.
seq2, trk1=piano, trk2=drums, trk3=horns, etc, etc.
seq3 trk1=piano, trk2=drums, trk3=horns, etc, etc.
seq4, trk1=piano, trk2=drums, trk3=horns, etc, etc.

Thank you. I'll keep that in mind.

Cheers

Hi Bitermc.

I have exactly the same problem as you have - you are right as you write: "This is far from ideal and makes the MPC unusable for remixing .."
SongMode does not make sense in this "Stand alone" machine ...

I would like to know how all of you in this forum use SongMode and then edit Midi / Audio tracks (if possible)?

Henrik T wrote:Hi Bitermc.

I have exactly the same problem as you have - you are right as you write: "This is far from ideal and makes the MPC unusable for remixing .."
SongMode does not make sense in this "Stand alone" machine ...

I would like to know how all of you in this forum use SongMode and then edit Midi / Audio tracks (if possible)?

I'm currently recording vocals in a separate machine, then inserting the wavs into the sequences (which is a mess, because solo vocals usually go beyond the measure mark).

At first sight, the MPC is a bit disappointing when it comes to multitrack recording... I guess I have to get used to it and find other ways of doing things.

Some people in this forum also says the arranger mode in the Akai Force is more like a DAW, and that it may come to the MPC in future versions of the firmware, but that's only speculation.

I'm currently recording vocals in a separate machine, then inserting the wavs into the sequences (which is a mess, because solo vocals usually go beyond the measure mark).

Make the measure longer. You don’t HAVE to stick strictly to measures.

Lampdog wrote:Make the measure longer. You don’t HAVE to stick strictly to measures.

Not sure to get it... Do you mean, for example, making the sequence 5 measures long instead of 4 in order to accommodate the tail of the audio take?

That would do the trick, but I'd still have to make the next sequence of the song 3 measures long to compensate that.

What I'm currently doing is inserting the tail directly in the beginning of the next sequence. And the head on the previous one if it starts before the measure... It works fine, but it's exhausting and time consuming. I bet there's a better way.

It would be great to have the possibility of keeping the audio take playing until the end, despite of the sequence changing.

You could move your audio tracks/vocal takes into a Drum Kit Program set to Poly, and adjust ADSR so that the note plays, should work as long as you don't use Mono or Mute Group. Depends how long your takes are, but something that is 4-5 bars should be fine.

I do this fairly frequently... record a take in the Looper, export the sample, move it into a program, and then trigger the one note to play it in the song. It's a tad fiddly, but it's been working well enough for me.

Last night whilst in song mode, I hit the record button on my MPC key 61 and I was able to record midi tracks across several sequences!!! . I'm so excited about it.