Neurone wrote:I've uninstalled my DAW after 30 years, I'm solely using the MPC now.
Is it all smooth sailing, no, is it more productive, yes.
Reasons ?
From the early 80's it was hardware sequencers and when midi dropped some primitive software on 8-bit computers.
There was no mouse.
Simply, hardware sequencers reward your productivity by promoting your response to create more music straight away.
Not to grab the mouse and endlessly doodle with note/controller/automation data, no getting lost in endless VST fiddling.
With the MPC you get some notes/samples going, then...do some more, pretty soon you have something like a finished structure, then you can go and insert/add some effects, maybe edit some automation.
However, the mouse and hours and hours and hours of endless fiddling, is not king.
For example, the Yamaha RM1x was an incredible hardware sequencer (and I've had a LOT of them), it's sounds were a bit lacklustre, even for the time (AWM2), but it's workflow just meant you made music, music, music. Track after track.
I treat my MPC like that.
I spend more time putting notes in than fiddling with them with a mouse.
Yep, the added functionality is bringing it closer to a DAW, but the workflow is not the same.
It's subtle, but has massive ramifications for your creativity.
Just my dollars worth.
I mean I have every MPC since the MPC60ii (except the 2500 and 1000), Cirklons, I had the Engine, I use endless sequencers on things like the TB-303, have a few euro rack sequencers, Soma Ornament, elektron sequencers, even the big ass moog compl B sequencer, but all of these seem to have more of a reason to use them. The old MPCs have different sound, timing feels, etc. The things like TB303, well yea its a 303, Elektron has different things that you can’t do in a DAW (yet) plus the fact that the synth sequencers are tied to the synths kind of makes more of a reason to use them.
The new MPCs on the other hand…how can you argue that you can’t just use even the MPC DAW and an akai controller? You don’t have to spend hours drawing notes, you would essentially have the same exact workflow. Some would argue that you can even program things in Ableton that would make your workflow for creating songs even faster than on the current MPCs. If you are going to be carrying a computer with you any ways when traveling, what’s the reason for MPC? You are basically looking at a computer screen just smaller on the new MPCs. The only reason i would say is, if you don’t want to have to connect a controller by plugging in the USB cable? But is that really enough reason?
I even find it harder to go from start to finish on a new MPC, because like so many say, you end up bringing to a DAW for the last steps anyway. Also, the VSTs for EQ, mastering, synths, compressors, ect are way better on a computer than on an MPC.
This is all coming from someone that has all of the new MPCs and force, I want to have a reason to use them, but I just don’t. It might be because I have so much other gear that it makes more sense for me to use a DAW with all my patchbays and external gear? Idk. I even find myself trying to buy another audio interface just for the MPC so that way I can run the outputs through outboard gear and then into a DAW, but why? If I am using an audio interface, it’s not like I am getting anything specific to the MPC anyway. I might as well just use MPC DAW, then outputs from the computer to the outboard gear and back.