MPC for film scoring - What's the best way?

Hi All!


I'm writing music for a short, ten minute, animated film. It's the first time I've ever worked with film.
I'm really enjoying it but my work flow is a mess.

When I'm writing just music, I love using the MPC for coming up with ideas. It's a fast way to create and very simple and quick to chop audio samples, assign them to audio pads, then use them as part of the music as well as combining it with on board sounds from synths and packs.

I'd like to keep this flow but utilise it inside a DAW that allows for film scoring.
I have Logic Pro. Unless I'm missing something (which is very likely) there's not a way to utilise the MPC quite to the same capacity seamlessly within Logic Pro.

I only ever use the MPC in standalone mode and find the MPC software very limiting, not to mention frustrating that I can't bring up an existing projects (written in standalone) and continue working on it on desktop. (Well, not without a lot of messing about. Even still, the work flow is poor).

Can anyone recommend a program that will allow me to use the MPC in the way I've been utilising it (creating by using audio samples and existing samples from sample packs onboard the MPC) seamlessly with a DAW that allows for film scoring.

What does everyone else use?

I'm aware I could just be totally misusing the MPC software too. If that's the case, great! Please tell me.

Keen to hear how other film scorers are utilising the MPC.

Let me know your thoughts....



Thanks in advance and have a great day!

The only things you lose using MPC Software as a plugin:
- control over master tempo (+tapping etc.)
- audio in and out (but can be used by Logic as interface)
- MIDI out (and only single MIDI in from DAW)

Meaning you can‘t control external synths etc. from MPC itself and you can‘t sample directly into MPC. You can still use your device almost perfectly.

83dude wrote:The only things you lose using MPC Software as a plugin:
- control over master tempo (+tapping etc.)
- audio in and out (but can be used by Logic as interface)
- MIDI out (and only single MIDI in from DAW)

Meaning you can‘t control external synths etc. from MPC itself and you can‘t sample directly into MPC. You can still use your device almost perfectly.

By "MPC Software as a plugin" do you mean controller mode?

Such a bummer you can't sample into the MPC in controller mode. An MPC without sampling is an overpriced midi controller.

Stevie Boi 69 wrote:By "MPC Software as a plugin" do you mean controller mode?

Yes and no. If you open MPC Software by itself you‘ll use it just like a DAW with the MPCs interface (or any other interface connected to your computer of your choosing). That makes it an interface AND a controller.

Stevie Boi 69 wrote:Such a bummer you can't sample into the MPC in controller mode. An MPC without sampling is an overpriced midi controller.

You can still sample directly into said MPC Software via MPC hardware. You‘ll just lose that possibility if you load it as AU due to plugin instrument architecture (input MIDI only, output audio only).

If you dislike that, you could still sync it with MC or MTC e.g. with IAC MIDI (mac‘s Utilites -> Audio MIDI Setup -> window 2 -> IAC -> ACTIVE). That‘ll give you an internal MIDI port you could use for that.

Make Logic send MC or MTC to that port and have MPC listen to the respective sync input.

83dude wrote:

Stevie Boi 69 wrote:By "MPC Software as a plugin" do you mean controller mode?

Yes and no. If you open MPC Software by itself you‘ll use it just like a DAW with the MPCs interface (or any other interface connected to your computer of your choosing). That makes it an interface AND a controller.

Stevie Boi 69 wrote:Such a bummer you can't sample into the MPC in controller mode. An MPC without sampling is an overpriced midi controller.

You can still sample directly into said MPC Software via MPC hardware. You‘ll just lose that possibility if you load it as AU due to plugin instrument architecture (input MIDI only, output audio only).

If you dislike that, you could still sync it with MC or MTC e.g. with IAC MIDI (mac‘s Utilites -> Audio MIDI Setup -> window 2 -> IAC -> ACTIVE). That‘ll give you an internal MIDI port you could use for that.

Make Logic send MC or MTC to that port and have MPC listen to the respective sync input.

It'll take me a while to work out what you're talking about haha but it sounds like it will help.
Thanks!

you can save projects made in standalone to an internal hard drive or an sd card or usb card and then load em up on the mpc software, plugin or standalone, anyway. if you have an internal ssd on your mpc, it will show up on your computer once you connect via usb and go into controller mode on the mpc.