Hello everyone

Hey Im Gordie I’ve been into and making electronic music for years just for fun . I used to make my music back in the day with an old pc and reason but now I’ve grown up lol and ive a bit more time I’ve gathered up some hardware and and last year my wife bought me a Mpc one plus . I’m looking forward to the new update …. As I’m only getting my head around it and it’s work flow it’s changing and for the better it seems , but anyway it totally changed my perspective on things and I had been going down the dawless route. / rabbit hole
I need some help getting my gear hooked up in the best manner as I plan to wire/make it all into cases . I have very little space to have everything set up . So the idea was to have a couple of cases plug them together plug it into my speaker and and boom away I go lol I would be ready to rumble . But the way it is now I have to spend a whole day figuring everything out again and incorporating new methods I had read about while not using it and I’m confused as heck … :/
If I was to list my hardware gear and equipment or something would anyone with a bit more knowledge than myself be able to help ?
Thanks for reading this
I’m new to the forum but been a long term lurker and reader of the page just can find what I’m looking for without asking for help
Cheers
Gordie

I think anyone posting up an interesting set up or asking for help will get get posters wanting to chop in with their advice. Definitely a mixed bunch here of Venn diagrams, so I'm sure you'll have lots of overlap.

Watcha got?

I’ve been running two setups hooked together Mpc one as master with Behringer motorised faders that I seem to have to map every time to my drum channels then in the line in on Mpc I have a case containing a mc101 , td3 both connected to an iPad Pro running AUM and miRack mostly and I have them both synced with ableton Link . I don’t like link as I feel theres a big delay for example if I just have a kick playing 4/4 on Mpc then program same 4/4 pattern in mc101 there’s like a doubling effect I would like to be able to bounce it between the two . I can’t seem to figure out how to make the Mpc be master via midi but still be able to utilise mc101 over usb as it acts as main 32bit sound card audio interface to run into Mpc line ins
Cheers for the reply and hope this all makes sense lol

If the MPC is able to use both audio and midi over a class compliant USB connection, it will, even if you don't select it. I don't have an MC101, but is there a way to tell it to disable audio over USB?

Yeah the Mpc I plan to run stand alone as the line ins are not available if I use it in controller mode that was my 1st idea
ATM I need the mc101 to be able to be the class compliant device for iPad and td3 but need it to be clocked via the midi out from the Mpc if you get me

The Mpc only puts audio out via usb when you use the Mpc software as a vst in ableton . I think

If the MPC sees a class compliant device on USB, it will engage the audio (even if it does not use it). It can only address one audio device at a time, either the internal default devices, or a different USB device.

The problem I have with my Access Virus, is that the MPC can see the audio device on the other end of the USB, but when it initiates this connection, the Virus disables audio outputs over the line level jacks, making the USB for *just* midi useless for me. Hopefully that makes sense. I don't know what the behavior of the MC-101 is... so unfortunately cannot speak directly to that.

Yeah I understand what you are saying I however am only using the Mpc stand-alone and trying to figure out how to make it clock mc101 at the same time the mc101 is being used as a class compliant device.. I think lol

Gordie wrote:Yeah I understand what you are saying I however am only using the Mpc stand-alone and trying to figure out how to make it clock mc101 at the same time the mc101 is being used as a class compliant device.. I think lol

I've read your set up a few times, but it kind of hurts my head.

SO when you connect the Mc101 to the MPC it thinks it's a audio interface, and not just a synth? Am I following correctly. I'm a bit confused their, as I use a UMC 1820, and I have to tell the MPC to use it as an Audio device, although I've never tried connecting it and still using the MPCs audio and not engaging the UMC1820 at all (despite being connected).

I'm also confused by you routing, seems lots of audio going around in loops, which can be problematic. This is why I love having all my synths connected via the UMC,k before that I had a cheapo Behringer mixer.

So back to your MC 101 issue. how about a midi cable and ditching the USB. I initially liked having midi going through USB, but it caused noise issues (probably because there is little grounding in building where I live), but also sometimes the USB would drop of and I'd lose everything (for a while I thought I'd damaged the USB connecter on the MPC, or maybe an issue with my hub). But I switched back to Midi 5-Pin Dins, and I already had a 1in 4 out thru box. Nothing wrong with 5-Pin Midi, just means you don't get names point up for the connections, but you can name the tracks, and most of my synths don't take USB power, and if they did I still need to power the hub.

Have you tried a midi cable?

I concur with ditching USB for anything that thinks it's an audio device. The MPC works pretty great as a clock master -- I clock a bunch of different modular gear off the MPC, which in turn is optionally clocked (or not -- it can be self sufficient) by another sequencer

Hey thanks for your reply I’ll try explain this a bit better lol

I’m using Mpc as master brain (clock) and main audio out put from line out
Mpc has a midi fader hooked up via usb

Then I have a mc101 and a td3 both going to a powered usb dongle that is plugged into my iPad Pro . When I do this the mc101 acts like an audio device for the iPad and td3 this gives me 2 more 1/4 outs from the mc101 that I plug into the Mpc ones line inputs . This is all monitored through the Mpc one
My problem is that up until now I have been syncing them via a ableton link . The Mpc has link and so does AUM on iPad .
There’s a noticeable lag ,they are slightly out of sync
I would like to know if I can clock the mc101 via midi that’s coming from Mpc midi out ? And still be able to utilise the mc101 as a audio interface for iPad

Hope this makes more sense lol
I reread what I wrote and may have confused some folk and my self
Thanks

Neodymium wrote:

Gordie wrote:Yeah I understand what you are saying I however am only using the Mpc stand-alone and trying to figure out how to make it clock mc101 at the same time the mc101 is being used as a class compliant device.. I think lol

I've read your set up a few times, but it kind of hurts my head.

SO when you connect the Mc101 to the MPC it thinks it's a audio interface, and not just a synth? Am I following correctly. I'm a bit confused their, as I use a UMC 1820, and I have to tell the MPC to use it as an Audio device, although I've never tried connecting it and still using the MPCs audio and not engaging the UMC1820 at all (despite being connected).

I'm also confused by you routing, seems lots of audio going around in loops, which can be problematic. This is why I love having all my synths connected via the UMC,k before that I had a cheapo Behringer mixer.

So back to your MC 101 issue. how about a midi cable and ditching the USB. I initially liked having midi going through USB, but it caused noise issues (probably because there is little grounding in building where I live), but also sometimes the USB would drop of and I'd lose everything (for a while I thought I'd damaged the USB connecter on the MPC, or maybe an issue with my hub). But I switched back to Midi 5-Pin Dins, and I already had a 1in 4 out thru box. Nothing wrong with 5-Pin Midi, just means you don't get names point up for the connections, but you can name the tracks, and most of my synths don't take USB power, and if they did I still need to power the hub.

Have you tried a midi cable?

Thanks for taking the time to reply

Yeah I’ve confused you sorry lol mc 101 is only hooked up to Mpc via line in . The mc101 is acting like audio /midi interface for iPad Pro and td3
The td3 and main outs of mc101 go into a small mixer the outputs of it go the line in on Mpc one
I’ve been using ableton link to sync Mpc and iPad .
I would like the Mpc to clock or sync via a midi cable
Is this possible to use a midi out on back of Mpc to clock mc101 that is acting like audio interface for iPad lol
Hope this explains it better
Cheers
Gordie

What I tend to do when things aren't working is pull it apart and just start with 2 things, get them working and add things in until an error occurs.

The nearest thing I have to you MC101 is a LRX-02 drum machine. This is set up to receive midi clock in from the MPC and is connected by a midi 5pin cable. When I press Play Start on the MPC the LXR-02 starts playing in sync. When I test the sync, I step sequence a kick from drumsynth in the MPC then set up a tight high hat on the LRX-02 and a 2 bar loop of 4/4 on the beat, and the hat sits tight on top of the Bass drum.

With Midi, you get up to 3 connections on a synth IN, OUT and THRU. You can chain synths together using the in and the thru (not the out), but the MC101 doesn't have THRU. But some behringer gear is a bit weird (for me that is being used to in/out/thru) in that the midi OUT of the TD3 is named OUT/THRU. I'm not sure if it both, or either and there isn't a setting as far as I'm aware in the Synthtribe app. So in theory you should be a be able to go MPC Midi OUT> TD3 Midi IN - TD3 Midi THRU > MC101 Midi IN (This is called daisy chaining), and sync them all in one chain.

I've never done this with the TD3 or Edge, because I have a Midi THRU box, allowing me to connect one out from my MPC to four synths and then some of those synths have other synths connected to them.

Do you have a midi cable?

Great thank you for explaining things more to me I’ll try later on I have them all disconnected and will try getting them all chained together
I have a few midi cables 4 or 5 I think so have plenty
I’m also thinking now that I have read loads and loads more , of doing it completely the other way round and using iPad to midi sync mc101 via usb then using midi out on mc 101 to midi in on the Mpc and just use AUM on iPad the be the clock ? The reason for this is I can’t actually send a hardware midi clock to AUM it can only send clock or use link something I was finding lag with lol I will post my findings later thanks for help
Gordie

My set up is to use a UMC1820 connected to my MPC as an audio interface. That means all the audio comes dirtrectly into the MPC with 8 inputs (that I have expanded with an ADAT) Having 10 inputs means into the MPC, means that my synths like the TD3 can go through the FX in the MPC and be all mixed down in the same box.

Delays can be caused by either the midi messages or latency in audio devices. The more interfaces the sound has to pass through, the bigger the latency, so more things in parallel and less in series the better. A midi thru box puts the midi in parallel and the Audi interface puts the sound in parallel.

Not all USB interface play nice with the MPC, I would have preferred to get a focusrite, which would have cost more, but People had issues with GEN3. SO the cheaper Behringer ended up the better solution. If you are adding more gear, I'd suggest thinking about an interface such as the UMC or a mixer like the Tascam 12 (which I think worked well) Here's a thread before you buy. viewtopic.php?f=48&t=211654

Although if I'd known about all the plug in Akai was going to start putting in the MPC, I wish I had saved my money on hardware synths and focused more on them.