16 Levels/Pitch & Time Stretch Question

Greetings all...first post.

I have been thinking about getting an MPC to spice up the creative flow of production. I'm used to using software synths and samplers, looking for something more tactile.

That being said, I only have a general knowledge of the workings of an MPC unit. I've seen a fair amount of videos about these units. I come from an audio engineering background so I am not a novice. Just never played around with an MPC.

The question is about 16 levels, using a sample as an instrument or chromatic program:

When playing a sample as chromatic pitches in one of those modes, does the time (length) of the sample stay intact while the pitch changes? Or does both the pitch AND time change?

From what I gather the MPC has time stretch functionality. Not sure if it can alter these parameters independently.

Can anyone answer this for me? I'll explain further if it seems confusing.

Peace...

GrimeTime wrote:When playing a sample as chromatic pitches in one of those modes, does the time (length) of the sample stay intact while the pitch changes? Or does both the pitch AND time change?

both pitch and time change, like a turntable.

the sampler in any given mpc is pretty good but compared to software usually pretty limited (this is a good thing imo).

the newer mpcs have more full featured samplers.

you can timestretch with an mpc, but not in realtime.

if you are coming from software to mpc you are probably really gonna have to change the way you think about doing things, as they are very different beasts (again, a good thing imo).

tapedeck wrote:both pitch and time change, like a turntable.

the sampler in any given mpc is pretty good but compared to software usually pretty limited (this is a good thing imo).

the newer mpcs have more full featured samplers.

you can timestretch with an mpc, but not in realtime.

if you are coming from software to mpc you are probably really gonna have to change the way you think about doing things, as they are very different beasts (again, a good thing imo).

Ah yes, this is what I suspected. I think the change would definitely be a good thing. I feel like a limited palette of sounds and/or gear can make a musician more resourceful, moreso than having a macked out computer with all the latest software. It's been getting in the way of my flow too much.

you are golden then, homey.

yer gonna love an mpc.

just consider how much computer integration you want...the old ones are not gonna be as pc-compatible.

there are plenty of resources on that though, so i'm gonna leave it at that.

you can do microlooping to maintain the timing of a sequence without getting gaps in between your chops:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbqXKwXoImc

or u could look at maschine as a midway point if u want the benefits of the computer integration along with the tactile element

^ Spam