Making E-mu SP-1200 samples for MPC

another kid offended by the 'elite'

Wow...skin that thin maybe this forum isn't for you. I will admit now that I misread your post to Coz, but if you got that bent out of shape over my post and got "offended" how will you respond when someone tells you your to shove your 500 up your ass?

Carry on...

It's cool. I'm not crying about it. Just don't imply that my samples aren't my own.

I'd love to get back to my questions, whenever you're done being "elite."

yup...that's my new "thing".

I know your on the hunt for info on this but ultimately what do you want in the end? You mentioned in the first post that the setup is hypothetical...but it also leads to more questions.

If you have (hypothetically) an SP1200 in front of you, what is the purpose of the process if you could just have the sample remain in the SP1200 and create the beat there? Is it the MPC functionality you're after?

MAD-tentacles wrote:I want to know about the "color" and "texture" of the end result. Though I understand it's not entirely comparable - would a transfer like this be worth the effort or would the end product be a complete disaster.

The MPC is a very transparent sampler, so the process is worth the effort if that's what you really want to do. A "complete disaster" would only occur through user error.

MAD-tentacles wrote:I find myself thinking that there has to be something wrong with this line-of-thinking - the process can't be that simple.

It is... now stop thinking about it.

MAD-tentacles wrote:Basically I would like some more specifics and I would like confirmation from a source that sounds at least half-way reputable that sampling my drums in this way would not be a complete waste of time.

I've never used an SP, but I've heard countless direct recordings and beats sampled from the SP, so you can take it as golden that I'm more than "half-way reputable".

b.read wrote:what is the purpose of the process if you could just have the sample remain in the SP1200 and create the beat there? Is it the MPC functionality you're after?

Exactly, dude. One thing I can tell just from looking at the SP as a unit is that I would rather bang on an MPC any day.

Like you said b.read - it's the functionality of the MP that I would be after. I prefer to bring in my beats by hand (finger-drumming or whatever). Sometimes I use mutes as an alternative. I try to avoid just hitting play whenever possible.

I was thinking about the SP sound being applied to only certain samples within the mix--to sort of clash (in a good way) with the cleaner samples. I hear this done on some of my favorite albums.

I started to become curious as to if the usage of this process was a common thing. Thanks for responses. I would still really love to hear from somebody who has actually done this.

Thanks Coz. I appreciate the responses, man. I wasn't trying to say you weren't a knowledgeable cat.

sorry I wouldn't play make-believe with you, MT.
all this talk about your imaginary sp1200 is fascinating, but if you actually want to do something real here's a tip.

buy a rack sampler to use with your mpc. 12 bit would probably be of more interest to you, but i wouldn't dismiss 16bit samplers. v.junkie was praising the sound of the s1000 on here the other day.
i have a s3000xl and an s612 (my first ever sampler). both sound much better than my mpc1000. although i'd skip the 612. the quik-discs were even a pain in the mid 80s.

see, i was nice.
a few more of these charity jobs and i should make up for my being a total dick to that kook last month.

MAD-tentacles wrote:4. I'm not interested in ways to recreate "the sound" with other methods or gear.

beach_break wrote:buy a rack sampler to use with your mpc. 12 bit would probably be of more interest to you, but i wouldn't dismiss 16bit samplers. v.junkie was praising the sound of the s1000 on here the other day..

What part of rule number 4 didn't you understand Beach??

Coz wrote:What part of rule number 4 didn't you understand Beach??

beach_break wrote:buy a rack sampler to use with your mpc. 12 bit would probably be of more interest to you, but i wouldn't dismiss 16bit samplers.

I've been trying to become more familiar with older rack samplers. Good suggestion - might end up exploring that route in the future.

beach_break wrote:see, i was nice.
a few more of these charity jobs and i should make up for my being a total dick to that kook last month.

MAD-tentacles wrote:

b.read wrote:what is the purpose of the process if you could just have the sample remain in the SP1200 and create the beat there? Is it the MPC functionality you're after?

Exactly, dude. One thing I can tell just from looking at the SP as a unit is that I would rather bang on an MPC any day.

Like you said b.read - it's the functionality of the MP that I would be after. I prefer to bring in my beats by hand (finger-drumming or whatever). Sometimes I use mutes as an alternative. I try to avoid just hitting play whenever possible.

I was thinking about the SP sound being applied to only certain samples within the mix--to sort of clash (in a good way) with the cleaner samples. I hear this done on some of my favorite albums.

I started to become curious as to if the usage of this process was a common thing. Thanks for responses. I would still really love to hear from somebody who has actually done this.

Thanks Coz. I appreciate the responses, man. I wasn't trying to say you weren't a knowledgeable cat.

Owning both, I'd have to say I agree with B-Read. The SP sound is a result not just of components but a result of the workflow. But if you aren't interested in workflow, then its a moot point. However, there isn't much more functionality on the MPC vs. the SP. What I mean is, sequencing your SP from the MPC will yield better results than spending time sampling the sounds in anyway. It will be more "authentic" which is what you seem to be after. Playign in your own beats on the SP is much faster, IMO, then using the MPC with it's cutoff limitations. Additionally, shaping your sound in the MPC (ADSR, TRIM) will defeat the purpose of the authenticity.

No. It isn't a common thing I would have thought. If you owned an SP, you would know that one of it's appeal is the instant workflow. Out of the box, it should take you 5 mintues to get something going. Not so with the MPC which requires program building and parameter and mixer settings.

Now, you ask a hypothetical question yet you also set the agenda in terms of how people should respond to you.

I'll make it very easy: The MPC is a sampler. Yes you can sample SP sounds into it. You can sample anything. Did you need a whole thread to confirm this?

Shostakovich wrote:You can sample anything. Did you need a whole thread to confirm this?

yes. thanks for the reply.

If you sample the sound of the SP into your MPC and play it back at the same pitch you sampled it you should be fine (soundwise). But if you play the sample at different pitches inside the MPC the sound will be much different that it would be on the SP. I dont own a SP but I get the same behaviour on my Casio FZ1. Each pitch got its own color of "ringing". So if you want to play a melody or bassline with a sound of the SP on your MPC you'll need to sample each pitch to get an more authentic SP sound.

I guess most of the SP owners like its workflow so much that they dont see any reason for sampling it to another machine. I guess it kill the fun of beatmaking on the SP. Thats why you dont find threads about it.


peace

Paralysis through analysis. just **** do it and see if you like it. if you don't have an sp.......stop trying to justify buying one and buy it. and if you can't afford it, quit worrying about it. there are cheaper alternatives like rack samplers s950, etc, emulators, eq'ing, vsts, so on.........or using what you already have.

you mention eq'ing, if you are eq'ing your samples heavily anyways, why mess with the sp.


Not trying to sound like a dick. But its not me who gonna drop money on an sp and realize it was a waste of my time. If you really want an sp and want that sound, thats cool. get one, use it, have fun. but if you are looking for that magic answer, there really isn't one.
It ain't no magic, its hard work, persistance, and ears.

Coz wrote:

MAD-tentacles wrote:can anybody else help me out?

What else do you want to know?

The only thing I would remove from the process is recording into Pro Tools first, because you're just creating an unnecessary extra step. You can trim your samples perfectly in the MPC.

+1
that's right

cyrus wrote:Not trying to sound like a dick. But its not me who gonna drop money on an sp and realize it was a waste of my time. If you really want an sp and want that sound, thats cool. get one, use it, have fun. but if you are looking for that magic answer, there really isn't one.
It ain't no magic, its hard work, persistance, and ears.

the sp1200 is a great machine
my favorite sampler
i got a 1993 reissue black 7030 with the original analog filters (ssm2044 chip) and i love to make beats on that machine, the sp1200 has a 12bit resolution so if you sample the sound with an mpc or a DAW you get 16bit resolution, so the sound isn't really the same
i usually do my sequences, truncations and loops in the sp1200 but recently i've tried to sequence and trigger the sp samples with an mpc2000 classic so i can control 3 machines with one (the mpc got 2 midi outs, a + b, 1 for the sp and the other for another sampler or synth or whatever)
but the sp1200 sequencer got a really good groove so i prefere to work with it
the mpc got a better sequencer but a different feeling