question abou Tune and Interval

Ok. So I am sure that Im not the only person this has happened to using the mpc. I'll sample something in off a record and start to work on the beat. Alot of the time I'll change the Tune of the sample after I've chopped it to get my desired tone ( usually + or - 3.00). and if I ever try to add more instruments say from a keyboard or vst instrument the sample is obviously out of key. Any Ideas on tuning Intervals on the mpc so that when I tune my samples its by a half step at a time?? This has really bothered me and it always interrupts my work flow because I end up wasting time trying to fit the sample into a key signature.

on the 1000, +1.00 is a semitone/half step and +2.00 is a tone or whole step.

watch out for your turntable speed when sampling too, plus 6% is approx a semitone

See I was under that impression but Ive found that its usually off by about .15 . Everything I have done on the mpc up until the last few beats I sampled off my stanton str8-80 with the pitch locked at 0 now I am sampling in from the numark pt01 which is belt driven which could have something to do with it.

yeah that could be it, even direct drives can go funny with the pitch control. I remember doing a gig and the 1210 started speeding up and down with out me touching it!

That's not the real problem.
For it to work in a realistic way you need to find the real base note (or at least the key) for the actual sample, chop etc.
If you actually find the correct root key than using things to key isn't hard.
What I am getting at is typically when we sample we inadvertently create an out of tune sample, doesn't mean it sounds bad but it can create an akward scale to play other instruments against.

You should be able to tweak the tuning of the instrument you are trying to add to help it match or just tweak a note or two.

Then of course there are some samples that will always be hard to key against because of the way they change when you pitch them in a sampler.

turntables often have a screw inside where u can tweak the nominal speed (i think my 1210s have one for each 33/45 rate),

so unless its a brand new model, there's a possibility its off the mark, and u need to check it plays wax at the correct pitch.....actually even recordings on wax can waver from the centre pitch - a problem at the cutting room - but thanks to my CDJ1000 - no bother now.

While it it true you can get playback speed variations, most of the trouble comes from variation in therecording.
We typically sample from sources that had players playing in realtime so often they aren't locked to a hard tempo.
You then actually end up with a sample that when pitched changes in 2 ways so it has an odd key when you pitch it.

having a sample fit into a key signature doesn't have anything to do with the tempo....especially considering that i am tuning the whole sample program. what you are referring to is a different issue.

ok so heres everyones music lesson for the day. there are many keys you can tune an instrument to. and alot of the time a musician will modify the tuning even more just to get a certain tone. a standard keyboard is open 440 tuning. if the original sample was even a partial semitone off then you will never get the tuning right just by changing the pitch level up or down. most workstations and sound modules allow you to change the root pitch of the instrument. this is where you will need to start in order to get your keys to line up with your samples. this knowledge is where musicians benefit over some guy who just bought a sampler and wants to make music. learn your gear.

LunaticBastard wrote:ok so heres everyones music lesson for the day. there are many keys you can tune an instrument to. and alot of the time a musician will modify the tuning even more just to get a certain tone. a standard keyboard is open 440 tuning. if the original sample was even a partial semitone off then you will never get the tuning right just by changing the pitch level up or down. most workstations and sound modules allow you to change the root pitch of the instrument. this is where you will need to start in order to get your keys to line up with your samples. this knowledge is where musicians benefit over some guy who just bought a sampler and wants to make music. learn your gear.

Glad someone else had a clue as to what I was explaining.

then how do you tune a worstation or keyboard without just altering the pitch....ive come to realize that altering the pitch does not work....can I just play my instrument into say a plug in like melodyne in pro tools and tune it in there???? I play guitar so Ive got that on lock tuning wise...but it seems that I can never tune a synth bass or keys properly

are u sure your sample isnt containing a chord? cos then u have other issues as to determining its 'key' over a keyboard/instrument.

the chords will get shifted disproportionately, as the sample plays other notes than original.

well my samples contain chords....I guess I dont really even know how to figure out what key my samples are in....ive never used samples before, but now I cut up some chords and phrases and dont know how to find out what key they are in....and secondly I dont know how to tune a keyboard that my friend gave me to mess around on...linking the two up (keyboard) and (sample) is an art that I havent mastered ....I know the keyboard is in A 440 but dont know how to tune it after that.....ive seen people use melodyne I think the program is called, to find out what key the music is in and then change it from there (like making harmonies for vocals) but can I use melodyne to play my keyboard into and change the key relative to the sample that I am using???

you should be able to tune the keyboard in cents. each semitone divides into 100 cents. if your keyboard doesnt do it you can adjust the tuning of the samples in the mpc's program mode.