MPC new questions

Hi

I want a machine to fiddle live loops made in Ableton, w/additional sequencing possibilities.

I have been searching the net for some time, but there are a couple of things I haven't found.

My questions concern 500 and 1k

1) startup - sample allocation to memory - in ROland MC-808 it could take even half an hour!

What is the max time with mpc?

2) solo/mute volume control - is this control accessible in onstage context? I heard mpcs enabled loop mangling (could someone exemplify the range of possible improvising?) but for solo, volume control, pan - do you need a mixer?

3) long sample handling

- in MC-808 sample was triggered with delay (Latency ) - is it instant in MPC?

4) sample management - find the right one among a hundred - is it as swift as should be?

5) PC -> MPC sample transfer - does it take only as long as USB demands or is any extra processing done? Do you have to rename files according to some idiotic pattern?

Yeah, I am getting carried away that's after troubles with MC808


THanks

T

1) Depends on the amount of samples u want to load in. But I've never heard someone had to wait 30min on the mp. I think it takes 3minutes max if u want to load up 128mb in one time.

2) Yes, this can be done in realtime inside the mpc.

3) I have never experienced problems with that.

4) The mpc allows u to make folders. So it depends on how u manage ur stuff.

5) It's as fast/slow as any other data transport between external device and pc. Just like ur dragging and dropping data between ur pc and a usb stick

To expand on that slightly (answers assuming 1k or 2k5 rather than older models.)

1. Depends on the speed of your CF card (or HDD.) For fastest cards a full 128MB sonf should take 3-4 seconds, with a cheap, slow card maybe 10-15 seconds.

2. Mute/Solo is quite easy. Volume and panning is possible but maybe a bit more fiddly. I've been using JJOS2XL and have read somewhere they have removed automation for the mixer in that version. You could assign a QLink to both Pan and Velocity (linked to volumes) although doing this you would loose the variations you have from different velocity triggers and XL again is crippled with only allowing you to adjust one in real time. I believe other versions of the OS allow two QLinks to work as note modifiers. Personally I would say a mixer is worthwhile but not 100% required.

3. Also never noticed an issue.

4. As above.

5. USB on the newer MPCs runs at USB1.1 rates, not full USB2 speeds, so it's not exactly fast. Samples have to be in 44.1kHz sample rate and 16 bits .wav format. You also need to make sure that the filenames are not more than 16 characters in length (think some people have reported issues with using spaces rather than "_" underscores as well but can't comment from experience