Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
By ecsmix Tue Jul 20, 2004 4:42 pm
I would like to know if some softwares like fruityloops and Reason can copy the swing of a MPC, is that possible?
I'm saying that because a guy pick up all the swing of an mpc 3k(96ppq) and copy it's swing from 50%-75%, made a midi file to be copied and used in Reason, is that the only way to do it?
Is the ppq (time resolution) makes a big diference?Because the 4k is 960ppq, I don't know about the 1k.
Now I was using in the whole beat(kicks and snares and some perc), but everything as 1 file and then I quantize everything together.
Is that the right way to do it, or I should do do per channel(1 for kick, one for the snare, one for hi-hats,one for perc)
Thanks

By Altopiano Tue Jul 20, 2004 6:02 pm
hy ecsmix

dunno bout your specific question - but i did somethin similar on the 4k! maybe you can do somethin similar with fruity loops or reason!

i transfered sequencer data from my synth (virus - actually its called arpeggiator there) to the 4k and it worked!

the swing features on the 2 gears is different (virus swings in 50,0, 50,1, ...) whilst mpc is 50, 51, ... thats why i tried! ... btw: if swing in fruity and mpc is the same i do not see any point in this action - anyhow

only thing to do was to ensure that the virus is sending the adequate midi information (its called arpeggend there - but i think in your case this is irrelevant coz i think the mpc is preset to send out all midi data - check ya midi out on the 4k) and that the tc on the mpc is set to off (so set ya tc off on fl or reason)

so in your case i d, sync the 2 together, setup a track in fl or reason, set tc to off there, set your mpc to send to the corresponding midichannel, hit record in fl and hit play on the 4k and see how it turns out!

if it sounds differently in fl or reason ppq might be minor there but i don't think that this is the case!

hth

By Doctor Beat Tue Jul 20, 2004 11:57 pm
yo ecsmix,

ya kno, it ain't just the MPC "swing", it's the MPC "feel" and that' s what other softwares/machines can't copy.
I've seen sum softwares with "MPC swing" presets, but it don't sound the same 'coz on da MPC it's not a fixed quantize. There's a small variation in the timin' that's not stored in the sequence, but done in the machine itself when it plays.

With other producers, we've made a lot of tests to try to figure it out.
Ya can create a beat in da MPC, save it as a MIDI file, load it in a soft sequencer, play it and sumthin' is lost in the feel.
Or ya can create a beat in a soft sequencer, quantized or not, save it as a MIDI file, load it in da MPC, play it: it's betta!

Peace

By blackrome Thu Jul 22, 2004 2:58 pm
Fruityloops can not compy the feel of the beats you create in 4000.

I use Fl with my 4000.

Everything sounds better in the 4000. than FL.

If you never used an MPC you might not =know what youre missing.

FL has some benefits when working with the 4000.

BeBop reently asked me about the 4000 working with FL.



Here was my response.

How I use FL with My MPC 4000.



FL can basically be the center of your studio.

The way I have everything wired FL and the 4000 sit side by side when it comes to the center of my studio.

FL controls all the programs in my PC.

And the 4000 can play any sound loaded into FL.

I have over 80 gb of sounds on my PC.

I need quick access

It's easier to load and listen to samples via the FL than the 4000.


FL can be alot of things and it is mainly a sequencer. The sequencer is not bad at all. I made alot of bangers with it. But as you know the MPC jsut give your beats that swing that nothing can compare to.


Recycle


Recycle just slices beats its not a sequencer and cant play VST's.

Fl has a program that can slice but if youre not using FL as your main sequencer you are better off using Recycle.

One nice thing about FL, you can have another program like goldwave or Recycle open with the sample you want to work on.

Example
Youre in FL playing loops through the directory.
You find the loop you want.
You drag it into Fl.
Next you can have recycle open with the that very sample you need.
Slice it. Ship it to your MPC via aksys. Youre ready to go.

Fl has a great directory window.
It allows you to view any Wave, SF files on your PC.

Click the folder it opens in milliseconds no long wait.
Hit the sample it plays.

You have access to all the sounds on your PC with a couple of clicks.
It takes forever trying to audition sounds on the MPC.

I have over 80 GBs of sounds.

So FL can stream line your work flow.

It also allows you to use SoundFonts and VST with your MPC.
This opens up a world of 1000's of free sounds and virtual instruments.




So iF you can load it into FL the MPC can play it.
Then you can make music with it and control it with the MPC sequencer.


Everything basically works together.

If I do make a beat in FL I then send it to the MPC VIA Aksys and sequence the song.




When I do use FL its my canvass but I make it a work of art on my MPC.

By MAD T Fri Jul 23, 2004 3:54 pm
when thing to remember when interfacing with your computer is...if your soundcard sucks you will end up with some latency and that kind of defeats the purpose of using the MPC to sequence stuff on the PC. All sound cards have latency issues......some more than others.

By ecsmix Sun Jul 25, 2004 9:46 pm
awesome points guys, thank you very much.
But ask me that question, to use mpc 4k mainly like a midi controller thru fruity and because mpc's swing, if you use the mpc 2000xl or the new 1k would be the same thing??
I have mbox as my sound card.

By Altopiano Sun Jul 25, 2004 10:50 pm
one difference between the 4k and the others is that the grid resolution of the 4k is higher! it has 960 ppq (ticks per quarter), the 2k 96, not sure on the others but i think they have all less resolution than the 4k ...

By ecsmix Mon Jul 26, 2004 12:05 am
Ok that I knew but how that effect the beats, fruity loops has 768 ppq max resolution and can choose a lower if u want resolution.
But how this affects the sound/beatz.
I'm asking that because, I don't do hip hop beats like you guys and I not from USA, so the whole swing stuff is a new thing for me, everything that is diferent is good, that's why I would like to learn more about that and stuff and I can't do it with a software I might have to but a hardware that does that.
Can you advice me some new hip hop/R&b songs/artists that have a swing in their beats where I can learn from the wav file.
Thanks.

By Altopiano Mon Jul 26, 2004 2:38 am
hy ecsmix

what i understood you wanna bring the mpc swing into fruity loops, isn't it? i never tried it and i had not yet the intention to do it ... anyhow imo it is technically possible - the only thing to do is to plug the 4k or any other mpc (and the 960ppq do make a difference) to your pc and trigger fruity from the mpc ... and you got fruity swinging mpcish, imo it would be a shame to bypass the 4k sampler but i'll leave that up to you! moreover you can save the midinotes on the 4k or any other mpc and bring them over to fruitys sequencer! don't ask me how to import the midinotes into fruity and as which type they are to save - i have no idea.

to answer your question better what swing does: swing mimics a human feel, swithcing the placement of certain midinotes or hits according to a me unknown algorythm - on an 1/8 rhythm i think the first 1/8 gets on timing and the second one moved and so on but its different on an 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 beat and i honestly initially tried to observe which notes get switched by how much at which setting but it didn't make alot of sense to me and so i didn't look into that any further. if anyone in here has some precise algorythm or numbers which explain that better would be nice to have!

anyhow it worx technically somehow - whether it does make a sense musically to transfer swing settings i doubt and in my post i ll try to explain why btw: doc beat tried it already, and even though his story sounds funny and unbelievable - believe him - he knows what hes talkin about. maybe its the 720 grid resolution from fruity you talked about that makes the difference, dunno just an idea ... btw: doc you got a better explanation for that difference between the beat on the 4k and fruity? your story sounds dope ... and weird ... ya been on crack when doin those tests? :shock: ... maybe thats why? :lol:

anyhow imo tryin to bring the 4k or mpc swing into cubase or fruity is not worth it! ... coz imo its not the mpc swing (btw: there is not one swing only, same swing prdduces different effect on different timing, ...) that is so special on the mpc and that you might wanna bring into fruity but its the entire mpc and the beat programmin a mpc user puts into it. the swing feature is one part of it which is paragonable to some swing features you might find on many softsequencers, the pads is another one and a story per se, and there are many other things too.

just imagine how one creates a beat on an mpc and how one worx on a pc mostly when inserting midi notes with a mouse ... on the mpc you got your pads and you play a beat with them! dunno how others go on with it but i don't have a secret setting such as a swing of 57% is the magic and everything is glory! i just use tc (timing correct) and swing as i want and feel it at the moment. not always the same, so it might be that i start a beat with quantize of (no swing) hit some pads and those get placed somwhere in between those 960ppq. if it sounds good to my ears, its dope and i don't give a shit where the notes are placed - and there is a reason why it sounds dope and not artificially straightforward: it sounds that way coz unlike on a fixed grid where ya tend to put ya notes straight on the timing (ie 1 for the bd, 2 for the sn, ...) or you even move them forwards and backwards with your mouse or whateva ... i just played some natural swing - thats actually my swing or groove that i just played hitting those pads in the rhythm and vibe i just felt - not the one of the 4k or any other mpc its my swing and nobodyelses swing - sounds great ha? quantize off and there we go - and btw: with tc off it surely makes a difference if your hitting on a grid which has a 96 ppq, or a 720 ppq or a 960 one. basically 960 is fantastic - on 120 bpm it means each tick has a timing from more or less half of a millisecond. it ends basically exactly there where you strike the pad!

....ok tc off is one part - now i might go addin some fast hat hits! i might use a quantize of 1/16 or some triplets or whateva, hit record hit note repeat and hit the pads. quantize can be set before or after recording on the pads as you like, same goes for swing, moreover whilst hitting the pads i hear how loud my hits sound, the velocity with which i strike the pad, aftertouch, ...

moreover: a swing of 55% ain't the same if applied on 1/8 or 1/16 notes, its different. also the notes you record you can either set as they're recorded as a fixed (quantized) value or as played. it all makes a major difference on how the beat sounds - this and many other things is imo why the mpc gets its groove, nothin more, ... quick access to most important parts that make things groovy combined with sexy pads and a lil bit of skill and swing from its talented users ... very talented users might take a week to make it groove, others months and others a year, ... and the mpc surely ain't famous for the grooves of its untalented users ... i just wanted to point out that the 4k or any other mpc won't swing out of the box ...

yo and i ain't doin much hiphop too, the 4k or any other mpc ain't hiphop only - and i ain't sayin that it doesn't make sense to trigger fruity from the 4k and that you shouldn't try it - it makes sense as it makes sense to trigger a synth module from the 4k! but apparently (as doc tried already) the notes must be not placed the same in fruity's sequencer when transfered from the 4k! so i suggest you trigger a sampler in fruity directly without copying notes. but what i really would like to point out is that the 4k or any other mpc groove is a combination of many things within the mpc combined with the most importatnt part which remains the person behind it! if you still want to bring those swing settings into fruity i wish you good luck. let me know how it turns out but trust me swing is not the magic. program a beat on the 4k and transform thatone - that makes musically more sense to me ... but to be honest also not too much - use first those 64 polyphony in the 4k!

hth

good luck

By ecsmix Mon Jul 26, 2004 3:32 am
That's for the explanation and the patience, I'm not trying to work with fruity, I work with Reason.

Thanks