Possible future MPC1000 owner - questions

Hello,

I'm a less-than-newbie since I don't even own an MPC, but I'm seriously considering it. Thanks for all the useful info in these forums! I've managed to spent an informative few hours browsing around in my search for information which will hopefully help me make an informed decision about whether or not to buy an MPC1000, and this JJOS seems like an essential addition.

From what I have seen, I have a feeling that my requirements are a bit unusual, so I'd be gratedful if someone can tell me if certain things are possible:

1. Can the MPC1000 be used like guitar looper to layer up overdubs, then undo them one by one?

2. Can such functions be controlled by MIDI messqges (e.g. I see that JJOS allows tap tempo via midi - very cool) e.g. can I set the MPC to start recording a loop by sending a MIDI note/sysex, then overdub, then remove the overdub etc.? What I am really after is a fairly hands-free way of operating it!

3. I assume from what I have read I can start and stop loops via MIDI notes since pads can be assigned to MIDI notes.

By way of explanation, I'm using a completely custom MIDI floorboard controller so I can programme it to send any sort of MIDI message necessary. Just need to know whether an MPC with or without JJOS can handle it...

Thanks in anticipation.

Regards,

- Paul

paulb wrote:What I am really after is a fairly hands-free way of operating it!

This may defeat the purpose (and pleasure) of owning an MPC, as the hands-on nature is what is so intuitive. It will probably do 50% of what you are asking, but someone with more experience will have to answer you more directly as I can't say for sure.

Coz wrote:This may defeat the purpose (and pleasure) of owning an MPC, as the hands-on nature is what is so intuitive.

Thanks for the swift reply. I should qualify what I said by adding that I *do* intend using it for creating loop in the "traditional" way too. When using it live, though, I want to be able to trigger those pre-created loops and record sax/guitar/vocal loops too, controlling it (if poss) from the MIDI floorboard 'cos I'll have my hands full of instruments!

Regards,

- Paul

you will be able to trigger samples if your pedal sends midi notes .

samples wont loop continually, unless their recorded onto a track( which is looping continually)*

you wont be able to record in audio material, and immediately loop like you could with a roland rc50. all samples will need to be loaded and edited before you start performing.

the mpc has slots for two footswitches, these can be set to things such as play,overdub and the function keys.
(you could use these f keys to mute the current track for instance)

the mpc will respond to midi messages like start stop and midi clock,- but you wont be able to engage recording or other features- use the footswitch pedal inputs for this (you would use a keyboard sustain pedal for this purpose)

*although i hate to say it... the akai os 2.11 has a way of doing this: looped patch phrases play continually.
patch phrases dont always sound good, they are usually best with single instrument and percussion sounds and they wouldnt work with long pads for instance.using this you could use the pedals to trigger loops , other pedals to turn them off.


on a side note i use the mpc with an rc50(for adding scratches and instruments)
you can import loops and phrases into a roland rc50, you only get 3 tracks to work with , but these can be layered up with live recordings indefinintely, you can only undo the last thing you did, but you can turn off the tracks independantly.

Thanks for the detailed reply Mikolo - extremely useful. And a little bit disappointing... given that you, evidently as a power user, use a Boss Looper alongside, that kind of implies that I am destined to have to go the same route. I will certainly look further into that option though, to see how complex it would be with the cabling etc. although I really wanted a one-box, MIDI-controllable solution if possible.

I currently use Ableton Live and Guitar Rig on a laptop - which provides all the power and flexibility that I could need (and then some), but as an RSI sufferer I am looking to get away from a mouse/keyboard! Guess I might need to sacrifice some of the flexibility if I'm serious about going that route...

Regards,

- Paul

have you looked into the new looper on ableton 8? it works like a boss pedal but cause its software you can have way more seperate tracks than you can on the rc50, your latency has to be pretty low though to make it viable. all the switches ect can be triggered form your midi controller.

http://www.ableton.com/pages/live_8/announcement/looper

you should also look into the other midi controller aspects of ableton its very flexible. if your controller pedal has different banks/presets of settings you should be able to trigger/mute/record everything you want from your pedal.

mikolo wrote:have you looked into the new looper on ableton 8?

I have to admit that I'm still on Live Lite 7. When I do any looping at the moment, its only with my guitar and I use the looper in Guitar Rig for that. It's actually quite good as a looper and with the various buttons mapped to my custom MIDI floorboard I can activate reverse mode, fade-in and -out the loops, rollback each layer of loop one at a time etc.

Part of me is now wondering if I shouldn't look into upgrading to Live 8 and look at getting a hardware interface (maybe the AKAI one that looks like an MPC - I forget what it's called) to (hopefully) provide me a mouse- and keyboard-free interface for programming loops.

Thanks for all the information and tips ! I'll find my Eldorado eventually... (I hope!)

regards,

- Paul