Is the MPC 1000 for me?

Hi

first I apologize because it must be the Nth someones asks this question, but as each case is special, I don't think I can learn what I want from previous posts. Do correct me if I'm wrong though.

I'm interested in the MPC as a "playback" device for my live playing. I'm a singer mainly and am setting up a live project where the MPC would be in charge of playing drums, some synth riffs, some voice riffs.

Quite a lot of stuff actually, esp. since my music is a "pop" format where, for instance, you don't have the same bass riff for the verse, chorus and bridge. Check it out there if you want: myspace.com/vimcortez

I'm concerned that for a gig where I would play around 15 to 20 songs, the MPC's RAM would be insufficient, hence forcing me to purge the memory halfway through a gig and load it again from the CF.

Is the above scenario "realistic" in a live context? Have you ever done something like this? How long would it take for the 128 meg RAM to be unloladed and reloaded?

A friend lent me an MPC but I haven't yet had time to fill the memory to the max. I'm getting near the time when I'll have to give it back and am afraid I won't have the time to settle this question myself.

But I must say I like this machine, how it feels and looks, and how I can interact with it. My other choice is sticking to my laptop, but I'd like a change.

Thank you for any and all input.

vim

You probably won't be able to store 15-20 songs worth of samples in the RAM of an MPC1k, so at some point in your set you'd need to purge and swap, even the 5k only has 192Mb. What kind of audio tracks are you talking about? If everything was primarily made from one-shots you might be able to get away with it.

My advice would be to get yourself a laptop, Ableton Live and a midi trigger board. If you set it up right, you'd only really need four or five different buttons/foot switches and you could control playback, looping and live recording/looping of as many channels as you need. This video is a good example of what kind of thing is possible. If it's the pads of the MPC that you like, you should check out the Akai MPD range. Use them in combination with Ableton's Sampler and Impulse drum machine and you're away.

15 to 20 songs? Most likely not. Unless you made them all mono but still.....

....128 mb of ram can be a lot...if we're talking about single samples...and the main mpc concept...
but if it comes to playbacks and stuff....you're lost...at least hardly limited...

as crusoe says....the mpc 1000 ist not first choice, though.....
mpc 5000, with those additional hd tracks could do the job....but is, for your purpose, not first choice either....

a little net book, ableton live lite, a little audio/midi interface and a launchpad is what you need....that setup could be even your live vocal fx rack, too...as long you're not on super tight rap stuff.....

around 500 euro and you're fine.....better and cheaper solution.....

Mmmh I feared you would answer this

Thanks for the input guys. I was thinking of chopping up the audio of my individual tracks to save on memory space. I think I can bring down the total size of a song to around 15 megs... so yeah, even with 8 songs, the RAM would be full.


I saw though that if I load a project, that contains only a song, then the whole RAM is cleared to make way for it, and it only takes about 9 seconds. So perhaps, I could load a new project for each song and hence avoid running into RAM problems. I need to see how pratical it is in a live situation though.

I have another question : how do I switch tracks when I'm in song mode? I mean, I'd like to play live drums then live synth riffs while the song is being played, but can't see how to switch.
Let me know if you think I should ask elsewhere in the forum.

thanks guys
vim

why would you ever need that many songs in memory all at once anyway? you can't even do that on a software sequencer... don't see why you'd expect to be able to do that on an MPC...

and in SONG mode you can't edit anything while it's playing... the second you go into TRACK MUTE or a sequence it leaves song mode and just repeats the one sequence that was playing.

crossings wrote:and in SONG mode you can't edit anything while it's playing... the second you go into TRACK MUTE or a sequence it leaves song mode and just repeats the one sequence that was playing.

That's really a problem for me. Like I said, I'm mainly a singer so I can't keep my eyes and hands constantly on the mpc.I need it to be able to play the songs on its own, while now and then I want to get back to it and play some pads live, with the possibility of choosing what track/program I want to play, loop the current sequence, then let it get back to song mode.

So does this sound impossible? From what I tried yesterday, I couldn't see how to seemlessly (i.e. while playing back) pass from song mode to "main" or sequence mode.

here's a work-around if you want to tweak a song... when in song mode there is a CONVERT function which will render the entire song down to a single sequence... you could do that and then tweak the longer sequence and it'd be the same thing...

well, if you have the time to load inbetween.....it could work that way....

but i'm nor sure if it's loading that fast......

but yeah, you could have at least three songs in ram at once and then have a little loadiing break....

but keep in mind that preparing your songs for stage is a job for itself.....

sounds like you're in love with that machine......other solutions would suit you better, but if it's love, well, you got to go for it....

crossings wrote:here's a work-around if you want to tweak a song... when in song mode there is a CONVERT function which will render the entire song down to a single sequence... you could do that and then tweak the longer sequence and it'd be the same thing...

Thanks. I saw that in the manual. But then I suppose it would make it hard - or even impossible - to, for instance, repeat the chorus at will if I want to adapt the length of it to the response of the audience, except if I decide in advance what sections I'm likely to want "looped" with the "Hold" option in the "Reps" mode.

I guess it's a question of what "compromises" I'm ready to make.

Shame you can't use things like track mute in song mode. I wonder why. Perhaps there's a version of JJ OS that makes it possible?

reeloy wrote:well, if you have the time to load inbetween.....it could work that way....

but i'm nor sure if it's loading that fast......

but yeah, you could have at least three songs in ram at once and then have a little loadiing break....

but keep in mind that preparing your songs for stage is a job for itself.....

sounds like you're in love with that machine......other solutions would suit you better, but if it's love, well, you got to go for it....

That's a good idea actually. Thanks for the suggestion. Indeed I've seen the work involved in preparing songs for the stage! But to be honest that's one of the things I find exciting about the MPC. I produce music on a computer, so it feels like a breath of fresh air to work differently and think differently too.

reeloy wrote:sounds like you're in love with that machine......other solutions would suit you better, but if it's love, well, you got to go for it....

I'm afraid you might be right....My brain says "stick to Ableton + livetop" but my guts say "get an MPC already!"

I think I might let the guts win...

you should consider an RC20xl or RC50 loop pedal. i do solo singer-songwriter hoo-haw and use an RC20xl with an sp-404 and sh-32 for live performance.

the looper can be triggered w/ yr feet, allowing you to play guitar, or make double fist signs or something as you sing, and trigger stuff underneath.

the sampler (any kind really) will allow you to trigger stuff over top of that.

but yr not relying on either piece of gear for any one song, so between the two, you can build stuff up, tear stuff down, and trigger with yr feet or hands as need be.

something to consider.

Thanks for the suggestions fawn! I will have a look at the machines you recommend.

vim

ive seen some rap groups use the instant replay machine for playing backing tracks:

http://www.360systems.com/products_audio.html

the mpc is better if you want to play around "live" with short loops and samples

the instant replay is for playing full backing tracks- but i think you can triggger things from buttons too.