MPC5000 reviews, bug reports and fellow user support on the most recent standalone, hardware MPC from Akai
By donlimpio Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:14 pm
Hi!

Is there a way to assign specific notes to specific pads for a synth program? It's obvious for sample/drum programs, but for synth programs I just get the same sort of octave + 4 notes spread evenly over the pads.

I would like to play for instance C1 on pad 1, C2 on pad 2, E1 on pad 3, E2 on pad 4, etc...

On a second note, is there a similar way to triggering multiple sample from one pad but for synth programs, so I can play chords from single pads?

Thanks,
DL
By donlimpio Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:01 pm
Judging by the silence either I asked a really really dumb question, or there is no way to do this - or nobody knows! Damn... I've got some melodies that span two octaves and I'd like to play 'em on the pads, without the need for a keyboard.
By hayoo Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:50 pm
donlimpio wrote:Judging by the silence either I asked a really really dumb question, or there is no way to do this - or nobody knows! Damn... I've got some melodies that span two octaves and I'd like to play 'em on the pads, without the need for a keyboard.


You can use Banks A, B, C, D for a fuller range of notes. Not a workflow enhancer by any means, but at least it allows you to pad out the notes.

Beware using only the pads to record musical phrases! A problem I discovered is that any notes that fall below whatever note is assigned to PAD A01, you can't edit these notes in a Step Edit properly. For example, realtime record an E1 note in your phrase, and then try to Step Edit it up just a semi-tone even...no can do... changing the note value "breaks" the note by defaulting it to the lowest possible value it can (whatever note is set as A01). Instead, if you had to edit that E1 note, you'd have to play it in via a controller to get the proper note. This is due to the fact that the 5k won't allow you to select a note lower than A01...or higher than D16, for that matter. Maybe there's a way to edit these out-of-pad-range notes in a Step Edit properly, but I haven't found it as of yet. Just beware, it's a pain in the ass.