Question about how the MPC Works..

Ight so heres the scenario,

I've also been a 'software' person did all my sampling through recycle/battery3 and fl studio / reason.
It's been really annoying to have to go through a 3rd party program/vsti to chop, sequence, eq, ect ect.
Also I've always tried to duplicate the MPC feel and swing in my productions but it just doesn't really work out.
Thats why I decided to get an MPC.

I just ordered this MPC 2KXL
http://cgi.ebay.com/Akai-MPC-2000XL-Sam ... 173wt_1137

The only problem though is it doesn't come with a zip/flash drive.

Now if I just get a set of floppys just for my drum and only import them via the floppy drive,
Record in samples via Turn table rca outs to quarter inch record ins via RCA->1/4 adaptors,
And export the final project induvidually track by track via Mbox Mini to mix it down in my Pro Tools through stereo outs.

Would this be a functioning setup?

Peace!
~pita

yeah man, that's functional, you will most likely get frustrated at the the floppy drive though as you realize really quick how 1.44mb fills up when you go to save stuff.


my 2000 has a floppy drive


my 2000xl has a zip 100 drive


my 1000 has the compact flash card reader and a 120gb hard drive


you mention coming from a computer software producing background which is gonna make things feel tedious in comparison with the floppies.

replace the floppy with a zip 100 drive or compact flash as you won't regret it


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BGBEATS wrote:yeah man, that's functional, you will most likely get frustrated at the the floppy drive though as you realize really quick how 1.44mb fills up when you go to save stuff.
my 2000 has a floppy drive
my 2000xl has a zip 100 drive
my 1000 has the compact flash card reader and a 120gb hard drive
you mention coming from a computer software producing background which is gonna make things feel tedious in comparison with the floppies.

replace the floppy with a zip 100 drive or compact flash as you won't regret it

Thanks for the quick response,

Yea thats def a future investment I'm going to have to make. My brother actually has an MPC500 that he messes around with and I got the basic feel of how to work one. It's just that the 500 doesn't show your samples in waveform when you record so I always used Recycle/Audacity for the 500. So yeah like I was saying before, I don't think Im going to be using much of the computer except for added synths and mastering ect.

Thanks!
~PITA

**Edit:
Also quick question, my Mbox Mini only a mono input, am I going to need an adaptor to plug in the cables from the stereo outs in the mpc or am I going to be using the phones jack?

pita wrote:Also quick question, my Mbox Mini only a mono input, am I going to need an adaptor to plug in the cables from the stereo outs in the mpc or am I going to be using the phones jack?

doesn't it have two inputs? use one for each channel

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:
doesn't it have two inputs? use one for each channel

They are mono

NearTao wrote:

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:
doesn't it have two inputs? use one for each channel

They are mono

Yes, Line 1 Input is XLR / Q.Inch in mono
& Line 2 is Q.Inch single mono input.

I'm guessing the Phones output on the mpc is pretty much a standard mono output which I can plug into line 2 input of the Mini?

NearTao wrote:

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:
doesn't it have two inputs? use one for each channel

They are mono

so is each of the MPC outputs

The L output is a mono signal. The R output is a mono signal.

I fail to see what the difficulty is here.

Two mono outputs, one for each channel. Two mono inputs ... use one for each channel, then pan them hard in the DAW.

pita wrote:

NearTao wrote:

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:
doesn't it have two inputs? use one for each channel

They are mono

Yes, Line 1 Input is XLR / Q.Inch in mono
& Line 2 is Q.Inch single mono input.

I'm guessing the Phones output on the mpc is pretty much a standard mono output which I can plug into line 2 input of the Mini?

I don't know the 2KXL but I assume the phones output is stereo.

why do you want to use the PHONES output???

the MPC has two outputs, the mbox mini has two inputs. do you see where I'm going with this yet?

connect the LEFT output of the MPC to one input of your mbox mini, and connect the RIGHT output of the MPC to the other input of you mbox mini.

Now you have both channels. abracadabra.

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:
I don't know the 2KXL but I assume the phones output is stereo.

why do you want to use the PHONES output???

the MPC has two outputs, the mbox mini has two inputs. do you see where I'm going with this yet?

connect the LEFT output of the MPC to one input of your mbox mini, and connect the RIGHT output of the MPC to the other input of you mbox mini.

Now you have both channels. abracadabra.

One problem houdini,
Input 1 has an XLR plug in it.

pita wrote:

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:
I don't know the 2KXL but I assume the phones output is stereo.

why do you want to use the PHONES output???

the MPC has two outputs, the mbox mini has two inputs. do you see where I'm going with this yet?

connect the LEFT output of the MPC to one input of your mbox mini, and connect the RIGHT output of the MPC to the other input of you mbox mini.

Now you have both channels. abracadabra.

One problem houdini,
Input 1 has an XLR plug in it.

yeah you need an interface with stereo inputs to record the stereo outputs from the mpc... for example the m-audio fast track doesn't work for this because of the same reason... but the m-audio fast track pro does.

If you have two mono ins, you should be able to 'pair' them into a stereo channel in software. I'm not familiar with your interface, but it is entirely possible to take one XLR in (with an adapter) and use that as your Left input, and another RCA input (with an adapter) as your Right input.

This may not be optimal for several reasons including that they may have different gains or even possibly sonic characteristics, but it should be possible at the very least.

Since there's a lack of connections on the mini, why not throw in a small mixer and interface it with the mbox.

That way you won't have to deal with plugging and unplugging your instruments when you need to do something.

NearTao wrote:If you have two mono ins, you should be able to 'pair' them into a stereo channel in software. I'm not familiar with your interface, but it is entirely possible to take one XLR in (with an adapter) and use that as your Left input, and another RCA input (with an adapter) as your Right input.

This may not be optimal for several reasons including that they may have different gains or even possibly sonic characteristics, but it should be possible at the very least.

it should be possible, and is what is recommended in the Mbox 2 Mini "Getting Started guide
http://akmedia.digidesign.com/support/d ... _32993.pdf
(page 40)

I dunno if the OP has an Mbox 2 Mini, or the original one, or what, but it should be possible to make it work