Share your knowledge on these two classic MPCs
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By incurablebeatlust Tue Aug 24, 2010 5:22 pm
Hola 3k users! Im back after a pause from the 60's and boom-bap and now Im trying to make some dubstep and drum and bass. I want to only use hardware. At the moment all i have is the 3k (and wax for days) but im going to get a novation xstation really soon.
My question or rather discussion id like to start is how do you guys sequence you drops, changes and such for these genres that have more going on than just a simple track mute.. In the past its mostly been boom-bap and some triphop type ish so the changes havent been too complex. I know about the song mode etc and how to link seq's but i want to hear how yall do it... Really im just trying to get the ball rolling and see if theres anyone out there whos making dnb, dubstep with ONLY HARDWARE..
I made a beat this morning that has a good start for a downtempo-ish dubby thing but idk how to get my head around the workflow of the super hard build-and-drops that's sooo characteristic of DNB/ddubstep. the drum patterns i can figure out (more-or-less), the filter ive allready been getting alot of use from, and i have a good idea of synth/drum sounds and samples i want to use. Are you harware based guys just doing ur drops and changes on the fly with some quick track mutes/solos, etc? or do you program it all out and then let it roll??
Anyhow, post beats, tips, tricks, pics of studios or whatever related to the genres ive mentioned. As a guess i presume that im going to get alot of suggestions to get abelton or someother laptonica type setup, problem is i dont like working on the laptop nor do i have to programs etc. Im looking forward to where this thread could go if a discussion gets started.
peace.
By gowansy Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:27 pm
I wouldnt mind hearing more on this too. I've been messing around with MPC 60 making some sort of cross over dubstep/organic techno lately, not the full on wobble dubstep but more in the shackleton type vein. i usually produce deep house in the detroit/chicago mould so it's been interesting incorporating 2step rhythms in my productions. what i've mostly been doing is just live track mutes etc. dropping the kick/bass/hats, and recording my sessions live till ive got a sense where i want to go, after messing around live for so long i kind of know how its gonna be sequenced so i just copy my patterns out, around 150-160bars then just edit live, removing stuff in and out going into detailed editing, aint using any other hardware apart from samples and mpc!
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By incurablebeatlust Mon Aug 30, 2010 1:53 am
good reply, i like the idea of the 150 bar seq. i usually just use a smaller (8-16) bar loop and do drops with track mutes.. whaddya think about the novation xstation vs the ms2000b? im not using either one as a controller, just looking for the fattest basses, and leads..
By Em.p.cee.j Mon Aug 30, 2010 5:35 am
I usually make my chops and play around with them while editing the program. I do a lot of pad mutes to add variations. For instance: I'd have the same kick on two different pads but one is assigned to mute the main loop and the other lets it play thru and layers over it. Or have a snare with the overlap set to "note off" and the same snare on other pads thats set to "poly" and "mono". One may mute a loop, one may be set to start the loop... one may just play over it. I get so caught up in that process that I memorize whats where. I then build sequences and arrange them in song mode. I don't really **** with track mutes.

Here's a link to one of my Youtube videos if you care to check it out. Its a Detroit Ghetto Tech remix to the song "Sandwiches" by the Detroit Grand Pubahs. No software involved. I used the MPC2000 Classic to sample, sequence and control a couple Roland synth modules and a MS 2000B.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaNcCUx7_NA
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By 64hz Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:17 am
I dont understand why you are asking this, no offence but if you have a mpc you should know basic stuff like this. Again please do not take offence.
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By incurablebeatlust Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:34 pm
I tried a few longer seqs like suggested. I found using the locate key and then assigning the A, B, and C locates to areas that had alot of edits/drum notes really sped up the complex programming process. It made it alot faster to listen to the section and quickly get back to it to perform any adjustments without hitting the bar advance button 30 times in a row in step edit screen... I wish there was a track mute function like the 2k has, using pads to mute tracks etc, not that id want to trade the 3k for one though..

Im still waiting for a synth, Im thinking korg ms2000b, novation k or x station, or MAYBE alesis micron.. Im favoring the novation, Anyone have any experience/feedback on this comparison??

and to 64hz, i take no offense, but to explain.. i was hoping for some conversation on a different topic.. the same basic thimgs regarding hip-hop get beat into the fuc!<ing ground around here, i was simply trying to open the door for other types of production to come in..

Im loving the delay on the 3k, Im layering a snare under my 'real' snare and throwing a good bit of super quick delay on it to dirty it up really nicely for a dub/more interesting sound..

The filter has been a nice tool too for sure! i havent yet gotten into the manual but i casnt remeber how to activate the 'after' with the slider. I want to automate/ record some filter sweeps..

anyone else with some dnb/dub tracks to post up??
By Em.p.cee.j Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:55 pm
I couldnt find that MFC42 so I got the MS2000 instead. I still havent laid hands on one and I have nothin to compare the MS to. It grew on me though so now my only regrets are not gettin the keyboard version and not savin up quick enough to get the MFC before they got discontinued.
By Deta!L Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:32 pm
what is dubstep? I went to san francisco and this chick I was waxing kept trying to talk about it because she was trying to impress me (knew I made music) so it put me off, to me it just seems like some more overcategorization of regular music

post some examples for those of us not savvy
By Em.p.cee.j Sun Sep 12, 2010 5:24 pm
incurablebeatlust wrote:Hola 3k users! Im back after a pause from the 60's and boom-bap and now Im trying to make some dubstep and drum and bass. I want to only use hardware. At the moment all i have is the 3k (and wax for days) but im going to get a novation xstation really soon.
My question or rather discussion id like to start is how do you guys sequence you drops, changes and such for these genres that have more going on than just a simple track mute.. In the past its mostly been boom-bap and some triphop type ish so the changes havent been too complex. I know about the song mode etc and how to link seq's but i want to hear how yall do it... Really im just trying to get the ball rolling and see if theres anyone out there whos making dnb, dubstep with ONLY HARDWARE..
I made a beat this morning that has a good start for a downtempo-ish dubby thing but idk how to get my head around the workflow of the super hard build-and-drops that's sooo characteristic of DNB/ddubstep. the drum patterns i can figure out (more-or-less), the filter ive allready been getting alot of use from, and i have a good idea of synth/drum sounds and samples i want to use. Are you harware based guys just doing ur drops and changes on the fly with some quick track mutes/solos, etc? or do you program it all out and then let it roll??
Anyhow, post beats, tips, tricks, pics of studios or whatever related to the genres ive mentioned. As a guess i presume that im going to get alot of suggestions to get abelton or someother laptonica type setup, problem is i dont like working on the laptop nor do i have to programs etc. Im looking forward to where this thread could go if a discussion gets started.
peace.


Here's a Youtube video I just did breakin down how I built the drum program in that video. I started with a DnB loop from ableton so it aint rocket science... but maybe it'll help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRCanwizsyY
By gowansy Sun Sep 12, 2010 8:57 pm
ive only really recently got into dubstep, not really into the wobbly stuff, prefer the deeper stuff, polyrhythms and simple 808 sub basslines, this crossover stuff coming out lately is real nice, has a certain detroit vibe to it, has got me excited about music again and feeling a bit down!