What else do I need to connect my turntable to my mpc500?

Oh yeah! and go buy Beat Making On The MPC 500 by MPC-Tutor. It's a great resource for when your having problems like this. It's totally worth the $$$ if you plan on being able to put the time in.

MAD-tentacles wrote:I have been using the Numark TTUSB turntable in conjunction with the MPC 500 to sample vinyl for over a year and I have never had any problems.

On your turntable, turn the gain all the way up [turn the knob all the way to the right]--it's on the bottom/back. Also, right next to that is a RCA Phono/RCA Line switch -- make sure that is set to RCA Line.

You're going to attach RCA to 1/4-inch adapters to the RCA cables from the TTUSB.

Next plug the RCA cables (with the adapters) into the INPUTS of the MPC. (RED IS RIGHT - WHITE IS LEFT) And they really should be all the way in. If they have to hang out a little to work - there's probably a problem.

Make sure that your INPUT switch on the back of your 500 is in the outward position - LINE.

Turn on the MPC and press MODE->OTHER[8] and make sure your Master Level is set to 0dB.

Press MODE->RECORD[4] and scroll to the right to make sure you are set for Record: Rec In (NOT Record: Main). This should already be done for you.

Make sure the the REC GAIN knob directly under your MAIN VOLUME knob (on the left of your MPC) is all the way up. (This adjusts the level at which the TTUSB will be recorded.)

What you HEAR from this point on is also dependent on your MAIN VOLUME. Turn that up/down to adjust the volume of what you are HEARING through your monitors/headphones.

Start playing a record and you should see the bar moving at the bottom of your RECORD screen--showing that you are getting signal. It should be a pretty strong signal at this point too. (You may want to adjust the gain with the REC GAIN knob at this point).

If you are still not getting a strong signal, check your adapters. Maybe try switching them out with some new ones. Try using your TTUSB in another setting (not into your MPC) and see if you're having the same problem. If you ARE, there's most likely something wrong with the RCA cables or your record player. If it works FINE in another setting, it may be a problem with the INPUTS on your 500 (I suspect this may be your problem from what I've read). If this is the case, you may want to try CAREFULLY opening up your MPC and seeing if you can spot any obvious problems with your input jacks. Canned air is always a good tool to try first - maybe all you need is to blow a little dust out of there.

Let us know if you get it running correctly.

Thanks man, I feel bad making you write all that. I know I am doing everything right with the set up of it because when I record my microkorg into the inputs it works fine. Everything with the record player set up is great except for how it has to be halfway plugged in in order to work. This is probably just a problem with the cheap rca 1/4 inch adapters i got from radio shack. Oh well, I like recording to audacity with the record player then just do my chopping there. What do you guys thaink about that? I think it takes really long but I am not sure how to even chop wheni am recoridng into the mpc so I wouldnt be able to tell. Thanks

Felly wrote:This is probably just a problem with the cheap rca 1/4 inch adapters i got from radio shack.

This is true.

Felly wrote: I like recording to audacity with the record player then just do my chopping there. What do you guys thaink about that?

I've actually read threads and posts from a bunch of 500 users who like to doing things this way. You may possibly want to look into purchasing the program ReCycle by Propellerhead for something with an auto-chop function. BeatButcherMPC is a pretty decent (FREE) alternative. http://www.beatbutchermpc.com/beatbutchermpc/

Felly wrote:I think it takes really long but I am not sure how to even chop wheni am recoridng into the mpc...

This is not good. Hitting MODE->TRIM will get you started.

It's gonna be sort of a slow process either way with the 500 - until you either:
A] practice A LOT so manually chopping without a visualizer becomes second nature.
B] purchase ReCycle