New user with some issues...

Can you explain more in depth what you mean on crossfading a loop? I assume you mean crossfading a loop like you would in Logic or a DAW...how do you do it on the MPC? Also I thought that sampling (chopping/slicing/arranging) was one of the best aspects about the MPC...that's why hip hop heads use it?

How do you personally use your MPC in your workflow?

Thanks!

Nym wrote:

The only thing I have left to figure out pretty much is Sampling and editing/chopping samples. I haven't messed with that any yet...not even sure what menu it's under...gonna watch some youtube videos today and try and figure it out.

this is one of the few area where i know the JJOS is better than maschine. if i'm correct, maschine doesn't allow you to crossfade loop like jj does. also, sequencing on jjos (grid edit, midi and drum) is implemented in a way that is like butter. i'd imagine that's hard to beat anywhere, but that comes down to "# of hours logged" more than anything else.

yeah but chopping, slicing and arranging...jjos is not the most fully featured sampler out there compared to some soft samplers like kontakt, but it is the best ONESHOT sampler i have ever used, with no exception.

i don't know how mpcs became so popular for using large .wav file loops, especially before audio tracks. i absolutely hated working that way on the mpc. however, turn everything into oneshots and jjos = power.

Maschine is exactly like an MPC...it's pretty much the exact same thing...just digital..

they're both digital dude. they're both computers with pads. the difference is that maschine is integrated into a home PC while the MPC functions both ways. my setup at home uses MPC more like maschine users use maschine - that is, my entire computer + mpc + midi controllers + vstis = 1 huge powerhouse.

also, the mpc sound argument is hype in my opinion. at this point in time, THE ONLY reason to use an MPC is because of JJos or because it's your legacy and it's what you know.

no problem -

crossfade looping is what i use after doing the following-
*find a sample
*chop it "note for note" which means that each pad contains 1 wav with exactly 1 note/chord/sound in that wave...like 1 drum hit or 1 guitar strum or 1 harp pluck, etc.
*turn it to "NOTE ON" so that it only plays as long as i'm holding down the pad
*turn on a crossfade loop and tweak the loop start/end so that the sound lasts indefinitely for as long as i hold the pad. this way there are no gaps in your audio after you chop/reassemble a sample. it also gives a kind of shivering sound to your chops that i like.

i use the MPC as a sequencer/sampler. i sequence all MIDI and oneshots in my MPC. i do not work with large chunks of audio in my MPC - "macrosamples" are all done in DAW over here. the MPC houses my drum pgm (a couple chopped breaks sliced note for note and replayed on the pads) and sample pgm (the sample i've chopped). it also sequences all of my VSTis that i use in my DAW.

i spend most of my time in GPE (global parameter edit, it's the MPC's program editor), SLICE (chopping), and GRID edit.

pr0j3ktmayh3m wrote:@Cicatrix - Maschine is exactly like an MPC...it's pretty much the exact same thing...just digital..the reason I got an MPC after getting Maschine is that I wanted to see what everyone means when they say the MPC just has 'that sound' and I wanted to learn the piece of hardware that pretty much every hip hop producer has in their arsenal.

Maschine is much more than a MPC. It goes way beyond that. It incorporates the best aspects of various other classic gears as well as improving upon Ableton Live's session view matrix.

Newsflash: MPC is a digital sampler.

There's so much hype and false myths about MPCs because it was pretty much the only game in town back in the days. The fact that Akai is discontiniong the MPCs now and that many former hardcore MPC users have completely switched to Maschine should tell you something. The only MPC that has a distinct enough sound characteristics to be noticeable is the 12bit MPC60. You're not going get any fable "MPC sound" from any of the 16bit and higher MPCs like he MPC1000.

^ Why are you even a member here?

poundaproblem wrote:^ Why are you even a member here?

I joined back when I still had MPCs.

So whats the point of sticking around? All you do is talk about the Maschine and try to down the MPC line, even after countless members here voiced how unappreciated it is...I dont get the point. You're worse than those door to door bible thumpers. At least they leave when you ask them to get off the property. The Maschine has its features, ok...we get it...but is it an MPC replacement...maybe to you but never to me and many other users. Why is it so hard to get the drift?

emptysea wrote:Maschine is much more than a MPC. It goes way beyond that. It incorporates the best aspects of various other classic gears as well as improving upon Ableton Live's session view matrix.

Newsflash: MPC is a digital sampler.

There's so much hype and false myths about MPCs because it was pretty much the only game in town back in the days. The fact that Akai is discontiniong the MPCs now and that many former hardcore MPC users have completely switched to Maschine should tell you something. The only MPC that has a distinct enough sound characteristics to be noticeable is the 12bit MPC60. You're not going get any fable "MPC sound" from any of the 16bit and higher MPCs like he MPC1000.

1. They're two different machines entirely, it doesn't go WAY beyond it, because it can't do what the MPC does in the first place. FACT.

2. There has always been other digital samplers available. The EMUs were hugely popular in other genres. Akai discontinuing production of the MPC series has more to do with Numark and their direction as a company. Standalone hardware is expensive to make, that's the long and short of it.

3. MPC users completely switching to Maschine should tell us what? They followed the hype... I've watched a lot of people using this new instrument and it has about as much character, and adds about as much to the sound as using a Korg Nanopad. As for comparing Maschine to Ableton, ridiculous. The power of that DAW makes the Maschine look like a glorified MIDI controller... which it essentially is.

4. Turning the input of the 1000 up when sampling adds some very useable dirt, which as I'm sure you're aware is an important element of countless genres, and in fact the reason why a lot of people still use a LOT of hardware. So yes in terms of colouration ANY sampler with some sort of analogue recording input can add to the sound in a pleasant way if used correctly. I beg you to show me Maschine going WAY beyond the MPC here... how is that USB socket for sampling by the way?

I like how you can sit there and talk about "hype", when the Maschine is the kings' new clothes and the MPC line have been around since day dot.

A streamlined way to work as long as you've got a decent soundcard and a capabale computer?... absolutely. Something to test an MPC and its unparalleled workflow... not a chance.

scoobylol wrote:1. They're two different machines entirely, it doesn't go WAY beyond it, because it can't do what the MPC does in the first place.

Can't do what? Be standalone hardware when it's going to be hooked up to a computer for tracking out anyway? Maschine does go way beyond MPCs. It also integrates the best parts of gear like Machinedrum, Electribe, RM1X/RS7000, x0x sequencers...etc.

scoobylol wrote:As for comparing Maschine to Ableton, ridiculous.

Try recording realtime automation into Live's session view clips then. It's not possible without less than ideal workarounds and it's just plain impossible with Live's own native devices. How about looping single or multiple scenes in Live like having Follow Action for scenes and not just for clips? Or having dedicated hardware control for everything and having a mouseless workflow that doesn't force you to stare at a computer screen? As you can see, it's not ridiculous at all to compare Maschine with Ableton Live's session view. Maschine is definitely a more than viable alternative to Live's session view.

scoobylol wrote:4. Turning the input of the 1000 up when sampling adds some very useable dirt, which as I'm sure you're aware is an important element of countless genres, and in fact the reason why a lot of people still use a LOT of hardware. So yes in terms of colouration ANY sampler with some sort of analogue recording input can add to the sound in a pleasant way if used correctly. I beg you to show me Maschine going WAY beyond the MPC here... how is that USB socket for sampling by the way?

Maschine has a very accurately modeled vintage sampling mode emulating the entire signal path of SP1200 and MPC60. For you to talk about the MPC1000 having "dirt" is just laughable. And you clearly don't get how Maschine works. You don't sample audio through the hardware controller. Maschine gives you the choice to pick which d/a converters to use.

The point is though the MPC irrespective of whether you track to DAT or computer still works standalone, so I'm afraid you've still not shown me how the Maschine goes beyond something it can't match... again I bring up the fact it has no sampling option whatsoever without having to purchase external hardware. Therefore your point is irrelevant.

The APC 40 works perfectly with Ableton, as for what you would deem workarounds, that's just getting to know your software. Realtime automation in Ableton is incredibly deep, with the use of any MIDI controller. Also add Max for Live into the equation and I'm afraid you still can't compare the Maschine.

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you need to use a computer, including screen and mouse simply to use the Maschine for certain tasks? So that point is pretty silly. As you say most people track to a DAW eventually anyway, at least the MPC allows you to go and sit outside, or somewhere completely unique.

PLEASE don't even consider modelled emulations against the real thing... they are modelled using a handful of chosen variables, there's a good article in an old SOS which will enlighten you as to why there's such an important difference between hardware and hardware EMULATION.

ANY analogue input can have dirt you simply put the gain in the red. Whether it's pleasant or not depends on its use, so i'm afraid considering that "laughable" just shows your lack of insight with regards to analogue distortion... but i'm sure Maschine has an emulation that covers all that....................

My comment about the USB socket was sarcastic, as the smiley was meant to indicate. I know how the Maschine works, and as you say yourself it is a hardware controller. Fact is, you simply can't use it without a computer, or a good soundcard. So yet again I ask, how can you compare it to an MPC?

EDIT: I know this is going to round in circles. Whether you have an affiliation of some sort with NI, or whether you just like to bait people up on here I'm not sure. But out of respect to the original poster put your reply somewhere else in a new thread or something.

scoobylol wrote:The point is though the MPC irrespective of whether you track to DAT or computer still works standalone, so I'm afraid you've still not shown me how the Maschine goes beyond something it can't match... again I bring up the fact it has no sampling option whatsoever without having to purchase external hardware. Therefore your point is irrelevant.

Maschine goes much more beyond the MPC. It has a much more faster and efficient workflow. You don't have to constantly stop the sequencer to change parameters like you have to with MPC. You're not limited to how much sounds you can have available at once. You can load VST/AU plugins and they automap to the hardware. The list goes on.

scoobylol wrote:The APC 40 works perfectly with Ableton, as for what you would deem workarounds, that's just getting to know your software.

APC40 is very limited and far from "works perfectly". Even touchAble or Griid has much tighter integration with Live.

scoobylol wrote:Realtime automation in Ableton is incredibly deep, with the use of any MIDI controller.

You obviously have no idea about recording realtime automation in Live's session view that I mentioned. Live cannot do this due to a serious flaw in its code. It's one of the biggest gripes you'll see time and time again in the Ableton forums.

scoobylol wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you need to use a computer, including screen and mouse simply to use the Maschine for certain tasks?

Nope. There's a few things when setting things up like importing sounds or if you want to drag and drop things but otherwise you have an entirely mouse-free workflow when you're making music and the computer screen can be turned off.

scoobylol wrote:As you say most people track to a DAW eventually anyway, at least the MPC allows you to go and sit outside, or somewhere completely unique.

You're not going to plug in the MPC in the middle of nowhere. You can however run Maschine off the laptop's battery anywhere you are. Maschine's controller and a laptop is much more portable than heavy-as-brick MPCs.

scoobylol wrote:ANY analogue input can have dirt you simply put the gain in the red. Whether it's pleasant or not depends on its use, so i'm afraid considering that "laughable" just shows your lack of insight with regards to analogue distortion...

scoobylol wrote:My comment about the USB socket was sarcastic, as the smiley was meant to indicate. I know how the Maschine works, and as you say yourself it is a hardware controller. Fact is, you simply can't use it without a computer, or a good soundcard. So yet again I ask, how can you compare it to an MPC?

It's not about comparing it to a MPC. It already surpasses the MPC in many key areas. It's an evolution of the sampler/groovebox/workstation in a hybrid approach of both software and dedicated hardware having total integration. Like I've been saying, it goes much more beyond the outdated MPCs.

Well, I'll have to get one then emptysea, to sequence my hardware synths, keyboards, drum machines and samplers.

Oh... it doesn't do midi sequencing does it.

I also doubt that chopping and many other things are faster than using JJOS.

Sling your hook m8. No reason for you to be here except to sell NI's gear.



soz for OP digression.

jimmie wrote:Well, I'll have to get one then emptysea, to sequence my hardware synths, keyboards, drum machines and samplers.

Oh... it doesn't do midi sequencing does it.

Maschine does do MIDI sequencing. Maschine can sequence multiple hardware just fine (up to 16 MIDI channels currently) and recognizes multiple MIDI ports.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svnhwf7i3m4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFBao4mbDkU

And don't forget that Maschine can automate every parameter of any hardware that has an editor that load as VST/AU plugin. Aside from ones that already come with one like Virus TI, Motif, Fantom...etc., there are open source editor plugins being released for numerous popular hardware by CTRLR.

jimmie wrote:I also doubt that chopping and many other things are faster than using JJOS.

Or you can try it out for yourself and determine from actual experience.

ok - Maschine is better than the MPC. you win.


the problem with Maschine is that it is TOO good, it does too much, has too many options.

i can be more creative & get more done faster with a simpler tool that has a more restricted feature set than i can with something that has a million options, bells, and whistles.

the MPC is simple and reliable. it forces you to focus on what's important. its limitations are its strengths.

Sooty_G wrote:the problem with Maschine is that it is TOO good, it does too much, has too many options.

i can be more creative & get more done faster with a simpler tool that has a more restricted feature set than i can with something that has a million options, bells, and whistles.

You couldn't be more wrong about it having "too many options". That's exactly the opposite of what Maschine is. It's simplicity and the efficient hands-on workflow are its main strengths.

Sooty_G wrote:the MPC is simple and reliable.

Try telling that to countless MPC4000/5000 users experiencing constant crashes and having to put up with unfixed bugs.

Keep defending that toy, all you're doing is wasting precious time of your life dedicating 30 minutes a clip to respond

Maschine is trash.