A lot of questions so no exact topic would describe this, bu

So ive played with other peoples MPCs but havent owned one and barely know how to operate it, kind of overwhelming lol. But i bought a used 5000 today its like brand new but had no manual or discs or storage card? idk are they supposed to come with one or buy one? So no manual either, and the online version is so technical im confused... Also is the metronome supposed to sound like a click? theres two clicking ones one call metro and the other is the akai cllick or something...

Basically i dont know where to start...
Ill tell you what i did figure out tho, how to change the settings to 1/32 cuz 1/16 i was hitting pads to fast and it would like skip them? is that normal? like it wouldnt play all the notes i hit on pads but when i bumped the settings to 1/32 it works now...
i figured out how to find drum kits but no clue how to assign anything to pads or change pitches or anything... but i can get kits loaded up for all 16 pads. i figured out how to record, change tempo, and do the dub record part to layer or add to beat as well as erase notes.

I have no clue how to start over brand new fresh song( this one has crap loaded in it all over the place it was demo'd at the store). So a fresh clean slate would be useful to start. I have no clue how to save? or move to a different song, or export. Not a clue how toput the song together other than all in one shot and 4 layers of pad banks like 64 bars long lol... not sure how to upload samples of my own. I have a duet 2 usb so no midi well i have maschine usb midi'd and akai mpk usb midi'd to computer and i have midi cables. i tried to usb it to computer and nothing popped up. Also is there a way to like quantize hi hats snares etc? cuz mine sound way off. i really need to get started fresh and basics of how to do it like a for dummies version lmao mpc is so complicated but i like the sound and feel so much better than maschine already if i can just figure out the basics ive already spent 12 hours today learning i could really use the extra help im tired of googling snd searching questions that lead me to some buy this book or some thread where someone barely mentions what im looking for... we all kno that feeling lol. basically i just need to kno if those things i asked were normal n i didnt get a janky used mpc 5000, and how to start fresh cuz theres like named tracks and like sequences that arent mine everywhere and all this other bs.

thanks for any help in advance i appreciate it, again im new so consider me as fancy word illiterate as possible despite the few things above that sound like i kno a little about beat production cuz thats about all i kno lol. thanks tho.

oh and by it wouldnt play notes i mean it would play them in my headphones while recording them but once it looped back around they got screwy and it would cut notes out that i hit and heard til i changed to 1/32.

download the manual, it will be the same as the paper copy... read it and figure out what the machine can do.

It is easier than you think... it just takes time knowing what features exist and then knowing how to do those features.

also for the timing, it is designed to correct what you are playing so you pick the sensitivity setting closest to the thing you are trying to do.. often 1/8 is good enough for basic snare parts. you can also turn it off as you noticed.. this means the imperfections of your playing while recording will be kept as is...

one way to wrap your head around the time correction (quantization) is by choosing a setting (like 1/16) and push play.. then hold note repeat and a pad and it will repeat at that amount.. so it means your recorded note can only be on one of those spots when played back in 1/16 if you chose that amount.

thanks, i wasnt sure if that was an issue or normal. i did download it but its so confusing i kinda feel like a kid that missed three weeks of school came back and everythings so much more complicated and i cant catch up lol.

drewmilja wrote:thanks, i wasnt sure if that was an issue or normal. i did download it but its so confusing i kinda feel like a kid that missed three weeks of school came back and everythings so much more complicated and i cant catch up lol.

take it slow.. look at a topic of interest in the table of contents... then try it out on the machine... look through the options and push buttons... see what things do. Dont just read... try each thing out too... you will get it. Keep at it and in a couple of weeks you will have the process for an entire basic song down.. give it a couple of months and you will be making advanced songs plus you wont even be looking at every button before pushing it because it starts to become second nature.

it's as easy as making a sandwich, man...

i been doing that for the most part play with it then if i cant figure it out look it up. picked up a 8 gig cf card and figured out how to put files on it and into mpc and figured out how to assign keys and make my own kits so its coming along, im def more of a hands on person tho kinda why i prefer the hardware over software combos. plus theres just something about the mpc sound that is so much more real and there.

altho id still love to know how to delete kits that are uploaded and delete tracks?
im assuming each track is the different song and each sequence is different parts of the song and i just layer them thru the a-d sound banks?

also would like to know how to save and export complete tracks would be a big plus lol. thanks tho for the input.

and Crossings, you dont want to try my sandwiches lol.

You really should get more into your manual, it will cover the basic functions of the machine and once you know those functions everything comes into play for you. But you got to understand that cars need wheels before you can drive.Other than that you are spinning imaginary wheels and going nowhere.

im assuming each track is the different song and each sequence is different parts of the song and i just layer them thru the a-d sound banks?
Stop assuming.

sequences chained together in song mode make a song.
banks are sound banks used to hold sounds.

I can't stress enough to start with the manual w/ the mpc right there beside you, turned on and pressing the buttons that you read about to see what they do. And if you can make a little beat while moving through the manual as well.

You won't just up jump and run marathons without knowing how to walk.

i know what the sound banks are ive been using maschine for awhile just a little confused switching over you know. but i meant if i change tracks are those the different songs (compilations of sequences). but thanks and i do keep looking at the online manual.

so i should be recording each instrument to a different track? i was doing my entire kit of instruments on one track lol. i thought it was record everything on one track and just keep layering over the same track even with the different sound banks on same track. Or should i be recording just each pad bank to a different track? Thanks tho otherwise i never would have known that cuz i learned on something else u know.