Questions, questions, and more questions :)

Hey everyone,

I am so new to the MPC 500 that I don't even have one!
Ok so it will be arriving in two days.

I already purchased the memory upgrade from Amazon and I purchased the (don't tell anybody) unauthorized non Akai 4gb CF card.

Now for the questions, question, and..well you get the picture.

I have watched a few videos on how to upgrade the ram so that is no problem.

I have watched two videos on how to upgrade the CF memory.
Each was a little different.
However I wanted to ask for a reliable source to do the procedure of formatting and loading the CF card.

Also right off the bat I would like to back up the MPC sounds to my computer.
Then load them back onto the MPC (once the new card is formatted) or keep them as a backup copy or both.

Thanks in advance for your help.

PS The CF card is: Sandisk 4GB Ultra II Compactflash Memory Card (15mb/s)

Robert

Artistlife wrote:Hey everyone,

I am so new to the MPC 500 that I don't even have one!
Ok so it will be arriving in two days.

I already purchased the memory upgrade from Amazon and I purchased the (don't tell anybody) unauthorized non Akai 4gb CF card.

Now for the questions, question, and..well you get the picture.

I have watched a few videos on how to upgrade the ram so that is no problem.

I have watched two videos on how to upgrade the CF memory.
Each was a little different.
However I wanted to ask for a reliable source to do the procedure of formatting and loading the CF card.

Also right off the bat I would like to back up the MPC sounds to my computer.
Then load them back onto the MPC (once the new card is formatted) or keep them as a backup copy or both.

Thanks in advance for your help.

PS The CF card is: Sandisk 4GB Ultra II Compactflash Memory Card (15mb/s)

Robert

Congrats on buying your first MPC. I cut my teeth on the 500 and that model definitely holds a place in my heart. Don't worry if you experience a little bit of buyers remorse in the first week as you're trying to figure out how the damn thing operates. It takes some study, but once you start to learn your way around it, you can sit in bed in the dark at night and operate it like a musical instrument.

A couple of things;

Formatting your new card. It's dirt simple. You cannot screw it up. I don't have the manual in front of me, but it's a one button affair. Definitely format in the machine, you have less problems. If, when you connect the newly formatted card to windows you get the message that there are errors on the card, "do you want to fix them" just hit NO. Windows sucks.

If you bought it new, it should come with the sounds on a separate CF card already. They suck. Set that card aside for some day when you want to resell it, and then go get yourself some decent sounds and build your kits.

Building your kits. MPC is a sampler, but people some times interpret that as playing samples only. You'll learn more and have a lot of fun if you can create your own. Get a cheap microphone and go out there and sample stuff. You can also sample through the input jack so start looking for mp3's or vinyl (preferablly) if you have a record player with a built in pre-amp. I sample from my ipad, my phone, by korg monotribe, pots and pans, the dog....everything.

Given that part about sampling above, I would also get yourself a good set of high quality drum samples. Honestly, there's no shame in it, because you can always layer drum hits to create new sounds. But if you start with quality, you'll have a lot of fun right off the bat making beats.

I just bought these and really like them: http://www.drivenmachinedrums.com/
I also like some of the kits on this site as well as some of the sound producers on loopmasters, goldbaby comes to mind. You can find tons of free links to drums on the internet if you have the time or inclination. My key piece of advice is don't get caught up in collecting sounds only. You'll have a hard time staying create if you have thousands and thousands of hits. Build a couple of kits that you like and throw them on your CF card, then get to work making beats. The simpler you make it when loading up a kit, the more you'll be able to focus on learning other aspects of the MPC like chopping and laying, applying effects etc.

Good luck and I won't tell you to have fun, because I know you will.

Lampdog wrote:Doesn't the 500 have usb transfer to pc?

Download the manual and read up on that.

I have downloaded the manual and am reading it.
As well as watching various videos on this site and youtube.

The biggest concern was formatting the NON Akai brand 4gb CF card. Maybe I'm making it a bigger deal out of formatting the card than is needed. Its just that one of the videos said to do an initial format on your PC before putting it in the MPC and then letting the MPC format it again it for the MPC itself.
According to the video, if you didn't format it in the PC first, apparently it wouldn't work or format or play solitare or something once your put it in the MPC.

Thanks MeSoHordey. I won't go crazy on buying drum samples But a nice starting set will be nice.