FPC to rival the MPC???

http://forums.undergroundhiphop.com/rea ... nID=527834

Check out the image of the FPC near the bottom of the page...This is a new plugin built into FL to emulate some of the features of an MPC. I'm wondering with the addition of loop record and a MPD-16 if this will be like every nerd's software MPC?

Here's some info from the helpfile I snagged offa the FL boards...

FPC is a software plugin similar to the hardware Akai MPC unit, coded & optimized for the FL Studio platform.

FPC is a self-contained drum machine which makes it easy to create, edit and swap drumkits on the fly to tune the sound of the drumloops of your project. FPC supports 16 multi-layered patches per drumkit bank.

The interface is separated into three parts you can switch between using the tabs on top of the window. In the first tab you can see the main pad properties section which shows/sets the properties of the currently selected pad (explained below).


Main Pad Properties


The parameters affect the currently selected pad and appear in the first two tabs of the FPC interface.

The pad selector (on left) lets you change the selected pad.
The pad name box shows the pad name, which you can change by right-clicking the box and filling a new name in the window that will pop up.
The next two knobs set the pad's volume (on left) and stereo panning (on right).
The mute knob is active when lit on (green). It mutes the current pad.
The solo knob is active when it's red. It mutes all other pads, but the current pad (and any other soloed pads).
The scale volume knob allows you to map the input note velocities to pad volume. Normally you'll prefer this option enabled, unless you want to handle velocity changes entirely with multiple velocity-sensitive layers (see Layer Properties below).
Pads View

The Pads view is the place where you can quickly preview a pad or set its key/cut groups.

The pad controls are ordered from left to right and then bottom to top (i.e. pad 1 is bottom left, pad 16 is top right). To select and preview a pad, click the big preview button on each of the pad button on right (see the image on right). To just select without previewing, click the Pad Properties button.

On right you can see a set of controls (following the same order) containing four boxes for each pad (change the value by dragging up/down).

The first row sets the key the pad is assigned to. The box on left sets the key inside the octave, the one on right sets the octave.

The second row sets the cut groups for the pad. The cut groups are identical in functionality to those found in the Misc Channel Settings section of regular Sampler channels (and other plugins). Using these groups you can 'kill' a pad which plays (like an open hi-hat) when another pad is triggered (like a closed hi-hat). To do this, set the pad to cut to a certain cut group (the box on left), then set the pad to be cut with the same cut group in the cut by group box (on right).


Layer Properties view


Each pad in FPC can consist of multiple samples, layered in such a way that each sample responds to a specific note velocity range. This ability can be important for achieving realism with acoustic drumkits.

The Layer Properties view allows you to create and edit the layers of the currently selected pad.



Basic Operations
Hit the Create button (top left in the window) to add a new empty layer to the pad. To erase it, select it (hit the Select knob of the layer) and click the Delete button.
Once added, you can load a sample to the layer by clicking the Browse button (the button on left in the Sample File controls below) and selecting a sample.
You can reverse a sample's playback by enabling the Reverse option at the bottom.
To reorder the channels, select a channel and use the Move Up/Down buttons on top of the interface.
The Spread Even button spreads the velocity ranges evenly among the existing layers without overlap (see layer properties below).
The Lock Layers button locks the layer ranges in a way to prevent velocity range overlap (one sample will play at a time for any given velocity).
To preview how the pad will sound with different velocities with all layers applied to it, click the Full Pad Preview at the velocity value you want to preview.
Layer Properties
The controls on each layer are as follow (from left to right)

Select Knob - Click this button to mark the channel as selected. This is required for some operations, like browsing for a new sample, move up/down, delete, display in the big sample preview (in the bottom) and the reverse playback switch.
Volume Knob - Sets the volume of the layer.
Pan Knob - Sets the stereo panning for the layer.
Layer Tune Knob - Allows you to offset the pitch up/down (faster/slower playback) from the original playback speed of the sample. The knob ranges from -1 to +1 octave pitch shift.
Mini Sample Preview - Displays the loaded sample (if any). Click to preview the sample.
Velocity Range - This control sets the active velocity range for the layer, i.e. for which velocity values the sample will play (for the rest it is muted). The velocity is mapped from left (minimum) to right (maximum). Drag the handles to define the active region. Overlapping of several samples in the same range is allowed, unless the Lock Layers button (see above) is enabled.
Mixer View
The mixer view duplicates the properties found in the Main Pad Properties & adds the mixer track offset property. Since all pads are displayed at once in a single view, it is easier to adjust many pads at once.

Each mixer "strip" (column) corresponds to a single pad, ordered from left (pad 1) to right (pad16). The controls found on each strip are as follows (from top to bottom):

Mixer Track Offset - This property allows you to send a specific pad to a different FL Studio mixer track than the one FPC is linked to. The parameter specifies a positive offset, for ex. if FPC is linked to track 10, then all pads are sent to track 10, however you can set offset 4 for pad16, so that it will be sent to track 14 instead. By default all pads are mixed in the default mixer track (the control displays "--").
Stereo Panning / Volume / Mute / Solo - Those properties are identical to those found in the main pad properties section (however the volume is a slider for easier control).
Pad Name - Displays the channel name. Again, like in the main pad properties, you can right-click this box and fill a new name for the pad in the window that appears.


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Plugin Credits: Robert Conde

theres alot of software drum modules. u can get vsts like battery or linplugs joints which are hot

nothing beats the real thing though.....

nah what i meant to say is this one is the 1st designed to look/act like an mpc almost.

that combined with FL's new loop record feature in v5 could interest a lot of people.

by the way, can anyone compare the "mpc swing" with the quantize templates FL provides?

It looks very similar to NI Battery to me, and i wasn't impresed with that at all. And that hot new LoopRecord function has been available in other sequencers for ages.
I've used most software samplers and drummachines and nothing can touch the mpc. Why? because the best thing about the mpc is not just the pads, it's the sequencer. No software sequencer is as good as the mpc when it comes to timing.
there's no point in making a softsampler look and act like an mpc, cause it can never be an mpc.

Yawn.

yeah. for fruity loops that would be real tight though, cause they dont really have a drum machine built in like say cubase or reason. But yeah to compare that to an mpc is crazy. the mpc has basically a s2000 samplers engine (the s2000 has more features it goes for about $200, but the mpc also has a $1000 sequncer. It shits on fl sequncer. But all it is, is a vst instument, and there are all kinds of vsts drum modules.

why exactly does it shit on fl's sequencer? they seem pretty similar to me...

just the convience and the swing and the the midi control. 64 tracks no latecny or crashes do to track count like pcs, song mode and track mutes and next seq are real intutive ways to make songs. the list goes on. It is rugged.

having real time loop record in fruity will change it alot

that's one thing i always thought it should have

i would like to comment but i will spare you guys today but then again ...

the mpc is rock solid. it may be the best sequencer as far as timing goes. in my opinion, a sampler is a sampler is a sampler. you load the sample and trigger the sample. i like battery 2 and intakt as a drum machine/sampler and in my opinion when i load my akai samples into battery 2 and intakt they sound very nice to me (i am not saying they sound better than any other sampler but they sound nice after tweaking the effects). again in my opinion a sampler is a sampler is a sampler. that is way in my opinion reason is nice because you can have as many samplers and effects that your computer can handle (i am not saying that reason samplers are better than any other sampler. again, a sampler is a sampler is a sampler in my opinion. i could be wrong).

the badest drum machine out today is stylus rmx (which i got last week). it is a bad boy. if you get a chance check it out.

i one thing i do not like about the mpc is the workflow and the time it takes to load samples. that why i like live4 (i am not saying that it is better or worst than any other sequencer) because of the workflow, the browsers for the vsti to load the samplers and saving the songs/setups/settings.

how long does it take to name you sequences, songs, and samples. when i create music i like to flow. i just can not flow with the mpc it is almost a hassle to program (in my opinion). there are allot of people that think that it is all about the mpc pads but i use a drumkat to trigger my samples.


inclusion, with the mpc you definitly get your money worth and that is the bottom line when making any purchare (getting your money worth). i have definitly got my money worth out of the mpc. no queston about that. with today technology i would not buy one today. 3 or 4 years ago no question but today

as i said the mpc has a $200 sampler. the sequncer is why u are payin for the mpc. If u are trying to have a midi studio the mpc is a great workstation to control other things (computers, keyboards, effects units, samplers, etc... any thing midi) It allows u to bring that all into one easy to operate interface. I havent used my mpcs sampler though in months. its like the brain of my setup and does all the sequing for all my stuff.

i dont think a sampler is a sampler. I mean, look at the s950 for example....or the asr. Part of their hardware component give it character. As far as the mpc sampler goes, i think the workflow with the sequencer and its sampler also gives your beats a certain feel, that is more difficult to accomplish with software....im not talking about "rock solid timing"

im talking about how you loop, chop, and arrange your samples because of the way the pads, program settings work with the sequencer.

and it definately is a midi beast....i have 3 other sequencers: my triton, emu, and software. I feel like its work on anything but the mpc.

there goes the beat making market.