By innovine
Sun Nov 18, 2012 9:23 pm
Although you can operate the front panel with midi (midi notes map more or less one-to-one with the mpc frontpanel), you can't do much in the way of 'midi learn' for mapping a note to internal functions. For instance, how do you set it up so you can choose an arbitrary sequence with the corresponding midi note, and also go to the next sequence with another? You cant, you can either be in Next Seq screen, or in Song Mode (where the Next function can be mapped) but you cant have both at the same time. This is a major problem for me as I play drums along with backing tracks from the MPC. I want to hit a drum pad to send a midi note to do things on the MPC (which I can't easily see/reach when playing), and I dont want to have to play a complicated drumfill every time I want to just to get the MPC to change modes and dive in menus.
My studio is made up of a command station, a dtx multi12, pod 500hd and a td-12 all heavily connected together with MIDI, and I have to say that the MPC is the most troublesome of the bunch. My EMX is pretty retarded when it comes to MIDI Control, but at least it tends not to get in the way either. The MIDI control on the MPC is IMHO poorly designed, and many features seemed to have been squeezed in later by JJ rather than designed in from the start. Features are laid out in a sort of clumsy way IMHO, just making the front panel controllable via midi isnt the same thing as making the MPC easily operational via MIDI. There are many tricks involving routing a midi out back to the in and triggering stuff that way, but I need all my midi ports already. Your milage may vary however, based on what sort of midi control you want to do with it.
My studio is made up of a command station, a dtx multi12, pod 500hd and a td-12 all heavily connected together with MIDI, and I have to say that the MPC is the most troublesome of the bunch. My EMX is pretty retarded when it comes to MIDI Control, but at least it tends not to get in the way either. The MIDI control on the MPC is IMHO poorly designed, and many features seemed to have been squeezed in later by JJ rather than designed in from the start. Features are laid out in a sort of clumsy way IMHO, just making the front panel controllable via midi isnt the same thing as making the MPC easily operational via MIDI. There are many tricks involving routing a midi out back to the in and triggering stuff that way, but I need all my midi ports already. Your milage may vary however, based on what sort of midi control you want to do with it.
