Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
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By inflict3 Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:00 pm
yo, ive been really getting down chopping on my 500, even as a 1000jjos and maschine owner, i prefer chopping on my 500, not sure why.. the 500 reminds me of a mini 3000... my workflow goes::: i sample something, go into trim mode, normalize the sample,. i make sure the loop is off and the start point link is on. i then trim the start point of the sample where i want it and then i discard. so it gets rid of all that stuff i didnt want before the st point. i then copy the sample to the next pad and trim the st point of the next sample to where i want it and copy that sample to the next pad, and get its st point where i want it, and so on and so on. when ive got the sample chopped, well, just the st points, i go back and trim all the end points up, then i go into program mode set all the polys to mono and put all the samples to the same mute group. i then play around with the samples and make sure i got the st and end points how i want em and everything sounds good. after that i go back into trim mode, scroll through each sample and in edit menu i hit discard, this trims off anything before the start point and anything after the end point on each sample..this is my method and im fast as shit at it now.,hope this helps someone.. cause man, when i first got my 500 i would chop in recycle and bring my stuff into the 500, man, thats just wack i think., i love chopping on this thing now!! :nod:
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By Riggs Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:51 pm
Thanks for this! I was just looking at eBay ads for 1000s 2500s and 5000s. I get this gear lust thing every now and then. I guess I'm wondering if I'm missing something on the 500 that I could get from one of the other mpcs... Things like this are why I use the 500. Especially while I'm hanging out in the living room watching tv sipping on some coffee... not plugged up to anything but headphones... not stuck in a studio at a desk with a bunch of wires...

Here's how I do it when I chop up a phrase...
I'll get on a blank program and for pads A1 - A8 set all the levels to 100, Mono and mute group 1.

I'll sample something, name it something01 and put it on pad A1. Then I'll go to trim mode and copy it and assign something02 to pad A2. And then I'll copy it and assign something03 to pad A3... all the way up to A8.

I'll go set the start and end point for sample something01. Then I'll switch to sample something02 and set the start point to equal the end point of the last sample and then set the end. I'll do this all the way up to sample something08.

I'll go play the pads and see how it sounds. If I need to adjust something, I'll do it in trim mode and try again till the program sounds good.
Once I'm happy, I go to trim mode and run discard for all the samples.


I like your idea about setting all the starts and not even fooling with the ends till later! I'm gonna do it that way next time... Thanks!

My favorite part about chopping on the 500 is that I don't spend much time looking at the screen at all. I'll be looking around the room at other stuff while my ears do the chopping. Nice!

Now that I wrote this, I can go back to my eBay surfing... :lol:
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By inflict3 Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:26 pm
Yea. Try it my way and see how u like it..I don't even mess with getting the end point from say 01 to ne the same as the st point of 02 ..meaning I don't get the numbers exactly the same. I just purely go by ear...I use to do it ur way. Assigning em all at once up the pads but I found my method now is a bit faster. I blaze hella when making beats and sometimes I totally forget what I'm doing.. this somehow helps..lol
By coolderb Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:18 pm
inflict3 wrote:yo, ive been really getting down chopping on my 500, even as a 1000jjos and maschine owner, i prefer chopping on my 500, not sure why.. the 500 reminds me of a mini 3000... my workflow goes::: i sample something, go into trim mode, normalize the sample,. i make sure the loop is off and the start point link is on. i then trim the start point of the sample where i want it and then i discard. so it gets rid of all that stuff i didnt want before the st point. i then copy the sample to the next pad and trim the st point of the next sample to where i want it and copy that sample to the next pad, and get its st point where i want it, and so on and so on. when ive got the sample chopped, well, just the st points, i go back and trim all the end points up, then i go into program mode set all the polys to mono and put all the samples to the same mute group. i then play around with the samples and make sure i got the st and end points how i want em and everything sounds good. after that i go back into trim mode, scroll through each sample and in edit menu i hit discard, this trims off anything before the start point and anything after the end point on each sample..this is my method and im fast as **** at it now.,hope this helps someone.. cause man, when i first got my 500 i would chop in recycle and bring my stuff into the 500, man, thats just wack i think., i love chopping on this thing now!! :nod:


Thanks for sharing your technique! I'm just becoming acquainted with the 500 and your method sounds like just what I need.
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By inflict3 Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:12 am
glad this helps.. again, make sure the start point linking is on in trim mode before hitting discard. usually it is, but for some reason lastnight i was chopping some drumloops i got from mpctutor and everytime i hit discard it would take away the start point i just adjusted,. i was stumped and thought there was a bug..so if u make sure its on from the start then when u copy the sample to the next pad it will be on for that one too. its weird how its just off on this one set of loops i bought from tutor, also that same set of loops has the loop function on in trim mode too.. really confuses me cause they are just wav files, none of the other loops i bought from tutor have done this.. oh well, guess i know what start point linking does now...lol
By coolderb Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:56 am
inflict3 wrote:glad this helps.. again, make sure the start point linking is on in trim mode before hitting discard. usually it is, but for some reason lastnight i was chopping some drumloops i got from mpctutor and everytime i hit discard it would take away the start point i just adjusted,. i was stumped and thought there was a bug..so if u make sure its on from the start then when u copy the sample to the next pad it will be on for that one too. its weird how its just off on this one set of loops i bought from tutor, also that same set of loops has the loop function on in trim mode too.. really confuses me cause they are just wav files, none of the other loops i bought from tutor have done this.. oh well, guess i know what start point linking does now...lol



Good to know! Some audio files have embedded metadata that causes them to behave a certain way. Certain audio editors have different options for saving the metadata such as those "acidized" wave files that were popular back in the day.
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By S.I.C.K THE DRUMGOD Thu Jan 31, 2013 2:28 pm
Dope post!! I have a related question/comment.Do y`all mess with the LOOP ON feature??I don`t.

Also I also have problems when using the "ST LINK" function.Sometimes it get`s in my way and won`t let me trim the end points as close as I would like.Like there`s some barrier present.When I turn "ST LINK"off,it seems to chop to my liking.Sometimes I toggle between both modes.Actually I chop in my SU700 so I can apply effects first then dump them into the 500.

Sometimes when high I tend to turn the job knob the wrong way and wonder"why I can`t find my end points"LOL

I love this machine!!!
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By Riggs Thu Jan 31, 2013 2:44 pm
I use loop on when the sample is going to use note on in the program. Like when I'm making a sound that loops quick like a milisecond sample that I want to oscillate to make a synth type sound.

I know what you mean about dialing the wrong way. Sometimes I catch myself setting the loop start instead of the sample start. I'll be like s#!t!
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By inflict3 Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:51 pm
S.I.C.K THE DRUMGOD wrote:Dope post!! I have a related question/comment.Do y`all mess with the LOOP ON feature??I don`t.

Also I also have problems when using the "ST LINK" function.Sometimes it get`s in my way and won`t let me trim the end points as close as I would like.Like there`s some barrier present.When I turn "ST LINK"off,it seems to chop to my liking.Sometimes I toggle between both modes.Actually I chop in my SU700 so I can apply effects first then dump them into the 500.

Sometimes when high I tend to turn the job knob the wrong way and wonder"why I can`t find my end points"LOL

I love this machine!!!


i dont use loop on, it **** with me, but i can see its use.. i am careful on the end points cause if u turn em past the start point it messes with it, so this must only happen when st link is on huh? i never noticed that cause my st link is always on. but i did notice when st link is off and u get ur st point where u want it and hit discard, it discards ur st point setting bringing the st point back to where it was before, not with the st linking on it discards the part of the sample before the st point.. ive had my 500 since 08' and i just learned this about the st link a couple days ago, funny to me!! yes, i LOVE my 500. i have a potable dvd player case by icon i bought from radio shack that my 500 fits into perfectly, snug as a bug. it has a handle, like a lil mini laptop/briefcase, i bring it with me everyday most places i go..
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By Ill-Green Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:42 pm
Loop On is for when you want to loop a sample by using the Shift key, thats the only use I find it for.

I love chopping on this, either with Extract or just copying samples to multiple pads and adjusting the points, **** a chop shop, I'm the one chopping in this shop. Your way seems interesting Inflict.
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By inflict3 Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:11 pm
Ill-Green wrote:Loop On is for when you want to loop a sample by using the Shift key, thats the only use I find it for.

I love chopping on this, either with Extract or just copying samples to multiple pads and adjusting the points, **** a chop shop, I'm the one chopping in this shop. Your way seems interesting Inflict.


thanks ILL..try it, try it!! discard is my best friend now, just dont use it on the first sample till u are sure ur points are where u want em..ive tried many different methods of chopping on this, and the way i do it, i found really works for me. and i get blazed as **** before i make and while i make beats, and im not just talking joints or bowls. im talking hella oil hits, the vape running the whole time always being repacked when finnished, and even medibles.. sometimes i look up from making a beat and cant even tell what the **** is going on,. so i know if i found a method for chopping on the 500 where u aint always forgetting whats going on, or what you were just doing, its gotta be good.. i found when i just copy the same sample to all the pads and go to each one to adjust the points by like the 4th or 5th one i start forgetting what i was trying to go for :hmmm:
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By S.I.C.K THE DRUMGOD Fri Feb 01, 2013 2:29 pm
Like when I'm making a sound that loops quick like a milisecond sample that I want to oscillate to make a synth type sound.
^^^
Hmmmm*strokes chin*

Always something new to discover about this machine.Another way to manipulate samples.Nice
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By damien907 Fri Feb 01, 2013 5:55 pm
this makes me want to try chopping on a 500 again, i wish i still had mine.

@sick: if loop on is the same as it is in my jjos2xl on my 1k, its a super dope feature, i use it to extend notes. ie say i have a sample that plays but has a little bit of space in between some notes at 85 bpm, but i want it to loop perfect.

i go in to all my chops and i set loop mode on, then i make it loop the last section of the sample over and over again. i prefer crossfade looping as opposed to forward looping or forward then reverse loooping.

so now after i do this in the trim screen, i go back into my program editor part and adjust the release time to around 80-85 ish so my sample isnt fading out so fast that i dont hear the loop i just made.

now i set all my mute groups to 1 so everything in my melody cuts it self off and when i bang my pads, the gap between the notes is gone now. i can also play with the seqeunce bpm for like 10 or 12 bpm and it will still loop fine.

when jimmie (another member on here) posted and taught me how to use loop mode correctly it was one of the most eye opening moments in beat making history for me.

the key is adjusting the release afterwards or you wont be able to hear your loops the same in program mode as you were in trim mode. also, you have to set your mute groups or they will just loop on for along time and over lap each other.
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By -niN Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:21 pm
my way is similar to Inflicts. except, I tend to use NDC.. pretty much all the time actually
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By Riggs Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:28 pm
damien907 wrote:i go in to all my chops and i set loop mode on, then i make it loop the last section of the sample over and over again. i prefer crossfade looping as opposed to forward looping or forward then reverse loooping.

so now after i do this in the trim screen, i go back into my program editor part and adjust the release time to around 80-85 ish so my sample isnt fading out so fast that i dont hear the loop i just made.



This is some good stuff here! Thanks for this damien!