Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
By DJ EPIK Tue Nov 12, 2013 8:08 am
Hey guys.... I noticed recently that my MPC2000XL seems to be making a hissing noise out of the main 1/4" outputs (very similar to old school analog tape hiss & air). It's not really noticeable much when I just play a beat out of it, but more so when I separate my sounds & track out my beats into Logic or protools. I track the beats out using an MBox2 & basic HOSA cables, & this has been noticeable using 2 different Mbox units. This is getting very annoying & making the quality sound poor (IMO) once I track the sounds separately. Anyhow, is this a common issue & are my outputs most likely bad? Can they be cleaned & if so, how do I go about cleaning them? or do I just need to replace them?

Thanks
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By peterpiper Tue Nov 12, 2013 7:04 pm
i never had hissy outputs on any sampler and I don't know what the issue might be but here are some thoughts:

Are your samples sampled loud enough?
Is the hiss constant (its there although you don't play a sample?

A workaaround might be the Master Level Boost optionin the SETUP menu. You can boost the Master +6 and +12 dB. So if the hiss is really from the output this setting will make it practically 12 dB quiter wihich is a lot IMO.

peace
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By SimonInAustralia Tue Nov 12, 2013 7:09 pm
Yes, I would be guessing it is a gain stage/noise floor issue.

Maybe samples not recorded hot enough in the first place, maybe MPC volume not set to maximum and MBox gain set to give good strong levels, maybe not using full level on the MPC and not outputting strong levels, etc.?

Also might be low level USB interference/ground type noise, adding up over multiple takes.

Can you post a sample of the noise in question for us to listen to?
By DJ EPIK Tue Nov 12, 2013 9:31 pm
Thanks for the replies guys. I sample most of my stuff so that it is close to peaking, so I know I am sampling loud enough. I notice the hiss gets louder as I turn the overall MPC volume up, even if Im just running the outs into my mixing board (without using a DAW or M Box).

Let me see if I can get some quick recordings to post.
By JVC Tue Nov 12, 2013 9:45 pm
DJ EPIK wrote:Hey guys.... I noticed recently that my MPC2000XL seems to be making a hissing noise out of the main 1/4" outputs (very similar to old school analog tape hiss & air). It's not really noticeable much when I just play a beat out of it, but more so when I separate my sounds & track out my beats into Logic or protools. I track the beats out using an MBox2 & basic HOSA cables, & this has been noticeable using 2 different Mbox units. This is getting very annoying & making the quality sound poor (IMO) once I track the sounds separately. Anyhow, is this a common issue & are my outputs most likely bad? Can they be cleaned & if so, how do I go about cleaning them? or do I just need to replace them?

Thanks

As far as I know, my MPC-2000XL is very quiet, I hear very, very little air noise with maximum volume.

Most likely it comes from your computer device, they are usual suspects. It could be ground loop, or / and your computer's AC adapter or power supply is releasing noise to audio pass.
I have to find out where it coming from. Easiest way to do is disconnect every thing from your system, and check for noise, and connect one device each, and check for noise, continue the process until you find the source.
By DJ EPIK Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:29 pm
So I ran my MPC straight into my little Beringer mixing board & hooked up a set of headphones to the board to listen to it (instead of using my monitors. I definitely can hear the hiss louder as I turn the MPC's volume up. When I boosted the overal DB level of the main outputs via the MPC, it got even louder.
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By SimonInAustralia Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:32 pm
Are you turning it up to normal listening levels, so the beat is at normal levels, not deafening you?

Everything will have some level of self-noise, I guess you need to determine if it is normal or not.
By DJ EPIK Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:35 pm
SimonInAustralia wrote:Are you turning it up to normal listening levels, so the beat is at normal levels, not deafening you?

Everything will have some level of self-noise, I guess you need to determine if it is normal or not.

The noise isn't even really noticeable when you just play a beat out of the mains, but when you track each sound separately, & you have multiple tracks layered, it's noticeable when tracks are solo'ed out.
,especially if you only have sparse drum tracks playing. Maybe I'm trippin, I dunno, but I never noticed it until the engineer who was mixing & mastering my stuff pointed it out to me.
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By peterpiper Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:10 pm
Seem your MPC really have a problem (something in the output amp stage).
Like I said before, a workaround might be the 12dB boost setting in the SETUP menu. This should make the samples louder without boosting the noise.

peace