By mjackman
Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:04 pm
Hello folks
Was hoping to get a little advise with regards to buying an MPC and if i actually need / will benefit from using one.
I am very much a beginner, and am currently starting to get to grips with Cubase and Reason (although I still have much to learn about both). I enjoy making beats very much however I am finding that the method which has to be used in order to create beats within cubase or reason does not seem to be very fluid ie, i load a drum set then use keys on my midi keyboard to trigger the sounds on my pc, which for some reason seems to take me a while since i struggle to remember which key triggers which drum sound. A friend of mine overseas gave me a brief demonstration of their Akai XR20 and I was blown away at the ease and speed at which he was able to quickly knock up a simple beat. I personally feel its easier to knock out a beat using pads rather than keys, if that makes sence? Especially creating beats real time rather than hitting random buttons then having to edit the beat after in cubase / reason.
I am looking to create Drum & Bass tracks, but as i understand it, the Akai xr20 comes with mostly hiphop / r&b voices, or samples if I can even call them that (sounds) however maybe this info is innaccurate.... So I guess I have a few questions:
1. With MPCs in general, am i limited to the sounds which come with the device, or can i download / install / flash updates for it?
2. Can I use the MPC in a similar way to my midi keyboard to trigger drum sounds, so if I load in a midi drum set in Reason / Cubase, each pad will be assigned a different drum from that set? If it is the case that i am stuck with the samples / sounds which are on the MPC, then at least this way I can keep updating my midi instruments on my pc and use the akai pads to trigger the sounds?
3. If I create a loop on the MPC, can I play the audio output of the MPC into the audio input of my M-Audio soundcard and record it somehow, and is this recommended? Any loss of quality here? Can I also save this audio loop on the MPC itself? Is this generally the best way to incorporate a beat which is made on an MPC into a computer-made track (ie recording ther audio output of the MPC) or is it best to have the MIDI from the pc trigger the events on the MCP itself and have the audio output from the MPC going into a mixer?
4. Can MPCs sample? Are they used this way?
I could be talking a lot of rubbish here as I am a big noob but i thank anyone in advance for any help and any corrections would also be much appreciated! Thanks very much!!
Mark J.
Was hoping to get a little advise with regards to buying an MPC and if i actually need / will benefit from using one.
I am very much a beginner, and am currently starting to get to grips with Cubase and Reason (although I still have much to learn about both). I enjoy making beats very much however I am finding that the method which has to be used in order to create beats within cubase or reason does not seem to be very fluid ie, i load a drum set then use keys on my midi keyboard to trigger the sounds on my pc, which for some reason seems to take me a while since i struggle to remember which key triggers which drum sound. A friend of mine overseas gave me a brief demonstration of their Akai XR20 and I was blown away at the ease and speed at which he was able to quickly knock up a simple beat. I personally feel its easier to knock out a beat using pads rather than keys, if that makes sence? Especially creating beats real time rather than hitting random buttons then having to edit the beat after in cubase / reason.
I am looking to create Drum & Bass tracks, but as i understand it, the Akai xr20 comes with mostly hiphop / r&b voices, or samples if I can even call them that (sounds) however maybe this info is innaccurate.... So I guess I have a few questions:
1. With MPCs in general, am i limited to the sounds which come with the device, or can i download / install / flash updates for it?
2. Can I use the MPC in a similar way to my midi keyboard to trigger drum sounds, so if I load in a midi drum set in Reason / Cubase, each pad will be assigned a different drum from that set? If it is the case that i am stuck with the samples / sounds which are on the MPC, then at least this way I can keep updating my midi instruments on my pc and use the akai pads to trigger the sounds?
3. If I create a loop on the MPC, can I play the audio output of the MPC into the audio input of my M-Audio soundcard and record it somehow, and is this recommended? Any loss of quality here? Can I also save this audio loop on the MPC itself? Is this generally the best way to incorporate a beat which is made on an MPC into a computer-made track (ie recording ther audio output of the MPC) or is it best to have the MIDI from the pc trigger the events on the MCP itself and have the audio output from the MPC going into a mixer?
4. Can MPCs sample? Are they used this way?
I could be talking a lot of rubbish here as I am a big noob but i thank anyone in advance for any help and any corrections would also be much appreciated! Thanks very much!!
Mark J.
