2000xl Memory issues. please help meh!

So, I got an XL last week and I've been playing with it since. Ive recorded a couple of sequences (kick, snare, sample) and now i'm out of memory. I literally can't load anymore sounds onto the machine from my cf.

It says the free memory for sound is 1900k and free memory for sequence is 2640k
now, I know that whenever I load a sound, it takes memory depending on the size.
in this case, my 8 second sample was 1200k and the single kick, single snare, and 2 bass hits ate up the remaining memory. This all makes sense, but my question is,

How am I supposed to construct a song with such limited memory?
its particularly frustrating to deal with considering i'm still learning the basics of the machine, but is this really all I have to work with unless I open it up and add RAM?

For example, if I wanted to use this 1200k, 8 sec sample and also sample a bassline from a record, I wouldn't have room for drums or anything else for that matter.

So, please let me know if i'm missing something, or if there are any solutions to this problem. I could quite possibly be overlooking something very simple because i'm not really clear on sequencing either.

thanks for the help.
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well it looks like you don't have the memory maxed out... you can put 32 megs into the machine and that can be bought for under 10 bucks...


now, first of all.. you have more than enough memory to make a full song.


an 8 second sample is often overkill.


first thing to do is sample in mono... not stereo. In the sample screen you can pick input L, R, or stereo L+R. Choose one side only... especially for drum sounds or bass... for the time being forget loading up sounds from the PC by transferring them with disks.. sample into the machine using the record function. If your sample is already stereo, in the trim screen you can convert the sample to mono.. it will make a separate sample for the left and right.. then delete one of them.


next.. now that you have mono samples (that essentially double the amount of time you can fit) you gotta start trimming bits you don't need. For kicks, they only need to be a half a second long most of the time... not several seconds... cut off the dead space at the end. If the sample ends abruptly then in the program/params screen you can adjust the decay so it fades out smoother. If you can cut up a melody sample into parts and make each of those parts a bit shorter... you will save some sample time... try doing that and in the params menu you can pitch those sounds down a bit which makes them longer.

Bass sounds... if it is just a bass drone or something that doesn't change or doesn't have a sweep or something... cut it really short and in the trim screen you can loop the sound. mess with precise trimming to avoid a clicking sound when it loops... and adjust that attack and decay to help fix it too.


Another popular trick for not only increasing the sample time but to also make samples sound more rugged... in the computer or record player or what ever the source... pitch up the sound first.. on a turntable you can switch the speed to 45rpm (if it is a 33rpm LP) and then record it into the mpc high pitched... then pitch it down in the mpc back to the normal pitch... that way you record a faster (shorter) length sample which saves time.


try some of those tricks out...

THANK YOU.

you just solved so many issues just now.

first though, about the memory expansion, i'd have to buy the hardware and manually install it into the machine i'm assuming? if so, i'll figure it out.

and yea, I pulled a clip off of youtube, chopped it, converted it, and loaded it. It was fun while it lasted, but apparently not the way to go using an XL. Now noted.

I got a turntable today and haven't had the chance to explore direct sampling, but I've read tons of stuff on it, so that should come in time.

My main struggle right now is organizing sequences. I know that seq.+seq.+seq.=song, but am I supposed to copy the drums to every sequence if I want them to play the whole song? also I cant figure out how to change the Attack, Decay, pitch and what not of a single sound or track. My slider doesn't work, but there definitely has to be a way around that.

Its a handful, but i'm just tryna get bizzy.

MastaMccasta wrote:first though, about the memory expansion, i'd have to buy the hardware and manually install it into the machine i'm assuming? if so, i'll figure it out.

It has 2MB of onboard memory.

You need the correct specification of computer memory modules (SIMM) to suit the MPC2000XL.

It takes a maximum of 32MB, there are 2 memory expansion slots, so to install maximum memory you use either 2 x 16MB SIMMs or 1 x 32MB SIMM.

Just make sure you get the correct specification of SIMM to suit the MPC2000XL, the info should be in the manual or other threads in the forums.

yes, forget the slider for now.... it may or may not work but it requires activating and assigning (shift+after) however in the shift+6 and you push F key for the params menu and then push the pad you want to change the settings for... you can adjust the decay attack pitch, the mono/poly which is how the sample cuts off or overlaps. push open window on stuff in there like the mono/poly/note off setting to adjust pad mutes.. which make pads cut other pads off.

Thanks bruh. Once again.
I know exactly which screen you're talking about.
And The memory upgrade sounds worth it.
I've been wondering what's under her dress anyway.