MPC Live pairable device ideas for travel...

I've yet to take my Live on the road, but when I do, my plan is to use the stand alone VSTs provided in the 2.3 update and some drum samples that I've yet to autosample. I'll then replace them and flesh out these sketches when I'm back in the studio. I typically rely on VSTs & hard synths, so this is as close as I can get if packing light.

I'm researching small MIDI boards to play what I can't do on pads. The Keystep, LPK & CME Xkey are on the short list.

Bezo wrote:I've yet to take my Live on the road, but when I do, my plan is to use the stand alone VSTs provided in the 2.3 update and some drum samples that I've yet to autosample. I'll then replace them and flesh out these sketches when I'm back in the studio. I typically rely on VSTs & hard synths, so this is as close as I can get if packing light.

I'm researching small MIDI boards to play what I can't do on pads. The Keystep, LPK & CME Xkey are on the short list.

I LOVe my XKey, but playing certain chords was pretty difficult for me (B dim if I remember correctly). You can invert it to make it easier, but the lack of height on the keys puts my fingers in a painful position....trying to stretch. I got the XKey bag, it fits great, but feels weird as it has a pouch for the smaller one AND the larger, I don't know why you would carry both of them.

I've honestly never tried hooking it up directly to the MPC, figured I would need to use the MIDI cable that CME wants like $40 or some other stupid ass amount for. Using it via bluetooth on the iPad has been a dream though, I swear by the form factor of full width keys *I got big hands heh)
- Unreall

Unreallystic wrote:

Bezo wrote:I've yet to take my Live on the road, but when I do, my plan is to use the stand alone VSTs provided in the 2.3 update and some drum samples that I've yet to autosample. I'll then replace them and flesh out these sketches when I'm back in the studio. I typically rely on VSTs & hard synths, so this is as close as I can get if packing light.

I'm researching small MIDI boards to play what I can't do on pads. The Keystep, LPK & CME Xkey are on the short list.

I LOVe my XKey, but playing certain chords was pretty difficult for me (B dim if I remember correctly). You can invert it to make it easier, but the lack of height on the keys puts my fingers in a painful position....trying to stretch. I got the XKey bag, it fits great, but feels weird as it has a pouch for the smaller one AND the larger, I don't know why you would carry both of them.

I've honestly never tried hooking it up directly to the MPC, figured I would need to use the MIDI cable that CME wants like $40 or some other stupid ass amount for. Using it via bluetooth on the iPad has been a dream though, I swear by the form factor of full width keys *I got big hands heh)
- Unreall

The XKey is on my list specifically because they offer a 37 full size key version. I need as many as possible while still being a "mini" keyboard. But I only thought of the benefits of the low profile keys. I'm sure I'll be OK with them, but I can see that being an issue.

I'm undecided on Air vs USB, but the one negative I keep coming across is the physical connection and proprietary cable. I'll probably go with the Air.

Thanks for the feedback. My only real concerns were the brand & the price. I've never heard of them until I came across this controller. That and hoping to find it on sale is why I don't own it already, but I have time before I need it.

I got mine at a weird time, when they were launching the newer one, and so somehow I paid for the cheaper 37 and got the more expensive one. The low profile is phenomenal, and while I primarily pointed to my difficulty/negatives, my true feelings are nothing but positive. The cable thing REALLY pissed me off, and I'm sure some of the Bdim issue is "user experience" and not centered around the device itself. Its velocity sensitive despite having such a short throw, and it may seem weird/difficult at first to get velocity where you want it, but you adjust very quickly. It's also SUPER durable.The Pitch bend is wonky *shrug*, but not a huge loss, nor impossible to use Frankly, I wish they expanded upon the form factor like ROLI did, with the weight and size of the 37, I wish I could have bought two that hooked together to form an 88, and it would be nice if there were a couple other add-ons to increase things like a pitch bend, better than currently instituted.

But man, full size keys in a portable package is too good...
...it would be GREAT if it could act like a traditional controller by plugging in a cheap MIDI cable...*sarcasm*
-Unreall

Unreallystic wrote:I got mine at a weird time, when they were launching the newer one, and so somehow I paid for the cheaper 37 and got the more expensive one. The low profile is phenomenal, and while I primarily pointed to my difficulty/negatives, my true feelings are nothing but positive. The cable thing REALLY pissed me off, and I'm sure some of the Bdim issue is "user experience" and not centered around the device itself. Its velocity sensitive despite having such a short throw, and it may seem weird/difficult at first to get velocity where you want it, but you adjust very quickly. It's also SUPER durable.The Pitch bend is wonky *shrug*, but not a huge loss, nor impossible to use Frankly, I wish they expanded upon the form factor like ROLI did, with the weight and size of the 37, I wish I could have bought two that hooked together to form an 88, and it would be nice if there were a couple other add-ons to increase things like a pitch bend, better than currently instituted.

But man, full size keys in a portable package is too good...
...it would be GREAT if it could act like a traditional controller by plugging in a cheap MIDI cable...*sarcasm*
-Unreall

Yeah, I got that you were generally happy with it. The Air will keep me away from the wire issue. And though the price seems high, it's not out of line with other bluetooth controllers, especially considering the 37 full size keys.

Oh yeah, the pitch bend. A button is less than ideal. I think that's what's keeping the Arturia on the list. 5 less keys (mini), a bit chunkier and more plastic, but a more convention pitch & mod "wheel" and better I/O. Being part of my traveling sketch rig, the Arturia's pluses & CME's negatives are not THAT much of an issue.

Small back story: I live in NC - we were getting hit with a hurricane and were planning on losing power for a substantial amount of time. I was trying to get together a group of equipment that I could run without needing to be plugged up, and preferably took AA or AAA batteries as opposed to rechargeable. Well between my boutiques, my volcas, my POs, etc - I felt "good" about my sounds, but the boutiques and the volcas all cry for some kind of midi controller, however I had a REAL hard time trying to find a MIDI controller that wasn't predicated on "plug this into a computer" or cost a good penny. The XKey looked to be perfect, it was rechargeable, but could run off the phone battery packs we had, and I could just go in the car worst case, but then I looked up the price of the cable to do, got so pissed off at how much they wanted for a stupid ass cable, and went and bought a Novation Circuit (I'm soooooo smart haha).

Fast Forward. We never lose power, a tree falls on my house (no real damage thank god), I don't use the Circuit, I take it back and flip it for a DrumBrute that was ridiculously marked down.

The XKey with the MIDI cable is a perfect solution for a MIDI controller when you don't have a computer setup, The AIR is great with say the iPad, but trying to use it on say the Novation Peak - is a waste of time without the cable.
-Unreall

Unreallystic wrote:Small back story: I live in NC - we were getting hit with a hurricane and were planning on losing power for a substantial amount of time. I was trying to get together a group of equipment that I could run without needing to be plugged up, and preferably took AA or AAA batteries as opposed to rechargeable. Well between my boutiques, my volcas, my POs, etc - I felt "good" about my sounds, but the boutiques and the volcas all cry for some kind of midi controller, however I had a REAL hard time trying to find a MIDI controller that wasn't predicated on "plug this into a computer" or cost a good penny. The XKey looked to be perfect, it was rechargeable, but could run off the phone battery packs we had, and I could just go in the car worst case, but then I looked up the price of the cable to do, got so pissed off at how much they wanted for a stupid ass cable, and went and bought a Novation Circuit (I'm soooooo smart haha).

Fast Forward. We never lose power, a tree falls on my house (no real damage thank god), I don't use the Circuit, I take it back and flip it for a DrumBrute that was ridiculously marked down.

The XKey with the MIDI cable is a perfect solution for a MIDI controller when you don't have a computer setup, The AIR is great with say the iPad, but trying to use it on say the Novation Peak - is a waste of time without the cable.
-Unreall

Glad your home stood up the the tree.

Yeah, your story reminds me that the Air is likely not the right fit. Though I may bring my CPU sometimes, the goal is to be able to work with just the Live & controller. I wish the Live could receive MIDI via bluetooth.

Bezo wrote:Glad your home stood up the the tree.

Yeah, your story reminds me that the Air is likely not the right fit. Though I may bring my CPU sometimes, the goal is to be able to work with just the Live & controller. I wish the Live could receive MIDI via bluetooth.

Oh I'm glad too, it literally fell on *top* of where my daughter and I were sitting, but a small tree absorbed the brunt of the shock, so we just had to do clean up, and knock the debris off the roof.

If you have the cable, the XKey would be terrific without a computer, I was just annoyed that...

https://www.amazon.com/CME-X-CABLE-Xkey ... way&sr=8-1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CME-Xcable-For ... ctupt=true

That was going for $30-$40.

For $200 - $300 depennding on sales you could get...
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Korg/monol ... hesizer.gc
...that would give you an extra synth for say basslines AND its battery power...able and has MIDI out, this was the third option when I was trying to prep for not having power for a week. Not as many octaves as the XKey, and a little larger, but it does pack an analog synth.
- Unreall

Unreallystic wrote:

Bezo wrote:Glad your home stood up the the tree.

Yeah, your story reminds me that the Air is likely not the right fit. Though I may bring my CPU sometimes, the goal is to be able to work with just the Live & controller. I wish the Live could receive MIDI via bluetooth.

Oh I'm glad too, it literally fell on *top* of where my daughter and I were sitting, but a small tree absorbed the brunt of the shock, so we just had to do clean up, and knock the debris off the roof.

If you have the cable, the XKey would be terrific without a computer, I was just annoyed that...

https://www.amazon.com/CME-X-CABLE-Xkey ... way&sr=8-1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CME-Xcable-For ... ctupt=true

That was going for $30-$40.

For $200 - $300 depennding on sales you could get...
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Korg/monol ... hesizer.gc
...that would give you an extra synth for say basslines AND its battery power...able and has MIDI out, this was the third option when I was trying to prep for not having power for a week. Not as many octaves as the XKey, and a little larger, but it does pack an analog synth.
- Unreall

Yeah, $30 is ridiculous for a MIDI adapter. However, I was informed that the Live DOES do MIDI over bluetooth. It's MIDI out over USB in stand alone mode that's not doable. The Air may be it after all.

I have all the synths I can use. I've been relying so much on softsynths that I may be selling 1 or 2.

The Arturia Keystep my personal ideal travel partner for the LIVE.

I can play lines and chords on pads if I must, but it just isn't in my core DNA, so for quickly getting musical phrases and progressions into my sequences, the Keystep is kind of necessary for me.

Plus, I use the Keystep all the time for portable live performance.

I've set up my hardshell case with a custom foam layout so that I can safely pack the Keystep in underneath the LIve. It holds power supplies, cables and my headphones, and fits in the overhead bin on flights, so at this point, it's all I need for minimal portable gigging.

I've brought the live on a few trips with me... and I just don't find myself getting into it. Personally I like to pack light though, and the Live is in the size/space department that I just find myself staring at it angrily if it doesn't get much use.

Been trying to repair my MPC 500, will see if that makes it on a trip or two with me once I fix the line/mic inputs... or I might take Lamp's consistent and solid advice of 'use the iPad'... I mean I'm bringing it with me anyways... and the best drum machine is the one you have with you.

NearTao wrote:I've brought the live on a few trips with me... and I just don't find myself getting into it. Personally I like to pack light though, and the Live is in the size/space department that I just find myself staring at it angrily if it doesn't get much use.

Been trying to repair my MPC 500, will see if that makes it on a trip or two with me once I fix the line/mic inputs... or I might take Lamp's consistent and solid advice of 'use the iPad'... I mean I'm bringing it with me anyways... and the best drum machine is the one you have with you.

The issue I roll into with the iPad is (1) the lack of tactile feedback, and (2) crashing...

oh man, the Live has only crashed on me maybe twice, but the iPad? Heck using iMPC Pro & trying to load most of my Audio Units will cause it to crash instantly...and I don't have an old beat-up iPad, this happens on my Air 2 and my Pro.

The iPad is great for "screwing around" or practicing certain things, but when I'm trying to really put in work it almost always lets me down in some capacity.
-Unreall

Unreallystic wrote:The issue I roll into with the iPad is (1) the lack of tactile feedback, and (2) crashing...

oh man, the Live has only crashed on me maybe twice, but the iPad? Heck using iMPC Pro & trying to load most of my Audio Units will cause it to crash instantly...and I don't have an old beat-up iPad, this happens on my Air 2 and my Pro.

The iPad is great for "screwing around" or practicing certain things, but when I'm trying to really put in work it almost always lets me down in some capacity.
-Unreall

So what did you decide to use on your vacation?

Unreallystic wrote:

NearTao wrote:I've brought the live on a few trips with me... and I just don't find myself getting into it. Personally I like to pack light though, and the Live is in the size/space department that I just find myself staring at it angrily if it doesn't get much use.

Been trying to repair my MPC 500, will see if that makes it on a trip or two with me once I fix the line/mic inputs... or I might take Lamp's consistent and solid advice of 'use the iPad'... I mean I'm bringing it with me anyways... and the best drum machine is the one you have with you.

The issue I roll into with the iPad is (1) the lack of tactile feedback, and (2) crashing...

oh man, the Live has only crashed on me maybe twice, but the iPad? Heck using iMPC Pro & trying to load most of my Audio Units will cause it to crash instantly...and I don't have an old beat-up iPad, this happens on my Air 2 and my Pro.

The iPad is great for "screwing around" or practicing certain things, but when I'm trying to really put in work it almost always lets me down in some capacity.
-Unreall

Can iMPC be a replacement for MPC 2.X? Is the Live/X mapped to control iMPC?

Because I rely on VSTs, I think iMPC would be good for my traveling set up, but I can't find any info or vids on the Live/iMPC combo.

Bezo wrote:Can iMPC be a replacement for MPC 2.X? Is the Live/X mapped to control iMPC?

Because I rely on VSTs, I think iMPC would be good for my traveling set up, but I can't find any info or vids on the Live/iMPC combo.

If you rely on VST's, I suggest getting a Ultra book or Mac Book Air and tethering your live with it.