Support and discussion for all of Akai’s modern standalone MPCs including the MPC X / X SE, MPC Live 1, 2 & 3, MPC One / One+, MPC Key 37/61.
By berryBagels Sat Feb 08, 2020 12:18 pm
Hello all,

I recently moved from a Live to an X, and decided to play with the built-in synth plugins (bassline, tubesynth, electric) on it. Unfortunately I've found that no matter which I use, I generally just get a distorted, choppy output that is not remotely how it should sound. I haven't experienced distortion anywhere else, normal kits / samples play just fine and sampling from my turntable works fine as well, however the synths just put out garbled noise. If I scroll quickly through the presets while pressing the pads I occasionally get the 'correct' sound, but only for the first hit, after that it's back to a garbled mess. I upgraded to the newest firmware as soon as I got the X, which was only a couple weeks ago, and hadn't gotten around to using the synths yet.

I can't seem to find any mention of this anywhere.. I can record an example if need be, but I'm hoping it's some known issue that I just can't find a discussion about. It's definitely not an issue with the output as everything else sounds fine and it doesn't matter whether I use headphones or the main output into my mixer. Basically, even something like the basic El Piano on Electric just sounds like farts.

Hoping someone has experienced this and it's not a hardware issue.. Any input is appreciated!
User avatar
By EnochLight Sat Feb 08, 2020 3:44 pm
berryBagels wrote:Hello all,

I recently moved from a Live to an X, and decided to play with the built-in synth plugins (bassline, tubesynth, electric) on it. Unfortunately I've found that no matter which I use, I generally just get a distorted, choppy output that is not remotely how it should sound. I haven't experienced distortion anywhere else, normal kits / samples play just fine and sampling from my turntable works fine as well, however the synths just put out garbled noise. If I scroll quickly through the presets while pressing the pads I occasionally get the 'correct' sound, but only for the first hit, after that it's back to a garbled mess. I upgraded to the newest firmware as soon as I got the X, which was only a couple weeks ago, and hadn't gotten around to using the synths yet.

I can't seem to find any mention of this anywhere.. I can record an example if need be, but I'm hoping it's some known issue that I just can't find a discussion about. It's definitely not an issue with the output as everything else sounds fine and it doesn't matter whether I use headphones or the main output into my mixer. Basically, even something like the basic El Piano on Electric just sounds like farts.

Hoping someone has experienced this and it's not a hardware issue.. Any input is appreciated!


A few questions:


    1. Was the X brand new when you bought it?
    2. Are you on the latest 2.7.2 firmware?
    3. What firmware was your Live on before the switch?
    4. Did you try doing a Factory Reset under Settings => Info => Reset?
By berryBagels Sat Feb 08, 2020 3:47 pm
Ah, well nevermind, I've sorted that out, I was just forgetting that the pads start w/ very low notes that the synths can't do apparently, as I generally would use a keyboard I never noticed on the live. I can't seem to delete the topic or I would do so, if a mod would care to please feel free. Sorry about that (and thanks for trying Enoch, just me being brain dead for a moment there).
By CharlesRandolph Sat Feb 08, 2020 3:53 pm
Check the octaves.

berryBagels wrote:Hello all,

I recently moved from a Live to an X, and decided to play with the built-in synth plugins (bassline, tubesynth, electric) on it. Unfortunately I've found that no matter which I use, I generally just get a distorted, choppy output that is not remotely how it should sound. I haven't experienced distortion anywhere else, normal kits / samples play just fine and sampling from my turntable works fine as well, however the synths just put out garbled noise. If I scroll quickly through the presets while pressing the pads I occasionally get the 'correct' sound, but only for the first hit, after that it's back to a garbled mess. I upgraded to the newest firmware as soon as I got the X, which was only a couple weeks ago, and hadn't gotten around to using the synths yet.

I can't seem to find any mention of this anywhere.. I can record an example if need be, but I'm hoping it's some known issue that I just can't find a discussion about. It's definitely not an issue with the output as everything else sounds fine and it doesn't matter whether I use headphones or the main output into my mixer. Basically, even something like the basic El Piano on Electric just sounds like farts.

Hoping someone has experienced this and it's not a hardware issue.. Any input is appreciated!
User avatar
By Lampdog Sat Feb 08, 2020 4:57 pm
berryBagels wrote:Ah, well nevermind, I've sorted that out, I was just forgetting that the pads start w/ very low notes that the synths can't do apparently, as I generally would use a keyboard I never noticed on the live. I can't seem to delete the topic or I would do so, if a mod would care to please feel free. Sorry about that (and thanks for trying Enoch, just me being brain dead for a moment there).

I’ll leave it in case someone has the same problem.
User avatar
By EnochLight Sat Feb 08, 2020 6:21 pm
berryBagels wrote:Ah, well nevermind, I've sorted that out, I was just forgetting that the pads start w/ very low notes that the synths can't do apparently, as I generally would use a keyboard I never noticed on the live. I can't seem to delete the topic or I would do so, if a mod would care to please feel free. Sorry about that (and thanks for trying Enoch, just me being brain dead for a moment there).


Glad to see you got things sorted. Cheers