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 Mista 808 Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:35 am
Hello fellow MPC X and live users! I have an MPC X that I've owned for almost a couple of years now and recently I've been having some issues with terrible clipping/unwanted distortion (NOT THE GOOD KIND). Basically if I take an 808 drum for example and try to lay a very basic pattern with the 808 it'll start clipping like crazy. This was never the case up until very recently. It's at the point now where it's completely interrupting my work flow and rather than working on a dope project right now I'm typing this message instead. :(

I never had this issue ever with the years and years of me using FL studio and other DAWs such as Reason.
I also want you to understand that I'm not someone who just started producing. I've made thousands of beats in the last 20+ years so it's not like I'm some newbie who doesn't understand mixing/compression/eq/headroom etc. My only fix for this so far (sort of) is to turn the sample of the 808 or whatever bass type of instrument I'm using down to like -9 or -10 db. This however makes the 808 or whatever sample I'm using so quiet that it's not even worth having in the project. Like I legit can't even HEAR it anymore and yet I STILL will see it going into the red. What gives?

I also am the type of producer who will do a little mixing as I'm producing the beat but for the most part I wait until the project or idea is almost finished before I really get into mixing but this is so unbearable in it's current state I can't even stay inspired long enough to get through the pain of the clipping/distortion.
I was on these forums and read about other people having faulty units but they specifically had this issue only in controller mode when connected to the PC. I'm having this issue in standalone mode.

If you have any ideas please shoot them my way! At this point I'm contemplating a 100 foot jump from a balcony head first into the pavement. :x

EDIT - Part of me is wondering if perhaps I'm not using the right adapter/plug for my MPC? I went several months without using my MPC since I was really busy with other projects in FL Studio and my girlfriend unfortunately mixed up a bunch of adapters/cables in one bin when I was out of town and I wasn't 100% sure which one was for the MPC and which one was for perhaps and older laptop etc. I have several adapters that all look very similar and none of them actually say AKAI on them or anything that would make me say "THATS THE ONE FOR THE MPC!" So I'm almost feeling like perhaps in the last week of using my MPC that I'm using some adapter that's not supplying my MPC with the proper amount of volts or something like this? No idea. If you own an MPC X could you possibly take a photo of the adapter that came with your MPC so I can at least eliminate this from my troubleshooting list?
By Mista 808 Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:07 am
Bro WTF! I love you! I was lowering the samples volume by lowering the "pad volume" associated with the pad
that was used to trigger the sample. But once I turned down the program that the sample was in I can now raise
my 808 and my others to a normal level without the clipping. I guess being fairly new to MPC's I assumed that pad
volume and program volume were essentially the same thing? Thanks a ton!
By Cockdiesel Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:25 am
Not really on “purpose”, bad wording. Just seems a lot of things get louder and more pronounced from the samples to the effects. Even the filters and other effects seem to really the loudness. Most of the stock drum kits are clipping when you load them.
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By Lampdog Sun Jul 05, 2020 1:51 pm
I DID notice some stock sounds going over 0db and clipping.
Lot’s of the stock sounds are layered and gains just run rampant.
When turning off fx I also noticed gains calmed down a lot.
By Tabletop Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:06 pm
Just figured i'd confirm also.
Since updating to 2.8, a lot of the internal vault samples are clipping upon loading. Not detrimental, but definitely one more annoying thing about 2.8.
On a similar but opposite note, has anyone else had very low input volume when sampling? I have the REC IN volume at 3/4 to full and can barely hear the input sometimes...
1/4 or RCA, doesn't matter.
By 40Beatz Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:33 pm
One possible reason for that......Alot of the Effect Initial Presets have been changed. Like the Air Reverb Init Settings changed. It used to be set at 50% Wet....Now it Defaults to 100% Wet. That alone will throw some sounds off if they have a Default Air Reverb on the Program. Other Effects have similar changes.

Right now I have my X on 2.8....and My Live on 2.6. I compared them and noticed it.
By Tabletop Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:50 pm
Lampdog wrote:I haven’t run into that problem on MPC X.
Checked input 3/4, line phono switch?
Direct/Main knob?


Yeah, checked everything. This was happening before 2.8.
Certain devices just register hella low.
Example: If I sample from ATlp120 (no main volume), some ipad apps or OP-Z (at full volume) with REC IN knob at full volume, the internal vault samples are still louder. Some synths/boxes have been ok, minilogue, digitone.
I'm assuming it has something to do with pre amps.