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.
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By EnochLight Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:22 pm
NearTao wrote:I mean... that's in many ways what LoFi is being redefined as... I don't agree with it... but I also want those pesky kids to get off my lawn too.


Careful - these whipper snappers will (probably wrongly) label you as a "Boomer".. :lol: :lol: :roll: Or maybe the "Silent Generation". :lol:
By Peccary Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:09 pm
EnochLight wrote:Meh, by that metric any/all bands that are DIY, make their own flyers, release cassettes, etc - are "low fi". If you want to apply that term to everyone under that umbrella, then sure. Go right ahead.

But I'd never categorize Black Flag as "low fi punk". All punk was DIY back in the day. That was the entire point of punk. Even that recording you posted wasn't a good example - it's far more higher fidelity than what is expected with the term.

To me, low fi is either purposely/by nature or by force to record your material to sound extremely low fidelity. Embrace the vinyl crackle, the tape hiss, wow & flutter, etc.


I always associated it with indie stuff, bands like Silver Jews, Smog, Pavement, Grandaddy, and the like. Intentional but also out of necessity and a "jam econo" mentality. DIY tends to lend itself to lo-fi but to me it's always required some intention.

It's hard to define and as such it's one of those things that a lot of people will have disagreements over but I'm not sure anyone is actually wrong as most of it is up to individual interpretation (as this thread seems to prove).
By CharlesRandolph Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:55 pm
Peccary wrote:I always associated it with indie stuff, bands like Silver ****, Smog, Pavement, Grandaddy, and the like. Intentional but also out of necessity and a "jam econo" mentality. DIY tends to lend itself to lo-fi but to me it's always required some intention.

It's hard to define and as such it's one of those things that a lot of people will have disagreements over but I'm not sure anyone is actually wrong as most of it is up to individual interpretation (as this thread seems to prove).


I agree. Bands were putting out music that really was just demo. But decided to say forget it, because no one was really making money. Record in the garage, Release board mixes, etc. It's hard to make a living do that selling, 500 copies and couple of t-shirts, and splitting 500 dollar show money with 4 people.

It was a hard lifestyle. Go on tour, sleep in the car, hope to make enough money for gas and fuel to the next hole in the wall venue. Lots of couch surfing and floor sleeping. :nod:
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By NearTao Tue Aug 25, 2020 5:10 pm
You're giving me memories of back pain :D

Also recalling friends crashing at my place after a gig... ordering a crapload of pizza and playing GTA San Andreas until it was time to go to work...

Got pictures someplace of the squirrels that'd hang out on the deck to drink the water out of the cup that was used as an ashtray... crazy
By Peccary Tue Aug 25, 2020 5:26 pm
CharlesRandolph wrote:
Peccary wrote:I always associated it with indie stuff, bands like Silver ****, Smog, Pavement, Grandaddy, and the like. Intentional but also out of necessity and a "jam econo" mentality. DIY tends to lend itself to lo-fi but to me it's always required some intention.

It's hard to define and as such it's one of those things that a lot of people will have disagreements over but I'm not sure anyone is actually wrong as most of it is up to individual interpretation (as this thread seems to prove).


I agree. Bands were putting out music that really was just demo. But decided to say forget it, because no one was really making money. Record in the garage, Release board mixes, etc. It's hard to make a living do that selling, 500 copies and couple of t-shirts, and splitting 500 dollar show money with 4 people.

It was a hard lifestyle. Go on tour, sleep in the car, hope to make enough money for gas and fuel to the next hole in the wall venue. Lots of couch surfing and floor sleeping. :nod:


Didn't The Boss cut Nebraska on a Tascam 4 track tape deck in a hotel room as a demo? He re-recorded it with E Street but they'd lost the magic he found. Sometimes music is crying out for tape hiss, buzzy frets, and errant percussion here and there.
By CharlesRandolph Tue Aug 25, 2020 5:31 pm
NearTao wrote:You're giving me memories of back pain :D

Also recalling friends crashing at my place after a gig... ordering a crapload of pizza and playing GTA San Andreas until it was time to go to work...

Got pictures someplace of the squirrels that'd hang out on the deck to drink the water out of the cup that was used as an ashtray... crazy


That was the scene!! :lol: Many bands hated hiphop, not because of the music. But because all we had to do was setup turntables or plug in a looper. :lol: But we all were broke and lived at the Kinkos late night making flyers and cheap stickers.
By CharlesRandolph Tue Aug 25, 2020 5:34 pm
Peccary wrote:Didn't The Boss cut Nebraska on a Tascam 4 track tape deck in a hotel room as a demo? He re-recorded it with E Street but they'd lost the magic he found. Sometimes music is crying out for tape hiss, buzzy frets, and errant percussion here and there.


First time I ever heard of it. (Thanks for the info) But, yeah that happens to so many groups. They had that sound, but you put money behind them and they lose the magic. Major labels were and are notorious for messing up the sound. All they had to do, was let the group/band do what they do. Damn A&R. :lol:
By Tabletop Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:22 pm
Peccary wrote:Didn't The Boss cut Nebraska on a Tascam 4 track tape deck in a hotel room as a demo? He re-recorded it with E Street but they'd lost the magic he found. Sometimes music is crying out for tape hiss, buzzy frets, and errant percussion here and there.


Nebraska is a bleak masterpiece imo, would love to hear the tape version!
By Peccary Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:51 pm
Tabletop wrote:
Peccary wrote:Didn't The Boss cut Nebraska on a Tascam 4 track tape deck in a hotel room as a demo? He re-recorded it with E Street but they'd lost the magic he found. Sometimes music is crying out for tape hiss, buzzy frets, and errant percussion here and there.


Nebraska is a bleak masterpiece imo, would love to hear the tape version!


Some of those songs were re-recorded and made in to Born in the USA but others were mastered straight from the tape outta the PortaStudio to make Nebraska. They also apparently did the mixdown on a boombox that Bruce had dropped in a lake and sat in the mud till the tide went out, all with a roadie as the engineer. It's a good story you can read on the Tascam site: https://tascam.com/us/support/news/481

Sometimes the stars just align.
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By bees80 Wed Aug 26, 2020 7:00 am
NewAkaiUser wrote:
otobot wrote:Just saying... it's totally possible to sample from youtube or any other media output on your PC or Mac using a virtual audio cable (VB-audio works great on Windows) and connecting it to your Live or One in Controller Mode (MPC Software).......


Of course it is possible. But make a comparison. Convert YT music video to mp3 and copy via USB to MPC. Then try to do the same with the jack cable.
Even when recording quietly and using normalization, it does not reduce noise.
Whenever I'm sampling, I'm faced with this decision and always opt for a noise-free online conversion.


And just to think all those old school hip hop producers sampled from vinyl. All the crackles, clicks and noise. Horrible! Medieval times i tell you.
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By 64hz Wed Aug 26, 2020 10:09 am
Sampling of YouTube by converting it to a MP3. Does this really have any depth and clarity like a file sampled from vinyl or cd? I'm a old head nowadays, come on youngsters, teach me. I want to hear some examples.
By CharlesRandolph Wed Aug 26, 2020 10:33 am
64hz wrote:Sampling of YouTube by converting it to a MP3. Does this really have any depth and clarity like a file sampled from vinyl or cd? I'm a old head nowadays, come on youngsters, teach me. I want to hear some examples.


It really depends on the file, and when it was upload to YouTube.
By CharlesRandolph Wed Aug 26, 2020 10:41 am
NewAkaiUser wrote:Even when recording quietly and using normalization, it does not reduce noise.


This is when the tracking engineer leaves the room and the intern starts turning all the knobs that clearly says, "Do Not Touch." :lol:
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By NearTao Wed Aug 26, 2020 12:45 pm
CharlesRandolph wrote:
NewAkaiUser wrote:Even when recording quietly and using normalization, it does not reduce noise.


This is when the tracking engineer leaves the room and the intern starts turning all the knobs that clearly says, "Do Not Touch." :lol:


"Why would somebody put hot glue on all these fader knobs?"
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By ChewoBeats Fri Aug 28, 2020 6:09 am
Haha - Good one - your Post reads like someone who doesn’t know me at all and where I work. But Yeah you right - sorry for mentioning and sharing just the love for the MPC by mentioning what I like - no Meter the cars.
————————————-
Been on this forum for close to 10 years - I just couldn’t hold back no more...
and did I mention my s950....
Dude i got it all - even Love for the way you hate my post.

All the best
Che

Whole post reads like a „look at me and what I have“ post :smoker: :smoker: