Get a good Guitar signal in the MPC LIVE

Hi there,

I own a MPC LIVE, working fine for my MIDI instruments but the problem is : i am a guitarist too.

I want to record guitar parts on the MPC and use the looper function since i don't have any MIDI Sync looper pedal (like the infinity looper of PIGTRONIX).

When i plugged my guitar directly to the instrument line,
I noticed there is no preamp built-in the MPC. I'm wondering what is the best solution to get a dynamic signal and the cleanest tone out of it.


My electric's knowledge is near to ground, which is good for an electric current but not to choose the stuff i need to solve my problem.

If you know the perfect way to do it and eventually have some equipment recommandations it'd be the best. Budget 400 euros maximum. Objective dynamic, pure and clean tone.

- do i just need to get a preamp pedal ?

- Do i need to balanced my signal through a passive DI and connect the XLR output to the MPC's instrument line with a Female Xlr - Male 1/4" jack (6,5cm) cable ?

- Both / none of the above ?

Thanks for your attention, happy new year, au plaisir de vous lire.
Arnaud LECOULS

You need a preamp... instrument level is super low compared to line level...

Arnaud L wrote:Hi there,

I own a MPC LIVE, working fine for my MIDI instruments but the problem is : i am a guitarist too.

I want to record guitar parts on the MPC and use the looper function since i don't have any MIDI Sync looper pedal (like the infinity looper of PIGTRONIX).

When i plugged my guitar directly to the instrument line,
I noticed there is no preamp built-in the MPC. I'm wondering what is the best solution to get a dynamic signal and the cleanest tone out of it.


My electric's knowledge is near to ground, which is good for an electric current but not to choose the stuff i need to solve my problem.

If you know the perfect way to do it and eventually have some equipment recommandations it'd be the best. Budget 400 euros maximum. Objective dynamic, pure and clean tone.

- do i just need to get a preamp pedal ?

- Do i need to balanced my signal through a passive DI and connect the XLR output to the MPC's instrument line with a Female Xlr - Male 1/4" jack (6,5cm) cable ?

- Both / none of the above ?

Thanks for your attention, happy new year, au plaisir de vous lire.
Arnaud LECOULS

GUITAR to PASSIVE DI to MPC LIVE. I find that the guitar connected directly to the MPC, slightly changes the tone of the guitar without one.

You wanna come over and borrow one of my rigs for a bit?

Monotremata wrote:You wanna come over and borrow one of my rigs for a bit?

Man... that's intense!

Thanks for the answers (man thats a sick installation you have ), just a last one : the Di box are usually powered in 48 V via the XLR , Can the MPC do that ?
In order to get a good sound, is it mandatory to purchase a radial engeenering DI Box or there is some smart and cheaper model i should consider ?

Arnaud L wrote:Thanks for the answers (man thats a sick installation you have ), just a last one : the Di box are usually powered in 48 V via the XLR , Can the MPC do that ?
In order to get a good sound, is it mandatory to purchase a radial engeenering DI Box or there is some smart and cheaper model i should consider ?

I use a Countryman Type 85 or J48 Stereo

Can you just mic up a cab and record into the Live's Mono/L input? I prefer the sound of my cab. But I know other guitarist that prefer a DI box as Charles mentioned, to get a mix of pure and grit.

As a guitarist myself, I use a Mooer Loop pedal from cheaperpedals.com for $60. I like to build up a freaky loop then sample it into Caustic to play on my Volca Sample. Just thought I mention that in case you still hunting a loop pedal. Do check out that site, lots of fine pedals to indulge in and cheap.

I have a cheap $400 Ibanez bass that I plug right in to my MPC Live 2 and it sounds fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Ill-Green wrote:Can you just mic up a cab and record into the Live's Mono/L input? I prefer the sound of my cab. But I know other guitarist that prefer a DI box as Charles mentioned, to get a mix of pure and grit.

As a guitarist myself, I use a Mooer Loop pedal from cheaperpedals.com for $60. I like to build up a freaky loop then sample it into Caustic to play on my Volca Sample. Just thought I mention that in case you still hunting a loop pedal. Do check out that site, lots of fine pedals to indulge in and cheap.

I like the sounds of a cab as well. When I do mic the cab and record it into the MPC, I put a pad limiter between the mic and mpc because the inputs of the MPC tends distort rather easily. I know a guy who uses 8 of those Mooer Lofi Machine pedals on his MPC 8 outs and he's able to get a some fantastic tones out of it.

I was playing around with the idea of doing the same thing, using the Yellow Comp. But I would need a good bulk rate discount.

CharlesRandolph wrote:

Ill-Green wrote:Can you just mic up a cab and record into the Live's Mono/L input? I prefer the sound of my cab. But I know other guitarist that prefer a DI box as Charles mentioned, to get a mix of pure and grit.

As a guitarist myself, I use a Mooer Loop pedal from cheaperpedals.com for $60. I like to build up a freaky loop then sample it into Caustic to play on my Volca Sample. Just thought I mention that in case you still hunting a loop pedal. Do check out that site, lots of fine pedals to indulge in and cheap.

I like the sounds of a cab as well. When I do mic the cab and record it into the MPC, I put a pad limiter between the mic and mpc because the inputs of the MPC tends distort rather easily. I know a guy who uses 8 of those Mooer Lofi Machine pedals on his MPC 8 outs and he's able to get a some fantastic tones out of it.

I was playing around with the idea of doing the same thing, using the Yellow Comp. But I would need a good bulk rate discount.

You have a point, i'd like to do the same unfortunately i am in a appartment and i have a hot rod Deluxe. Both are not matching well.

But im kinda confused on the options i have.
My home studio installation is far from achieved to be honest :

I have guitar, effects pedals, the MPC, a keyboard, a Roland TR8-s. I still have to buy the Channel mixer and monitoring speakers (i use a cheap bass AMP to Hear what i do).

My goal is to play, record, sample live with guitar along the other instruments. I need a reasonnably clean signal to match with the drum machines and synth.

My Idea was to buy a pre-amp pedal ( like amt or Koch ) and a DI box to get a decent sound in the MPC.

Do you have any inspiration ?

if you are on the road to getting a mixer you could get one that provides an instrument level/fuitar input...

NearTao wrote:if you are on the road to getting a mixer you could get one that provides an instrument level/fuitar input...

Can you precise how it would work ?

The question is maybe naïve but is it possible for the Channel mixer to do so and get the output signal of the MPC and send it to the speakers ?

Sorry you have to make my complete sound éducation

First things that come to my mind:
Does your cab have a direct out?
If you have an audio interface for your computer its inputs might be usable. BTW model do you have?
peace

@Monotremata: Damn thats a sick setup.