Standalone and using a computer

Ok, so I originally bought the live to get rid of my computer and use it in standalone. It’s awesome, I love the quality, and the way the usb out now connects all my midi gear.

However- I have recently got a pretty awesome computer and was thinking about using it as well. Going back to the computer isn’t a crazy jump for me, I still had my old MacBook Pro with cubase connected to a FireWire interface that everything was passing through. And it was nice to be able to record things that nothing to do with the mpc.

Here are my questions: when going back to the computer, if I hook it up in controller mode, and write songs using the software (never have done that) how easily can it transferred back into the mpc live to use in standalone. Like if I wanted to perform a song live that had originally been created when using it as a controller. Or if I wanted to bring just the mpc live over to friends house to work on a track. Furthermore, should I have all my usb stuff going into the computer now? I know it would be beneficial to do that if I was going to use cubase again, but..... idk, I’ve really changed things around since then. Last question- I also bought a sound devices mixpre to use as essentially a recording device (sans computer) and it seems like an awesome interface as well. So if I connect the mpc live, sound devices mix pre, and usb midi stuff all together with a computer, what are your suggestions? Keep in mind I would like the option of easily bouncing all the audio back to the mpc to use in standalone again if I want.

Thanks for any help, I’m really struggling to get this perfect!

You can use VSTs in the software in controller mode, but won't be able to send them back as VST instruments/plugins to the MPC in Standalone. You can however auto sample them and that will still work within the MPC in standalone. Basically anything that doesn't exist in standalone won't transfer from software to standalone.

That said, it does work great... autosampler can bridge a lot of gaps for you... and you can always write out stems in your DAW of choice and then load those back up to chop in the MPC.

For a lot of the other stuff... I'm not sure, sort of depends on how you hook it up what the gear is, etc... The MPC does support class compliant storage devices and midi devices, so you should be good there... but it does not support class compliant audio... so you'd need to use an external audio device as a mixer to route content back to the MPC.

Hope that helps...

Yes, thanks that does help! No, I won’t use any of the vst instruments in the mpc, I just use it as a sampler. So I suppose it would be like you said where I take whatever I record and put it back into the mpc. Is this something that can easily be done while in controller mode, using the computer software? I’m just trying to figure out how easy it would be. It seems like using the audio on a computer just changes it to unlimited tracks, right? So I assume I have to bounce them down into whatever stand-alone is limited to. Can this be achieved within the mpc computer software?

Also- I have several class compliant devices hooked up now, I do understand that part, and realize I won’t be connecting the mpc directly to the interface with usb. I’m curious as to what the outputs will be. Does it still function the same, but there is some akai multitrack daw running and processing audio thru the interface?

You don't necessarily have to do all this jumping through hoops, depending on what workflows you're comfortable with..

I'm always standalone, even when I'm working with the computer.. Only times I go into controller mode, is if I want to add sounds to the drive I installed in the mpc..

But I can use vst effects and instruments with the mpc, without ever leaving standalone mode..

Only thing you miss out on there, is stuff like an effect interface on the MPC screen..

But this is just plain oldschool hooking up the mpc via midi and audio, to Cubase..

So Cubase can process sound in real-time, meaning that there's a lot of effects you can use on the various mpc channels whilst in standalone mode.. And midi allows you to control soft synths and play them on the MPC pads and so on..

Now, I have a terrible computer that I got from work, because it was going in the trash otherwise, and I took it because my old computer had need dead for a while.. And it only has 4 gigs in ram, so it's super weak in that sense too.. But I can still use some effects on Cubase and play say a Kontakt audio library on the MPC pads..

So I assume that with a more powerful computer, you got more potential.

Anyway, this is one way of remaining in standalone mode, without missing out on the utility of a computer.

This is also how I incorporate the computer for the final stages..

So I create most of my music in the mpc, and then simply multitrack it into Cubase, where I can now add more effects because I don't have to worry as much about latency issue as when processing individual channels in real-time. .

And because it's all recorded as audio on the audio lanes, I get full view of the entire arrangement, making it easier to cut things up and rearrange, and do edits and stuff that is so much faster in Cubase than on the MPC..

If I had a midi channel that I recorded say a piano patch in Kontakt on, then I get a grid where I can edit individual notes..

For my workflow, this is nearing perfection because it combines the best of both worlds, and I can remain in standalone mode, and I don't need to use the mpc software.. Which I can't use anyway, because it's not available for my OS anyway.. So it has me completely avoid the need to buy a new OS to use a program I don't want in order to be forced to work on the computer in controller mode, so I can bounce stuff back into the mpc in order to have it available in standalone mode..

This is to me madness..

It's tedious to the OP of insanity IF and WHEN you can simply treat the computer itself as if an external piece of gear like a synth or effects processor..

Which you can, because a computer can be controlled with midi, and the computer can process audio that goes into it..

However all this simple convenience, nno matter how mad I say it is, is easily trumped by whatever/however someone else wants to work..

For example, maybe you want to bring an unfinished project into a laptop and work on it elsewhere, so you don't have to drag other gear with you..

Which is something I never do.. I always work on music either on the MPC in the beginning, or on the computer in the final stages when it has all been recorded, so there's just no need for any sort of back and forth, other than maybe I want to add another drum pattern, in which case I just start the mpc, program some new drums and then record it until the rest of the recorded material..

Anyway, for me a lot of my methods comes down to desires for efficiency.. The more efficient I am at getting X done, the more time I have to work on the actual musical content.. And so the whole bouncing projects between a computer and the mpc is just a big nono for me..

Anyway, if it doesn't help, maybe at least it points at the possibility of using a computer with the MPC, without having to leave standalone mode.. For me the compute is just like any of my hardware synths or processors.. It is just a more clumsy box with a bigger screen that allows me to also record it all and finish things up, which I can't do with any of my other gear.

I do the Same thing. I only use Controller mode to Tidy up my HDD/SD Cards. Or use the computer to Unzip My Expansions and drop em on my MPC HDD/SD.

But How i Have my setup, I use the Computer as a VSTi Heavy Outboard Rackmount Unit! Standard Midi Cords to control (via MPC) Every aspect of my VSTi's that can be sampled in my MPCs.

@ Lampdog

Ok awesome, thanks for the help, seriously. I think my plan then is to use it in standalone, which is my ideal setup. Like many of you, my MacBook Pro is so old it doesn’t run the akai software without an update to the os, which makes my version of cubase incompatible (I’ve posted about this before, and probably bored most of the people I write music with to death, ranting about it.)

I also have a decent windows 10 computer I built for my son to do minecraft mods and stuff I don’t even know about on. So that’s what I use for the hd cleanup, dropping samples on, firmware, etc. - but it’s in a different room in my house, which is why I probably will never use the software for creative stuff. However, the Mac running cubase, I guess I could keep around as more of a finalizer type of dealio.

You’ve all helped me decide to not get another pc, thank you, I’m sure it would have been a headache, and I would have ended up hating computers even more than I do now (which is a lot.)

Nice, that sounds exactly like what I’d like to do- in controller mode, that is. So, am I correct in assuming that if I have a million audio tracks going on in controller mode, in the software, I’ll bounce those down before said process of saving to the ssd? And then when I open up the project, I would just insert those tracks to whatever audio tracks are free? I’m thinking about if I do this and then want to record audio tracks after the fact, or even before, in standalone mode. It sounds like that’s what your saying, right lampdog?

Question....whats the best method of sharing Projects. Can we upload a XPJ folder on here? For everyone to vibe with and Dissect? Or would i have to use Alternative Upload spots?