Is the MPC Live II able to make complex music ?

Hi,
I would like to get a MPC Live II but one thing bothers me and I cannot find the answer. It seems like many people like MPCs for their fast workflow and to make beats, easy, fast and simple beats. But is it possible with the MPC Live II to make complex music and complex sound design ? Like complex EDM music ? In other words, is a thing like that possible with the MPC : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y1rWasqPMA ? Or should I stay with my DAW ?
Thanks for your answers !

Yes, it could make that. However making 'complex music' on an MPC is most likely going to be far more time consuming compared to using a DAW. Ultimately it's often mostly a workflow preference, unless your song requires specific plugins or need GBs of memory.

You might find the MPC is better for that initial creative spark, throwing together some ideas etc. If you songs require quite complex editing or production techniques you may need to move your project over to the DAW for those aspects. It doesn't need to be an 'either-or' situation.

Are you able to make complex music?

while i agree with Mpc Tutor i must add that for some people it might even be easier to write complex music on an mpc thank on a daw, because the creative process is so subjective...
also, some things you might come up with on the mpc are improbable to make on a daw, just because the mpc forces you to think in a different way, to use samples in a different way, to organize tracks in a different way.
anyway, complex music was feasible even on older mpc's, with this new line you have all the power in the world to come up with intricate stuff. automations, plugins, lots of effects, clever routing, its all there!
to give you an idea i link here one record of mine (released last year) which, with the exception of the drone\ambient track which was made entirely on a modular synth, is completely done in the mpc live mk1, and i mean completely, even mixed inside it. it's not probably the most complex music, but just to give you an idea of what you can do totally in the box:
https://rexistenz.bandcamp.com/album/la-via-del-tambur

or this track, just released on vinyl:
https://newinterplanetarymelodies.bandc ... la-memoria

here the scratches are recorded directly in the mpc (audio track). there's just a bass played via midi on an akai s-950 just because i liked better how it sounded on the 950, but it's totally irrelevant.

Zaarm wrote:Like complex EDM music ? In other words, is a thing like that possible with the MPC : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y1rWasqPMA ?

Um... that is *NOT* music I would personally categorize as "complex" by any stretch, and yes - MPC can easily do that. But a cursory search on Youtube may give better examples of this genre on the MPC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb8Bn1Oi44Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVOTrvwyS_c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tx8lVaZnvc

EnochLight wrote:Um... that is *NOT* music I would personally categorize as "complex" by any stretch

Damn you beat me to it haha.

https://rexistenz.bandcamp.com/album/la-via-del-tambur

sorry it was:
https://rexistenz.bandcamp.com/album/la-via-del-tamburo

MPCs of various forms have been used throughout the years to make high class house and techno music, and continue to be used today. An MPC can most certainly be used to make various forms of IDM.

You're only limited by your creativity. If you rely heavily on sampling, chopping and slicing in your DAW, then an MPC may also do the trick for you, but in a different way. It may be better or not than working in your DAW. You could pick up something used at a decent price and give it a whirl. If it doesn't fit for you, re-sell without losing much money.

One thing I'd suggest. If you're going to try it, commit fully to it. Really learn how to use it. It will be painfully more slow than your DAW at first, and you'll want to go back to the DAW. Stick with it until you get it. Make a few songs on it and see how you like the process compared to your DAW. It may be that your DAW works better for your brain and how you tend to work. It may be that the MPC allows additional creative juices to flow.

I work on almost exclusively house and deep house. I use a DAW, sometimes Elektron gear and now have a couple tracks going exclusively with the MPC One. I don't feel any of my options restricts me from making the kinds of music I want to make.

ImNotDedYet wrote:You're only limited by your creativity.

^!!!

Thanks everybody for your answers, even the patronizing ones, they are still useful in some ways.

It's a valid question.

Short answer: absolutely.

However, I use it mostly for house and hip hop, while I don't use it for jungle/DNB.
Reason for this is that in DNB, I do way more 16th note editing, small automation nerdery, etc., and often think of my music there in 16-bar sections (sequences).
While the MPC absolutely can do that, I find that doing all that 16th nerdy tweakery, nudging, and automation can be slightly inconvenient with the MPC, especially if the sequence is as long as 16 bars (for which I can only blame myself of course; it's much easier editing those things in a 4-bar sequence).

So, yes, but kind of depends on how you work with it.

Just like any other instrument, the MPC line can be used to make any kind of music... it just depends on how you want to use it, how much lateral thinking you are willing to do, and where will it be seamless and where will there be friction.

The MPC absolutely excels at working with samples with drum kits and key groups, and is quite speedy at layering out sounds, pitching them, adding filters, and such. It does incredibly well at laying out and recording those pad hits and dropping in FX to change sounds.

With audio tracks and to some extent the looper, you can record in sections from other instruments or resample out performances to get stems that you can work with, and this is a pretty quick way to get that more human "off the grid" feel.

Heck real time automation is quite good as well, so recording out some filter sweeps by controlling the knob(s) by hand is a quick way to add some movement without a lot of work.

Where Fanu is suggestion about editing events is a pain, is where I have to agree. It is entirely possible to go into the event list editor or grid mode and edit individual notes and automation lanes, but if you need to fix more than say 5% of your notes this way then you're probably going to want to do it in a DAW or some other gear that is tailored to editing individual notes. That or get good... nobody wants to hear that, but if you cannot play reasonably to the beat, or notes snap to the wrong part of the grid... you either need to learn the instrument better or get better at playing to get faster... because you can only go so fast editing individual notes on the MPC.

Personally... if you're looking for an all in one box, the MPC Live is absolutely a heavy hitter. The sampling engine covers a lot of ground, the instruments and FX included are solid bones for working on tracks, and if you get into the mindset of how to work with the instrument through putting some time in you'll absolutely be able to fly around.

That all said, you're getting the answers you're getting because you've asked a completely subjective question. Can it do it? Yes, absolutely. Are you willing to spend the time to do it? Only you can answer that question.

Good luck, and hopefully you find the right device for you.

hyena wrote:sorry it was:
https://rexistenz.bandcamp.com/album/la-via-del-tamburo

Did you do all of La Via del Tamburo on your MPC? Sounds bang'n!

Zaarm wrote:Thanks everybody for your answers, even the patronizing ones, they are still useful in some ways.

It's not patronizing if it's true. Note: I never said I didn't like the music!

Why not both?

I use the MPC Live, mostly for drums, but I use the MPC software as a plug-in in Logic. I pretty much sample all drum machines I want to use, analog or not. Then while composing/arranging, I can add plug-ins on a drum by drum basis, set volumes, etc. etc. What I'm not doing (anymore) is syncing drum machines to Logic and recording them in as a single track. The MPC as a plug-in is as tight as your plug-in delay compensation.

I also do all the midi in Logic, on MPC tracks. I don't bother with midi in the MPC.

After I finish a song, I can chop that mid up and throw it into the MPC software which now has all my drum settings and tweaks on programs I can use in the standalone.

But also, I like to make beats on the couch away from the computer. So I do, but then that gets pushed into the MPC daw plug-in within Logic, no syncing going on, and for me, a faster workflow and faster way to try different beats with different songs.