Beta testers wanted (MPC X SE and MPC Key only)

I'm thinking about releasing a preset pack for Fabric (and Fabric XL), but trying to decide on the best installation option.

Expansion format is easy, just install like any other expansion and you can preview and load the preset files from the expansion browser (presets can even have a browser preview attached to them). So no problems there.

But I'm assuming people will also like to install the presets within the plugin itself, so they can access from the 'preset' dropdowns (program edit, MAIN etc), and from the sounds browser.

So, if Fabric is currently stored on your own disk within the 'Synths' folder, this is not a problem - just copy the presets inside the existing 'presets' folder for Fabric.

But, if you have an MPC Key or MPC X SE, I believe Fabric is pre-installed on your internal (factory) disk. In which case we are not able to copy the presets there as there's no direct access to that folder.

So I have a workaround which Ive tested with DrumsynthMulti by creating a new Drumsynthmulti folder inside the existing Synths' folder on my SD card. i.e.

Synths > AIR Music Technology - MPC - DrumSynthMulti > Presets > My Preset Folder

It works, but with one caveat. This 'replaces' the internal presets folder (rather than add to it), so all the factory presets disappear. The workaround is to include a copy of the original Drumsynth factory presets in this custom folder, and the factory presets come back. Seems to work fine.

I don't have an MPC X SE or MPC Key to test this on Fabric, but I assume on these MPCs it will work in the same way as internal plugins like Drumsynth and Tubesynth

So, would anyone be able to test this out for me? Let me know and I'll PM you the test files.

Tutor do u already have presets for Hype synth bro? and Odysee? basically all of these standard plugins that have presets geared towards House music; if u gonna drop some neo soul or hip hop related presets this is sourly needed for the free plugins on MPC

I’ll see what happens with this fabric expansion, I also have a drum synth one that’s nearly finished. If they sell I’ll invest time into all the others, but atm it’s uncharted territory

fair enuff

Am I right in assuming that on the MPC Key and MPC X SE 'all' plugins are already pre-installed to the internal factory disk, including free stuff like Odyssey, Mellotron etc? Or did you have to install these manually? If so, how was that done, through 'Activate Plugins' screen, or by copying the plugins to a 'Synths' folder?

Also can you confirm where 'new' plugins get installed? Can you choose the factory internal disk, or does it have to be an external disk like on previous models?

I only have a live 2, but I wondered if you can download the install file of the original plugin. And extract it's content to get the original default set of patches? I do this all the time with software to check for portability.

I'm a bit Confused how the licensing works tbh. I purchased obx4 and it's installed on my live 2, I haven't tried as I don't use the MPC Software, but I also wondered if the license allows you to use it on that too, or do you have to purchase a new license? Seems really shitty if you have to buy two licenses for the same software!

MPC-Tutor wrote:Am I right in assuming that on the MPC Key and MPC X SE 'all' plugins are already pre-installed to the internal factory disk, including free stuff like Odyssey, Mellotron etc? Or did you have to install these manually? If so, how was that done, through 'Activate Plugins' screen, or by copying the plugins to a 'Synths' folder?

Also can you confirm where 'new' plugins get installed? Can you choose the factory internal disk, or does it have to be an external disk like on previous models?

I have the key 61. Did not have to install anything manually. You do need to have an external drive for the contents of the plugins to be placed. All installations are done automatically. I did not try the internal disk as when I tried to install the plugins it gave me an error and asked for external drive location.

hansjbs wrote:I have the key 61. Did not have to install anything manually. You do need to have an external drive for the contents of the plugins to be placed. All installations are done automatically. I did not try the internal disk as when I tried to install the plugins it gave me an error and asked for external drive location.

So are you saying that in the MPC Key, even an included plugin (specifically Fabric or OP4x)/, can (or even 'must') be installed on an external drive, it doesn't have to be installed to the internal factory drive, just by selecting the external drive as the default download location in 'Active Plugins'?

So on your external drive, inside the 'Synths' folder, is there a folder called 'AIR Music Technology - MPC - Fabric' containing a 'Presets' sub folder?

The way i added presets to hakai was through naming convention. You can expand the existing preset packs by numbering them, and put it in sub category via name.

I called my section in hype synth "ultros" i dont think anyones noticed it, or maybe i forgot it in later itterations. I'd have to look.

if you want. i can write a you a tool that will batch rename a folder of preset files. Wont be today though.

Ultros wrote:The way i added presets to hakai was through naming convention. You can expand the existing preset packs by numbering them, and put it in sub category via name.

I called my section in hype synth "ultros" i dont think anyones noticed it, or maybe i forgot it in later itterations. I'd have to look.

if you want. i can write a you a tool that will batch rename a folder of preset files. Wont be today though.

Cheers, I'm, good for that as I made a bunch of PHP scripts that do stuff like renaming, XPM manipulation etc.

Yes the numbering seems to be the key to unlocking the ability to add groups, unique numbers needed though, nothing that will clash with any existing preset.

Weirdly on a computer if you copy the presets to the user>library presets folder, grouping still works for VST/AU versions of the plugins, but not for the native MPC plugin equivalent. Also some native plugin presets (Fabric, OPX4 etc) seem to be installed in two different locations on my computer.

It's inconsistent stuff like this that does my head in.

The main issue for me is how to handle preset installation for end users who don't have their synths on the user drive, where the presets reside on the internal disk. I feel the best way would be for AKai to employ some kind of remapping option like they do with Progressions and Expansions, e.g. a 'Presets' folder on the user drive that will detect plugin presets and map them automatically to the relevant plugin's 'User' group. Have asked for this for a while now, but silence.

sl23 wrote:I only have a live 2, but I wondered if you can download the install file of the original plugin. And extract it's content to get the original default set of patches? I do this all the time with software to check for portability.

I'm a bit Confused how the licensing works tbh. I purchased obx4 and it's installed on my live 2, I haven't tried as I don't use the MPC Software, but I also wondered if the license allows you to use it on that too, or do you have to purchase a new license? Seems really shitty if you have to buy two licenses for the same software!

You get 3 activations total for the MPC software and hardware version plugins. I don’t think the vst versions count toward that, but I’m not 100% sure .

So for instance hype goes from 0-1500 or something ridiculous, i started my patches at 2000. The gap in the middle doesnt stop it from loading the rest which is pretty cool. You could number them 2000 and onward. Like 2000-Tutor-Bass-Basspatch should work for adding a pile of patches that dont clash and are sorted by category with a parent named tutor.

kaydigi wrote:

sl23 wrote:I don’t think the vst versions count toward that, but I’m not 100% sure .

I haven't tested this yet, the problem with the VST/AU is there is no way to deactivate the license (as far as I can see).

So does that mean once activated on a specific pc, once you upgrade and sell that pc, then that pc remains counted as activated? This whole ecosystem seems too much hassle to bother with tbh! I'll just stick with using the MPC as standalone!

Thanks for your replies.

Btw, can you download the exe installation files and extract them in order to get the default presets? I use Universal Extractor 2 for extracting files from exe packages. If that helps at all.