Need help in deciding to buy MPC X

I agree, when you use the MPC Software, the computer and the MPC software 'daw' are your 'MPC', there is nothing in that set up that constitutes a 'standalone sampler'.

If you connect your MPC hardware to this, all it does is act like a MIDI controller for the MPC Software (albeit a highly optimised controller), and optionally can also be used as an audio interface for your computer. But there's no 'standalone' benefit to using the MPC hardware this way. You are still using a computer DAW (and in reality, quite a rubbish one compared to a proper DAW). This is referred to as 'controller mode'.

Using the MPC X as a standalone sampler requires you boot the MPC X into 'standalone mode'. At this point it is not connected to your computer and does not communicate the the MPC Software DAW. You are of course free to connect your MPC X to a computer via MIDI cable, just as you would an S3200, but pretty pointless.

HouseWithoutMouse wrote:I'm not sure you understand how it works. The MPC Software is a DAW application which does all the playing and mixing. It is not a software remote-controller for the hardware MPC, completely the opposite. When you use the MPC Software, the hardware MPC works as an audio/MIDI interface and control surface for the software. You do not get sloppy MIDI timing that way, because everything happens inside your computer.

If you want to test it, try the free MPC Beats application. It works with any audio interface.

1. Can I load, save and control everything on the mpc (plug ins, mixer etc) via my computer using the mpc app? So basically I wouldn’t need to touch the mpc unit.

No. You don't control the hardware MPC unit with the MPC Software. You control the MPC Software DAW with the hardware MPC. Or you use the hardware MPC in "standalone" mode, where the DAW runs on the hardware MPC's low-powered ARM CPU instead of your big PC.

I see, this is what I wanted to know. So basically I would have to load the MPC with samples via a SD card or Hardrive and then control everything via MPC itself. Gotcha, thanks for clearing that up.

MPC-Tutor wrote:I agree, when you use the MPC Software, the computer and the MPC software 'daw' are your 'MPC', there is nothing in that set up that constitutes a 'standalone sampler'.

If you connect your MPC hardware to this, all it does is act like a MIDI controller for the MPC Software (albeit a highly optimised controller), and optionally can also be used as an audio interface for your computer. But there's no 'standalone' benefit to using the MPC hardware this way. You are still using a computer DAW (and in reality, quite a rubbish one compared to a proper DAW). This is referred to as 'controller mode'.

Using the MPC X as a standalone sampler requires you boot the MPC X into 'standalone mode'. At this point it is not connected to your computer and does not communicate the the MPC Software DAW. You are of course free to connect your MPC X to a computer via MIDI cable, just as you would an S3200, but pretty pointless.

Understood now, thanks.

Even in standalone mode, it's going to sound like a DAW, with sample-accurate tight timing, if you use the internal sampler and not external MIDI devices over DIN MIDI. When the MPC's own sequencer plays its internal sampler, there is no serial-MIDI event transfer latency. If you put 100 notes on a beat, all of them will trigger at exactly the same time, just like in any DAW. The MPC is a DAW-in-a-box.

Though if you absolutely want serial MIDI timing, you could let the MPC play itself via a hardware DIN MIDI loopback cable. I don't know how tight the hardware MIDI out's timing is compared to old MPCs, but it won't be DAW-like sample accurate, that's for sure.

HouseWithoutMouse wrote:Even in standalone mode, it's going to sound like a DAW, with sample-accurate tight timing, if you use the internal sampler and not external MIDI devices over DIN MIDI. When the MPC's own sequencer plays its internal sampler, there is no serial-MIDI event transfer latency. If you put 100 notes on a beat, all of them will trigger at exactly the same time, just like in any DAW. The MPC is a DAW-in-a-box.

Though if you absolutely want serial MIDI timing, you could let the MPC play itself via a hardware DIN MIDI loopback cable. I don't know how tight the hardware MIDI out's timing is compared to old MPCs, but it won't be DAW-like sample accurate, that's for sure.

Yes I understand this. I have an AMT 8 which is one of the tightest Midi interfaces around. I was thinking I would just sequence in the DAW and trigger the MPC via midi that way. The only thing I was hoping was that I could control everything on the Computer. But no big deal, the MPC has touch screen and is quite simple to navigate.

I like a little midi swag

Skynet wrote:Yes I understand this. I have an AMT 8 which is one of the tightest Midi interfaces around. I was thinking I would just sequence in the DAW and trigger the MPC via midi that way. The only thing I was hoping was that I could control everything on the Computer. But no big deal, the MPC has touch screen and is quite simple to navigate.

I like a little midi swag

I hate to break it to you but that 'tightness' came from the AMT MIDI Stamping that was only available in Logic Audio Platinum back around the turn of the century. The AMT time stamping is LONG GONE and has been since Apple released their first version of Logic Pro.

The AMT8 works with the MPC too.

If the timing differences are real and you can actually deliberately and knowingly control the subtleties by ordering and prioritizing tracks, then you could try simulating the same thing inside a sample-accurate DAW by placing sample-accurate delays on tracks... At 44100 Hz, one single-byte MIDI message is about 15 samples. Or you can do the same by inserting silence at the start of your samples. 44 samples is one millisecond...

Monotremata wrote:

Skynet wrote:Yes I understand this. I have an AMT 8 which is one of the tightest Midi interfaces around. I was thinking I would just sequence in the DAW and trigger the MPC via midi that way. The only thing I was hoping was that I could control everything on the Computer. But no big deal, the MPC has touch screen and is quite simple to navigate.

I like a little midi swag

I hate to break it to you but that 'tightness' came from the AMT MIDI Stamping that was only available in Logic Audio Platinum back around the turn of the century. The AMT time stamping is LONG GONE and has been since Apple released their first version of Logic Pro.

The AMT8 works with the MPC too.

I was not aware of that, sadly! However the timing is pretty tight.

HouseWithoutMouse wrote:If the timing differences are real and you can actually deliberately and knowingly control the subtleties by ordering and prioritizing tracks, then you could try simulating the same thing inside a sample-accurate DAW by placing sample-accurate delays on tracks... At 44100 Hz, one single-byte MIDI message is about 15 samples. Or you can do the same by inserting silence at the start of your samples. 44 samples is one millisecond...

Unfortunately it's not quite possible, because even though it might be around 15 samples, every note is slightly different, it varies and never repeats. So basically quite difficult to program in... Lord knows Ive tried.

If you're playing samples, you could try the randomized sample start offset feature. It's on the fourth Samples tab of a drum program. It's different every time the sample plays, and not baked into MIDI sequence data.

Skynet wrote:
I was not aware of that, sadly! However the timing is pretty tight.

Eh it's still a pretty solid interface. I never used any of the AMT stuff when it was even part of Logic and never had any issues. The fact that it's still working after 20+ years says something about it. I'm just thankful Apple is still making drivers for it, I bought this thing when Emagic was still a thing in like 2001 and it's STILL my MIDI interface after all these years even with my M2 Pro Mac mini/Cubase 13 and shows no signs of stopping. It's probably been the most consistent and stable piece of gear I've ever owned next to my MOTU interfaces heh.

One of the devs ages ago made a driver for Linux and released it into the wild anonymously, the thing even works plugged into the MPC as it should.