MPC 3 -- Let's GO!!

B-Wise wrote:It would help if the track count was increased to deal with all the extra drum tracks people will need to load into the project to make up for the lack of a program pool.

I feel like this will be how they will market/sell new MpcLive3 and MpcXL(Whatever). If they are feeling scummy, they could somehow be enabled/disable in the new hardware rather than add it to old. Not the fact there could be more drum tracks but more or less to have more than have 8-Tracks. They are going to have to separate the two to some degree. What better way but by Limitations. They will say "New Hardware, More Ram, More Tracks, Better Stems Algo" and so forth. Instead of letter people manage the Ram themselves and enable more Audio/Midi-Tracks, maybe they will just disable them after 8 and then the Newer Mpc3 Dedicated Hardware will have More than 8 with separate firmware. Then the people would riot in the streets over it.

Not really. I think people will speak up and Akai will have to listen to a Degree. Knowing them it wont be completely and if they do listen to people, it will most likely be from the people more interested in a Hardware to be a Dedicated DAW, Module Synth Controller, Plug-ins and such. Targeted more towards House Music, Pop-Trap, Hip-POP, Synth People, or Emo/Sappy Piano Lo-Fi Beats and so on.

Like yeah sure he will market it out to the Trap/Rap/HipHop people because he wants us to buy his product and such, but the features he's mostly adding are clearly not for the boombappers and such but instead whatever is Trending. Marketing... ya know..

We've been seeing this more often though. The guy who does the Akai Videos looks like he hangs out in a Miami House Club back in 92 or something which he most likely did or something...

Anyways.. I ain't surprised and no biggie. I dig BassMusic, IDM, DrumNBass, Module Synth Stuff as well as BoomBap, but it just does seem most of the decisions they have been making over the last handful of years have been more catering to that rather than... Once again I'll say it.. The Sample/Midi Capabilities. Even with the New Update. Life Goes On Though and Voices Will Be Heard. If Not From Us Then Others Like EASKI Eventually.

LivePsy wrote:[And if you want different songs for a complete live session, you can add new tracks for the new song.

Yes but only up to the 128 Track limitation. So let's say you have 16 tracks in a song... then you can only have 8 songs in a live set. Also, if they share a program track assignment between sequences, you may have your 808 kit on Track 1 but you are on song 8, so the rest of your instruments/tracks on like 117 - 128 , or probably more so, we'll have all of our instruments spread out between the different pad banks, because when I first used the 808 it was on track 1, and then when I used bass sound it was on track 42. and my strings are on 72 so you have all of your track mute's spread out in between all the pad banks, so for example, simply muting the bass drum and the bass at the same time, will be impossible because those are on in 2 completely different track/pad banks. A lot of using the MPC live is improvisations and having your tracks spread out between 8 pad banks doesn't work for simultaneous mutes/unmutes for example Before with MPC 2, we could have 128 tracks PER Song (if each sequence is a song) and 128 Songs (if each sequence is a song). . With MPC 3, you can still have 128 Songs (if each sequence is a song) but those 128 songs would have to share 128 programs assignments. This is independent issue then the mute events per sequence being gone. That's a whole nutha topic.

I'm sure I will figure a way to work around the limitations, if not, I have external sequencers and synths/drum machines, so I can always load up a new project. Or just stay on 2.15. But that doesn't mean we can't explain to Akai (yes, I've written to them directly) that some people use the MPC this way., and other use the MPC that way, and others use it another way, and others use multiple variations of those different ways depending on what the end use is for.

If they want another solution, let us load up multiple projects into ram (like my Squarp Hapax, better yet, let me load up a project while another is playing, as long as you stay within RAM/CPU constraints), then each project is song. And give us a "Next Project" page like we have "Next Sequence". And that would allow me to use "Next Sequence" within a project for "parts" of the song like Intro, Chorus, Verse and then I can go to "Next Project" page to switch in real time to the next Song. - I could essentially do this with the 4k, with a "Multi" and a program change in a Sequence to switch the Multi and hence all the Program settings/assignments. That would be incredible, but I know they aren't planning on doing that

renegadebliss wrote:

LivePsy wrote:[And if you want different songs for a complete live session, you can add new tracks for the new song.

Also, if they share a program track assignment between sequences, you may have your 808 kit on Track 1 but you are on song 8, so the rest of your instruments/tracks on like 117 - 128 , or probably more so, we'll have all of our instruments spread out between the different pad banks, because when I first used the 808 it was on track 1, and then when I used bass sound it was on track 42. and my strings are on 72 so you have all of your track mute's spread out in between all the pad banks, so for example, simply muting the bass drum and the bass at the same time, will be impossible because those are on in 2 completely different track/pad banks. A lot of using the MPC live is improvisations and having your tracks spread out between 8 pad banks doesn't work for simultaneous mutes/unmutes for example Before with MPC 2, we could have 128 tracks PER Song (if each sequence is a song) and 128 Songs (if each sequence is a song). . With MPC 3, you can still have 128 Songs (if each sequence is a song) but those 128 songs would have to share 128 programs assignments. This is independent issue then the mute events per sequence being gone. That's a whole nutha topic.

Absoutely right and well put, but you could resample parts as a new track up with the tracks for the new song. Every 16 or 8 tracks could be a song, some of those are resampled and now it has become a clip launcher. Maybe that's all you need for live sessions.

moonlake wrote:And I am surprised how well marketing via influencer videos works, when people start to welcome restrictions as innovations.

That's nothing to be surprised about. More younger people watch these YouTubers & most of them may had started off with a DAW & the MPC is new to them.

moonlake wrote:And there are always workarounds. A work-around and a work- flow are not the same thing.

Like, you can reach any location making left turns only.
But its much more convenient if you are allowed spontanous left and right turns at will.
It seems a bit silly to me to celebrate a restriction to left turns only as a new freedom.

And I am surprised how well marketing via influencer videos works, when people start to welcome restrictions as innovations.

This. Exactly. Thanks for pointing it out I was about to write the same.

People, be patient and lets see how that will turn out.

There are things that still need to be ironed out as there are a lot of remnants of the force software and settings that are irrelevant to the mpc still scattered around.

So things will definitely change as the software goes close to release (which we don't even know when it will be released).

I have already filled an extensive feedback report describing what made my work harder or easier with them. I hope that they will use our feedback to make a really solid piece of software

Cubase has both MPC2 style "assignable programs" i.e. VST Instrument Rack, and MPC3/Force style combined tracks i.e. Instrument Tracks.

IIRC, old Cubase VST 5 used to have a feature called "arrangements", which were sort of like sequences in MPC. With arrangements, you could create multiple different variations from the same audio and MIDI material, using the same instruments (programs in MPC) and WAV file pool. But IIRC this feature was never added to the Nuendo-based remake Cubase SX. It was a long time ago, maybe I remember incorrectly.

i'm opposed to this fixed track programming, it is a constraint
the fact that people use their MPC this or that way proves the (previous) concept was flexible

this is not

i like the idea of setting up MIDI PC to change your track target, but then again you are limited to 128
-over all instrument/track types !

(because when you program it to behave this way, you have to do it consequently over all the device)

i copy tracks all over the place from my sequences (of course in MPC2 only to an empty track later in the chain)

if there's a program target on a track base, it is/should be easy to change (just dial in the one you'd like) so why should this be maintained over ALL sequences ? This is so flexible that every sequences can have it's own arrangement

what i like to do (in MPC2 et prior) is re-use programs from earlier tracks and create a variation or new track/notes/automation while working on new tracks

this seems quite difficult in MPC3

also, keep in mind CV & MIDI tracks where -basically- one program used but the output port (& MIDI ch) defines it's destination

maybe the [BETA] system is not so bad (or less worse than alternatives) because it is clear(er)
although then i'd like the constraint of (fixed programs over) ALL sequences removed

[edit]
ps.. there's also bank select in the MIDI protocol, to assist / provide more options in PC selection

maybe I'm just being silly, but would anyone of you people who already got the beta binary/bin/update care to share it in a PM ?

jalex wrote:maybe I'm just being silly, but would anyone of you people who already got the beta binary/bin/update care to share it in a PM ?

Who raised you?

jalex wrote:maybe I'm just being silly, but would anyone of you people who already got the beta binary/bin/update care to share it in a PM ?

a) legally not allowed
b) private betas need licence activating and are linked to the tester's account
c) it's not exactly gentlemanly to do this
d) yes you are being silly, just wait, won't be long in the general scheme of things

Oh. I stand corrected -_-
Thanks for not shooting me

It is also protected by a sound mechanism that does a sine sweep and static noise every 15".
If we share it = NDA broken, NDA broken = you get booted off the program

MGoolas wrote:People, be patient and lets see how that will turn out.

There are things that still need to be ironed out as there are a lot of remnants of the force software and settings that are irrelevant to the mpc still scattered around.

So things will definitely change as the software goes close to release (which we don't even know when it will be released).

I have already filled an extensive feedback report describing what made my work harder or easier with them. I hope that they will use our feedback to make a really solid piece of software

This has been my attitude. The 3.0 software is still in Beta, so the best thing we can do as users is give Akai as much feedback as possible in hopes that they listen and improve the software before release. I'm glad that a lot of users have sent feedback just off of watching videos about the software. Ill be submitting my feedback after the Beta firmware is available to the public.

I'm excited about this update. But I would like to know how many tracks can we stream from disk? Is it possible to stream like 8 tracks from disk?