MPC Stems processing time (the waiting...)

This post might ruffle some feathers, but it's crazy to me to hear people complain about the MPC's stem processing time.

I recall the ridiculously long saving, loading, and chopping times of my Yamaha RS7000, which my main beat making machine almost 25 years ago. You could make and eat dinner by the time it finished auto-chopping, but it was well worth the wait. I picked up my first MPC (2000 XL) over 20 years ago, and chopping and manipulating samples was time-consuming too. Yet, you patiently waited and did because that's part of the process.

Myths and folklore vs common reality

There's this too-ofren repeated myth that you'll lose you inspiration if you have to wait 3-5 minutes on processing. How crazy is that?! If you lose your inspiration by letting the processing give you a better output, then the issue is likely you.

Maybe a significant reason there aren't as many timeless/classic records these days is because too many people are impatient. Most great records take a while to create.

A proposed solution
Akai should let us choose between 1) higher quality stems, which may take up to 2-3 times as long, and 2) the regular stems. This would similar to the Audio Warp Algorithm choices (Pro Ten or Basic) we already have.

The higher quality option should be available in Preferences and as a check box in Stems pop-up before running the stems.

I'm not sure where each of you stand on this issue. Yes, it's 2024 ,and most laptops/computers can deliver faster and better stemming results.

But as of now, the MPC is still light-years ahead of other standalone hardware in its class, and 2-3 minutes of processing for better stem won't kill you or your creativity. Plus, if you ever used online stemming or RipX, you know that it can take several minutes for higher quality stems.

But hey, that's just my three cents. What say you?

I totally agree. As I mentioned earlier in another post, me waiting for 40+ minutes for my Emax to process a 100kb sample back in the day was just the way things were. A perfect time to pause and grab a snack and a coffee.

I'm sure this has been brought up before. I too would like to choose the quality of stems in standalone, I'm just unsure if the little cell phone processor in standalone MPC and even compete with the level that the MPC software can deliver.

I'm quality over quantity guy so I try to use the software as much as I can to get the best results for sampling then move to standalone once that work is done.

We're Spoiled Now....

It's all about Instant Gratification...(In Life, too)

I appreciate your 3 cent, but most people don't like change.

Maybe the ability to chose different stem quality levels is something they add later. I the Akai had that RS7000 dual LFP filter.

I understand the value of integration, but a desktop computer is so fast compared to a MPC that getting the best quality stems quickly and then plugging a USB dongle in the MPC seems the best compromise to me... But maybe I'm different.

Logrinn wrote:I totally agree. As I mentioned earlier in another post, me waiting for 40+ minutes for my Emax to process a 100kb sample back in the day was just the way things were. A perfect time to pause and grab a snack and a coffee.

40 minutes? Sheesh.

I remember borrowing an Ensoniq Mirage from a friend in the early 1990s. The good ole days. LOL

Mike Boogie wrote:I'm sure this has been brought up before. I too would like to choose the quality of stems in standalone, I'm just unsure if the little cell phone processor in standalone MPC and even compete with the level that the MPC software can deliver.

I'm quality over quantity guy so I try to use the software as much as I can to get the best results for sampling then move to standalone once that work is done.

I'm computer literate but not an expert. I don't think the standalone can actually compete with most desktops. It would be crazy if someone could create an MPC-like device with an ARM chip like Apple's M chip.

I agree with giving us the option to choose the stems quality.

40Beatz wrote:We're Spoiled Now....

It's all about Instant Gratification...(In Life, too)

True. And I'm definitely guilty of that in some areas. But hearing some of these long-term MPC users complain about waiting a minute or so for stems doesn't even make sense to me.

B-Wise wrote:I appreciate your 3 cent, but most people don't like change.

Maybe the ability to chose different stem quality levels is something they add later. I the Akai had that RS7000 dual LFP filter.

Hopefully, Akai does that. I wonder if they are bending to the complaints about processing time rather than focusing on making it the best quality always.

The RS7000 was beast: all those knobs, options, filters, workflow, etc. I loved it like a child.

I used to have two of them (loaned one for a friend because we were in a group, and it was easy to work on things together that way).

I sold mine many years ago. Then my friend's ex-wife called me about 2 years ago to come get some of the stuff he had left in their house following their less-than-amicable divorce (he had moved to a different state). So, I went and scooped it up.

I had big plans of transferring so old beats from my RS7k to my laptop or MPC. But the load and saving times were atrocious. And I had lost my feel for the machine and Smart Media card reader and sold off/couldn't find most of my SCSI connectors. So that grandiose thought fizzled after a few days. It's still in storage.

Had my MPC Live 1 since 2017. Hard to believe Akai is still supporting this machine AND making it better, largely for free.

Jean-Marc Liotier wrote:I understand the value of integration, but a desktop computer is so fast compared to a MPC that getting the best quality stems quickly and then plugging a USB dongle in the MPC seems the best compromise to me... But maybe I'm different.

That makes sense. I used the Moises app on my phone for a few months. I didn't mind the wait. Then I tried RipX on a song and that took ages, but it was amazing.

Lampdog wrote:Nah, your using common sense. Some just wanna keep it in the box and so they HAVE to accept in-box limitations. No dinner, no vaseline, just “accept it”.

Haha...

droctii wrote:

B-Wise wrote:
Hopefully, Akai does that. I wonder if they are bending to the complaints about processing time rather than focusing on making it the best quality always.

The RS7000 was beast: all those knobs, options, filters, workflow, etc. I loved it like a child.

I used to have two of them (loaned one for a friend because we were in a group, and it was easy to work on things together that way).

I sold mine many years ago. Then my friend's ex-wife called me about 2 years ago to come get some of the stuff he had left in their house following their less-than-amicable divorce (he had moved to a different state). So, I went and scooped it up.

I had big plans of transferring so old beats from my RS7k to my laptop or MPC. But the load and saving times were atrocious. And I had lost my feel for the machine and Smart Media card reader and sold off/couldn't find most of my SCSI connectors. So that grandiose thought fizzled after a few days. It's still in storage.

Had my MPC Live 1 since 2017. Hard to believe Akai is still supporting this machine AND making it better, largely for free.

I like the Force as a modern replacement for the RS7k. I recently just finish moving all my old RS7 beats to the Force to begin remaking them. I never got into the RS sampler, but plan to now that I'll be using it as a sketch box. Too bad you couldn't get them beats off of it. Here's one of RS7 beats seq on the Force playing the RS sounds & it's dual LPF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq5zmlGJMbM

I agree that it's cool Akai is supporting their devices for longer. I think the chip shortage we had made some tech companies realize that they don't have to always drop a new gen so quickly (like Apple) as long as the old device is getting updates.

B-Wise wrote:
I like the Force as a modern replacement for the RS7k. I recently just finish moving all my old RS7 beats to the Force to begin remaking them. I never got into the RS sampler, but plan to now that I'll be using it as a sketch box. Too bad you couldn't get them beats off of it. Here's one of RS7 beats seq on the Force playing the RS sounds & it's dual LPF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq5zmlGJMbM

This is cool. How did you do the transfer?