Share your knowledge on these two classic MPCs
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By DOVESKI Wed Mar 16, 2005 3:50 am
if you want to use just one machine and fuk around on some old school sampling shit, id get the sp1200. if you want the tightest/good feeling seq uencer to control other shit get the 60. what up mac and tic!!!

By iMack Wed Mar 16, 2005 3:59 am
I didn't have a chance to get on line for a few days and when I logged in today, I couldn't believe the amount of information I read here. Much appreciated!!!

Thanks a lot to everyone who participated in this discussion.

By elmacaco Wed Mar 16, 2005 4:12 am
Hey Dove! Where ya been?
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By TicToc Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:15 am
Whattup Dove...

Where you been at? Got any more 45s you wanna unload?

Check my soundclick, peep "PACIFIST" see if you can spot any samples from the 45s you sent me...

:lol:

By ntalec Wed Mar 16, 2005 2:27 pm
elmacaco wrote:No, transfer disk is the only way, make a disk in the 60 just for transfers, maybe 4 partitions since the comp only sees partition one, then have a 60 only disk with your real ****, then dump want you want to the partition disk, push it into the MPC, load, then switch to your MP disk and save, anything you want going to the computer you save on the transfer disk. The MPC editor has a cool XP format option, btu my MP disk never touches the computer.


That's what I use to do but I don't use a PC anymore so it doesn't really bother me.
I just use the 60 for specific songs not at my normal MPC.
Last edited by ntalec on Wed Mar 16, 2005 4:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By DOVESKI Wed Mar 16, 2005 3:31 pm
I BEEN ON DA GRIND! ILL BE BACK THO.
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By itchyvinyl Wed Mar 16, 2005 7:28 pm
As long as this SP thread is still alive.....here's something else that really bugs me about the SP.

Whoever designed it was a dummy, and made the Swing function so that it moves the upbeat 8th notes instead of the upbeat 16th notes.
That means in order to use the swing like you normally would to make a swung hiphop beat (aka halftime shuffle) - you have to double the tempo - ie. if you want a 90bpm beat, you have to program it at 180......so then you have to double the number of bars in your segment. So then your count-in click will be half as long (because your'e at twice the tempo.)

Although annoying, it's easy enough to work around it when you're just using the SP.
BUT, then when you try to sync with ProTools, or some other pre-existing project, it turns into a pain in the ass.

Just 2 more cents from my linty pocket.

By ntalec Wed Mar 16, 2005 7:52 pm
Based on the available technology (the Z-80 CPU/ -Commodore c64), there were a lot of limitations to be dealt with.
Similar to how you have to double the length of a TR-808 pattern to get any decent patterns based on the capabilities of the analog sequencer.

By lo-fi Sun Mar 20, 2005 1:19 pm
itchyvinyl wrote:As long as this SP thread is still alive.....here's something else that really bugs me about the SP.

Whoever designed it was a dummy, and made the Swing function so that it moves the upbeat 8th notes instead of the upbeat 16th notes.
That means in order to use the swing like you normally would to make a swung hiphop beat (aka halftime shuffle) - you have to double the tempo - ie. if you want a 90bpm beat, you have to program it at 180......so then you have to double the number of bars in your segment. So then your count-in click will be half as long (because your'e at twice the tempo.)

Although annoying, it's easy enough to work around it when you're just using the SP.
BUT, then when you try to sync with ProTools, or some other pre-existing project, it turns into a pain in the ass.

Just 2 more cents from my linty pocket.


Dude.... The swing is determined by the Auto Correct value. It defaults to 8th notes but you can set it to 16th notes. A few posts back you said the SP1200 didn't have a 'reverse' function... What's your deal?

I never even looked at the manual; these things are right there...

By elmacaco Sun Mar 20, 2005 5:05 pm
That's kinda my earlier point about these old machines, you can use it for years without knowing the half of it can do, which to me is a brilliant design, no need to clutter a simple working process. I think the 1000 kinda got back to that philosophy.
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By itchyvinyl Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:07 am
lo-fi wrote:
itchyvinyl wrote:Whoever designed it was a dummy, and made the Swing function so that it moves the upbeat 8th notes instead of the upbeat 16th notes.
That means in order to use the swing like you normally would to make a swung hiphop beat (aka halftime shuffle) - you have to double the tempo - ie. if you want a 90bpm beat, you have to program it at 180......so then you have to double the number of bars in your segment. So then your count-in click will be half as long (because your'e at twice the tempo.)
.


Dude.... The swing is determined by the Auto Correct value. It defaults to 8th notes but you can set it to 16th notes. A few posts back you said the SP1200 didn't have a 'reverse' function... What's your deal?

I never even looked at the manual; these things are right there...




Lo-Fi, yes the presence of the reverse function slipped my mind.....but I'm gonna have to ask you to back up off me on this one.
I don't claim to be a genius, or an expert or anything....but I'm not just talking out of my asss either.

I'm NOT talking about the Auto Correct function. I'm well aware of how that works. I'm talking about the SWING function (the second white button from the left.)
This button/function relates to the Auto Correct, but it's a separate thing.
Just like on the MPC when you highlight the quantize value, and press open window. This shows the swing setting (between 50% and 75%.)

It's funny talking about the Swing function, because I see so many posts about the MPC swing function, and it's apparent that lots of people in here don't know how to use it or what it actually literally does (not implying you necessarily.)


Anyhow.... yes, you can get a swing feel by setting the Auto Correct (quantize on the MPC) to 16th note triplets. With that setting you will hear perfect triplets (equvalent to 70% swing setting.) But with the SWING function, you can finesse your swing value to get a feel that is somewhere BETWEEN 'straight' 16th notes and 16th note triplets.

50% is straight 16ths and 70% is 16th note triplets....anything over 70% has that "overswung" feel (think D'angelo or JayDee.)
It does this (on the MPC) by taking every "upbeat" 16th note and moving it later (the amount that the notes are moved is determined by your swing setting percentage - the MPC can be set anywhere between 50-75%)

The SP has its own swing function. It can only be set to 50%, 54%, 63%, 67%, or 71%.
The fuct thing about the SP is....it doesn't move the upbeat 16th notes like the MPC -- it moves the upbeat 8TH NOTES. This may have musical use in some style of music, but it can't be used to create what's nicknamed by drummers a "halftime shuffle" (aka a swung hiphop beat)
So in order to get a 63% swing on a hiphop beat, you have to double the tempo, so that the 8th notes become 16th notes. Then your swing setting will still actually just be moving 8th notes, but you're programming them as if they were 16th notes.

Whew.....I know it's confusing. Someone who knows how to read music notation will know exactly what I mean. To someone who doesn't, the concept of 8th notes 16th notes, triplets, and swung notes may be a bit abstract.

The MPC's swing function is awesome, because you can set it so that every track in your sequence can have a different swing setting. Actually, every pad can have a different swing setting too. That way you can get tiny little variations in feel for each different instrument sound in your song. It can really give a track life, and feels less stiff than having every thing quantized the exact same way.
Last edited by itchyvinyl on Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:34 am, edited 5 times in total.
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By itchyvinyl Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:08 am
Whoa, weird coincidence.
I just found this post with an explanation of the SWING function in an article about Roger Linn - the man who invented it. He calls it "shuffle" because I guess that's what it was called on the LM-1.

http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=26860
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By skalawa Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:02 pm
i love the zoning on the xl, totally dope man. lots of times i dont even edit the zones, nor use them in a perfect loop, i just use them as an instrument, a sound, also the swing on every different track is proper, i could have the kick rigid, snare late, and hats between snare and kik. you really create a feeling of rhythm there. as elm said ealier, about disabling the screen editing, tht would be tops, cause i am now falling in love with my 950, using numbers to edit. it also changes the way how i work, i would definately not go with pc, sequencing. the xl is rugged and is a good brain for the studio, i dont think i could go back unto a 60, the zone feature has me, along with open window, and seting swing on individuals thracks, also the pads are on the "right" side, take it how you want 60 users :twisted: a me name skalawa. by the way out of curiosity how would you zone up a sample like in the xl, with another sampler, like the 950 or 60, where each chop is on a seperate key.

By lo-fi Mon Mar 21, 2005 3:27 pm
Itchyvinyl, I stand corrected

I posted because that's how it should work; a 16th note swing at 95bpm should sound the same as an 8th note swing at 190bpm. It works that way on the MPC and I saw the SP has the same settings, so I assumed it would work on the SP too. I just tried it right now and you're absolutely correct. I had just never tried it before - I always run the SP at double time. I run the MPC at double time too, because they're synced. It would be nice if we could run them normal time, especially when syncing to PT or similar situations.

...I'll remember to check before I post something...

By iMack Mon Mar 21, 2005 4:50 pm
Hey itchyvinyl and lo-fi,

I've been reading your last posts and I'm a little confused. Obviously, I don't have any experience with any of this and that's why I started the thread in the first place.

I'd like to understand what exactly you're talking about. Are you guys saying that a 16th note swing at 95 bpm DOESN'T sound the same as an 8th note swing at 190 bpm?

I know that lo-fi was talking about AUTO CORRECT at first and itchyvinyl was talking about SWING.

lo-fi, you wrote "I stand corrected". What about? I was trying to find anything where you disagreed with itchyvinyl about the SWING, but I don't see it....

Can you guys explain what was the disagreement? Thanks a lot for all this info. It's great to be able to read it before I make up my mind....

Peace