Some questions - fan noise and pics of the inside

depending on how close your mic is to your gear& how sensitive your mic is, sounds like it will be more of the problem,than the mpc fan.if you know how to record, the fan should not be that big of a an issue,in fact you should have all your tracking done before you record vocals anyway.you can always go back and make musical adjustments later...

you can't rackmount an MPC4000, no.....


This "hidden button presses" to adjust fan speed -
is that in the Service documentation?
I have never been able to get my hands on such docs.
Are they available from anywhere?

nik wrote:

jbplaya wrote:My 4000's quiet. Just a low fan hum like any normal computer.

Yeh, which is exactly what you don't want in a recording studio... musical instruments should be silent until asked to make music

If anyone fancies recording their MPC 4000 fan noise for me, together with another noise (say voice or something recognisable) so I can hear, would be great!

Also, is there only one fan in there? What size is it? 80mm I guess the one at the back is...

How did you record the MPC 60/3k back in the day then? And if you have clients that track at your studio how did they program and record at your studio? And another if major producers are recording in other studios it seem to me that the other engineers would be most concerned with noise during the mixing and mastering processes. If you are asking such questions to home studio producers with setups in garages, bedrooms, and cribs I don`t see how you would get an remotely reasonable answer to your question especially comparing the signal to noise ratio levels of a pro studio and a home studio. Relativity a queit level at home is the wifey`s out and the tv, computer, cars are off an the windows are closed from outside traffic.

No disrespect, but..............you are the pro right? I would maybe ask the other engineers in your field or check out Sound on Sound for soundproofing. All electronic gear makes some noise even monitors.

Since were on the subject:why would you wanna rack mount the mp anyway? uh tabletop? also if your recording on a certain level after 15yrs tell me how does an mpc fan sound get into a vocal booth? not trying to be funny just curious.

Hey folks, thanks for the replies and questions.

I don't remember the MPC60 being noisy... but i can't say for definite, it was a while ago. I do remember _something_ being a noisy PITA back then... hmmm

I don't in fact see much difference with pro / amateur / bedroom setups, just a pro studio has much better acoustics and the neighbours don't complain when you crank it I'll admit straight off that this is a particular bug bear of mine, noisy gear. Frankly, it doesn't matter if you are putting a beat together in your bedroom or mixing down the latest multi-platinum album, noisy gear is a PITA. It means your ears and brain get tired way quicker (ever worked in a noisy studio, then turned the noisy shit off at the end of the day, and said "aaaaaaaah, thats better". Constant tones are unarguably tiresome and totaly non-creative.

There are loads of cumcumstances where a noisy bit of gear messes up recording... The obvious one is at home, knocking togeter some beats, you want to just chuck something in there, a vocal or whatever, you put the mic up and - whhhhrrrrrrrrrrrr. Or you are at a big studio that records stuff in the control room (real world for example), again, you put up a mic to record a delicate shaker or whatever... whhhhhiiirrrrrrr. Or finaly, you are in the studio by yourself late at night / in the morning and you feel like putting something down, up goes the mic... you get the picture. I have always been a fan of recording stuff in the control room anyway.

Sure there are a multitude of ways ROUND these problems (put beats to tape for example), but then that takes time, and you want to change something etc it's inconvienient.

For me, a noisy bit of gear is NOT a problem to 'get around', it's a problem I don't accept. I know there are ways to make fans quieter (as I said, I build my own super-quiet PC's), but I am not so sure about buying a £1500 bit of gear to have to mod straight out the box because it's noisy.

I dunno, I get the feeling I have annoyed some of you by asking this question, I dunno why? Yes, I am possably a little analy retentive about noisy fans, but it seems like a straightforward question to me. I am not trying to trash the MPC, honest! I want to buy one!

Anyway, if anyone fancies putting a mic about a metre away from their 4000, and recording the sound, would be great, Snap your fingers or speak as well, so there is something to judge the level against.

Cheers! Any more questions, please ask!

rookie wrote:Since were on the subject:why would you wanna rack mount the mp anyway?

Just interested if it could be done, racking shit up is always a good option!

I dunno, I get the feeling I have annoyed some of you by asking this question, I dunno why? Yes, I am possably a little analy retentive about noisy fans, but it seems like a straightforward question to me.

Didn't annoy me. But honestly, in a professional studio or even in your bedroom, fan noise really shouldn't even be a problem. And it's not like you even have to create workarounds around it. When you record vocals or even live instruments, 9 times out of 10, you're going to be in a vocal soundproof booth, room, closet. whatever. So I really can't see your point other than the simple fact that for some reason it annoys the heck out of you. In that case, you might want to see a shrink to help you out with your Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, rather than ask a bunch of home recording musicians on a message board for opinions. And that's just being honest .

Man, I gave you about 100 reasons for not having noisy gear in my post above. If you think I'm daft asking this shit, don't sweat, just read another thread. I don't need to be told how I like my studios sounding.

I thought this was a message board for MPC enthusiasts to help each other, not for some _people_ to get stuck in and cast stupid aspersions about each other?

nah nik don't get offended we ain't trying to rain on you or nothing,go ahead get the mp,were just going by what your question was and what you stated about yourself in the begining,nobody in there right mind want noise in their recording,but you make it sound as if the mp sounded like a train riding bye...and I guess from experience were trying to say that the fan ain't nothing to trip over,I did a whole cd in my basement,no noise at all...but like I said earlier,do you trackin' first,cut all the instruments off, then do vocals? if your mp&modules are synced to your recorder you can always go back and tweak the music.

fukkinel man, wats wrong wiv u people??

bro, the mpc4k fan is noisy if yor using it in a room where your recording. trust me, i got both my mic and mpc in the same room.

I was up til early in the morning programming a beat on the 4k the only sound that could be hear outside the headphones were my Apple G4 which I hear now. But my 4k was so quiet that I didn`t realized how late it was til I hear the birds singing outside and that dull blue light at the crack of dawn at 4:25am (there is no daylight saving time over here go figure). But I mostly do preproduction at home and I would take my drive aka Pro Tools session to a studio or rent a mpc there and record in a pro studio. Rent it and try. For me the G4 is the noisy part of my studio which is why I do it the old school way to digital tape. Don`t sweat it.

There is always the MPC 60

"crack of dawn" -
yeah.

most of the guys on this forum need to smoke a little less of that....

my 4k makes lots of noizzze too. I hear the birds wisthle too sometimes but thats because my ears are super sonical after a night beating them pads
As soon as there is a hard drive involved together with an Intel processor, you may be certain that it makes noise!
The MPC60 even made noise

ikke:the 60 was quiet,less tech though, but if I could find one for the LOW I would 99.99 times out of 10 would grab it.the 2000xl is pretty quiet 2.but on the 4k you can also cut that hd off,that helps alot.

Man, I gave you about 100 reasons for not having noisy gear in my post above. If you think I'm daft asking this ****, don't sweat, just read another thread. I don't need to be told how I like my studios sounding.

Touchy touchy bro. Lighten up man, no one's attacking you. And my MPC is quiet. I guess some 4000's are noisier than others .