protools and mpc syncing/ recording

i am now trying pro tools free, ( what have i been missing), and i am syncing it with my mpc. i wanna know how you guys record your audio tracks, do you just record abar into pro tools, then loop it, or you record the entire 3 min track. also is there a blank track to be recorded so that mtc can lock? i am pretty lost in this department. just wanna know how you do your stuff seeeen, thanx.

IT all depends on how you want the recording, If its all loops then record the loops seperatly on each track and highlight the loop (if its midi synced) and copy by holding cntrl and pushing D (duplicate) to the desired length. Do you have some input for your comp for MIDI? If so then just sync the MPC and PT at the same tempo w/ PT as the master and the MPC as slave. PT is a VERY easy pgm to use your best bet would be to visit the user forums on Digidesigns web site www.Digidesign.com
Lots of useful hints there and also some tutorials on PT on other parts of the site!

I use both methods. If i just quickly want to record some loops i made, i'll loop and duplicate them. When i've finished a whole song on the mpc, i'll record full length.
I'd say the biggest advantage of using 4 bar loops is saving recources on your computer. If your computer is likely to crash playing back a lot of full lenght audio tracks, this is a great workaround.
I also find it easier to arrange a song if it's cut up in loops.

THANX ALOT MAN
WELL APRECIATED

How to sync/setup Pro Tools LE (DIGI001) and MPC2000XL via MIDI/MMC/Clock

This can be an infuriating topic because of the fact neither AKAI or Digidesign have any mention of making this type of "connection" and there are so many options and switches to configure, you sometimes never know if you're getting anywhere.

This guide will get you going fast. I'm a Hip Hop producer, and even though I charge for studio time, I don't like wasting it. And without the MPC and Pro Tools talking to each other as they should, you really are not getting your money's worth out of these things.

What you will end up with is a perfect scenario where your MPC2000XL sequences are triggered instantly when you press play (or rec+play) in Pro Tools LE. There should be no lag, space, or other problem which requires editing or pre-roll or any of that.

If all is said and done and working perfectly, you will save countless hours by just hitting rec+play and tracking your sequences a track at a time, and they will all be in time and
line up perfectly in Pro Tools.

MIDI cables, Pro Tools, and the MPC2000XL, to my knowledge, do not "know" when they are hooked up; they are not like USB cables, so don't fret about that. Just follow these directions and know that this DOES work, can be replicated, and is a great way to save you hours and hours of studio time.

MPC2000XL

1. You only need 1 cable to make this sync trick work. Start by plugging a MIDI cable from the MIDI OUT port of your DIGI001.
2. Plug the other end into the MIDI IN port of your MPC. Either 1 or 2 is fine.
3. Hit Shift+9 on your MPC, bringing up the MIDI/Sync page.
4. On the left side is Sync In, set the (In:1) to correspond to the port you plugged in from step 2.
5. Next, Mode should be set to MIDI Clock.
6. Shift Early can be left at 0.

Your MPC is now ready to receive MIDI sync commands from Pro Tools. Hit the MAIN SCREEN button to return to the main MPC window. If you don't, you won't hear your sequences when triggered. I don't know why, but if you leave it on the MIDI/Sync page, it screws things up.

Pro Tools LE

1. Click Setups>Peripherals menu, then click the Synchronization tab
2. Set Device drop down to Generic MMC Reader
3. Set Port to DIGIDESIGN DIGI001
4. Minimum Sync Delay is set at 30, but this is irrelevant
5. UNCHECK the "Enable Control of Pro Tools LE via MMC" checkbox (if it was checked)
6. Click the Machine Control tab
7. UNCHECK the ENABLE box (if it was checked)
8. The other two tabs are not necessary in our example
9. Click OK to exit the Peripherals dialog box.
10. Using the Pro Tools transport window, click the Clock icon, (or use the menu Operations>Online, or hit CTRL J)
11. The Clock icon now flashes.
12. Click the MIDI menu, then click Change Tempo.
13. Match Pro Tools tempo with your MPC sequence tempo. If your sequence is all MIDI notes or is a loop that can
be tempo adjusted without gap or spacing problems, you can change the tempo right in Pro Tools, and it will change it on the MPC all in real-time. This is very slick!

When you hit play (or rec+play) in Pro Tools, your MPC tempo should display (EXT) where the Tempo once was, but only during play. Also, you can use Pro Tools transport to FF or REW and it will move the time code display in the MPC.

What's also amazing is that if you set your Pro Tools session to bars|beats, and then click the FF or REW buttons, they play head will jog forward a bar or back a bar, and even show this right on the MPC. This is sync, baby!

These steps are not foolproof, there is often SOMETHING that can go wrong, but these are the steps I used to get it working, and my setup is basic and this step alone is now saving me hours and headaches not having to hand-edit the tracks that are off because I recorded them at-will in Pro Tools.

This is how things are supposed to be!

Enjoy, and happy MIDI synching.

P.S. A client brought in an ASRXPRO (ASR X PRO) and we got it to do the same thing in Pro Tools; just set your MIDI to "sync ext clocks" and it will work great.

Nice guide.........also be sure to go into ProTools and turn off all your quantize settings (input quantize too), or else the SWING settings that you programmed on the MPC won't work.

Found that out the hard way.

Thanks on the pro-tools help. Will these steps also work with the Digi002? I just wanted to give you respect on writing that step for step guide. I know I am not the only one that will find this handy. Thanks kid

Thanks for that little guide..Very helpful.

Now if someone could post the step-by-step for Cool-Edit-Pro, that would be sweet.

I tried to do it but set something up incorrectly. Cooledit-pro would synch up a few milliseconds too late and miss several notes.

oR a step by step for recording a measure of midi+audio in cubase SX using MPC as a master
without hearing just buz buz buz (midi sound) that would be dope

It seems like you can figure that one out . my guess is you use to trax midi and audio mute the midi and monitor the audio while you record both of them.with the same steps he gave you for pro tools just transfer them to cubase steps. I just use midi as a way of syncing other machines together not writing midi notes so I might be wrong but I do know how to use pro tools and cubase and their midi clock functions

NauticaICE wrote:oR a step by step for recording a measure of midi+audio in cubase SX using MPC as a master
without hearing just buz buz buz (midi sound) that would be dope

i use sx, it should not go BUZZBUZZ at all while recording midi (unless you're telling it to)

Very helpful. Anyone no what changes would need to be made (aside from the cables) for the mp to be the master and the 001 or 002 the slave. Maybe so Protools is sync and records when the mp playstart button is played?

when i track the mpc, i always use MTC, and i don't do the entire song. say your sequence is an 8 bar loop, i record 16 bars, delete the first 8, or use it as an intro or something. but duplicate the last 8. just to be sure your MPC locked up. this method also drastically reduces the sizes of your sessions.

rickrock305 wrote:when i track the mpc, i always use MTC, and i don't do the entire song. say your sequence is an 8 bar loop, i record 16 bars, delete the first 8, or use it as an intro or something. but duplicate the last 8. just to be sure your MPC locked up. this method also drastically reduces the sizes of your sessions.

This is the same thing I do!!!!