AJCT wrote:As for compression, be careful.. if you're sampling records etc.. the beats would already have been compressed and therefore dont need it again. My advice is use the compression for a desired effect or if a sound is a problem in the mix.
That's true but not true. If you take sounds from a mastered CD then IMO it's more of an issue. To me recordings on vinyl have been somewhat transformed back into an analog source that can be tweaked with a little. Def. a good thing to think about, I'd only add that you can compress drums from vinyl a bit, just not too much. And def. be careful with drums or sounds from CD's.
As far as the main topic, I myself don't like to overwork my machine when tracking a beat. I've got things down to my own science tracking sounds one at a time and then pimping out the arrangement in Protools for the most part. But, in the absence of a computer program, I would be more inclined to rock an HD24 or something like that instead of tracking 8-outs from an MPC.
Cats don't think about it too much, but the computer on your MPC only has so much processing power. If you already have a beat with a lot of sounds and complex sequencing you are raising the margin for error. Some people would call this 'feel', but I don't like it personally. MPC's are better(than say a EPS 16+ or ASR-10) and will hold out longer before skewing the timing on your sounds so there is a cutoff point in terms of concern, but it is something to consider. Remember also timing has alot to do with how your sounds will blend together if you do chops, so don't sleep on not taxing your sequencer if you are using multiple outs.
but if I did I would see myself using it while constructing a beat, not just when I wanted to track or bounce my shit to cd/tape.
