Assigning external midi channels to the PADS??

Hellothere MPC fiends.. Need your help!
Ive read the manual but cant find my answer there, so here goes my question 2 yu.. (im pretty sure the answer will be no, which is a damn shame :< )

I own an Akai S3000XL sampler and would like to buy an MPC 2000XL.

What i want to be able to do is:
Play each of the S3000XL's midi channels/sounds off of the MPC'z pads.
IE: Assign the midi channels of the S3000XL onto the pads of the MPC so i can play/record sequences that way.

(This way i can get my main drum hits sounding "phatter" coming out of the 3000.. )

Dont think you can - but worth asking anyway..
Thnx

You can trigger sounds from your 3000XL with the 2000XL, It'll be MIDI note numbers.
Say you have a Kik on the 3K at MIDI note number 36, it will play on the pad that is assigned to note number 36.

Thanks bro!

What i really need to know is :
IE : Can i assign -
Pad 1 to Midi channel 1 of S3000XL,
Pad 2 to Midi channel 2 of S3000XL etc, etc, and record my pad playing into the MPC'z sequencer..??

If i can do this, i will be the happiest man ever

U3 wrote:Thanks bro!

What i really need to know is :
IE : Can i assign -
Pad 1 to Midi channel 1 of S3000XL,
Pad 2 to Midi channel 2 of S3000XL etc, etc, and record my pad playing into the MPC'z sequencer..??

If i can do this, i will be the happiest man ever

I don't think you can specify the midi channel on a per-pad basis, but why would you want to do that anyway? That would only make sense if you only use 1 sound per midi channel and want to play them together, like a drum kit.

You can control the S3000xl's 16 midi channels on 16 (or more) seperate sequencer tracks in the MPC. So, say you have a drum kit on ch1 in the S3000xl, you assign a sequencer track to that channel and play a kick-snare pattern. Then maybe you assign another sequencer track to that midi channel and play a hi-hat pattern. Then maybe you have a bass sound on channel 3, so you assign a sequencer track to channel 3 and play the bass. To make a long story short: you can control the whole s3000xl from the MPC, and some more modules if you have them.

Hey!

lo-fi wrote:I don't think you can specify the midi channel on a per-pad basis, but why would you want to do that anyway? That would only make sense if you only use 1 sound per midi channel and want to play them together, like a drum kit.

Thats exactly what i wanted to do. This way i would have had much more control over each midi channel (EG: PANNING - i could of had more control over the individual drum sound (pan left/right), rather than panning the WHOLE drumkit if i end up putting all the drum sounds in 1 midi channel.
Kno what i mean bro? Anywayzz... I'll use the alternative, method u said..
(Im ok with that, its a small price to pay- ANYTHING to get away from the computer )

lo-fi wrote: You can control the S3000xl's 16 midi channels on 16 (or more) seperate sequencer tracks in the MPC. So, say you have a drum kit on ch1 in the S3000xl, you assign a sequencer track to that channel and play a kick-snare pattern. Then maybe you assign another sequencer track to that midi channel and play a hi-hat pattern. Then maybe you have a bass sound on channel 3, so you assign a sequencer track to channel 3 and play the bass. To make a long story short: you can control the whole s3000xl from the MPC, and some more modules if you have them.

Ok, this is my only option.. I'll take it tho.

Can i ask one more question?
With the pads, you know how ENOTIDE was saying i can assign the "midi note numbers" to them - well - Do the note numbers of the midi channel (from S3000XL) im playing HAVE to be layyed out in order on the PADS??
IE: Pad 1 - note 62
Pad 2 - Note 63
Pad 3 - note 64 etc etc ??
OR, am i allowed to have the "midi note numbers" assigned to the pads in ANY order i want?
IE: PAD 1 - Note 62
pad 2 - note 48
pad 3 - note 23 etc etc ??
Im pretty sure i read you can do this with sounds sampled INTO the mpc, but im not sure about external midi devices.

Thnx maing!
Appreciate it.

U3 wrote:Hey!

lo-fi wrote:I don't think you can specify the midi channel on a per-pad basis, but why would you want to do that anyway? That would only make sense if you only use 1 sound per midi channel and want to play them together, like a drum kit.

Thats exactly what i wanted to do. This way i would have had much more control over each midi channel (EG: PANNING - i could of had more control over the individual drum sound (pan left/right), rather than panning the WHOLE drumkit if i end up putting all the drum sounds in 1 midi channel.

You can do all that editing in the MPC. It has an internal mixer (pan+volume) for all the drum sounds inside.

Besides, if you use your sampler mainly for drums, you're going to sell the S3000XL probably... I did. Hint: You can scavenge the 8 outs board of the S3000XL and install it in the MPC2000XL (also works in a MPC2000). I did, and it works great.

You can also assign any note number to any pad in the MPC2000(XL).

Hey thanks steven,
I would love to use the MPC2000's internal sampler for drums, (i'll still use it for other things tho) but im really digging the sample engine of my akai s3000 and S900 series samplers, so im going to go with those toys for my main drums.


You said that i can assign any note number to any pad in the MPC2000 XL.... I know you can achieve this using the 2000's internal sampler/drum sounds.
What i wanna know is, can i do the same thing even with an external midi device hooked up?? I've read most of the manual i downloaded and it doesnt say you can do it for midi devices selected as the sequencer track anywhere.. for the internal programs/sounds ("drum track") - you can though...

Can anyone clear this up for me pls?>>?
Really will appreciate it

You can have a whole drumkit on one midi channel in the S3000xl or S6000. Basically you'd have a program that works just like a program on the MPC; every drumsound would be on a seperate 'keygroup'. You'd still have seperate control over panning, level and all other parameters. Check out the S3000xl manual.

You can also assign any note number to the MPC'spads. A ready-made chromatic assignment is available for download, uhm... somewhere around here. You could also create a program in the S3000xl that responds directly to the MPC's rather stupid note number order (i.e. pad A1 would trigger keygroup 1 via note number 62, pad A2 triggers keygroup 2 via note number 63, etc.

Ey,

lo-fi wrote:You can have a whole drumkit on one midi channel in the S3000xl or S6000. Basically you'd have a program that works just like a program on the MPC; every drumsound would be on a seperate 'keygroup'. You'd still have seperate control over panning, level and all other parameters. Check out the S3000xl manual.

Correct - i can have an entire drumkit on one midi channel in the S3000 with each drum sound belonging to a seperate keygroup.(This is what im planning on doing)
HOWEVER, unlike the MPC (where you can have FULL control of each note/keygroup of a program) - the S3000's keygroups act differently and dont offer you this control.Yeh i can do modulations and stuff, but im talking actuall CC midi messages like Pan, Level etc. This stuff must be done on the entire midi channel, unlike the mpc. (But at least i can spit each keygroup seperately out of the 8 outputs and into a mixing desk where i'll set the panning & levels there - only thing i cant do is automate it -i'll live with that. )

lo-fi wrote:You can also assign any note number to the MPC'spads.

Bro, sorrry to be pushing this question so long - (pls hear me out tho)
I'd prefer to have the note #'s of external midi gear mapped onto the pads in my own custom made order (not chromatically).
The manual doesnt say ANYWHERE that you can do this for a Midi Track/External Midi Device.. Only for internal drum programs/sounds selected.
Are you sure this is possible? Has anyone done it themselves? If so, then how is it done? From where?? Anyone know the process?
Reason im getting annoying is because i did a search on this, and another guy asking the exact same question on this forum didnt get bak a straight answer..Plus the fact it isnt in the manual.Making me wonder..
So i hope you understand my case - i just wanna make 100% sure this really works - before i get the mpc so i can work out my setup.

REALLY appreciate it!

If you want to assign a note number to a pad, do the following:

> Hit [shift+6] (program edit)

> Select a drumkit slot

> Go to the "Pad:" field and press [Open Window] there. In this so-called "Assignment View", you can assign any note number to each pad. Just select the pad by hitting it and enter the desired note number with the data wheel. You don't have to assign any samples to the drum pads if you don't want to.

> Now hit [Main Screen], and go to the "Drum1:" field (MIDI in field). Select the drumkit slot you just assigned (probably Drum1 so you don't have to change anything).

> Go to the field to the right. It says "OFF" by default. Select your desired MIDI channel here. (This is the MIDI out field by the way).

> You will now be able to use the drumpads with customized note/pad assignments. Have fun!

If you change the "Drum1" to "MIDI" in the MIDI in field, you still are able to use the pads to play other midi instruments, but only by the default note/pad assignments. I use this often to trigger drumkits from my Proteus 2000. If you want another assignment than this default one, you'll have to sacrifice a drumkit slot (Drum1, Drum2, Drum3 or Drum4).

Once again, I recommend you to use the MPC for drums. It has been designed for that purpose! The S3000XL hasn't (it has been designed for sampled instruments). You can also load .wav samples from PC or Mac into the MPC, while the S3000XL lacks this ability. And if you want to assign your drums to different mixing channels on your mixing console, migrate the outs board of the S3000XL to the MPC. But most of all, the MPC is just much more user-friendly when it comes to sampling drums!

Hope this helps

Does it help?!?! lol..
You sir, are a living legend :>:>
Really - thanks!

1 last question.
Is there any more disadvantage/limitations when selecting ie: drum 1 instead of Midi (in the MIDI field)??

THANkYU m8..

U3 wrote:1 last question.
Is there any more disadvantage/limitations when selecting ie: drum 1 instead of Midi (in the MIDI field)??

The 2000XL can only play back 4 drumkits at the same time. That makes 256 sounds accessible at the same time. If you use one slot as a template for pad/note assignments, you lose access to 64 drum sounds. (You still can assign samples to the pads in the MPC, but if you hit a pad then you will hear the sample in the MPC (this is the normal MPC operation), together with the sample triggered via MIDI out of the S3000XL.)

But you don't use the MPC for drums, so who cares if you can't access 256 sounds at the same time?

Really appreciate it..
Steve & everyone else - thanks for ur kindness.
Cant wait to get one now - after 5 yrs using a computer for music
Take Care.
Ciao