Is there something so special about the MPC's sound quality?

See, you know it all already.

An MPC is identical to having a midi controller and computer with software, hooked together.

Good boy U so smart!!! So why you bother askin us?

punkdISCO wrote:

TheFirstJimBo wrote:As far as the sound quality, I was using software before I went to hardware and noticed that the hardware sound is fatter than the software sound. I tried compressers and all and I still couldnt get that fat sound that comes from using hardware.

This will only come down to your individual setup, maybe your soundcard is lacking?. There is no reason why a hardware sampler will sound fatter than a software sampler. If anything, your could probably say the opposite.

Our MPCs are

- a bunch of software
- some very limited processing power
- some relatively low value DA converters.

Your average soft-sampler consists of:

- a bunch of software
- some extremely powerful processing power
- potential some DA converters that cost more than an MPC alone!

Many of use are using SoundCards that cost as much as, say, an MPC1000.

If you are comparing modern MPCs using the Z96 engine with modern soft samplers inside modern DAWs, there is no reason why the hardware MPCs will sound better/fatter/etc. But as Stryke says: with an MPCs you get a package/vibe/inspiration that you might not find in software..

True indeed. The soft pads inspire you to pump so many more beats as opposed to sitting in front of a desk blinding yourself....Hands On is the Way to Go! Plus it just looks more better to put on your resume. But whatever floats your desire, stick with it. Ive done software for 3 years now so I know how it is lmao.

I'm askin you guys because I thought that there may be more to it than that. But it looks like there isn't, as far as I can tell.

But you can just use the MPD MIDI controller to get the soft pads!

I totally agree that sequencing individual drum hits or instrument triggers by using a mouse is not a good way to go about things.

buy an MPC, use it until the last day that you can return it and THEN decide. Its a different experience for each user.

If you cant tell the difference in sound, doesnt matter what other people hear.

TheFirstJimBo wrote:buy an MPC, use it until the last day that you can return it and THEN decide. Its a different experience for each user.

I second that!!

Then, if you don't like it, you can just say, "I didn't like it..." and no one can argue with that.

Trying to decide a musical instrument purchase based on tech specs is like saying: hmm well a guitar has 6 strings, a violin has 4... I don't see why you people like violin when guitar is obviously better...

"The MPC's pads are connected to the MPC's internal sequencer through MIDI."

Thats about as ridiculous as saying that ableton uses midi from it's sequencer to it's sampler, even though your computer may not have any midi interaces. The signal in the MPC handled through the internal bussing (which is many times faster than midi).

"I thave programmed the sequencer to automatically shift all recorded MIDI signals back by the amount of latency that exists.
hink I know why. They have probably determined exactly how much MIDI latency there is inside of the MPC,"

The "midi" latency problem in computers is not significant compared to "audio" latency. The latency typically heard in computers is from the audio system, not midi. The computer uses buffers to move audio to the sound card. It cannot do this continually since it has other things to do (like drive an oversized display). The effect is that it has to dump a bunch of samples in batches. The size of the batch of samples is the latency. I tell the computer to play a sound (like from a sequencer or even over midi), the computer has to transfer the sample from memory (or worse hard drive) to the audio buffer. The sound card does not start playing the sound until the audio buffer has "X" amount in it. We are waiting at this point to get sound out of the computer. Once the processor has filled "Y" amount into the buffer, it has to go do other things.

MPCs and other specialized hardware do not suffer as much as computers in this area since they are much more efficient at these tasks.

Yes, I do have a computer science degree.