dude i dunno im really stoned
haha
ok. zoning is a blessing from a god that's bigger, stronger and faster than your god. it's my favorite trick on any sampler/software program.
you can use zoning to chop a sample into up to 64 pieces and assign it to the pads of the mpc. they don't have to be even pieces, either - you can do what i do and urge upon my peers - chop each note into its own file and then recreate the melody in realtime. this gives a LOT more power over your sample.
zoning is an important part of patch phrasing. sparq's video on this is a good demonstration of the mpc's patch phrasing ability - however, he didn't quite do it right in the vid. patch phrasing works best when you adjust each start/end of the zoning to the start/end of a note - otherwise you can tell it's been chopped. patch phrase correctly and you'll find that you can pitch up/down or change the tempo of your project damn near seemlessly.
you can emulate this on the mpc right now with recycle/bluebox...i do this with every sample i sample.
peace
nym