Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
By dou_b_14 Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:27 pm
I was wondering if everyone was having the same problem as me. I've noticed that my beats after recording into pro tools have a hiss noise in the back. I never had that problem when I was using my korg keyboard so I'm wondering if its the mpc or just something that might be causing that noise.
By odeed Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:39 pm
dou_b_14 wrote:I was wondering if everyone was having the same problem as me. I've noticed that my beats after recording into pro tools have a hiss noise in the back. I never had that problem when I was using my korg keyboard so I'm wondering if its the mpc or just something that might be causing that noise.


how are you recording them into protools?cuz with ak.sys you can drag and drop the whole song (after you turn the song into one sample as a wav. file)into your computer and you should not lose any sound quality.

By dou_b_14 Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:31 am
That's a good option I'll look into that. I had another question though. When ever you record beats into another program like pro tools or others do u do it as a wav file. What I normally do is record each individual track one at a time and then loop it in pro tools. Am I doing too much? The reason I do that is because I'm not confident about by mixing. I adjust volumes after the vocals are recorded. So I'd really like to see how others do it. And if anyone has some good mixing advice for rap I'd really appreciate it. Thanks

By odeed Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:53 am
dou_b_14 wrote:That's a good option I'll look into that. I had another question though. When ever you record beats into another program like pro tools or others do u do it as a wav file. What I normally do is record each individual track one at a time and then loop it in pro tools. Am I doing too much? The reason I do that is because I'm not confident about by mixing. I adjust volumes after the vocals are recorded. So I'd really like to see how others do it. And if anyone has some good mixing advice for rap I'd really appreciate it. Thanks



well that could be why you are getting "hiss" in the background.whenever you record loops live into anything(im guessing you go through some sort of mixer)you can always get extra noise.if you have a fan on in the room,or if you have fluorescent lights in your studio (those are the worst for "noise")
now are you using
1/4 hosa cables
what type of soundcard
etc.
etc.
this can have an effect on the overall sound as well.

honestly i would mix everything in the 4000.it has a nice mixing board and is full of fx.but thats just me....
oh and you can do a "overall" mix once you drag and drop the whole song (as a sample)into pro-tools.

By dou_b_14 Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:23 am
already. I see what you talking about. I think imma start doing it that way. Thanks
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By Mind Reader Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:08 pm
dou_b_14 wrote:I'm not confident about by mixing. I adjust volumes after the vocals are recorded. So I'd really like to see how others do it. And if anyone has some good mixing advice for rap I'd really appreciate it. Thanks


You have to be confident. Mixing one of the most important steps. They key is listening to your mix. I'll refer my mix and try to emulate Dre's tracks. There are some good books on mixing. You can get an online version on this site. I'm copping the Learn EQ next month. Type a search of mixing on this site you'll get alot of tips.

For the hissing noise, unplug a unnecessary devices(I had a hissing noise with my external USB drive plugged in). Also turn up the volume all the way on your MPC and see if there's a hissing noise when you record. Another factor is when monitoring your recording turn the volume up in Pro Tools until you see it flash red. That's the clipping point. Turn it a tad until it stops flashing red. Pro Tools also has some plug ins that will remove hissing. Hope some of that helps.
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By phanatik Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:29 pm
probably the loud ass fan in the MPC4ooo.... soundin like a vacuum.

By streetbeats Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:36 pm
I think the hard drive is what you hear which you can turn of in Load Mode.

Sometimes the noise may depend on what the original volume of what you are sampling is. If is low then your gonna get noise when you raise it up or normalize it.

By dou_b_14 Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:55 pm
Already. I like everyones thoughts on the matter. Ill try all of em and see which one works best. Thanks
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By B One Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:56 am
streetbeats wrote:I think the hard drive is what you hear which you can turn of in Load Mode.

Sometimes the noise may depend on what the original volume of what you are sampling is. If is low then your gonna get noise when you raise it up or normalize it.