New to the MPC

Anybody out there got advice or tips/tricks for sombody new to the MPC? I just got a 2500 and have NO CLUE how to use it. The user manual is killin me. I need a manual or instructional guide for beginners. Im clueless man! Help me out.

Nah, the 2500 was my first MPC. Dont let the manual intimidate you. I am the worlds worse when it comes to readin manuals... I HATE IT!!! But the 2500's manual is easy to read and understand and isn't as thick as a big city phonebook. Read it once or twice before even hookin up your MPC. I find that readin it while on the throne is a good idea. After that, dig right into the damn thing. It's pretty easy. I was surprised at the "user-friendliness".

When you spent a grand on this machine did you have a role for it in mind? Or did you just walk in to a store, looked at the sleek black machine and thought you'd get a new paperweight?!

Sorry. Trying to be funny.


My point? If you have any music background you must have an idea what you want to do with the machine? Start by deciding you want to .... say, load a sample and timestretch it. Then use the manual, at the back there is an index, this is in alphabetical order, to find out how to load a sample etc etc etc.

I would start with the saving / loading chapter and then also search this forum http://www.mpc-forums.com/search.php to find out best practices for saving. http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=50011

But the best thing about hardware machines is that there is always a button to press - With computers you have to search the help, find the menu etc. But with hardware you can ...'press that button' see what it does. This way you aren't learning the same way as everyone else here (me inc)

p.s. the windows button lights up if there are further parameters to modify

I guess the really pertinent question is..


Are you new to the MPC in particular, or are you new to the entire music creating process?


If you're new to the whole process.. I'd suggest you check out the newbie forums above.. they'll be much more help at first than anything in here...


That tweekhead site would be a big help as well.


If you're just new to the MPC, reading the manual should help out a ton.



ronJ

this is sorta funny , reminds me of myself when i got my 1k , i was soo worried once i bought the first day i said i was goin to return it then during nite i was messin with it and started gettin used to it , all i can say to u if explore and read tha maunel and also enjoy it u'll discover soo many new things in it trust me , take this advice well worth it man .

yea you just gotta start out doing some shit on it, not worrying about it. i just started out puttin samples in the pads in program, then its an easy move to hit the record button and mash some pads, then you learn a little more about sequencing, and whenever you have a question about something just look it up in the back of the manual.

i've only had my 1000 for about 3 weeks with limited use and i learn something new every time i turn it on!

hold the MPC, love the MPC and sooth the MPC as if it were your 3rd wife.

your children will hopefully not suck.

The mpc2000 was the first piece of gear I kept. It took me about a week to figure out how to use samples and start a sequence. All I can say is keep trying and read your manuals.

A good thing to do is use the preset programs starting with a blank sequence. Also use the mac or pc editors so you can see what's going on. They didn't even have those editors when I started.

Your work flow will start with the Pad having a sample loaded.

Then info with all or many of the pads with a sample loaded will be your program.

Press play and record until you see the red record light on, with samples loaded of course, start hitting pads. These hits will be recorded on the selected track in track field. I usually record one pad per track.

Hope this helps some... Learn the numbers...

Please tell me you didn't drop 2 grand on a machine and your new to the music creating process!

I experienced the same problem when I first started sampling. My first sampler was the MPC1000, and I was also pretty intimated by the instructional manual and I thought that it might be a little too technical for me. Although the manual is fairly intelligible and lucid I bought the Sample Kings MPC1000 instructional dvd and found it to be extremely helpful. I know they also have a dvd that teaches you how to opperate the MPC2500 so you should check it out. Just go to SampleKings.com and you'll find it. The dvd pretty much covers everything that is in the manual except it is more visual. They explain to you all of the different features of the MPC and then show you how to implement them on the actual machine.