live input while running

Hello all,

For quite a while I am reading this forum now and am considering of buying an MPC1k. I still have one question I couldn't find the answer of.

To keep things compact, I would like to use the MPC in combination with a small portable synth equipped with sounds and a headphones. Let's say the synth is connected via MIDI and receives notes from the MPC. Do I need a seperate standalone mixer to hear the sounds from the synth? It would be killing to hear them if I directly connect the outs to the inputs of the MPC and adjust some levels using rec gain whilst running the sequences... Is this possible at all?

Now I actually think of it, the second question that comes to mind is to record the sounds from the (mono)synth into the MPC whille running so the next run I can use the synth for another sound! Is that possible as well?

Thanks in advance, love you all and all the best.

yeah you can run the outs from the synth to the in of mpc.... then in the load screen turn the inputs on and play your synth in time with the mpc via midi ......now the other qstion as far as recrding the synth sounds and or midi notes at the same time in the mpc.. iam not sre i still use akais os .. i do believe the jj os does but i am not sre

Q1: Yes. Works with Akai 2.1 or "something better".

Q2: Basically yes with any OS, but there's a matter of approach. If you want to make short synth samples and trigger them with the pads/external midi or within a sequence, no problem. If you want to make an extended sample over one or more bars and trigger it in time with the seq you can do this too. Both these methods can be applied in any of the Akai op systems. The New OS also has a direct recording feature that automates the whole extended sample technique so you don't have to manually place the triggers into the sequencer. There's one thing to keep in mind about extended samples in a sequence thou; if you change the tempo on playback, the sample will no longer "fit" the sequence as this would require some form of automatic or real-time timestretch, which no MPC currently has (I think you need a MV-8000 for that).

Great, thanks for the answers! The manual did not clarify this to me, but you did.
What about panning? Can I hook up two different synths; one uses the left input, the other the right and pan them both to center mono? Or am I stressin' things a little now?

As of New OS v4.13 there's no option to "monoize" both stereo channel inputs in realtime. You can select one or the other an pan them, but pan is not available in stereo mode. So you would have to a) run them both on separate channels b) use a small external mixer or c) sample them both in stereo and use the (New OS only) stereo to mono sample conversion afterwards.

Oh I remembered one other thing: If you happen to be into the realtime timestretching thing, you don't necessarily need a computer or MV-8000; as you can get this basic function with a Korg Kaoss Pad. The KP2 or above will let you sync to midi clock and play along with the sequence. You would need a KP3 to actually store/retrive the stuff and get more than six seconds (i think, I've only got a beat up KP1 so somebody else would have to confirm that).

Even if you're not into reatime timestrech, having an external midi sync-able effect engine is a good idea with these boxes since the internal effects soak up a lot of processing power that you could use for other stuff.