Using the 500 as a midi controller

The questions keep coming...

Is it difficult to use the 500 as a midi controller in reason? Will it be velocity sensitive? If I hit stop, play, or rec, on the mpc500, will it do the same in reason? And can anyone recommend a cheap, USB to midi interface?

p.s. I was unsure if I should put my questions in one post, or seperate them....

thanks

when i had my 2kxl is was only the pads.

According to the manual, the MPC500 will send out MIDI note on/off with velocity from the pads.

You can also turn the local control of the pads to the MPC500 sample engine off using one of the MPC500 menu options, if you do not want the pads to play the internal MPC500 sounds while using the pads to play sounds in Reason.

It does not appear that you can use the transport buttons (play/stop/etc.) to directly control the transport in Reason, as this would need MIDI Machine Control (MMC) to be output by the MPC500, which it doesn't mention in the manual.

Though the MPC500 can send out MIDI Clock if you want it to, and IF you can sync Reason to incoming MIDI Clock, then Reason should start playing when you press play on the MPC500, but it would then be following the tempo being output by MIDI Clock from the MPC500.

You would have to test this to make sure it works, I'm only guessing by what's in the MPC500 manual.

Deleted double post.

Contra wrote:when i had my 2kxl is was only the pads.

Well...according to the MPC2000xl manual, along with sending MIDI note on/off from the pads, you can set it so that it will send MMC (MIDI Machine Control: the transport buttons, play/stop/etc.), MIDI Clock (tempo), and MTC (MIDI Time Code: sequence time position/but not tempo).

So, if Reason can respond to any of these, then you should be able to use them with the MPC2000xl and Reason.

You would use MMC to simply play/stop Reason using the MPC2000xl transport controls (play/stop buttons).

You would use MIDI Clock to have Reason start playing when the MPC2000xl sequencer starts playing, and to follow along at the same tempo.

You would use MTC to have Reason start playing when the MPC2000xl sequencer starts playing, and to follow along at the same time position in the sequence, but not follow the same tempo.


Now back to the MPC500, it only supports MIDI Clock. Hopefully they will add the other two in a later OS update, but being the bottom of the line MPC, they might not.

SimonInAustralia wrote:Deleted double post.

is this using the mmc from the mpc 2kxl to control reason, with reason as the host>?
or vice versa.

could this be done with the regular 2k and /or the 3000?

Contra wrote:

SimonInAustralia wrote:Deleted double post.

is this using the mmc from the mpc 2kxl to control reason, with reason as the host>?
or vice versa.

could this be done with the regular 2k and /or the 3000?

Using MMC on the 2000xl to control Reason would just make it so that when you press play on the MPC it would send that play command to Reason.

This would not sync the two in terms of tempo or song position. It would simply be transport control.

You would have to use MIDI Beat Clock to syncronize the tempo, or MIDI Time Code to syncronize the song position (then you would have to set the same tempo and tempo changes on both devices to keep the tempo in time).

I think from memory that the 2000 and 3000 have these same sync options, so you should be able to do the same from those, that is assuming Reason responds to those commands (I do not have Reason to test it with).

my 1000 worked beautifully as a midi controller and sequencer with reason so the 500 should to

strength wrote:my 1000 worked beautifully as a midi controller and sequencer with reason so the 500 should to

yo strength you looking at getting this thing? I mean this other 500 thing.

I bought an em-u X Midi 1x1, it works when I use other keyboards, but when I plug the mpc into it, I don't recieve any input from the mpc. I assume its something I have to change in the mpc, since others work.

please help

aNewChapter wrote:I bought an em-u X Midi 1x1, it works when I use other keyboards, but when I plug the mpc into it, I don't recieve any input from the mpc. I assume its something I have to change in the mpc, since others work.

please help

Have you read page 29 of the MPC500 manual?...

Connecting your midi devices
1. Connect the [MIDI OUT] of the keyboard to the MPC500’s [MIDI IN] and the MPC500’s [MIDI OUT] to [MIDI IN] of the
external sound module as per the following diagram.
2. Press the [TRACK] button to select the Main Track screen, the press [PARAMS] to enter Track params.
3. Change the Parameter you are viewing to Program assign, and change the value to OFF. This will disable the
internal sounds for this track.
4. Change the Parameter on the top line to MIDI channel.
5. Here, you set which MIDI channel the MPC500 will use to send MIDI data. You must set the same MIDI channels for
both the keyboard and the sound module.
6. Change the Parameter on the top line to Track type. Change this selection to MIDI.
Tip: By default the MPC500’s input MIDI channel is set to receive all MIDI channels, so you don’t have to set the channel to the keyboard’s
MIDI channel.
7. Play the keyboard to make sure the sound module works.

Wow, I'm dumb. I was looking in the wrong place, I was looking at chapter 9. Thank you, very much

stefski wrote:

strength wrote:my 1000 worked beautifully as a midi controller and sequencer with reason so the 500 should to

yo strength you looking at getting this thing? I mean this other 500 thing.

probably one day, i copped one when they first came out but realized i couldnt afford it and returned it, but i do think its a dope machine just cant justify to myself why i would get one