Sampling

Hey all,
I just recently got an MPC but dont have the necessary cables yet to really do anything other than play around with the pre-loaded samples.

I was just wondering (being a nubbins n all) if it is possible to sample in directly from say a laptop or cd player (I dont have any decks or vinyl (for shame!!)) into the Rec In on the MPC.

I read somewhere here someones saying that you need a mixer to hook up the decks to in order to sample into the MPC, does this apply to a laptop and CD player as well??

Thanks for the help guys.

you can hook practically anything into the REC IN on the MPC, given the proper plug adapter. some devices might benefit from running through a preamp to boost their signal to a hotter level; a mixer usually has this feature. sometimes you can record it low and boost it in the computer, but it's better to simply get a hot signal into the MPC the first time instead of trying to "fix" poor recording techniques (just get a little preamp box).

turntables are a special case. it's not that you couldn't hook it directly into the MPC and sample it; you can. the problem is vinyl was processed in a special way to keep the needle from jumping out of the groove on deep bass frequencies, so this processing has to be reversed before the signal sounds "normal". most DJ mixers have "PHONO" plugs or selectors which does that signal processing, so you would run your turntable through that before going into the MPC in order to get the correct sound....

your CD player and laptop outputs should be a hot enough signal to sample directly in the MPC, you just need the proper cables to plug them together....

for the future, try to get a Card Reader or Zip Drives... or if ur gonna get a MPC with a USB.