Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
By oraziodelcore Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:09 pm
I'm actually startin to like the non-visual sample editing more and more on the 500. I think it just gives a certian swing to the drums.

whenever I trim my samples I just press the pads continuesly until the sound of hitting the pad and the sample comes exactly the same time. nah mean..

trimming loops or a mellody segment might be a bit harder but it's still nicer than trimming on a computer.

By Fading Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:39 pm
Yeah me too!
it's a bit more "oldschool" but now I love that! :lol:

Just press the pads and correct the startpoint to exactly this moment when the sample starts playing..
after that set the endpoint (without any clicks).. extract, assign to a pad..
then the next pad.. set the endpoint as start point and set รค new endpoint..
I learned a lot from this and I love it!
You hear the same sample again and again and just start to be creative...

On the beginning I was writing down the numbers on paper
(start and endpoint) that's really helpful if you can't remember numbers :roll:

By oraziodelcore Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:25 pm
The non-visual trimming might be the secrets of the "special" swing found in the mpc60, sp1200 and the s950.

ByJamon Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:04 pm
Non-visual is why I bought it. Sure you don't get the precision of visually zooming into a waveform, but you get soul, human feel, noise. That's the secret. That's why I ditched software. If you can't close your eyes and get into the sound you miss out on that complete concentration feel of surfing the audio waves. Seeing them is just a distraction, you don't hear with your eyes.

By Milkybarkid Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:31 am
I've only ever chopped by ear. Its surely harder with a waveform - as orazio said, you don't hear with your eyes.

By oraziodelcore Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:00 pm
It's really nice that so many of you share the non-visual way of editing..

I actually compared the wave trimming vs. the non visual. ( with the same sounds ).
In some cases the actual end or loop point of samples can't barely be seen
in the waveform editing, even whenever it's completely zoomed in. In most cases I cut the sound just before the next waveform takes shape. Sampling jazz for example, the music dosen't allways keep the same returning place were the chords restarts.

I allways try various ways of editing, since I work on different machines: mpc2kxl( wave editing), s-950 (non- visual edit ) and the mpc 500 ( non-visual ).

I don't see the mpc500 non-visual sample editing as an weekness, I see it more as a ol' school way of doing it.
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By enotide Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:16 pm
I used to have to do that on my S-01, My little trick was to Slow the sample way down to really hear the begining of the sample.
It was crucial to making a real tight Loop with that thing, now I just do it on the 2KXL or in PT.

By oraziodelcore Tue Aug 21, 2007 2:50 pm
enotide wrote:I used to have to do that on my S-01, My little trick was to Slow the sample way down to really hear the begining of the sample.
It was crucial to making a real tight Loop with that thing, now I just do it on the 2KXL or in PT.


mmm that's a nice one!

I usually reverse the sample whenever I'm trimming the end point, just to save to the time of listening thru the hole segment time after time. I find it easier, if there is a pop at the very ending of the sample I can remove it faster.

By MERQRI Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:53 am
Yeah I like the small screen. I was getting sick of looking at the computer monitor & the fact the computer can do anything-nowadays its so easy to be good but hard to be reeally F'n great. And the editing might be tricky on the 500 but it forces you to be creative or innovative. Big things come in small packages.