where did you learn?

pretty simple question really..

where did you learn to use your mpc?

did you simply read the manual that came with the thing and just 'play around' and became a dope producer?

or did you use the mpc-samples.com tutorial?

or a video tutorial?

or google video mpcs until you got a general idea?

i just got a 2000xl and i find the manual to be really unhelpful when it comes to what im trying to do with it.. (basically it only tells you how to do some thing not what it doesnt or why you wanna be doing it)

what i really need is some one to basically walk be through it but i dont know anyone in person with a 2000xl & i have this feeling that if you ask a dumb question on this site people will laugh at you to make you feel stupid

ive seen online video tutorials on the net that look really good but are around $200 which is bullshit

i mean who the **** pays $200 for a dvd?

anyway, where did you learn how to use your mpc?

where did you get your tips?

is there any good sites for free?

even stuff you have to pay for video wise?

tell meee

At home, with the manual on my lap, the mpc in front of me and a phat stack of records...

Ofcourse you need a brain, a pair of ears, not be lazy, be patient and have an attention span that goes beyond 5 seconds...

read the manual dude, and if you dont understand it look up some videos on youtube.

learn how to load up samples, then just trigger stuff with the pads.

youll get it eventually.

yea ive been checking the manual alot

i just dont really get time strech..

the tap tempo thingy & how to slow down the sample to match the beat

also how to spread the sample over the pads like a kind of piano setup where it's in different notes

i know it's all simple shit & im not dumb but haha it's frustraiting being at the first part.. im not new to production

it just seems that all the stuff i want to learn is going to cost me over$200 and it's just simple stuff you know

Well, the way I do it is to chop my main sample for instance in 4th or 8th note chops. Then I make a program. Then I guess the tempo of the main sample and set it in the sequence (main screen). Then I reconstruct the sample in a sequence. Then I play around with the tempo of the sequence until at least one of two subsequent chops flow nice. The rest of the chops I timestretch until everything flows nice.

Timestretch is pretty simple no? You go to the trim screen, press edit, go to timestretch and choose either a percentage to stretch it or set the bpm you want to timestretch it to. If you press do it, you'll get a new sound that is your original sound but timestretched. Now a lot of people will say use software for this. But I posted this because you seem to ask about the mpc's timestretch.

About making a pgm with different notes of the same sound. I suggest you for instance try it with a bass sample or something. Load up a bass sample. I can't remember exactly how to do this from the top of my head. But basically you set your sample so that if you press and hold the pad part of the sample keeps looping. Make sure that this sounds pretty good and that you don't hear clicks or something when it's looping. You might also wanna filter this a bit. Than you want the auto-chromatic function. That'll create you a pgm with that sound pitched up and down and spread across 64 pads. Than all you need to do is sample something as you main sample, some drums and a chipmunk voice from a soul record and you can be the next kanye too!

Just some ideas to get you started a bit...

drukqs2369 wrote:i just got a 2000xl and i find the manual to be really unhelpful when it comes to what im trying to do with it.. (basically it only tells you how to do some thing not what it doesnt or why you wanna be doing it)

Welcome to the real world. When you board bandwagon #321, you'll notice they don't post any details on how to work around things. They presume you are a "musician/producer" so they provide just enough info pertaining to the operation of their product and making beats/music. I hope that was helpful.

drukqs2369 wrote:pretty simple question really..

where did you learn to use your mpc?



where did you get your tips?

is there any good sites for free?

even stuff you have to pay for video wise?

tell meee

I read the manual cover to cover before even touching my mpc. It's a discipline that I have learned that has upped my game considerably. Then I went to the guy I bought it from, he showed me a few things. Then I found this website, and I spent like 10 hours scouring every single post in the MPC1000 forum. Then I bought the "beatmaking on the mpc1000" e-book and read that cover to cover twice. Then I spent like 4 hours on youtube watching beatmaking videos.

Now, I have a general disdain for people that come in and ask idiotic questions on the forum like "yo where are the speakers on my mpc500?" Or "I want to buy a good pair of midi headphones" (no joke). I have learned that everything in life that is worth anything has taken work, and in the discipline of learning to work, I have found a certian enjoyment in learning new things.

i didnt read the manual for the 1st year i had the mpc. when i 1st got it, i spent a couple hours on the phone with tech support---the dude held my hand thru most of it, and ive just been experimenting ever since.


edit---o yea, this board is a great referrence

well i had learned on my own at the crib. i had a manual since day one but I am guilty of not always using it when I need it. i learn things very fast usually and this was one of them. i say in a couple months I was able to turn out a decent beat. nothing major. in about a year i was doing aight on the machine. 3 years in and im very comfortable with my machine and I can turn out some great beats!

got a long way to go though and i hope the learning never ends!!!

this thread turned out really helpful

cheers, ReckOne, dabmeister (word that's how it seems), bicedidit & m.sm.

keep em coming tho it's a great help

i was thinking about getting the tutorial from this site.. id like to have a look at the contents page of the pdf file before i go blowing the money & see if it's going to cover everything i wanna know but im definitely willing to pay up if it's gonna help me learn quicker

Yeah the ebook beatmaking on the 2000xl is a good one. It will definately be helpful and it's not like it costs an arm and a leg.

yea when i get up a little bit of spare cash ill grab myself a copy..

what i did just then to try get the tempo is to set out a normal 4/4 beat to use as a rough guide & chop up this sample im using into 4 bits like you said.. then played the beat in different bpms until they lined up good enough.. then time streched it so it's basically playing at the same now

im pretty sure it's made the quality alot worse but eh at least it's a start

from 138bmp (the original sample speed) down to 90bmp

drukqs2369 wrote:what i did just then to try get the tempo is to set out a normal 4/4 beat to use as a rough guide & chop up this sample im using into 4 bits like you said.. then played the beat in different bpms until they lined up good enough.. then time streched it so it's basically playing at the same now

im pretty sure it's made the quality alot worse but eh at least it's a start

from 138bmp (the original sample speed) down to 90bmp

Hey drukqs, what program or plug are you using to accomplish your time stretch/compressions? Oh and before I forget, I learned a lot of what I know from reading, trial & error. But if you continue to work with a task, you'll get better at it as you go. Don't give up, stick with it & utilize time/patience.

I learned bymyself with no manual and no help. Day one I made a pretty tight beat on it. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInf ... ID=2598173

Thats my first beat I ever made on a mpc. I had a basic knowledge because i used a asrxpro before the mpc for 3 years. for all the rest of my questions and lil things I came on here.

Jacpot that's pretty impressive for a first go.. you must have had alot of stuff prepared before you got your mpc..

i didnt have anything prepared due to the giant **** around i had to get the thing in the first place haha

& dabmeister, im not sure what you mean about the program thingy, i just clicked edit in trim and time stretched it from 138 to 90... quite a big stretch tho

im kind of wondering what's gonna happen when i get faster samples i wanna use in slow beats.. or weather i have to stick around a slower bpm all together