Am I a bad person for using MPC headphone jack to record?

yeah, here's what I do to record my shi+:

1) make a dope-ass beat
2) 1/4 stereo jack from headphone OUT on MPC to 1/8th converter
3) to mic IN on Compaq laptop
4) where Ableton Live sits listening patiently

Is my sound quality suffering because I'm not using the 1 2 3 4 stereo outs on the back of the MPC?

In a mostly-related subject, I discovered while searching this question that some people go from MPC to mixer to recording apparatus, apparently in order to mix or "tune" the beat into some semblance of sounding good. I don't have a mixer; I do, however, have a $100 gift certificate for the local music shoppe burning a hole in my pocket. Seems like a sort of entry-level mixer sits around $100 (I'm in Canada by the way). Am I right?

Your thoughts? thx

EDIT: by the way, it's a MPC1k, don't think I mentioned that, don't know if it matters

Your sound would be a lot better with a mixer...trust me!! I don't know much about recording out from the mpc mic jack but I do know that you need a mixer with quiet preamps to make it sound better. Save your money up and get a Yamaha MG12 for like $149 or a Yamaha MG16 for $229. They have quality preamps and the sound is nice. just be patient because if you waste your money on something that is going to break or sound wack then your going to be wasting more money on another mixer. I'm still saving for a 2500 even though I have money for a mpc 2000xl but was convinced that the 2500 is a beast and so I just need to be patient. point is, just save a little more for a decent mixer so in the end, there is no regrets.

Rafferty wrote:I do, however, have a $100 gift certificate for the local music shoppe burning a hole in my pocket. Seems like a sort of entry-level mixer sits around $100 (I'm in Canada by the way).

http://www.zzounds.com/item--YAMMG102

I bought one for a bill and it made a world of difference than just coming out of the MPC.

people run the signal through a mixer so they can twist knobs and EQ that ish. which is kinda silly really if you think about it, because the EQ on most mixers is crap. you'd want a dedicated multi-band EQ processor to run each sound through if you were really serious. other than that a mixer is just an easy way to adjust the relative volumes and pan the sound in the stereo field.

at the lower entry point (ie. the $100 mixers) level of equipment, you are just as well off getting the signal into your computer straight from the MPC and using Live to mix tracks/channels, add EQ and effects, etc.

you'd be better off applying that GC to an audio interface for your computer....

cluckner88 wrote:Your sound would be a lot better with a mixer...trust me!! ...
Save your money up and get a Yamaha MG12 for like $149 or a Yamaha MG16 for $229. They have quality preamps and the sound is nice.

yeah, I have room in my bank account to add a little to the $100 and land on the next step up, so to speak. Now I'm getting all excited.

thank you both for your replies.

electric dragon wrote:people run the signal through a mixer so they can twist knobs and EQ that ish. which is kinda silly really if you think about it, because the EQ on most mixers is ****.

hmm, I didn't know that. But hey, knobs are better than little screens anyday, right?

you'd be better off applying that GC to an audio interface for your computer....

well, that's a long story... uh, not that long I guess. I happen to know I'm getting my mom's Powerbook when she upgrades to the new OS, which apparently is soon, and I have an audio interface that I know works with it, so until then Imma just use my girlfriend's silly Compaq. It runs Live so I have relatively few complaints.

thanks for your answer also, I didn't notice it first time around

Why do you use the headphone jack when you have a proper stereo out?

_Stilo_ wrote:Why do you use the headphone jack when you have a proper stereo out?

good question. I use the headphone jack because there's only one of it and it contains all the stereo information. And I lack the type of cable to come off both the "proper" stereo outs and go into a single mic input on my comp. I'm a simple man . Uhh, yeah I know I can go to Radioshack etc etc, but my original question was basically, do I have to? i.e. am I losing sound quality in any significant and measurable way?

mmm, maybe I should go get that cable, do some kind of empirical test, and get back to you guys, so that next time someone thinks of this questino and performs a search (but no one ever searches, right veterans?) they'll find their answer here. Yeah, I'll get to that in my down time

hmm, I didn't know that. But hey, knobs are better than little screens anyday, right?

sure, but my point was you can hone in on exact frequencies inside the computer. a typical mixer has three knobs: low, mid and hi and each is fixed around a certain frequency. now, you can do a lot with just those three but nothing compared to dialing in whatever frequencies you want inside the PC....

the whole point is making a sample sound better right? do you really think a $100 or $200 mixer is going to add any real character to the signal that you couldn't duplicate with software for free?

i'm just saying, think about it a bit before you spend money on something that might not do anything new for you....

i work with a simple 12-track-mixer for some fx-routing and most of all being able to record different sources in my mpc2500 without always re-connect the cables.
and i like nasty feedback routing

e-dragon got his point on the eq, to which i agree, i only use the eq on my mixer for rough cutting. most of the time they're flat.

to get to the original point:
if you're fine with the setup you got right now, you don't need a mixer.
i'd say get a decent audio-interface for your computer first if you want to improve the recording quality.

i'd always prefer the 6.33mm jacks, the bigger the connection the better and avoid adapter.
plus, the headphone out is no mic signal.

so far with my two pennies

Rafferty wrote:I use the headphone jack because there's only one of it and it contains all the stereo information. And I lack the type of cable to come off both the "proper" stereo outs and go into a single mic input on my comp. I'm a simple man . Uhh, yeah I know I can go to Radioshack etc etc, but my original question was basically, do I have to? i.e. am I losing sound quality in any significant and measurable way?

Why do things in such a (wrong) manner? Then when you run into a problem, you end up crying for help. If you go against what you're suppose to do in a case like this, you're bound to be prone to problems/issues.

m.shredder wrote:plus, the headphone out is no mic signal.

sorry, I don't quite know what you mean... are you saying that headphones are quieter than line level? (am I even phrasing that right)

dabmeister wrote:Why do things in such a (wrong) manner? Then when you run into a problem, you end up crying for help. If you go against what you're suppose to do in a case like this, you're bound to be prone to problems/issues.

huh? It seems like you're implying that I know the (correct) manner to do it, but I'm being a naughty boy and doing it wrong on purpose, and chuckling to myself, and calling you stupid. I don't and I'm not. Also it seems like your comment could apply to almost any question, like it's certainly not tailor-made to my specific question.

anyways, I'm guessing I should listen to my mpc via the stereo outs, because maybe the headphone jack isn't as loud or has worse quality. (Can anyone come right out and say if that's true or not?) So.... oh right, no adapters. So in the opinion of anyone reading this who thinks their opinion might be of help, what would give me the best sound: 1) stereo outs to a Y-shaped adapter to my stereo (also I don't have studio monitors, sorry everyone) ; 2) stereo outs to a mixer, like maybe a small mixer that's cheap, more a 'router' than a 'mixer' I guess ; 3) something I haven't thought of.

thx

Rafferty wrote:huh? It seems like you're implying that I know the (correct) manner to do it, but I'm being a naughty boy and doing it wrong on purpose, and chuckling to myself, and calling you stupid. I don't and I'm not. Also it seems like your comment could apply to almost any question, like it's certainly not tailor-made to my specific question.

Yea slim, your right, I just feed you enough info to read between the lines. I guess you can call me the riddler. I'm not getting on you but what made you decide to select the headphone out over the line outs anyway? Laziness maybe? And why not search for a reliable source other than a forum (which is good for comparing your data however), but why not a place like tweakheadzor something? Trying to get pinpoint & direct answers here is like fishing in the sea...you're always going to get conflicting views. Why do you think companies put headphone outputs (excluding the line/instrument level outs) on their products anyway?

dabmeister wrote:I'm not getting on you but what made you decide to select the headphone out over the line outs anyway? Laziness maybe?

nope, laziness is where you didn't read at the beginning of this thread, where I explained why. Basically I wasn't sure if there was any difference. And so I asked if there was. No one's answered.

Trying to get pinpoint & direct answers here is like fishing in the sea...you're always going to get conflicting views.

I don't seem to be getting any views at all.

s'okay, I'm not upset. I've had way better help with some other questions. It's like this is the Black Question or something, no one may answer it.

anyways, thanks for trying, you know I think I am lazy, you're right. Or maybe I'm just busy.

From reading one of your previous post, you mentioned utilizing a mixer. That's what I and most of the guys & gals use here on this forum. Plus you'll have additional inputs, be able to buss/route your gear better this way as opposed to unplugging & plugging in all the time. I use a 24 channel, 8 buss when I mix because I need that many channels/inputs to accomodate what I'm using. A mixer would make good sense in your case.