best way of getting stems from the 4k.

Hi
I was wondering how people take stems to mix on their DAW from the MPC4k.
I haven't got the outputs board so my options are limited.

When taking stems do you resample each element internally using the mpc and then transfer them via usb?

Or slave the mpc to your DAW and take each part solo'd?

I am wondering as it takes me quite a while to create stems at the moment and I have had a few problems with timing using the mpc slaved to Logic pro, e.g. first few bars can be a bit flakey which then makes me worry about the timing of the whole transfer being different between elements.

So yeah, how do u guys do your stems?

Just wondering what the best workflow here is, wish there was an automated resample individual tracks function. Maybe there is and i just don't know.

Input welcomed.
G

A stem:


The vertical lines from notes are called stems:





this is also a stem





Stem is also the dutch word for voice

The vertical lines from notes are called stems:

Yeah, I know this one but I never for a second thought that's what foge1 was talking about.

this is also a stem

A 'stem' usually refers to a submix of some tracks within a project. For example, in a project with 40 tracks, you might reduce the 40 to 6 stems: drums, vocals, bass, guitar, piano, and kazoo.

In the case of tracking out of the MPC, it might mean tracking out the hihats, kick, snare, percussion, etc. as separate stereo files.

I have done this by synching the MPC to a DAW (via timecode, whether MTC or SMPTE), and selectively muting and soloing parts or tracks. It's painfully slow and it's one of the most frustrating things about working with the MPC. If you do a big production where producers and others are going to comment on drum parts and request changes, maybe repeatedly, then tracking all the stems out every time you revise the drum parts is a huge time-sink.

I've started using my MPC in a different mode, where I mix the drums down to a single stereo pair (no stems) inside the MPC, and resample the mixed drum parts (as many short loops), and drag these into the DAW via ak.sys. I was worried that doing the mixing of the drums on the MPC would be a problem -- that producers and engineers would complain about the drum mixes and would want separate kicks, snares, etc. But I'm finding that this isn't the case, and that I can correct the mixes on the MPC without much trouble. But this is probably particular to the style of music I'm making, which is not very drum-heavy. The music has a strong groove but the drums don't dominate the mix the way they do in some genres.

I've goofed around trying to get a good drum feel with software samplers, but I haven't succeeded: producers can spot right away which tracks I've done on the MPC and they prefer them. So I don't think I'm going to be giving it up for good any time soon, although I would like to in some ways (in large part because of these tracking-out problems).

Another mode that would be almost the same, would be to synch the MPC to the DAW but to track out the entire mixed-down drum part as a stereo pair. In other words, mix the drums in the MPC but don't resample in the MPC.

I'm interested to hear what others do about this.

-illiac

The 4K has analog and adat output options that will give you a total of 10 outputs at one time. If you need more you will have to reassign the remaining sounds to the outputs on a second pass while tracking to your DAW. It is better to mix in your recording software than in the MPC. If you are having sync issues it is on your computers end. Try slaving Logic to the MPC with MTC during tracking. Also, PCI MIDI interfaces usually give tighter timing than USB.

I will try slaving logic to mpc, its strange when I slave the mpc to logic I perceive a slight loss of tempo.

I have been also experimenting using internal bouncing in the mpc using midi trigger recording of each element and transfering them via aksys.
This seems okay,
the output board would be nice but at £200 is a little much for timesaving I would gain.
g

"...internal bouncing in the mpc using midi trigger recording of each element"

That is what I do to create stems for ProTools from mpc tracks.

foge1 wrote:I have been also experimenting using internal bouncing in the mpc using midi trigger recording of each element and transfering them via aksys.
This seems okay,

g

I would seriously look into just working in Logic.
Pick good controllers and the 4k doesn't give you anything that Logic can't do.

Pick good controllers and the 4k doesn't give you anything that Logic can't do.

I dunno, man. I have Logic and a whole bunch of controllers, and I just can't seem to get the same feel from drum tracks I make in Logic. I would love to walk away from the MPC at this point; I hate lugging it around; ak.sys craps out every time I try to do a big backup; and I hate tracking out drum parts. But the drum tracks I make on the MPC are still quite a bit better than what I've managed to get out of Logic.

-illiac

Unfortunately -illiac, that comes from wanting to use Logic like the MPC instead of like Logic.
It requires a shift in workflow to see how they do the same things but require you go about them differently.
I like you have never enjoyed the failing nature of Ak.sys, just never understood how many users swear by it.

I have used logic for 10 years! I got a 4k because its just not FUN! like an mpc and 120bpm on logic doesn't feel as lively as 120bpm on the mpc, also the quantise on the mpc understands me, like I have said I dn;t know how but it understands!

Man I can fly on logic, but the 4k works the way I like to write (not mix! )
I use logic as a sound module too, but really need to get a new laptop to get this up to speed.

So the 4k is there for the writing process,
still need my stems from it though.
g

If I used something for 10 years it would have to do what I need or I would move to something else.
Still not sure why you can get the same results from Logic that you get from the 4k.
I know lots of people who put there 4k's in the corner and just put the time into understanding Logic or DP.

Still not sure why you can get the same results from Logic that you get from the 4k.
I know lots of people who put there 4k's in the corner and just put the time into understanding Logic or DP.

Dunno who you were responding to here, but I'll bite. I know Logic pretty well, I think. I work in it all day long, every day, and I use almost every feature it has. But when I make drum parts by hand -- not quantizing things -- using the MPC, and when I use it filters and features like the 'T' field in the sequencer to tune drum sounds, I get results that I have not been able to get in Logic. I think that most of it is simply the zero-latency nection between controller and sampler. Even with the best MIDI interfaces, the latency from controller to sampler in Logic is much longer, and this seems to make a bigger difference in drum parts than it does in, say, keyboard parts, at least in my case. The filters are part of it too; not that the MPC has great filters, but the fact that they can be tuned per zone is a big deal, and there are a TON of them. And, well, I've just gotten used to working with the way they sound. I have PSP filters and FilterScape and Simplon and a bunch of other high-quality filter plug-ins, but I can't seem to get the effect I'm after with them.

Don't get me wrong: I know perfectly well that tons of recordings are made every day using Logic or some other soft sampler. Everyone around me uses software instruments in their productions. I'm just talking about my own music, and the experience I've had with the MPC and Logic.

-illiac