Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
By Sunday Blay Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:01 am
Okay, so when I hook my 500 to my computer and activate the USB, etc, I see a bunch of folders and files. Is all of this on the memory card thats in the MPC or is some of it on the MPC itself? what is okay for me to delete off of whatever shows up on my computer? all of it, or does some of it need to stay on the MPC/memory card?

Also, I still have the 16MB RAM... am i going to even be able to record a regular 4-minute or so long track, or would that take up too much room without the RAM upgrade?

Sorry for the newbie questions...

Thanks!
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By Lampdog Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
MPC is not a dedicated audio recorder. U put samples on it and shop them up to use, not whole songs or wav audio. Although you can if you had bigger memory but to do that is not it's first and foremost design, remember that and respect it, lol.


The card is used for read/write storage. You can delete the complete card if you like. Me. I'd save the WHOLE card off to a directory on my pc and THEN delete the actual cards contents, that way, you will have your stock sounds and such if you ever need them.
By Sunday Blay Sun Sep 14, 2008 3:38 pm
word, i appreciate it. i just wanted to make sure that when i see the "USB device" mounted on my computer that it is 100% the SD card and that i won't be deleting any of the programming on the actual MPC.

and yeah, i realize that the main function of the mpc is as a sampler and not a recorder... i'm not a newbie to the beat-making game in general... so if i do still have the 16MB ram what would be the suggested way to get my product from my MPC to the computer? and will i have to only have like a 20 second loop on the MPC then send that to the computer and re-arrange it and create the differences in the hooks and verses? or can i basically create the whole beat even with the 16MB ram and record that to my computer somehow?

thanks
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By Lampdog Sun Sep 14, 2008 3:59 pm
"USB device" mounted on my computer that it is 100% the SD card and that i won't be deleting any of the programming on the actual MPC.
"USB Device" is actually a BIG card reader, that's all it is. Nothing more, lol.

so if i do still have the 16MB ram what would be the suggested way to get my product from my MPC to the computer?
it's up to you really, your workflow when you develop one will dictate what you do and how you do it. if it costs you no money, go ahead and try everything.

and will i have to only have like a 20 second loop on the MPC then send that to the computer and re-arrange it and create the differences in the hooks and verses?
[coilor=gold]Mpc's are good for ALOT more than that, lol.[/color]

or can i basically create the whole beat even with the 16MB ram and record that to my computer somehow?
Your favorite old schools songs have been created on same or less ram, I'm sure you can do it also. More ram
would be the way to go if you want more room for working inside the mpc though. With a bigger card you can internally record your main out and save as wave to your cf. It's in the manual how to do it.

Overlooking the manual will cause you ALOT of headaches..
By Sunday Blay Sun Sep 14, 2008 4:10 pm
Lampdog wrote:
Overlooking the manual will cause you ALOT of headaches..[/color]

yeah yeah yeah... i've gathered that after reading all of your other posts in this forum :P

just kiddin man, thanks a lot for all of the help... is there a thread where somebody outlines the cheapest way to upgrade the RAM on the 500 specifically in case I decide to do so? i know i remember reading somewhere that you don't have to pay the $150 for the MPC one...
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By Lampdog Sun Sep 14, 2008 4:14 pm
I'm betting you can gather the specs of the ram and take it to a computer shop and tell them you want ram with those same specs and it will work. Or look for ram with those SAME specs online and maybe find cheap ram online.
By Sunday Blay Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:46 pm
^ yeah, i already found that and purchased one actually :P

i had just forgotten that 500's and 1000's take the same RAMs and everything the first time i saw that thread, but when i saw that in the sticky thread in this forum i realized it and went ahead and made the purchase.

bought a RAM that fits the exact PC 133 144PIN CL3 SODIMM 256MB description for $7.00 + $7 S&H off eBay :P
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By Lampdog Sun Sep 14, 2008 6:16 pm
...and hopefully that will get you on the highway to sampleland.