SETTING UP RIGHT....

HEY WHATS UP. I JUST COPPED MY AKAI MPC 1000 AND A KORG TRITON LE 61 KEY MUSIC WORKSTATION. BUT HERES MY QUESTION. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SET IT ALL UP? RIGHT NOW I DONT HAVE A MIXER AND ONLY HAVE MY AKAI,THE TRITON AND MY MONITOR SPEAKERS. CURRENTLY I HAVE THE SPEAKER GOING DIRECTLY INTO THE AKAI AND THE KORG PLUGGED INTO THE RECORD INPUT OF THE AKAI. BUT I KNOW THERE IS A BETTER WAY. I WAS THINKING I SHOULD HOOK THE KORG INTO THE MIDI RIGHT? IM A BEGINER SO I COULD REALLY USE SOME HELP. WHAT EXACTLY IS THE BEST WAY TOP HOOK ALL THIS UP TOGETHER. ALSO AFTER I PLUG THE TRITON INTO THE MIDI HOW DO I ENABLE IT SO I CAN HEAR IT WHEN RECORDING/SEQUENCES?
pLEASE
HELP!
THANKS!!!

DUDE! STOP SHOUTING! And you wonder why no-one's replied yet?

1) If you want to hear both the Triton and the MPC at the same time, you will need some kind of mixer. If you use turntables, your DJ mixer may take Line signals, but if not, some other folks here my be able to advise you on what mixer to get in your neck of the woods. Channels are cheap, get plenty for future expansion (12+ IMHO) if you can.

You can switch the MPC to Record mode, with Monitor on, if you need to quickly hear what the Triton is playing, but you can't keep doing that, rather get a mixer, you want to be flexible.

I have a question/answer in the FAQ about hooking up a keyboard synth like a Triton via MIDI - check it out. I put down a short version in the "Is It Worth It" thread today. Get to know MIDI - what you need, what to send, what is happening, how to route it all through the MPC. (If the MPC is the master - which is a good idea.)

Treat MIDI and audio totally separately, you have to do both correctly and there's no easy shortcut. But we can't tell you "the right way" for your complete setup, it will change over time as you learn.

Don't be afraid to experiment, it's all cool... we don't mind helping here, but we can get a little Snotty if you ask questions that are answered in the MPC or Triton manuals...

Thanks for the help. But im still very confused. Ok what i basically want to do is be able to play the triton and mpc together. Like if you watch one of the videos on the www.samplekings.com website you will see that one guy is doing the drums while the other guy is playing the keys and melody on the triton. Is there away i can record the sound from my triton into the mpc sequence on top of the drums? i know this soounds mad stupid. but basically what i want to do is first creat a nice drum loop on the mpc, then get on the triton and play the melody and base line and some how save it all as a sequence. is this possible? i been going through both manuals like crazy but i cant find anything about that. they just say to plug the keyboard into the midi in..PLEASE HELP!!

sequence midi and sequece audio at same time try samling one while sequence s running ith midi going in a sam tim to have the information or play midi later and sampe it

This is easy. Get two MIDI cables (as short as possible). Also cop three 1/4" audio cables. Now do this:
MIDI OUT A (MPC) ===> MIDI IN (Triton)
MIDI OUT (Triton) ===> MIDI IN 1 (MPC)
Output L/R (MPC & Triton) into seperate channels of a mixer.
Mixer to monitor/stereo...

When you want to make the drum track with the MPC, just play it out. When you want to play a melody with the Triton, set the track to MIDI type and MIDI 1A on the right. Make sure the Program is "Off" or you'll hear your drum kit under the Triton.

You have to set ur Triton to recieve MIDI on channel 1. Don't have one, but it's in the manual.

I thought I was answering the question - maybe I should be writing the manuals, eh?

Key points:
"Is there away i can record the sound from my triton into the mpc sequence on top of the drums?"
- Yes, you can sample the Triton sounds into the MPC1000 - that is recording the sound - but that takes up sample memory and isn't as flexible.
- But there's no need to Sample the Triton, when you can a) record the MIDI from the Triton into the MPC sequence and b) send the MIDI back out to the Triton on playback. MIDI is just the "events" or "instructions" that tell the Triton what to play. The MPC is great at organizing and controlling them ("MIDI" Tracks in Sequences) and the Triton is great at following instructions (making the sound to order).

You can build up sequences like this:
- Track 1 "BassDrum"
Type "DRUM" Program: "HeavyKit" MIDI: OFF
- Track 2 "TritonDeepBass"
Type "MIDI" Program: OFF MIDI: 1A
- ...
In that example, the events in Track 1 get sent to the "HeavyKit" Program in the MPC1000 (samples). The events in Track 2 get sent out on MIDI Out A, Channel 1, to the Triton, which "follows orders" and plays the bass.
So when you hit Play on the MPC1000, you are triggering sounds on the MPC1000 AND the Triton at the same time. But the Triton sounds are not coming from or going through the MPC1000, they are just coming out the Triton as normal - and so you will need a mixer if you want to hear both the MPC1000 and the Triton at the same time.

- Not everyone makes tracks in the same way, you need different setups for stage and studio, and the MPC1000 can do both very well, it has the flexibility. You gotta learn about MIDI to get the best out of it and other MIDI devices. This is why wacky white geeks (like me) like it too, it's not just for hiphop...

Thanks guys!! you guys saved my life. But i still have two questions. STEREO what u said sounded like exactly what i want to do. with the MIDI. i basically want to make one track that has the drums coming out of the mpc and another track with all the chords/melody/bass etc coming from the triton. Buts heres my qustions

1.To do what you said exactly what cables will i need and how and where should i plug what in.

2.What kind of mixer do i need? i am on a VERY VERY tight budget now after buying the triton and mpc. So i just want to buy what i need and nothing extra. So what features do i need to consider when buying a cheap mixer.

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!

ALSO ONAlso one thing i forgot to add.
1.Is there any way i can use the triton and mpc withought a mixer? or is a mixer completley nessasary? lets say i make a nice drum loop i like and play a cool riff over it with the triton. Now how can i save it so that i can use it again next time? do i just save tyhe sequence and thats it???and then just switch on the triton and mpc and load it up? please let me know. Thanks!

Maybe I should draw a picture:



All I'm saying is: you have two separate sets of audio coming out, one from the MPC1000, and one from the Triton. So you got to mix them together somehow if you want to hear or record them both at the same time.

Note: if you wire up the MIDI like that, you have the potential for a loop, so you gotta do one of the following (but not both).
- Set the Triton to Local Off, and use Soft Thru on the MPC1000 = good recording setup, works live if you're careful too.
- Set the Triton to Local On, set Soft Thru = Off on the MPC1000 = simpler setup, good for live work, less chance of probs.
See the manuals for details about these things.)

ducthmasta wrote:ALSO ONAlso one thing i forgot to add.
1.Is there any way i can use the triton and mpc withought a mixer? or is a mixer completley nessasary? lets say i make a nice drum loop i like and play a cool riff over it with the triton. Now how can i save it so that i can use it again next time? do i just save tyhe sequence and thats it???and then just switch on the triton and mpc and load it up? please let me know. Thanks!

This is no different from what we've been talking aboot: you could sample the Triton stuff into the MPC1000, save the samples as a Program, and create Sequences mixing that and other Programs. How to create and save Sequences and Programs is stuff you should be reading the manuals for!

You can do whatever you want. Read the manuals, try some setups, play with MIDI. We're just trying to help you avoid the problems we know aboot. Like, if you sample everything, you will run out of memory. Or that MIDI does NOT carry audio, you still need to hook up the audio outs of all your devices, if you want to hear anything.

Ok im still confused. I know how to record the triton sounds into the mpc. But what i want to do is record the midi from the triton to separate track. Basically in these steps. First ill make a drum loop i like AND make it track 1. Then ill Start playing my keys on the triton over the drums WHILE I HEAR THe DRUMS and make that track to. Then save all the midi data to the mpc. My question is how should i plug everytihng in to do this? And will i need a mixer? or can i just connect the triton to mpc via two midi cables and then plug the monitor speakers directly in my mpc??

Yes, now, you're getting it. The setup I drew is for recording the MIDI from the Triton to the MPC sequence track, that's what we've been talking about all along! Why the confusion? Use the MIDI settings I described for recording (MPC Soft Thru = "as track" set the Triton to "Local Off". )

Remember MIDI is only the "instructions" on what to play, it does NOT carry any audio to the MPC. When you record MIDI from the Triton, the SOUNDS are not saved in the Sequence, only the MIDI. If you don't get this basic point, please go and read the following:
- "What Is MIDI?" - http://www.midi.com/questions/default.asp

But if the speakers are plugged in to the MPC1000, how are you going to hear what sound the Triton is making? If you read the Triton LE manual, you will see that it has audio inputs - so can you use those, plug in the MPC1000, and hook the speakers to the Triton outs? I dunno, I don't have a Triton LE - just try it yourself. If this sounds too complicated, you need help from your music gear dealer.

Just TRY things, and you'll see what I mean. If you hook up the speakers to the MPC1000 only, you will not hear what the Triton is playing.

You see no-one else has replied to your new questions? No-one else has the patience to show you the very basics, yet not blow up when you come back saying "I'm confused". We can help with the MPC1000, but we can't spoon-feed you every little detail on your own setup from the moment you open the box! The basics of MIDI and Audio apply to all gear, not just the MPC1000, so you need to learn that stuff, no matter WHAT gear you have. OK?

OKwell thanks for your patience. I completlety understand midi and all that i was just asking if a mixer was nessasary and how to hook everything up but i think i got it. Also instead of a mixer im thinking ill plug my left speaker into the triton and the right speaker into the mpc..LoL might work.
Thanks!!

OK WOW I FINALLY GOT IT.lOl I DID WHAT I SAID AND HOOKED MY LEFT SPEAKER TO THE TRITON AND THE RIGHT TO THE MPC. ITS A LITTLE WEIRD CAUSE I ONLY HEAR THE DRUMS ON ONE SIDE AND THE NOTES ON THE OTHER...BUT HEY IT WILL HAVE TO DO UNTILL I GET ENOUGH $$$ TO BUY A MIXER. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOU HELP EQINOX AND STEREOROID. JUST ONE LAST QUESTION(PLEASE DONT KILL ME..LOL) I WANT TO BUY A VERY SIMPLE MIXER BUT GOOD ENOUGH FOR MY NEEDS. ANY MODELS YOU CAN RECOMEND? WHAT FEATURES SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN A MIXER???
THANKS!!!

Glad to hear you're making progress..! One day you'll look back on all this, and ... ah, fuhgeddaboutit.

I've got a Behringer 14-track mixer, which is OK, but I don't think you see them in the USA much. (Some say they ripped Mackie designs off, there have been lawsuits...)
I suggest you check out the music store specials, maybe you can get a deal on a small Mackie or Alesis, say. Once you get past the basic mixer features, there's not much between them. The MPC1000 has no Delay FX on board, and some small mixers have onboard FX... you're in NYC, why not hit Manny's on 48th St., see what they have going?

Scratch what I said about using the Triton's audio inputs - that only works if your Triton is expanded with the EXB-SAMPL option.