wahhhhhhh, i want my MPC back :(

b0unce · Post by **b0unce** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 12:14 pm

I guess this HD issue is a physical thing, right ?

i.e. making a partition on a single HD isnt going to make a diff ?

TITBAG · Post by **TITBAG** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:56 pm

DWYCK

leisuremuffin · Post by **leisuremuffin** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 4:06 pm

noisetonepause wrote:
leisuremuffin wrote:conventional wisdom is apps and system on your main hd, sequence files (ie the live set) and all audio, including samples, on an external hd.
Most certainly not! Keep them on a second, internal HD - preferably SCSI or SATA.

absolutely true.

Forgive me, i've been laptop only for so long i barely remember that possibility. Of course those will be the fastest options if they are available to you.

and yes b0unce, making a partition won't help.

.lm.

bynoe · Post by **bynoe** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 5:10 pm

KU wrote:I said this way back in the thread...

samples played back on the mpc sound different and sit in a mix better than software. doesn't matter if you have RME converters or a mid bump with your SSL plugin. there is mojo coming out of those stereo master outs. this is an obvious difference to my ears - not a subtle one. this isn't my imagination or the imagination of many seasoned beatmakers.

it is dedicated independent computer for your drums...

there is a lot of variables there including audio summing, cables, and d/a. even the hard drive your audio is on can affect the way your audio ends up sounding.

every little thing effects everything.

take the electric guitar. eric johnson and other stratocaster freaks know that the Tone is in the details of every screw and minisucle detail... not just the pickups and the wood... but the frets, the age and condition of the lacquer... everything.

Absolutely. it was the first thing i noticed when i got my MPC 1000

filterstein · Post by **filterstein** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:07 pm

some strange things are said here.
yes, mpc's are hardware, but the hardware only powers the software
which runs on it.
For example the mpc 3000 has motorola 68000 processor in it,
the same as old apple macintoshes.
But the big difference is that it's os is optimized to play a fixed
set of voices with a focus on timing.
Compare this to a off the shelf pc with windows on it,
it does so many different things at once that it's focus might not always
be where it should be.
So since the shuffle on the mpc is actually just software, it should not
be hard to put it in in a sequencer. I remember they used to sell groove templates that would give a midi recording mpc swing.
But it does not give the same results, because of the dedication
to timing that windows or mac don't have.
About the punch; if you sample into the mpc it messes with the start of the sample. It actually starts recording early so you won't miss a bit of attack.
Other than this, ad\da's make a big difference and most sound cards are
focused on clean recordings. For example the old digidesign interfaces (sound tools) don't sound very good compared to a modern card. But what they lack in quality they make up for in presence or impact to the sound.
So i like live, but there is a reason the mpc is a beat machine and sequencer classic. If you ever tried sampling individual sounds of a Roland TR 808 or a TR 909 and tried to recreate the same feel in Live with it then you know what i mean. It's just not the same. Now there might be people who can do it, but most of us are mere mortals.

leisuremuffin · Post by **leisuremuffin** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:31 pm

so you're to have me believe that the mpc's timing is better than live running on my computer.

i just don't buy it. sorry.

don't get me wrong, i love the mpc, but i just don't buy this snake oil of it's sequencer being tighter.

.lm.

kb420 · Post by **kb420** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:38 pm

leisuremuffin wrote:so you're to have me believe that the mpc's timing is better than live running on my computer.

i just don't buy it. sorry.

don't get me wrong, i love the mpc, but i just don't buy this snake oil of it's sequencer being tighter.

.lm.

I agree. It's all hocus pocus.

Until you take the time to do a side by side comparison, you don't know for sure.

I've done it, so I know.

teknobryan · Post by **teknobryan** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:39 pm

if you import a MPC swing template into Logic and then use a sampler to play back a drum loop (quantized to the MPC swing) and then export to audio it WILL have the same feel as a real MPC. It is sample accurate. However, if you try to play an external sampler with MIDI there is no guarantee that it will sound like a MPC because of the OS interference you were talking about.

franknputer · Post by **franknputer** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:07 am

Sounds like more of a MIDI limitation to me...

lesterdiamond · Post by **lesterdiamond** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:12 am

the downward spiral of gear lust

TITBAG · Post by **TITBAG** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:26 am

mpc1000 now 8/12 bit

dango · Post by **dango** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:37 am

ha, what an 8ball i am. i was needing to wait until the first to buy an mpc again.

so i was tinkering around and tried the demo of guru, it freakin sold me. went and bought it. i have not checked the sound outside of headphones but i do not care, that is one of the best apps i have used in a while.

lovin the possibilities. so maybe i will or maybe not still get an mpc, i will see at the end of the month after driving guru for a week. at the worst guru will be my on the road laptop beat machine. at the best my all around.

steve-o · Post by **steve-o** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:14 pm

dango wrote:ha, what an 8ball i am. i was needing to wait until the first to buy an mpc again.

so i was tinkering around and tried the demo of guru, it freakin sold me. went and bought it. i have not checked the sound outside of headphones but i do not care, that is one of the best apps i have used in a while.

lovin the possibilities. so maybe i will or maybe not still get an mpc, i will see at the end of the month after driving guru for a week. at the worst guru will be my on the road laptop beat machine. at the best my all around.

GURU + Live + AKAI MPD 24 = awesome!

Here's how I'm using it:

1) An instrument track for GURU
2) 4 MIDI tracks with MIDI routed to GURU channels 1-4; on each midi tracks is an arpegiator
3) 8 audio tracks for audio routed from GURU; on each track is a Beat Repeat
4) I've got eight presets assigned on the MPD for midi channels 1-8
5) fader 1 is used to activate the arpergiattor and select rate; fader 2 does the same for beat repeat
6) the other four faders are set up for afterfouch, filter, and delay and 1 assigned to the drum sum track
7) all drums get routed to an audio track, with a beat repeat on the summed drums

Viola - my virtual MPC, complete with note repeat fucntionality. This is a very new work in progress, so I'm sure I'll be tweaking it to fit my needs. I haven't even begun to explore the automation groups within GURU yet. Pad banks are set for DAW navigation. Limitations include the inability to use the transport buttons on the MPD to control GURU or Live (unless in GURU standalone, which I never use), having to use the keyboard to select samples and such. So far no problems with the MPD24. One nice thing is with the MIDI out functionality on the GURU VST, I hook up MicroTonic to give my drums some added impact if needed.

Does it swing like an MPC? Well, I downloaded the MPC 3000 and 2000xl groove templates, so I think it does, alhough I usually use GURU's shift graphs to give it the amount of swing I like. Does it sound like an MPC? I used to have an MPC 1000, so my experience is limited to that and I would have to say no. My next purchase will be the Korg Zero8, so that will probably define its sound. I'm still looking for a good master compressor - currently using Vintage Warmer 2, which has too much latency. Going to demo the sonalkiss TBK3, or maybe use Ohmicide as some one suggessted in another thread, and make a preset in the MPD to control the Ohmicide, but that won't be for sometime.

Anyway, while not exactly like an MPC, the set up comes close. As an aside, I'm pretty sure that the Korg padKontrol is just as well suited, if not better, as the MPD. For me, the decision came down to the interface and size. I do think that the XY pad on the padKontrol is an awesome and underated feature.

dango · Post by **dango** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:13 am

well i did order guru but am thinking of returning it. i am a little bummed that even though it is available as a UB product they have not updated their demo to UB so as fun as it is, it is running buggy on my system and i can not try it in live.

i was bumping it through my monitors today and i was still getting that not so crystal clear sound i get from kontakt. i am not sure if this is the software or a result of it not being UB. i hope they update their demo by the time it gets here.

thanks for your set up tips though steve-o, it seems like the way to go if someone is using guru.

d~

djconrad · Post by **djconrad** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:36 pm

dango wrote:well i did order guru but am thinking of returning it. i am a little bummed that even though it is available as a UB product they have not updated their demo to UB so as fun as it is, it is running buggy on my system and i can not try it in live.

i was bumping it through my monitors today and i was still getting that not so crystal clear sound i get from kontakt. i am not sure if this is the software or a result of it not being UB. i hope they update their demo by the time it gets here.

thanks for your set up tips though steve-o, it seems like the way to go if someone is using guru.

d~

Stick with it dango. Get on the Guru beta list at fxpansion, the current version is great believe me. I'm running it as a UB on my intel Mac.
Plus Angus the CEO of fxpansion is always on the Guru forum and replies quicker than any other software developer I know.