Ableton Forum

to use live. Thats How good this thing is. Only thing Im goin to miss with the mpc is the pad and the quantization timings.... Oh wait I still have the mpc maybe Ill make midifiles of the timings and stuff!!!!! Is there a way to use a midi file as a groove template???? Let me know if its possible and Ill make midifiles and send you guys a copy.

don't know about the template you speak of but i myself am an ex-MPC user/owner. i sold it a couple years ago, and yea its a very bittersweet thing to do. So much character in that box.

Lately though, i've been using Live as a mock-MPC. Using Impulse, set midi in to Computer Keyboard and you can use the middle row of computer keyboard keys to trigger drum hits and samples a'la MPC (keys asdfghjk), you can set record quantize to clean up any mistakes, and global quantize is a feature you can use for a sort of silent pre-roll.. set it to 2 bars and when you hit record on a clip the clip wont start recording for 2 bars, and that's real handy. Not a traditional pre-roll but it works.

and with track team's new live fills with impulse presets, using Live as an mpc replacement becomes really accessible. =)

still some days i long for the MPD-16 akai midi pads.

the one thing missing is note repeat.

actually, we have it for clip trigger. wish we had it for midi.

-m

still some days i long for the MPD-16 akai midi pads.

Be warned: unlike the pads on the MPCs, the MPD16 pads are large and extremely stiff, so it might take a while to adjust to.

hmmm, my 2000XL's pads were large and stiff as well. thats why i loved them. are you saying the MPD's are largER and stiffER?

AdamJay wrote:hmmm, my 2000XL's pads were large and stiff as well. thats why i loved them. are you saying the MPD's are largER and stiffER?

my girlfriend has no complaints

lmfao forge!!!

but seriously, i was under the impression that they were very much like the MPC pads.

AdamJay wrote:lmfao forge!!!

but seriously, i was under the impression that they were very much like the MPC pads.

the pads on MPD is definitely larger and stiffer, kinda hard to explain, apart from the 16 pads layout, the MPD pad just don't feel like the MPC pads at all, at least to me.

MPC pads feel more soft.

MPD pads feel firmer.

Don't have an mpc infront of me now but I think the size is roughly the same. Unless you're talking about the new mpc's...

Yep,

MPC pads are softer. But the same size.

I have never owned an MPC, my neighbor has a MPC, I have a MPD-16.

I like the MPC pads better, I wonder of my MPD pads will become softer over time?

I heard that the MPC pads started out stiff, but then got softer over time.

my MPC 2kXL's pads did just that. soften up alot after about a year of daily use.

I prefer the pads on my Emu Command Station. I may be predjudiced by my first (bad) experiences with the original Linn 9000 ... which just never "made it" for me.

My current setup has LOTS of pad choices: Emu Command Station, Korg MicroKontrol and Roland Fantom X6 ... I like them all under different circumstances.

just bought the mpc4000 yesterday.whats all this i hear a bout groove teplates.nothing the manual about it.thanks

leisuremuffin wrote:the one thing missing is note repeat.

actually, we have it for clip trigger. wish we had it for midi.

-m

Wha? do we have it for clip triggering?? how? i bet i'm missing something painfully obvious

if you load an audio clip into session view...
in the clip editor, under "Launch" you can set it to "Repeat"
set clip quantize accordingly and you can trigger the clip with an mpc-esque note-repeat

You can use it for midi, at least in the session view, but its only for triggering.
only wierd thing is its repeating midi clips, so that makes it kind of wierd for writing patterns since its used for playing patterns in repeat. The work around i guess would be to load up a simpler with a sample hit on 1, and record into the Arranger view or resample the live note-repeat sequencing.

i'd love for Ableton to make a sort of Shift feature for note repeat sequencing in the Impulse... make the Note Repeat feature a keycommand or midi CC so you have to hold down a key while triggering your notes... a'la MPC. think i'll add it to the wishlist.