^^ THIS ^^
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IMO Being an all-in-one machine is the Mpc biggest strength and weakness. On one hand it can do it all and in can be different things to different users, on the other hand as it can soo too much but sometimes not excel at parts of it, makes people wonder if they wouldnât be better off in a Daw or with a more limited palette.
(That feel was even stronger with the Force)
On my end , Iâm happy I can approach it in different ways, for example I always ignored finger drumming and chopping in favour of sample loading/sampling and synths, but currently my main focus is learning finger drumming so here I have a tool with all I need to prepare loops and one shots as I want, to then resample into pads for a finger drumming kit, while still having sends/returns, mixer and side chain.
Total win.
I still find that the sp-404 leads me in a different, more adventurous direction but the Mpc is my solid relationship.
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Oddly enough I get it less with the Force, probably because it has the clip and arranger format that (in my case, at least) nudges you towards getting things done. I also use it more with external gear, because I can record it into an arranger track and easily manipulate it later. Itâs doable on the MPC, but more streamlined on the Force.
I do miss being able to spread kits over multiple patterns, though, so I can never be truly happy.
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I think you are right. I think the problem I am having is I didnât decide on my workflow well enough ahead of time.
It seems like there two good options: either do everything in the MPC up to the mastering stage, or just get the arrangement done, maybe using a few basic effects like filters, and then explode/import it in to the daw to do all the mixing/effects and mastering there.
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Do both for the next few songs you create, objectively compare them, and if one way turns out to be superior to the other then make that your workflow going forward.
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I just want to interject with a little support for this line of thinking, and take it one step further, from the vantage point of the instrumentalist; because circuit and I are both players with similar philosophiesâŚ
80 percent of making music hinges on the notes you choose; and the rest is in your DNA: i.e. the fingerprints you leave on every note you play, every sound you design, etc.
So, pick a box that suits you, anything that makes you want to play, and play.
And if you canât play⌠Learn. Use expressive instruments, whenever you can, and work to express yourself through them. There can be no âoptions paralysisâ if you put the notes first. If you focus on your own proficiency, and concern yourself primarily with performance, composition, and arrangement (ideally in that order), gratuitous options have a way of just falling to the back of your mind; because really, who has the bandwidth to think about anything else, when there is an instrument to master and music to write? Thatâs a rhetorical question.
Regardless of your objective, success lies in the discipline.
Always have a reason!
So, even if youâre a sequencer person, and canât play, you should not have instruments kicking around, that you are not otherwise using to their potential, and still be acquiring gear. Find something tactile, that works for your aesthetic, and master it. Put the notes first.
Cheers!
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Bookmarked!
Thatâs what Mozart shouldâve said to the Emperor when he said there were too many notes in one of Mozartâs pieces.
Iâm gonna frame this one, John.
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The real question is, which of the 12 notes should be first, and whyâŚ
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make 1 note texhno then, stop option paralysis, make a pattern, double it, change one thing, then copy and try to take things away, instead of adding, pick a scale and remove options, play a simple rhytmic melody.
But which 1 note, and why? A? G#? D?
lower note more sub frequency, take C.
sorry kidding, A is easier to reproduce on most systems. (55 hz)
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Iâm trying to decide between G sharp and A flat.
I guess it depends on whether youâre a glass augmented or a glass diminished kind of personâŚ
Cheers!
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Found the stepless (nearly) pitchknob/Q link parameter on the Force/X ect.Its in the pitch envelope page-depth parameter!!!
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Wonder if they will ever make an MPC with a mic in & pre-amp?
I know they have never had these, but just seems like such an obvious feature for them, especially the new do-it-all-in-one boxes. Make beats and record vocals straight on top 
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The MPC X has a mic pre-amp
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I should have written MPC Live!!
Itâs covered on the line by;
- MPC X.
- USB compliant interfaces for the One and Live 2.
But, yes, it would be nice to be able to plug a mic straight into the One and Live 2.
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It was really odd that the built in mic was removed from the latest sp-404âŚ
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