I’m very very new to all of this so sorry if this is a noob question. I find it difficult finding answers to my questions by searching online so I figured I would ask here.
I bought an M:C, love it, especially for drums. However I am not much of a piano player at all and I have trouble making melodies, and making melodies is especially hard on the M:C for me. I’ve played on a Microfreak before and I do find the arp and sequencer functions to be easier for making melodies and I also do like the sound.
If I were to midi connect them together, is it possible to make a sound on the M:C and use Microfreak to make arp/sequences and store that midi info onto the M:C track? And at the same time will I still be able to use the Microfreak as an instrument as well? Or by doing so it renders the Microfreak purely as a sequencer and I won’t be able to use it as an instrument?
In other words, would I be able to have a Microfreak play sounds as a “track 7” while also simultaneously using the Microfreak to create sequences and arps for tracks 1-6 on the M:C? Not sure how all of these work together.
I own both M:C and MF but have not had them for very long. Here is a little bit of information that should not be considered definitive.
To transfer an arp/seq from the MF to an M:C track, you can live record on the M:C. It will take some setup and sync. You can then change the sound and trigs on that M:C track as you wish, add further information such as p-locks, etc. Following that, you can play M:C and MF separately or synced if you wish. I don’t know how feasible it is to do the transfer in real time (i.e. while performing). It certainly can be done as part of pre-performance preparation. In real time you can start tweaking arp settings on the MF while the M:C is playing, and when you find something you like, save it into an MF seq and then recall it a while later.
In paraphonic mode, you can play on the MF keyboard on top of the arp/seq playing, but it will be the same sound (change the preset and both arp/seq and kbd sounds change). In monophonic mode, when you play on the MF keyboard while an arp/seq is playing, the sound of the arp/seq cuts out (but it continues to tick along, that is, it is not paused).
Hey thanks for your response. Yeah I’m not trying to do anything live here, I simply want to copy a midi melody that I like on the MF and paste that over to a track on the M:C, and then once that’s done and I’m happy with my M:C tracks I can then focus on playing on my MF concurrently with the M:C. It sounds like I can do that from your response, as you mentioned I can just live record the melody from the MF onto the M:C.
The MF is immediately rewarding. I was worried about the keyboard (I owned a grand piano for quite a while) but I really like it. It’s easy to get lost in creating sounds while noodling. I wish it had onboard delay/reverb but there’s a lot in that little box for the price.
I’m still warming to the M:C. It’s quite good for rhythm (which I am weak on, in design terms) but melody is kind of fiddly to get right. Too much is hidden for my tastes; I like to know what is happening when I turn a knob, and correcting my live recording glitches is currently labourious. I had the same instinct as you and that’s why I got the MF. I think if I focus on the M:C’s strengths and not try to make it do everything, then it will come into its own.
I definitely agree with you and that’s why I wanted to get something to compliment it. I think the M:C is great for drums, I like being able to dial in drums and percussion very quickly on it and being able to sequence rhythms. But I struggle with using it for melodies, it seems like a lot of work getting a melody unless you’re just naturally good at a piano.