MPC 5000 + (wich DAW?)

D

DTMenace

New member
Hi Guys.


I have been making beats on my MPC 1000 for some years now and have kept it really simple by recording my final mixed work internally on the MPC by switching to INTERNAL in rec mode.

I am now upgrading to the MPC 5000 and are thinking about starting to use a DAW to track out my beats. I am verry unfamiliar with this kind of work flow and was hoping for some suggestions to how i should set up my new ... setup .. :cool:

- So ive been cheking out some vids on youtube and i saw this dude that had hooked up his MPC to his MAC and could multi-track hes beat into pro tools. Its kind of a setup like that i want, where i can mix the beat in the DAW and then have a artist come in to my home studio and record on to the same "project" if you know what i mean.

well. i am open for suggestions and hope you guys understand my SHitty english and what i am trying to communicate here. Northern European dude here:cheers:



PS. im on a Macbook pro

EDIT: Maby the question isnt really clear in my post.
1 what DAW is good for beginners?
2 what gear will i need to hook up my MPC to the MAC with the DAW
3 how do you guys do it from finished mixed beat in the DAW to Finished song with the Artists lyrics in the mix :)
 
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You will need an audio interface to transfer the audio signal over to the DAW of your choice. I suggest Logic since you are on a MAC. You are used to hardware to complete all of your work, so you will have a learning curve when it comes to any DAW. Once you have the Audio interface and the DAW, you will plug the outputs from your MPC into the inputs on the audio interface. Create a new Audio track for each channel left and right and the arm record them. Once you have them ready to record and your track sequenced on the MPC you will hit record in Logic and then hit play on the MPC. Once the track is recorded into Logic you can hit stop on the MPC and then Stop in logic. You now have a summed mix of your Left and Right channels out of the MPC. If you want each individual sound you would have to create an audio channel for each sound and then solo each instrument and record them into Logic. Just keep in mind that once you have the summed data in Logic you wont really be able to edit the track the same as midi. But now you can mix the entire song the way that you want to. Good Luck.
 
Thanks for the reply.
But check this dude on youtube: /watch?v=bnqg5g9ggA4

Will i need a mixer like that to be able to multi track? ive tryed to ask him on youtube but no answer. How did he hook it up??
 
You're going to need to demo all of them and pick from there.

I'd check out the below first:
Logic - Apple's flagship DAW of course
Studio One - Dangerously simple and powerful, very well laid out and easy to grasp
Reaper - Ultra flexibility and tons of features for a ridiculous price

Each DAW's workflow is different so... the choice is up to you. But... for simplicity sake, a traditional linear DAW is probably the best way to go for just tracking out your production if all of your production is done on the MPC. You're literally just dumping your beat track by track and then mixing w/ plugins on top. Reaper may be the way to go due to the cost, and you aren't really doing anything complicated. However... Studio One may be a good route if you're going to be recording b/c of the workflow and it has very good included plugins.
 
I have a similar workflow to the one you describe (although I use Maschine and not MPC - although I can't see this would matter) using Presonus Studio On Pro...

Very, very easy to use and as yet not needed anything other than its 'stock' plugs... It's well featured and intuitive and really quite brilliant!

You don't state whether you have an Audio Interface/Sound card?! If you don't have one, you will need one!!
 
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I'mNoGuru said:
I have a similar workflow to the one you describe (although I use Maschine and not MPC - although I can't see this would matter)
Click to expand...

LOL...the Standalone MPC is COMPLETELY different than Maschine.Maschine is a controller/software combination so tracking out a beat is nowhere close to how it's done on the MPC.

But anyways,DTMenace,you should look into an interface/mixer that has 8 ins.I didn't watch the video because i'm assuming dude is using a mixer to get the most ins tracked as possible per pass.A mixer might be a cheaper solution though.What you have to do is connect the MPC outs to the mixer in and connect that to your laptop.Using the midi you'll be able to sync the MPC and the D.A.W for a tighter sync.Hitting the play and record buttons will leave your track out of sync.Midi sync will let you record in your D.A.W using a timecode thus,keeping them synced because one will be the master and the other the slave.

Peace
 
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All righty. Thanks for all the replys.
SoulGhost: This is all totally new to me. How will the laptop know that there are more than one track coming in? I would need a mixer with 8 or more inputs + a interface with MIDI and stereo in? and it would be hooked up something like this:

From MPC to Mixer 8 jacks
From Mixer to Interface aux
From MPC to Interface MIDI
From Interface to Laptop USB


Am i on to something here?
 
Yeah basically.
There are some interfaces that have 8 ins or more which connect via usb.
It's easier that way but it will cost you more.You could go from the MPC into the mixer,from the
mixer to your interface.If the mixer is usb then you could stop there.You would also need to connect the midi out to the correct midi in for midi sync but you can figure that out easily once you figure out which way you want to go.

Maybe check out the Delta1010.The 1010LT is perfect for this type of thing but it's more of an audio card better suited for a desktop.


Peace
 
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What about he Zoom R24 Digital recorder?
It is a digital recorder with 8 inputs that also can be used as an interface. The downside is that there isnt really any MIDI involved, tough i dont really see why i would need it.
 
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Im getting the Zoom 16 Digital recorder and then get some kind of midi device to get my mpc to communicate with my laptop later if i find it necessary. I will try out some different DAWs but ill start with Cubase sence the Zoom interface comes with cubase lite.
Thanks for the help guys. Case closed :)
 
That'll work too.
You can always get a midisport or some sort of midi interface later on when you need it but the 16 or 24 will get the job done.I think they might even have usb so tracking out will be pretty easy.
Good luck bruh.

Peace
 
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