The MPC Bible

000 How to Use this Book
Which MPCs are compatible with this book?
Hardware UI Vs Computer UI
Recreating the Tutorial Examples
Reading This Book On Mobile Devices
Initial MPC Set Up
Release Notes For This Edition
001 Understanding The MPC Workflow
The MPC in a Nutshell
The Basic MPC Structure
Boot Up Options
Your First Project – A Simple Drum Beat
Setting up an MPC Sequence
Sequence ‘Tracks’
Understanding DRUM programs
Standalone Vs Controller Mode
002 Building a Simple Drum Kit
DRUM programs & Pads
Loading & Assigning Sounds
PAD + MENU Shortcuts
Navigating The File Browser
Loading sounds Into a Project
Loading & Assigning Sounds Via the Browser
Browser Filters
Saving Your Project
Project Filters
Freeing Up System Memory (Purging)
Auto Save
Saving Individual Programs
Default Project Settings & Project Templates
Creating a New Project
003 Recording Your First Beat
Real Time Recording Configuration
Metronome Settings
Recording Your First Take
004 First Look: Grid Edit Mode
Understanding the Sequencer Grid
Using the Q-LINKS to Navigate The GRID
Basic Sequence Editing
Overdubbing
Understanding Sequence Resolution
Adding New Events Manually
Transposing Pad Events
Editing Velocity
005 Quantising and Swing Essentials
Applying Swing
Adding Live Feel to a Quantised Beat
Moving Events When T.C. is Not ‘OFF’
Erasing Events
ERASE in Real Time
Recording Hi Hats With Note Repeat
Correcting Mistakes with UNDO
Methods For Copying Events
Double Length
Copying Bars
Inserting Blank Bars
Copying Events In GRID EDIT
Copying Events Via MAIN
Splitting Events
006 Drum Layering
What is Drum Layering?
Utilising Sample Layers
Changing the Pitch of a Drum Layer
Creating A ‘Dragging’ Clap Sound
Creating Stereo Width
Creating a Deeper, Crunchier Kick
Shaping Your Sounds with the Amp Envelope
Adding Vinyl Crackle with Simultaneous Play
Varying The Vinyl Crackle with Round Robins
007 Drum Kit Essentials
Using Mute Groups For Open Hats
Tuning the Whole Kit
Adding Some Internal Effects
The Pad Mixer
Setting Custom Pad Colours
008 Sampling 101
Sampling Audio into the MPC
Sampling your Sound
Sample Edit Mode
Waveform Editing
Edit Points
Adjusting the Start Point
Zooming In For Accuracy
Snap to Zero
Setting the START Point
Adjusting the End Point
The Discard Function
Normalizing
Renaming an Edited File
009 Recording a Bass Line With 16 LEVELS
Setting Up The Bass Sample
Changing the Pitch of your Sample
Recording a Bass Line with 16 LEVELS
Configuring Your Sequence
LIST EDIT Mode
Inserting Events in LIST EDIT
Inserting Events With the INSERT Button
Inserting Events via OVERDUB
Inserting 16 LEVEL Type Events
Moving Events In LIST EDIT
LIST EDIT vs GRID EDIT
010 Introduction to Keygroup Programs
Creating Keygroup Programs
Using Multisamples in a Keygroup program
Fundamentals of ‘key ranges’
Sourcing & Configuring Your Samples
Setting Up Your First Keygroup
Adding Keygroups
Applying ADSR
011 Creating Instrument Melodies & Chords
MIDI Instruments
Using Standalone Plugin Instruments
Finding the Key of Our Beat
Recording The Rhodes Track
Chord Progressions
Tweaking Your Preset
Saving Your Custom Patch
Adding a Synth Lead Line With TubeSynth
Using the Arpeggiator To Generate Lead Patterns
Rhythmic Arpeggios
Arpeggiator Patterns
Generating Random Notes
Using Pitch Quantise
Using Humanize For a More Natural Feel
Pad Perform ‘NOTES’
012 First Look: Audio Tracks
Setting Up an Audio Track
Editing Audio Tracks
Splitting Audio Tracks
Moving Regions
013 Using The MPC Mixer
MPC Mixing Options: An Overview
Track View Mode
Adjusting Levels in Track View
The CHANNEL MIXER
The Program Mixer Channel
Grouping Sounds With Submixes
The MASTERS Channel
Adjusting the EQ of a Mix
Using an EQ Preset
Applying Compression
Using The RETURNS
014 Working with Loops
How Do Loops Work?
Setting Loop Tempo
Using Loops in a Sequence
Re-Tuning The Loop
Time Stretching a Loop
Using Loops in a DRUM program
Using the Timestretched Loop
Looping Instrument Samples
How to Find a Good Sustain Loop Region
Sustain Looping Workflow
Sustain Looping Acoustic Samples
Fixing Clicks & Glitches With XFADE
015 Chopping Drum Breaks Part 1
Basic Chopping Using the Extract Function
Using the Dedicated CHOP Mode
Identifying ‘Problem’ Regions
Fixing the Regions - Speed Chopping Workflow
Shared Edit Points
Exporting Your Regions
016 Chopping Drums Part 2
Chopping Down to Individual Hits
Fixing Clicks & Pops
Exporting Individual Hits
Real time Tempo Changes
Editing Existing Chop Events
Overdubbing Additional Chops
Applying a Quantize Template
017 Building Velocity Sensitive Kits & Sequences
Timbre Variation Using Multiple Drum Sounds
Using Multisampled Drums
Velocity Switching Pad Layers
Setting Up the Velocity Switch Ranges
Performing Velocity Switches
Layer Switching – Creating ‘Cycle Kits’
Muting the Open Hat with Mute Targets
Velocity Sensitive Timbre Emulations
Utilizing The LFO
Extending the Open Hats
A Practical Kit Set Up
Using ‘Humanize’ on Drum Performances
Generating Random Drum Events
Randomly Generating Hi Hat Patterns
Individually Generating All Drum Parts
Drum Kit MIDI Note Mapping
Custom Note Mapping
GM Mapping
018 Dynamic Tempo Manipulation
Problems When Changing Sequence Tempo
Warping Audio
Warping in DRUM Programs
Patched Phrase Loops
Tuning (Pitch Shifting) a Patched Phrase
Warping in CLIP Programs
Auditioning Looped Samples
019 Non Destructive Chopping Techniques
Introduction to Non Destructive Chopping
Building a Non-Destructive Kit with 'Assign Slice to Pad'
Bug Alert - Temporary Workaround!
Assigning the Snare & Hat
Understanding Non Destructive Chop Slices
PROGRAM Chop Mode
NDC Over Multiple Layers
Editing Layers
Alternative Slice Workflow
Chopping Using Pad Parameters
Experimenting With Your Initial Chops
Tightening Your Chops
Finishing Up
020 Progressive Drum Layering Techniques
‘Sculpting’ Together Sample Elements
Layering With Pad Parameters
Applying Filters to Individual Layers
Converting Your Layers Into Standalone/Portable Samples
Resampling Your Pad
Flatten Pad
021 Sound Design & Production Tricks
Emulating Vintage Sampler ‘Crunch’
Increasing Grit While Sampling From Vinyl
Using Sample Tune to add grit
Emulating Scratching With ‘Reverse’
Experimenting With LFOs
Emulating Vinyl Crackle
Wacky Bass
Bit Crushed Drums
Effects to ‘Dirty Up’ Your Drums
Using Effect Presets
Loading 3rd Party Effect Presets
Saving User FX Presets
Vintage Effects
Transient Shapers
Compression
Using EQ in Sound Design
Creating a More 'Open' Sounding Snare
Creating a Tight & Crunchy Snare From a 'Live' Snare
Side Chain Compression: Using the Mother Ducker
Standard Compression vs Sidechain Compression
Setting Up the Mother Ducker
Tweaking The Mother Ducker
022 Advanced Keygroup Editing
Timbre Emulation Within a Keygroup
Utilising the Root Note setting
‘Pseudo’ Stereo
Filters and Effects
Utilising the Filter Envelope
Applying LFO
023 Build A Standalone Synth
Creating The Looped Waveform (the 'Oscillator')
Tuning Your Sound
Building Your Keygroup Program
Creating a Bass Patch
Forcing a Program to Always Play ‘Full Level’
024 Using Plugins in Controller Mode
Using Third Party Plugins In ‘Controller Mode’
Working in Controller Mode
The Hybrid 3 Plugin GUI Interface
Recording a Plugin Instrument
Bouncing Plugin Tracks To Audio
Bouncing External Hardware Synths & iPad Synths
Disadvantages of Working with Bounced Tracks
025 Convert Plugins & Synths with Autosampler
Example Autosampling Workflow
Tweaking Your Autosampled Programs
Adding a Velocity Sensitive Filter
Saving Your Program
Sustain Looping Your Samples?
Example 2: Multi-Velocity, ’One Shot’ Style Patch
Configure The Patch
Configure Recording Settings
Configure The Program
026 Building Songs & Performances
Working on the Basic Song Structure
Experimenting With Track Mutes
Creating The Structure
Live Sweeps With XYFX Automation
Recording Automation
Fixing & Re-Recording XYFX Data
Managing Automation Events in the LIST EDITOR
Managing Automation Data in GRID EDIT
Creating the ‘Ending’
Sequence Experimentation
Next Sequence
Song Mode
027 Adding Vocals & Exporting Your Beats
Limitations of Song Mode
Converting Your Song into a Sequence
Recording a Vocal Over Your Song
Performing a Rough Mix of Your Song
Recording Automation With the Q-Links
Editing & Re-Recording Automation
Adding Automation To Audio Tracks
Adding Some Scratching
Using The Software COPY & PASTE Buttons
Using the Marquee Tool
Adding a 'Tape Stop' Effect
Exporting Your Work
Exporting Track Stems
Ableton Live Set Export
Fading Out a Song?
028 Final Words
Appendix A: Setting Up Your MPC
Which Cables Should I Use?
MPC Outgoing Audio Connections
Incoming Audio Connections
MIDI Connections
Connecting Multiple MIDI Controllers
Multitrack MIDI Recording
Triggering Synths
Audio Connections For External Synths
Using an iPad as a Synth
Sending MIDI From One Track to Another
Appendix B: MPC File Transfers
File Transfer Restrictions (Internal Drive)
What is an ‘Attached Disk?
File Transfer Methods
Transferring the 'Tutorial Files' Folder
Transferring Kits, Instruments and Legacy Sample Packs
Accessing Projects Saved to the Internal Drive
How Do I Continue Working on a ‘Standalone’ Project in Controller Mode?
How Do I Backup My MPC Projects and Files?
Appendix C: MPC Expansion Guide
What Is an Expansion Pack?
Creating Your Own Sample Expansion Packs
Installing an Expansion Pack From an XPN File
The Hardware 'Expansion' Browser
Installing Expansions in Standalone Mode
Creating Program Previews
Using Name Separators (MPC Software)
Using Tags in the Media Browser
Demo Sequences
Uninstalling/Removing Expansions
Appendix D: Creating Custom Progressions
Appendix E: Essential MPC Resources
Appendix F: Book Release History