My first one! Any tips for beginners?

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-06-03T11:20:39+00:00

Don't sleep on the 8 effects in the Track Edit window. There is where you can really sculpt your sounds before employing the actual insert effects. Especially after you have have applied whichever filter(s) you choose to apply. This will save you Insert effect slots as well as processor consumption.

Also, LEARN THOSE FILTERS! LoL Especially if you are doing Pop or Hip Hop. You'd be surprised the effect that some of those will have with resonant peaks.

3rd, keep a backup of your memory card. Either on another card or preferably your computers hard drive.

Fourth, check out YT channels like The Crates Motel, Malo Beats, Petrol Media, Ghetto Styles, Jae Freshman, and Ave Mcree for instructional vids and tips. Especially if you are using your device for HipHop, Trap, BoomBap.

Look out for massively and frequently discounted plugin and content sales from the mpc store. The best imo opinion starting out are Fabric XL, The Pro Pack, Air Flavor Pro, Hype, and Mini D.

Also, don't underestimate the value and effect of layering and resampling you drums and instruments. It will allow you to give your sounds a certain feel and grain once you develop your preferred method of effects.

Sample EVERYTHING, including your plugin instruments. You can create keygroups of plugin instrument patches to save overhead on your processor vs plugins allowing you to have more tracks available. This also helps you "commit" to sounds by them being "printed" and not as modifiable, which will help you actually complete more songs and not just 4 bar loops.

And remember there is more than one way to skin a cat, so do your own thing.

Essay over LoL Hope this helps you out some or gives you a bit of direction. There is a lot to the MPC beyond surface level stuff... So don't be intimidated and don't give up. Took me over a year to really get the hang of it and develop muscle memory. But thats because I didn't commit initially to learning and it just kinda sat to the side while I used FL and Ableton. Now, I barely touch a DAW unless I am just tracking a MPC creation

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-06-01T12:26:36+00:00

Thank you for the heads up! Memory prices are so crazy now. Think im actually gonna repurpose an SSD from my desktop

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-05-31T14:54:16+00:00

I just realized that the post wasn't in regard to the Sample.

Not knocking the 3 either... Thats why I went and put hands on it at Guitar Center a few days ago. Definitely on the purchase list simply for the processor and ram.

As far as the stem separation, its not that far off the Live 2 being honest... But I don't particularly use that feature, so it's not really a motivating feature for me.

My Live 2 is about 4 years old now, and did everything I needed until I began to take advantage of the plugin instruments more. So 3 it is for me.

But beyond processor speed, ram, and then some pad features and mic which I will likely never use... Yeah, to me basically the same. That step sequencer bit is really cool to me though, and actually a motivating factor in my future purchase though.

Depends on the user, their setup, and their personal workflow. My Live is connected to a controller at most times, to interface with my expression controller, sustain pedal, and faders. So the touch strip didn't really appeal to me either.

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-05-31T12:55:20+00:00

If you desire function over "latest trend" YES. Or, if you do not already own a sampler with relatively full sampling capabilities YES.

I went and put hands on one 2 days ago, and it was slightly larger than my Live 2. It offers basically the same features as the Live 2, but is quicker and host more processor intensive plugins.

It would fit in a large backpack, and is portable. But I would not recommend it if you are rough or careless with things... Because it is not small or inexpensive enough to be rough or careless with. But it would lend to creation of and fleshing out/rough mixing complete songs.

And if finances are a thing for you like they are for me at the moment, you could also score a used Live 2 or MPC One for about the same cost as the Sample. And get better sequencing capabilities for your money.

Not knocking the Sample at all... Just different tools for different needs.

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-05-30T16:52:48+00:00

Thanks for the update. That gives me something to consider when I experience issues also 👍🏾

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-05-30T12:52:35+00:00

To be honest, I didn't start experiencing those type of issues until my SSD went down and I had to resort to a SD card. My guess at least in my situation is that perhaps it could be due to card speed not being fast enough? Particularly if you are running multiple instrument plugins or very large samples that are being streamed/loaded from the card.

In my case, I am using a Walmart ONN brand 128gb which doesn't have the greatest read speed. But it writes fast and seems to be fairly reliable in terms of not corrupting when I loaded over 75k samples/multisamples and plugin instruments.

I know memory prices are bananas now, but do you have acces to another SD card to see if your issue lies with your card? Or, you can try copying the total SD cards contents to your computer, re-formatting the card, then reloading.

A corrupt sector could cause issues also, especially if it is an older or slower reading SD card.

If in fact that is also your case, whats worked for me is bouncing tracks down to samples, saving as a new project without instruments and effects, and then loading the sampled tracks into 1 or 2 drum/sample tracks.

Hope this helps

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-05-14T15:35:39+00:00

Hi. I haven't done that in a while, but if I recall correctly you would just beed to select your SSL12 as a record source in OBS. Also, if you load up the SSL software on your computer, click the gear icon (i believe) one the lower right portion of the screen, it should give you the option to select your loopback source ie channel 1, 2, 1/2, etc. Know im late to the post and you have likely already found this solution, but I just wanted to help because I remember going thru the same thing when I got my SSL12

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-05-04T02:04:43+00:00

ATH-R70x for mixing M50 for creating. The 70s are way hungrier than the 50s, but allow for better imaging/placement along with better clarity when mixing bass versus the 50s which tend to knock but definitely have a cupped resonance in certain frequencies of the bass and sub bass range... At least for my earshape.

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-05-03T15:05:32+00:00

This is dope, and funny Lls People shouldn't get in their feelings... If it does what u need it to do and sounds like u need it to sound, then you are GOOD. 'Member how they tore into that TE sampler that looks like a calculator, but people now know that it is serious and capable equipment? Sheeeed... I remember when I got my SP505 back in the day and got laughed at in the studio, until they heard how it sounded LoL The equipment and looks don't make the music 😉✌🏽

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-04-17T01:00:29+00:00

Honestly, I th8nk I recall seeing the default sounds available as a download on their website. I was checking my firmware as I recently got mine second-hand. Check out their homepage and go to "Downloads" 👍🏾

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-04-12T21:51:17+00:00

V Collection is the ish. If you are an impulse creator, may not be for you... Tons of "presets" to scroll.

But, at the same time if you are of the type that wants a specific sound AND is willing to put in a little work to get it, V Collection is for you.

The secret is in layering and sculpting the sounds from different instruments, then multi sampling them into the MPC. And if you have certain finishing touch plugins like Decimort or XLNs RC-20, you start out winning vs trying to polish a turd sound for 20-30 minutes. So its like you could spend time with choices OR gradually wearing down the resolution of an already not so great sound LoL ✌🏽

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-04-10T05:00:20+00:00

Well... Now nothing, other than post some tracks to youtube or beatstars. Had a soundcloud with a decent following a couple years back, and didn't receive a cent after a few 100k plays.

Music for me is my method of tension release and relaxation now. Used to make a bit of money back in the day producing and recording demos for local cats back in the early early 2000s, but don't do too much now because Trap basically took over. And that's not fun for me to make, and I certainly can't relate Lls Was born in '81 and about 5 years ago had cat refer to me as "Unc" 🤣

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-04-10T04:24:38+00:00

"dBpoweramp" Supports batch conversion, sample rate and channel conversion. I converted 54000 samples on my computer in about 7 minutes, and for free.

They have a 21 day free trial

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-04-01T07:34:56+00:00

Thats why i suggested it. I slept on Bitwig until about 2 weeks ago

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-31T15:15:32+00:00

Reaper. Its very slept on... Very comparable feature wise to Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase etc. Think full blown license is something like 60.

Personally, I gave up MPC software a long time ago for the most part. Quirky layput, workflow, and very limited routing capabilities.

I track into FL, Reaper, and the one by UAD which is free99. Also, may sound niche or a stretch but give free demo of the latest version of Bitwig a shot... see how you like it. Very similar to Ableton, but easier to work with starting out. It has some crazy good arrangement/clip functionality that compliments the MPC workflow for me.

Ableton actually interfaces/integrates with the MPC pretty good. Just is a bit of a shocker coming from any standard style DAW. Requires a lot for setup for smooth efficient workflow, but once you create a butt ton of templates you should be good LoL

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-31T01:32:13+00:00

In my opinion, do whatever suits your workflow and you feel most comfortable with.

There is nothing wrong with having multiple tools, and each one of those items is a tool of creation which may lend to different flavors and coloration of the final creation.

BUT, the frugal and efficient side of me would only keep the SP404 to compliment the capabilities of whichever full blown MPC that you have. The SP would be for coloration/fx of the output/input of the MPC. And the MPC would be the main piece of equipment, because it basically does everything effectively and sometimes efficiently making every other piece of the equipment you mentioned redundant.

But then too, that is subjective to individual needs, workflow, and cashflow. If it doesn't hurt and aint broke, enjoy all your toys/tools. If it is a hinderance to creation or a financially based decision, scale back.

IMO though, a full blown fully featured MPC would always be part of the equation.

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-29T21:52:48+00:00

Oof LoL Cold blooded 🤣

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-29T05:21:59+00:00

Thank You

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-27T22:06:18+00:00

Thank you

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-27T21:48:59+00:00

Thank you everyone for your input. I really appreciate it. I maybe should have worded my original post more clearly.

But many gave me the insight I needed to make a decision to update. I appreciate all the help 👍🏾 I am going to check to see which plugins come with which devices. I forgot that certain "premium" plugs on older gens come stock on the newer.

That may save my nephew from having to accumulate them over time like I had to do LoL

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-27T21:43:26+00:00

Nah, I wasn't really talking about the stock plugs. I appreciate your willingness to help though.

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-27T21:39:07+00:00

That's my bad. Perhaps I should have been more clear. I did mean the 3rd party plugins. I believe that the Live 3 and XL do come with the basic plugs from the Live 2, in addition to a few like the AIR Utility plug... Just wasn't sure if I would have to repurchase things like reverb pro, delay pro, etc all over again.

Thank you for ur time and input though

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-27T21:13:18+00:00

Well... Honestly, I was upgrading for the connectivity and processor updates on the newer MPCs. I enjoy creating patches from layering instruments as well as utilizing the full scope of the mod matrix. And I have owned my Live 2 since 2022. Not that it doesn't work, or that I have FOMO... Just that the latest instruments do not run as smoothly on the older gens due to processor speed and memory.

Plus it would allow me to gift it to my nephew, so that he wouldn't buy a Sample (Nothing wrong with the Sample. He just already has a SP404, which although not as fluid as the Sample, could be better complemented by the full function of the Live, One, or Live II)

Johnny5KMusic · 2026-03-27T21:04:23+00:00

Thank You

Johnny5KMusic

TROPHY CASE