MPC X

Thanks. This information is definitely incorrect.

 

Bummer.

 

It's definitely misleading and possibly incorrect too, but might the Live have settings for impedance and input/preamp levels for the TRS inputs? If so, it should be able to take a dynamic mic as well as an "instrument" (e.g., guitar) as it also states.

 

That's what I was wondering. I was hoping I could plug a guitar/bass straight in or even an SM57.

 

It is incorrect. I sent them an email to correct. Mic inputs and Instrument inputs (e.g. guitar) are MPC-X only features. If you go to the other MPC Live links on the same website, you will see this information isn't listed.

 

Only if that guitar and mic has a line level output. The MPC Live will give you the same results as if you plugged those devices into another product that operates at line level.

 

Oh well, nothing a Mackie mixer won't solve, but would have been nice. I was hoping to use those audio tracks like a little Portastudio.

 

Masada, recorded vocals and a guitar directly into the MPC Live in spite of it having only line level inputs:



But the audio engineering student in me says....line level sources to line level inputs. So I recommend direct boxes, mic-pre amps, etc....

 

Yeah. I like what he was doing in that video, and that's sort of how I'm looking to use the Live, but I agree that it would undoubtedly sound a lot better with a decent mic pre and a DI with an amp sim, like the Tech21 stuff.

I would rather mic my amp then go in direct for guitar, so I'll probably use a little mixer with an SM57. I'm pretty stoked for the Live in this context. I hate using a computer, miss my MPC1K, and no longer have a multitrack, so the Live ticks a lot of boxes for me.

 

I think it would be awesome if Akai updates the MPC Live and X so that they support audio over USB.

 

Jah,

Two more questions, sorry to keep bugging you.

1) Can the Live handle a variety of time signatures? I'm actually hoping to use it as a practice tool for playing guitar in a variety of time signatures.

2) The Sonic State video mentioned that the Live will have wifi and Bluetooth. I'm guessing Bluetooth would be for typing with a keyboard, but I'm wondering how you might be using wifi.

 

I've heard some people note that with USB being class compliant, theoretically it should be able to support audio interfaces. I'd love to be able to plug my Apogee One into the USB port.

 

Fair enough. That is a bit of a shame for that kind of device though, especially as it's mobile. Can't have everything though, I suppose, and at least it's something that can be remedied by the user with a preamp/DI box.

 

1. As of this writing...yes, but not like MPCs in the past. You can set your time signature in Project preferences. But there is no way to have time signature changes within a project in standalone mode.

The workaround would be to create templates in the MPC Software and then import these into standalone mode.

2. At the moment, I can't think of any applications where I would want to use the MPC with Wifi or Bluetooth.

 

Now if they could make it possible so a UA Apollo Twin could be used with the MPC Live....that would be an amazing portable set-up.

 

Wi-Fi for Ableton Link, file transfer, cloud support?

 

The key word is "I" as in "me." None of those features appeal to me.

Features that appeal to me are software related. I want the MPC Software and new standalone MPCs to give me ALL legacy MPC features. Outside of the MPC 4000, every MPC released since the MPC 2000 (1997) has removed features that were in previous models.

I am a power MPC user so I may want things the average MPC user or new user may not need nor care about.

 

So I'm a bit confused on this point. Can I connect a guitar to this thing and record or not? That beta testing video made it seem like you can and that's what had me interested in the first place. I wanted to use the Live a portable studio to record things on the go. I thought I saw some amp effects in the fx list too so that had me excited that I could get a whole live setup in just one box. If that's not the case then maybe this device isn't for me.

 

MPC Live has line level inputs. For the best signal path, you should do proper impedance matching.

Does YOUR guitar output at line level or Hi-Z? If your guitar outputs at line level, than it will work perfectly with the MPC Live. If your guitars outputs at Hi-Z than you should connect it to a Direct box first and the Direct box to the MPC Live.

If you don't do proper impedance matching...your audio source can be too loud or not loud enough when recorded into the MPC Live (or any device that operates at line level).

 

It appears that it doesn't have an instrument level input. I was a bit annoyed about this as well, BUT the reality is that even if it did have an instrument level input, your guitar would sound pretty horrible without some kind of an amp/cab simulation.

I think one of the easiest work arounds for this if you want to go straight in would be to get something like one of the Tech21 Character series pedals. These have a universal 1/4 out that will put out enough gain to go anywhere from instrument to line level, and you can choose your favorite flavor of amp (Fender, Marshall, VOX, etc). The cheap Chinese knockoffs by brands such as Joyo also sound great, but I'm not sure how much output gain they put out, so best to check before you buy.

The other option is to add a small mixer like one of the Mackies. I am planning to add something like the Mackie 1202vlz4 because I like a lot of options, but if portability is a factor the smallest one will give you instrument level input levels and a quality mic pre amp. The advantage of these would be to use a variety of mics if you want to record your own amp, which I do, and more flexible routing for stuff like external effects, etc.

A bit off topic, but I think that Akai really missed the boat by not adding a few simple bits of hardware on the Live (one mic pre/instrument input, and a foot switch input). The reason is that this machine has the capabilities to allow them to move beyond the beatmaking/DJ and also capture a chunk of the huge guitar/bass/key player market by being able to function as a multitrack recording setup, guitar looper, practice device.

I still think the device is capable of this if Akai could hook up some kind of an external foot switch via midi and implement it into the software. I don't mean to take away from how the beatmakers traditionally want to use the MPC, but only note that there is a LOT of money being spent by these other segments of the market that Akai could easily tap into with this thing with a bit of vision. It's also the case that a lot of beatmakers, like me, want to use live instruments.