Thanks for watching! Which beat was your favorite? Also, I mention 'no samples' in the title but I did TECHNICALLY use a drum loop that I sliced for each beat.
I enjoyed this a lot. I think this is what most people are craving for. An authentic beat making video. Not too long and not short. And we got 4 beats!!!
This was actually pretty refreshing for a few reasons. Its cool to see your workflow and how you use certain plugins. Its also nice to see someone use an Akai device that doesn't make R&B, trap or boom bap. Pretty inspiring video as I've considered trying this out coming from a elektron user. looking for something that helps me create more linearly as I mostly work off of stems. Thanks for sharing.
I have had my Key 37 for about a week now and I am so inspired every time I turn it on. The possibilities seem endless with such an amazing machine and having everything in one is just what I needed 😁You did a phenomenal job with this video and I am very impressed with your whole workflow. Have an amazing day my friend and I look forward to future sessions
1:05 is this a plugin that MPC X would have? I have a MPK 225 midi controller connected to MPC X but the plugins that are built in sound a bit dull. Kind of boring sounding. Because of that, I'm thinking about purchasing a synthesizer. Possibly a Moog. Not sure yet. But I want to have something with on board sounds or synthesis so I don't have to always take projects from my X and throw them into FL Studio for all the keys/bass/guitars etc. Did you get that bassline sound from the MPC itself, or from that DAW? Edit- YOUR SETUP IS AMAZING! Nevermind.. kept watching and realized you had way more than just the Key 37 in the mix! That bassline you're getting from Typhoon, then more with Iridium etc.
Have you tried out Mini D and Jura yet? Those are classic synths that sounds great directly in your MPC. They cost money though, but I personally think they're worth it (especially if you can get them on sale). For a similar sounding bass, I'd personally load up Mini D and grab a bass preset that's decent to start. Then I'd load up an AIR Tube Drive effect on it to give it the growl/grit. You can do similar stuff with the other synths as well. Most of the time a bit of well tuned distortion goes a long way for 'character' in synths. If you're thinking about buying a hardware synth to start, lots of options! Too many actually. Each have pros and cons. Make sure to buy from a retailer you can easily return so if you don't like it, no sweat. Some personally recs: Sequential Take 5. Great bread and butter analog synth. Minilogue XD can be great. Some people hate it. It's got a lot of character. MiniFreak sounds awesome as well, probably the best 'affordable' option. Fun to program. Although a lot of crossover with regular VST plugins in it.
Very good video...are you using the vst like arturia plugins as a sound sounce in ableton but sequencing inside the mpc? Are you in standalone mode on mpc key 37?
Hey i have a little Question. Did you basically make these beats for fun and for the creative process itself or do you process them later and try to mix them into full songs? Bc thats often my problem i have creative ideas and then i try to mix and arrange the idea and over time i lose interest bc plain mixing isnt that fun over time. Thanks
Hello Tefty Music Tech. Apart from the drums, you only use external instruments or instruments (Pigments) and effects that work on your computer (and Ableton). In this case, what is the advantage of using the MPC rather than using the Ableton sequencer (in arranger view) with a less expensive midi keyboards with pads for the drums ? Thank you 😀
Same thought here, love the process but could have been any midi keyboard/controller for that matter. Then again, the MPC keys is a cool "all-in-one" device.
For me it comes down to workflow. When I'm writing parts on the MPC it's almost frictionless. Little things like adjusting the time correction and restarting the recording/overdubbing with a couple button presses right in front of me seem small but end up making the creative process flow faster. Also the MPCs approach of only seeing one track at a time helps with this as well. It all adds up. Now I'll happily write in Ableton as well, but over time I found my preferred writing platform to be an MPC. We have the Key 61 in the other room and that gets used exclusively to write, no other external instruments. Lastly, I still prefer to mix and finalize projects in Ableton because my computer is setup as a big hybrid rig with a bunch of analog compressors and EQs.
Very inspiring video! I've got three questions 😅 1. As of my understanding, argon and pigments are both wavetable synths. How similar/different are they if you don't take in consideration that software is much more capable. 2. Any idea for a compact solution on tweaking the arturia soft synths? Akai midimix would work? Would Ableton control surface be a problem or a solution? 3. On this particular setup, when done with the sequence recording, how would you record the audio (or midi where applicable) inside the daw? What would change if you had multiple sequences or b sections? Would all changes be controlled from the mpc?
Thank you! To answer your questions: 1) Pigments is more like Iridium. Argon is closer to a traditional synth with the fancy wavetable engine. Argon is way more limited in the modulation department because it can only have 8 modulation destinations for a given patch. Sound wise I really tweaking the osc and recording automation for that. Can do the same thing in Pigements, but not as fun 😜 2) Nope, still looking. It might exist by now, but most 'intelligent' solutions seem to have compromises that are deal breakers for me. But I could be wrong since I haven't done a deep dive into them yet. 3) Since everything is monitored in Ableton, it's as simple as hitting record in the timeline and then playing the arrangement on the MPC. If I have a b section, I make separate sequences for it and the associated transition sequences. I prefer working this way so I can feel 'hands on' with the gear as I'm playing the arrangement into a recording for later mixing/overdubbing/vocals etc.
This is a unique mpc video. Good to see that there are people who can create "real" music with MPC not just chopping a loop and play a crappy beat underneath.
I appreciate the intension behind your comment but I have huge respect for people that chop up records into unique sounds. I use to chop vinyl all the time before the copyright issues soured my experience. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by 🙏
This man is in love with the 37. Beat 2 is nice and ephemeral. Though i think they are all a bit “thin” lacking a bit of dynamic range and a bit narrow spectrum perhaps.
Not gonna lie, I feel like the Key 37 is nearly perfect for me. Thanks for the feedback. I feel like those are mostly arrangement/mixing issues. I always separate the two because the initial idea/writing sessions thrive in a 'what emotion can we capture' environment. Once the emotions are captured, it's easy to put the analytical hat on see what's missing, or what we needs holes punched into it for an arrangement etc. All four of these beats were 30ish minutes of creative time. If we select any to develop, then the microscope gets pulled out. Cheers!
I think I like 2 and 4 the most. 4 has the slight edge, though, mostly because the tempo. This was definitely the kind of video I wanted to see. I've seen a bunch of people in a room full of 5 MPCs posting videos of them using the Key 37 and not playing the keys on it at all haha. Just curious, why not a Push 3? I'm actually trying to decide between the two. In a perfect world I'd have both haha.
Thank you! I decided to wait on the Push 3 and let it mature. I like the Push 2 but never felt I could rely on it solely for the creative workflow. After watching a bunch of Push 3 videos I felt like the workflow hadn't changed much, so I decided to hold off. I'm sure at some point I'll own a Push 3 standalone though lol
@@teftymusictech Ah I see what you mean! Man I'd love to see them add some more functionality to the Push 3 as far as being able to create racks and assign macros. There's a really cool LFO for Push M4L device so you can now map LFO to any parameter straight from Push, so I know it's possible haha.
