MPC LIVE 2 & SP 404 mk2 | OutBoard Gear Workflow 

You've probably found something by now but as many have recommended, the tascam model 12/16/24 are a dream to have with the mpc. Besides breaking out your tracks to each channel on the tascam, you can put anything outboard into the tascam then process it in the mpc's audio tracks then send it back out to the same channel (or any others). Fun stuff.

Brooooo . . . That modbap with that sample/beat was so fkn fire. I'm now about to buy this thing based on that alone. That was so dope!

Thanks Malo! Those drums were smoking hot 🔥

Take it a step further. The MPC Live can send MIDI out to the SP-404 mkii, and the CV to the Per4mer to automate the effects so you can sequence the effects as part of the beat itself.

4:24 Ok, that's too dope! I was on the fence about the MPC Live 2 but after this video. I know I have to get one.

As far as my research class compliant simply means to hook up via USB however you may use any audio interface to send and receive signal you can send output from your sampler (one/live2/x) to any channel strip or to main input of mixer and send audio from mixer back into mpc. This way you can add as many effects processing devices on as many channel strips you have available. Another trick I learned is you can send audio from aux/fx outputs on mixer back into mpc inputs and control how much signal you want to send via individual channel strips. I have a Yamaha mg10x 10 channel mixer and Mpc One retro I use line channel 9/10 to receive audio and send audio through stereo outputs back into sampler. Now I just have to invest into outboard processing gear and I'm in business 😈 The plugins on the MPC are really dope and serviceable and you can def make radio quality tracks, HOWEVER, outboard gear just hit different IMHO but just personal preference bc I'm using mpc plugins right now until I can invest in myself and they're amazing !! If you're using outboard processing gear without a mixer it's best to use mpc live 2. You can use Mpc One it just takes up so much time routing audio individually whereas you have I believe 6 oudio outputs on the live 2. The best connectivity for outboard gear is to simply get a mixer/audio interface. S/o malo for putting me up on game this far truly the best on RU-vid 💪💯 Sidenote: vol 1 drums be smacking salute 😤

Por qué te vaaaaas 😄 Very useful. Love the lighting in all of your videos 👌🏼

Nice work on this! Damn - that second beat was Crazy Sweet, too! 😁👊

Another dope video. #Team404 🎰

This was an education! Much appreciated bro! 💯

Dope!!! Looking into the 404

You killin it homie ✌🏾

I was just wondering how does Akai feel when everywhere they look they see a MPC accompanied by an Sp404 🤔😂 will the next gen MPC address this 🤔

I have the Roland MC707 linked with my Live or my Force. I can perform the same task as the SP404 with an added synth library. Dope combo for just about any type of music.

Wow thank you for this i'm going to try this with my mpc one

That modbap is fire..

Ou maan ❤ i was tryin to figure out how to do this on mpc. So easy but i dont see this option. Thank you soo much 🤘 i go to send some drums to rat dist pedal 😁🙏

Such a true and great video - even a Culture Vulture, Old german pre amp or anything is great !!! I like that Akai's magnificent legacy has shone through in the most competitive era and also during the heights of Technological innovation - That takes something special. Spoiler ALert - I believe the next Akai will feature the classic tilt pop-up screen. Much love Malo.

Dope for the Drums with compressor ...booomm bäP for live...thank you for this gamechanching Tip

🖤

🔥🔥🔥🔥

Yeah man, thanks for that. I've got the sp 404 II, so was looking for something to dj with it, something to send a sample in, then dip in and out of projects on the sp, and load up drums, and try create live pockets of sounds to dj off. Otherwise im just stuck inside the sp, which isn't bad, but kind of like having two turntables ghosted into these new portable forms.

I always appreciate your thoughts on the MPC live 2 work flow, I like your consistency with professional and useful content. Malo, using a midi cable sending clock from Live 2 to the sp404 would be better? Especially for time synced fx. I would love for you to try it and see the next time you test this setup.

that 2nd beat nasty

Thanks for this great video. I totally agree, when you begin to dive into your MPC, you want to test it with another gear. For now, I just record my guitar on some audio track. But I've another idea... I've got my old Zoom R16 track recorder which can be plug in USB. That would be a way to tet the audio compliant class. :^) Thanks again, and Take Care !

That's unreal man! Thanks for the info. Is there anyway to automate the signal from the sp4 to the live? If so I'll be buying one

picked up the mkII a few months ago, your channel has been very helpful, thanks for the content. Already thinking about another software update. Wanted to run a few ideas by you and all mkII users, with hopes these ideas may reach Roland at some point. The sp series is best known for its live performance/fx. Overall I've been impressed with the mkII but, have some ideas that relate to live performance. 1. HOME SCREEN. Obviously, the bpm display is a call back to earlier sp's but, I don't think its an effective use of the screen space. I would much prefer a display of sample names as they sit on the pads. This could look similar to the mfx menu. A four by four grid that displays sample names. I think it would be possible to do this as well as including the bpm and a progress bar on screen. This would eliminate the need for cueing. Along with this, the ability to name and rename samples from the editor software would be useful. 2. FX PERFORMANCE MODE. There is a lot of menu diving involved with all the fx buses. I am imagining a single menu that lists the five effects buses. Since there are five, perhaps the pad bank buttons could be used to toggle the effects on and off for each bus. For example pad bank A button toggles input effect on/off, B for bus 1, etc. This menu should also connect to FX settings menu. So whatever bus is highlighted in this screen should link to the fx settings. So pressing a bank button would toggle an effect off/on and highlight that effect, you should also be able to use the encoder to highlight a bus (without turning it off or on) to access the fx setting for that bus. I am imagining a new fx setting screen. One that combines the best features of the bus1/2 menu and the input, bus3/4 menu. Both rows available from one menu like the bus3/4 menu but, easier to navigate like the bus1/2 menu. Maybe just turning the encoder to flip between settings row 1 and 2. Holding the encoder down is awkward. Also have the fx settings screen stay on till you press exit or another bank button would be helpful. A progress bar on the main fx performance mode screen would be helpful as well. Perhaps the existing EFX SETTING menu could be tweaked to enable these features. Its software so, of course, there are a lot of different ways these things could be accomplished. Another thing I've noticed is, if you customize the direct fx buttons, the original effect "disappears". For example, if I change the delay button to scatter and then go back to the mfx screen scatter is still visible but, delay has "dissapeared". Why not just switch them out? So, in the previous example, if I change delay to scatter, then go back to the mfx screen, I will see delay where scatter was located before. Another thing I've noticed is that I can't trigger samples when im holding down the encoder to access the second row of effects settings, this seems like a bug to me. 3. MORE FX. I am a long time sp user, I have the 202 and the 808. I was hoping to down-size my hardware setup with the mkII but, the 202 and the 808 can make sounds the mkII can't. The fx in the 808 are impressive, even to this day, and I can't give up the echo and delay algorithims in that unit. As an example, both units have a tape echo but, they sound very different. The mkII is perhaps a more accurate emulation but, the 808 tape echo is warmer and not as harsh, By tweeking the settings I often use the 808 tape echo to create a bed or pad to layer sounds on top of. I haven't been able to do this with the mkII. I have read similar posts from other users of the sp series. Each unit has a following and certain favorite effects. So, more classic sp fan favorite fx, please! This is my first experience with the roland djfx looper and its fun but, I can see doing a lot more with this effect or creating variations of this effect. What about adding a filter or other effects/parameters to the djfxlooper? What about a djfx looper II, the present max length is 0.23 seconds. What if the length was the full length of the sample. For example, say you have a four bar loop that is 15 seconds in length. So the max length of the looper is 15 seconds. As you turn the length knob the time cuts in halves. So first you hit 7.5 seconds, a two bar loop. Then you hit 3.75 seconds, one bar, etc. until you reach one step looping. From one step and down it could operate like the original djfxlooper. Ok, and finally, the unit already has downer and backspin. Why not just do a "scratch mode" effect. I am seeing this laid out similar to dj mode. As an example, lets say you can assign four samples to this mode. Pads 1-4 are for sample1 and so on. pad 1 could be "play from start", pad 2 could be "play from present location" pad 3 "push forward" pad 4 "pull back". Then you could use a knob to control the speed of your "push and pull" . In this kind of set-up you could "scratch" a sample, do a backspin, a downer or almost any other kind of turntable tricks. 4. SAMPLE EXPORT. The ability to drag and drop samples from the mkII to a mac or pc. From what I can tell you can easily drag and drop any sample into the mkII from the editor software but, you cant drag them back out, so you have to rerecord to export a sample which is doable but, not ideal. OK, thats it. I welcome any other feedback or other ideas. Thanks!

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So is this techno-hiphop? This beat sounds exactly how I thought it would before I even listened to it lmao.

Dope video again man, keep ‚em coming! I got one question : I wanna go with my master out of the live 2 into the analog heat and then back into the live 2 but for some reason if I change my output on the master to 3,4 first of all I still hear everything and the analog heat isn‘t receiving anything I got my headphones on the live 2 so normally I shouldn’t hear anything when I switch the output, right? And if I plug my headphones into the AH I also hear nothing and the levels don’t move, so clearly it’s receiving none. Do I really have to go live 2 -> AH -> Interface -> DAW ? Don’t wanna go back into the PC for that 🙈

I’m thinking a great unit for this would be the Force with a compatible digital mixer interface. With how you have it now, I can see the live usage… would you record the part from any other unit as a loop afterwards? So you could compose a entire song on it

Would you suggest the roland or the mpc when it comes to interfacing with something like a multitimbral workstation like a yamaha motif es6?

Nice useful video. How about the latency for the vinyl sim compression? I’m doing a lot of live fingerdrumming and am thinking of adding an sp for master bus fx, and thus probably leave the vinyl sim comp on all the time, so I’m kinda worried about latency.

How would the audio routing go if I had this same setup but also using the MPC Software (Controller Mode) and a Volt 476 audio interface.

When doing this with my X, I have fairly heavy distortion/clipping when routing the audio back into my mpc and thru the main speakers. I’m using the exact same routing -> could it possible be because I’m using TS cables?

did you ever find a interface for more inputs? or anyone else got some recommendations

only problem is, Air Flavor Pro zaps your low end where as Cassette Sim can add a ton of umph with the tone adj. It's the only SP effect that beefs up your drums dramatically while maintaining your character.

Someone knows if you can monitor/cue outputs 3/4 in you headphones only? I can't find this info anywhere.

hi, can i ask you a question. are undecided whether to buy SP or the MPC. I'm not very interested in using it live and in common I would still interface with Ableton to finalize my works. I really like Lo Fi music but I'm afraid that SP is too much into Lo Fi music and can't get out of this genre. while for the MPC I'm afraid it's less immediate, more awkward to move (but it's not very serious) and that it's like having a computer and that it has many functions but superfluous if you intend to interface with Ableton. what do you recommend me?

I set it up just like this and for some reason no sound is coming thru? my mpc sees the signal but it’s not making any noise. speakers on, set to line. both systems updated. using mono cables

I tried to do the same thing as you, but the sound that came into the mpc through the sp404 was too noisy and dirty. Do you happen to know what the problem is? TT

Hello, I would like to make soul music like the alchemist/ cookin soul/ earl sweatshirt etc, but I don't know which sampler to buy between the SP404 mk2 and the mpc live2. I use FL and ABLEOTN, I've never used a sampler before

Very good. Imagine sending sound from your mpc to your DAW through the SP404 as also an audio interface in addition of being an fx box. If not possible because of sample rate what's the alternative?

I was just thinking about doing this yesterday with my digitakt and 404 OG. my goal is to route digitakt into sp404 with vinyl sim on, then back into digitakt, and record all that into my iPad with usb audio out from digitakt. Could you do the same thing with your octatrack and 404?

I can't wait until you crack into AUM and the IOS side of this!

Hey @malobeats I had a question concerning the mpc one/ sp 404 workflow the general difference being the one has 2 less ins and 2 less outs is that if your receiving resampling from the sp 404 you have to use headphones correct you can’t monitor through speakers without an interface if you just wanted to work in complete standalone mode cause I want to get the 404 but I want to make sure I can be able to resample with it and it’s just not one way if anybody knows I’d appreciate the responses and advice

does anyone know if this would work with the akai s20 instead of the 404?

Is it possible to use the same technique with the MPC One?

if you sync'd the MPC to the SP would there still be a delay with the cassette sim fx?

where did you get your patch cables from?

Thats crazy cus the mpc5000 does that same effect in your audio l😆l smfh could've just got the 5000 if you wanna do all that,

what's the point of connecting an SP to an MPC?

¿Por qué te vas?

Dope Observation cuz, yeah my team been rocking the SP404 with Akai products the past several years. What’s your IG handle?