DAW + MPC 1000 Workflow

[BiggChev]

Hey All,

I just posted a new beat in the Showcase section and started to explain the process I've been using recently to make beats. Turned out way longer than I expected, and believe it would be better suited for this section instead.

Cheers,

Having lots of fun chopping, writing, and arranging inside the MPC 1000!

I've come across a system that keeps the creativity moving forward with defined stages in the writing/productions process. Maybe it'll prove useful for others so I'll briefly outline it below:

Step 1 - Ideation & Instrumentation

• This starts inside the box for me (either Maschine or Logic)
• Starting with any Instrument (guitar, bass or VST) I'll sketch out a loose melody or chord progression
• From here I'll build out an arrangement - in the sense of what other instruments would fit well
• Once I have the instrumentation together the next step is to refine the melody/chord progression
• Use instrumentation from your favourite genre or bands to sample and get the "band" together

Step 2 - The Main Loop

• This is where I'll really start writing
• Use the instrumentation established in Step 1 to start building out harmonies, counter melodies and internal rhythm
• Note - I have yet to introduced drums/percussion at this point
• There is also no set genre. The intention is not to make a hip-hop tune. Rather, the goal is orchestrate any piece of music that is pleasant to your own ears
  • Essentially, create the record you'd sample from and focus on the elements you like to, or typically, sample from
  • Keep in mind the space, balance, richness, harmony, and arrangements of those records
• Keep the idea to a 4 Bar Loop. Fill it out and make it as rich/dense as you'd like
  • Avoid the "super-loop" remember you're writing the part of song you'd sample

Step 2b - Pre-Treatment

• Get your levels balanced across the instruments
• Do some slight panning, reverb and EQs
• Leave yourself room for adjustments towards the end of the process, but again, think that you're writing a song that will be sampled from a record. These tunes will have those elements, but you do have some flexibility. Chopping of FX and treated sounds can also give samples their own unique character.
• Avoid heavy modulation type FX (chorus, reverb, phasers etc)
• Avoid chained, tempo based, compounding FX. A little Compression/Verb/EQ is fine, but you don't necessarily want a Sidechain pump on your stem.

Step 3 - Sampling & Chopping

• This is the tedious part. To allow for more flexibility inside the MPC I sample the Main Loop in two ways
  • The full loop with all the elements
  • Individual Stems (ex. Horns, Strings, Guitars)
• From here I close the laptop and I'm fully committed to moving through the rest of the process exclusively in the MPC1000
• Trim out your samples before chopping (I try to get everything neatly in a 4 bar loop before moving to chopping)
• I'll chop the transients and "interesting" parts of my Main Loop (and stems) without too much forethought on how necessarily I'll arrange the subsequent beat
• Once I have my samples together - it's helpful to get organized from the start
  • Clear/concise naming (ex. Strings - Sus - Am, Horns-Arp-Cmaj)
  • Banks/grouping. Keep like samples in the same group, and if you can try to avoid having multiple groups of samples in the same bank. This is tricky as there are only 64 pads available. But it comes in handy later on to have a few empty pads for alternate chops with FX/layering etc.
• Set mute groups, polyphony, layers, and note-on/one-shots - you can always change them later but having multiple samples playing over each other in the creative step can be irritating and disruptive to the workflow

Step 4 - Tracks & Sequence Setup

• Small step, but will save you a headache and time down the road
• Get your tracks setup first thing. If your main loop had 5 instruments, get tracks created for each of those elements. Also don't forget to create tracks for your drums. Personally, I keep all my drum elements separate.
• Set tempo, and sequence length (4 bars is a good length). Not too long to bog down the creative process, and not too short that you have to copy and paste all the time as that's a big pain in the MPC
• Once you have your first working Sequence setup, with all the tracks, it'll easily allow you copy paste to make pattern variations while also carrying over Track, Program, Tempo, Length information to the next Sequence

Step 5 - Pad Mash!

If you've used any pad based sampler before, this requires little explanation. Go nuts on the pads and see what ideas come out. At this point I find I'm detached enough from the original loop created in Logic Pro that I'm not stuck thinking from that creative mindset. It's as if I'm approaching the piece for what it was intended. Someone else's song that I wanted to sample.

A few things that help me stay nimble in this phase of the process are:

• Treating each sequence as its own distinct idea - no writing in context (Intro, Verse, Chorus, etc.)
• Tackle one element from your stems at a time. This is about getting ideas out as quickly and painlessly as possible - You can always come back and add other elements to it
• Conversely, once you have variety of patterns you like - absolutely KILL each once. Just completely over do it! Exhaust every bit of creative expression from each pattern. Don't fear the "Super Loop"
• Use track mutes audition additions/variations - This will serve to help you later on once you start putting these patterns into the context of a song
• Use Song Mode get an idea as to what order your Sequences go in. This is typically where I'll start getting into the context of a song

Step 6 - Track Out, Final Arrangement, Mix

I won't go into too much detail here as a lot of this is based on what gear you have and personal taste. The goal of this, what I'm realizing is significantly longer than I anticipated, write up. I will share a few tips and things that aid in the final mix and arranging process.

• Track out your loose arrangement as you had it in the MPC. This will alleviate some decision paralysis later on
• Make sure your tracking in the desired sound field (kicks, bass = mono, pianos etc. = stereo)
• Stay around -6db gives you headroom for later on
• In Logic, I like using the region markers for each pattern I created in the MPC. This allows to move them around the project quickly to further explore and audition arrangement choices
• MIDI Sync MPC to Logic Pro if possible - at the very least start/stop controls. Just by pressing R key in Logic you can trigger your MPC at the same time to keep everything tight with little need for adjustments inside Logic

I know this seems like a long process and, admittedly, it is pretty convoluted. Again, it's a process that allows me to get into the right mental reference for each part of the song writing process (Writing, Arranging, Mixing). It also does a great deal to reduce decision paralysis. I know I can do quite literally everything explained here INSIDE Maschine - with more flexibility, ease, wider palette of sounds/FX, and much more. This process has several checkpoints of commitment that propels me forward to a finished song.

Limitations are key to creative innovation. Not being able to seamlessly time stretch, get perfectly neat chops, or precision EQs and dialed in FX can lead to you using your sound palette and batch of samples if very interesting ways to cover up shortcomings or hide the messiness. Lastly, using the MPC is fun. Touching a mouse, clicking buttons on a screen, or scrolling through an endless library of sounds on my Macbook trackpad is not enjoyable or what I would consider "making music." You could argue that the MPC has facsimiles of all those laborious tasks I just mentioned but it doesn't feel that way to me.

 

[Fade]

Awesome post!

See, that's a great point about making music. Just anything that sounds good, like mimicking something you would sample. I know the MPC is obviously limited compared to a DAW but working within just a box like the MPC brings out so much creativity.

 

[InsideOutBeats]

Yeah man I love the Mpc workflow and do everything in the box, that’s just me and my preference. Love hitting / playing pads, drums, melody’s. Haven’t touched any keys in ages since I prefer playing the pads.

Although if had enough spare cash floating about I might be tempted to get that Mpc Key 61. I know I don’t NEED it but……

 

[Iron Keys]

Greattt great tt post!

Fade - maybe consider pinning this in Articles too??

 

[Iron Keys]

Limitations are key to creative innovation. Not being able to seamlessly time stretch, get perfectly neat chops, or precision EQs and dialed in FX can lead to you using your sound palette and batch of samples if very interesting ways to cover up shortcomings or hide the messiness. Lastly, using the MPC is fun. Touching a mouse, clicking buttons on a screen, or scrolling through an endless library of sounds on my Macbook trackpad is not enjoyable or what I would consider "making music." You could argue that the MPC has facsimiles of all those laborious tasks I just mentioned but it doesn't feel that way to me.

This!!!


Great Post. A few bits went over my head. But I I've also thought about doing this, "creating music to sample it"

Wasnt entirely sure what you meant here..?

Trim out your samples before chopping (I try to get everything neatly in a 4 bar loop before moving to chopping)

Also, what is a "superloop" ?

 

[Dusty B]

Awesome post!

See, that's a great point about making music. Just anything that sounds good, like mimicking something you would sample. I know the MPC is obviously limited compared to a DAW but working within just a box like the MPC brings out so much creativity.

Highlights the importance of creative constraints.

Like picking a moving on Netflix vs. Blockbuster. Too much choice can lead to disadvantages.

 

[BiggChev]

@Iron Keys

Don't know how I missed your question...my apologies.

What I mean by trimming samples to create neat 4 bars loops, I mean getting it as tight as possible - particularly the start and end points. You could easily avoid this by exporting perfect loops from your DAW. I usually just track out stems from Logic to MPC. Having a perfect 4 bar loop makes chopping/auto-chopping in MPC significantly easier.

The "Super-Loop" was a term coined by illGates (I think). It's essentially one loop with ALL the elements you can think of. Kind of a beat makers trap. For me it typically happens early on in the writing process.

It's the phase of the writing process where you're throwing any and all ideas out. Typically what happens is you end up with a super dense 4 bar loop with A LOT of elements.

As a writing tool, it serves as a good canvas to get ideas out quickly and can easily be used as your Chorus. The "trap" part of it being that you exhaust all your ideas - but not in context - then get stuck figuring out where to go in terms of arranging a song.

Like anything in music making; it has it's purposes and strengths, but also has it's drawbacks.