MPC4000 Drum Program Editor

The MPC4000 is now recognised as a standard USB-MIDI device over USB cable.

This means you have access to 16 MIDI channels over a USB connection with your computer. It also means you can 'trigger' Pads and Keys within AKP Tools to assist you with Pad selection and configuring Keyboard ranges for your Key-groups.

Continuous input monitoring is now available via the SAMPLE page.

Cursor into the Monitor: field and change this from ON, OFF to ALWAYS.

Now, head back to the MAIN SCREEN and enjoy playing the Sequencer while the input comes through continuously.

On the LOAD page, hold down SHIFT and press the AUDITION Soft-Key. Now any WAV, SND or S3 file will be played automatically (up to 7.5mb)

You can use the Q5 Q-Link throughout the SAMPLE pages to scroll the view right or left of the waveform. Enabled the Q5 ACTIVE button to enter into ZOOM mode.

Now, whilst on SAMPLE pages, you can use Q-Links to crop Samples & reframe your Loops. Q1 & Q3 will move your frame from the left inwards.. while Q2 & Q4 will adjust your frame inwards from the right. The lower set of Q-Links will cover up to 90% of the overall Sample length while Q1 & Q2 will cover the remaining 10%. So there's nothing you can't cut into quickly!

Via the SAMPLE page > REGION tab, enable Q6-active and slowly raise Q-Link 6 to introduce slice-markers where audio-peaks reside. Cursor into Sample-Window and use STEP cursor keys < > to select any particular slice-marker. From this point you can hit the ERASE button, to delete the selected slice-marker, or hit LOCATE (aka GO TO) to LOCK the slice-marker into position. Then pull down Q-Link 6 to reduce any other slice-markers, not needed. From here, Hit EDIT and use SAMPLE SLICE to create Programs & Sequences out of your selection.

Via SAMPLE page / REGION tab

Hit PAD ASSIGN to engage Sloppy Chop

Then, kick-start Sloppy Chopping by pressing Pad A1 then, as your Sample plays, continually press PADs where you'd like to chop.

When you're done. Hit PAD ASSIGN to disengage Sloppy Chop.

From this point, you can hit EDIT and choose SAMPLE SLICE, enable Create Program and Create Sequence and hit DO IT.

Not a feature I've seen anywhere else, but this allows you to select a TC: (aka Quantise Value) to Loop a portion of your Sample in-time with the current Sequence Tempo. Once you've selected LOOPSYNC under Play mode: you'll notice a TC value appear to the right of Play mode: select a TC: value then cursor into the Sample Window and use STEP cursor keys <> and perhaps even BAR cursor keys <> to adjust the LOOP START and LOOP LENGTH in measures that compliment your Sequence tempo!

Use USB2 via your Sequences Output Ports to feed Note Triggers directly into AKP Tools. With this you can directly select Pads, and configure Keyboard ranges for building Drum and Keygroup Programs.

White Pad The currently selected Pad.

Grey Pad The Pad has 1 or more Zones assigned with Samples.

Diagonal Lined Pad The Pad has no Samples assigned to it.

Drag & Drop WAV Files from Computer storage locations onto Pads.

Zones

Each Pad in a Drum Program has 4 Zones. Think of Zones like layers.

You can drag & drop Samples into each Zone for a total of up to 4 Samples per Pad or Keygroup.

Then you can Tune, Filter and set each Zone's Level, among other things, independently.

To select a Zone, visit the Zones section and look for the 4 Sample-Zones. Click in either 4 and select Assign, Search or Clear to remove a Sample from a Zone.

Label Box: Click the Zone-Label Box to toggle the display of any particular Zone. Good for checking which Zones have Samples in them!

TIP: Scroll down to the Pad Mixer and toggle through the 4 Zones, select different Banks, via the BANK drop-down (on the panel above the Pad Mixer) to get a sense of where Samples are throughout your Drum Programs

Pad Mixer

The Pad-Mixer is where you mix your Pad levels independently of each other. Each Pad has its own individual channel where you can set its Level, Pan, FX Channel, FX Send and Physical Output. If the selection for your Output and FX Channel is set to ML, then your Pad Channel will adhere to the Multi that your Drum Program is in.

Sometimes referred to as Keygroup Instruments, the Keygroup Program Editor is the keyboard version of the Drum Program Editor, and if you're not familiar with the Drum Program Editor, then the Drum Program Editor is the Drum Kit version of the Keygroup Program Editor, cross-eyed yet?! ..regardless, one has the iconic 16 Pads, the other has a keyboard you can allocate Samples across. Make Keyboard splits and do all kinds of cool stuff.

If you've got a Z4 or Z8 Sampler, then you're probably going to be right at home using this, along with the File Browser. Layer up to 4 Samples into Zones per Keygroup and then you've got up to 128 Keygroups to spend your memory on.

Loads of possibilities there for you to make complex synth or string instruments, multi-sample your favourite analog synth! Then, to make light work of all that, you can piece it together using the Keygroup Editor. More on how to do that will follow shortly in a video from Tonelab.

The Part Mixer is where you mix down the various Programs that are allocated to Parts within your Multi. Similar to the Pad Mixer, the Part Mixer has a broader reach with some additional features. Unlike the Pad Mixer, you can select a Part Channel and press M on your keyboard to Mute the channel, or S for Solo which will Mute all other channels instantaneously.

The Group buttons, numbered 1 ~ 8, down the left-side of each channel strip are used to bind any number of channels together. Doing this, allows you to then make changes to any member of the group and all other channel members will adhere to and follow.

This is a comprehensive File Browser that provides a method to transfer one, or many, Files or Folders between your Computer and your MPC4000. There's also a Select-ALL option which allows you to backup the contents of your MPC4000 and Z-Series Internal Hard-Drive.

Copy files to, and from, mounted USB Drives as well as copy files from a CD-ROM. The only thing that can get a little tricky, at first, is navigating certain folders on your Computer. Why is that?! well, simply put, there is strict-access via your Browser and folder locations on Computer's system drive.

But, as long as you know that, then you can work 'within' the accessible folders that you do have access to.

The easiest way to circumvent the restrictions is to choose one of the familiar system drives that your computer sets up on installation, these are drive locations like Downloads, Documents & Desktop.

Select one of those and choose the 'Add Folder' option. Create a Folder within those already existing system Drive locations and you're more or less on your way to transferring files. Your MPC will happily trade files to and from that location and you can easily find that location, on your Computer, from a File Explorer (Windows) or Finder Window (Mac) fairly easily.

But if you're, only ever, sending Samples into your MPC4000 from your Computer, then the quickest way to do that is quite literally Drag & Drop WAV files onto the Drum Program Editor Pads.

Now, you can Play previews of WAV audio files directly off your Computer and Akai Sampler attached media. Audio files up to 5Mb qualify for Play preview. Select a WAV file, then press Space-Bar on your keyboard to toggle Play / Stop. Select an audio file, then use your computer up & down arrow keys to browse files in conjunction with the Space-Bar.