User Manual

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Program
A
program is a file that contains a list of all samples to be used, and settings for each sample
(e.g., pad assignments, loop points, pitch tuning, effects, etc.) Program Edit Mode is where
you can edit and assign samples (read more about this in Operation > Modes > Program
E
dit Mode). You can have a total of 128 programs in a project.
There are three kinds of programs that use samples for their sound source. Drum programs
are mostly used for creating drum programs and easy and quick assigning of samples to a
pad. With keygroup programs, you can use one sample (or more) and spread it across two or
more keys and play the sample chromatically over a keyboard. That way, there is no need to
sample every key of, for instance, a piano. Clip programs use several samples that can be
looped (clips), each of which can assigned to a pad; launching different combinations of clips
together lets you create intriguing, layered performances.
Program Change These are MIDI messages that select sound programs. Programs 1–128 can be changed via
program change messages.
Release
A
n envelope parameter. This term describes the descent rate of an envelope to its minimum
value after a trigger is terminated. The release phase begins immediately after the trigger is
terminated, regardless of the envelope’s current status. For instance, the release phase may
be initiated during the attack phase.
Resonance Resonance or emphasis is an important filte
r
parameter. It emphasizes the frequencies around
the filter cutoff frequency by amplifing them with a narrow bandwidth. This is one of the most
popular methods of manipulating sounds. If you increase the emphasis to a level where the
filter enters a state of self-oscillation, it will generate a relatively pure sine waveform.
Root Key
The root key defines the original pitch of a recorded instrument or of a sample. Samples in
MPC contain the dedicated root key information. This information will be created
automatically during recording or importing.
Sample
When you tap the pads on your MPC hardware, you can trigger sounds that we call
samples. Samples are digitized snippets of audio that can be recorded using the recording
(sampling) function of your MPC hardware or loaded from the Browser.
You can edit and process a sample in different ways. For example, a sample can be
trimmed, looped, pitch-shifted or processed, using various effects. When you have finished
editing your sample, you can assign it to one or more drum pads to play it. Samples can be
either mono or stereo.
Sample Rate
This is the frequency representing the amount of individual digital sample scans per second
that are taken to capture an analog siginal digitally. For normal CD audio recordings, 44100
samples per second are used, also written as 44.1 kHz.
You can export audio using sampling rates up to 96 kHz (see Operation > General Features
> Audio Mixdown) and play audio using 44.1 kHz.
Sequence
A
sequence is the most basic “building block” of music you can create within an MPC
project. MIDI information from your MPC hardware pads, buttons, and Q-Link knobs are
recorded to the tracks of a sequence. Each sequence on your MPC hardware can contain
128 MIDI tracks and 8 audio tracks. Each project can store up to 128 separate sequences.
The length of a sequence can be set from 1 to 999 bars, which would be enough to create an
entire song using only one sequence. However, MPC Live has a dedicated Song Mode that
lets you chain sequences together to create a song.
Song
Song Mode that allows you to arrange different sections (verse, chorus, hook, etc.) in order
to build a song. Each song can have up to 999 “steps” (stages in which a sequence may play
one or more times). Each project can store up to 32 songs.