In the Pocket (Rhodes and Moog Light Paint) from Ethan Goldhammer on Vimeo.

Fantastic, hip, soulful keys couple with brilliant stop-motion editing, as a Moog and Rhodes keyboard are splashed with light painting, in this new music video from Ethan Goldhammer. (See his blog for more.) It’s the perfect example of how a much-seen technique can retain its novelty when used creatively, especially as the sound itself seems to dance in light-up oscilloscope patterns.

Background:

Original music by Ethan Goldhammer and S. Burke.
Time Lapse footage shot in August 2008 on Block Island, RI.
Stop motion and light paint September 2008 in Cambridge, MA.

The lesson here: gear pr0n and special effects work perfectly when they visualize the way we feel about our musical objects and sounds.

Okay, so how did he do it? Ethan responds:

Ableton all the way. Recorded as loops with an [Akai] apc, then arranged later. The secret is also, making the animations, rendering them in [Final Cut Pro] but then WARPING them in ableton to the proper timing and bouncing them back to FCP.

Nicely done. Of course, this is why some audiovisualists have turned to Sony Vegas for Windows – formerly developed by Sonic Foundry, Vegas is actually half audio, half visual software. On the other hand, Live is a comfortable and flexible tool that does many things Vegas can’t.

Ethan also has a beautiful rendering of “Air on a G String,” the second cut from the legendary Switched on Bach. Wendy Carlos, if you’re out there, please don’t stop Ethan; I’d love to see more collaboration instead.

Air on a G String (Oscilliscoped) from Ethan Goldhammer on Vimeo.

Ready for more dynamic control of Ableton Live, on the cheap? My how-to on MIDI Remote Scripting in Ableton Live was just last week, but it has already inspired new scripts for hardware, this time on the Novation Nocturn. (My examples for the tutorial were the Korg nanoPAD and nanoKONTROL.) The Nocturn is also very easy to slip into a backpack or carry-on, and very affordable at US$100-130 street. It just happens to become more valuable with a little user hacking.

Why the Novation Nocturn? After all, Novation touts their own Automap technology for just this purpose. But Novation assumed you only want to use the Nocturn Automap with your plug-ins and not to control Live. Here’s the non-dynamic hack from Novation:

How to control Ableton Live with the Nocturn?

Musician NCKN (”Nicken”) of Aachen, Germany has a better solution. He uses MIDI Remote Scripting to create a downloadable file that will map the Nocturn’s eight knobs to your device racks automatically. If you did pony up for Automap PRO, it’s useful, too, as it allows mapping buttons to Live keystrokes. (Bome MIDI Translator would be another option.)

Complete instructions and a free download at NCKN’s site. Be sure to check out his music, too; there’s some wonderful stuff.

DIY: Automap in Ableton Live with Novation Nocturn

Beautiful ambient-ish tracks with field recordings and acoustic noises blended elegantly into an electronic production:

Back to the controller that has an Ableton logo tattooed on it, we’ve got still more APC40 hacking going on, too. Darren Cowley sends along his Live rig and a video:

APC40 Customization from Darren E Cowley on Vimeo.

The “short” film clocks in at nearly eighteen minutes, but here’s the basic ingredients:

Korg padKONTROL + the free Farmpad customization tool for Mac + Akai APC40 + the mighty, powerful Bome MIDI Translator for more control over events + the now-discontinued Lucifer VST (which I believe has now been replaced with the audio-recording-manipulating Live Sync Recorder.)

There are some really tasty hacks here. Scene launch buttons glitch the sound or impact launch quantization. Controls provide quick access to recording and playing audio loops. Effects are on summed tracks for DJ-style effects manipulation. There are clever tricks for using lights for additional feedback. It’s all proof that no two people really approach Live or even this fairly clearly-mapped hardware in the same way.

Side note: I received a comment from a gentleman who is color blind and therefore can’t see the red/green light feedback on the APC40. Anyone with tips? I don’t think you want to rip out the APC’s lights, for sure. It does really prove that one size can’t possibly fit all in hardware.

Korg’s nano series has been a huge hit. Now it’s Akai’s turn, with their own mini USB pad and keyboard controllers. (Note: given lengthy product turnaround in this industry, these may actually have been designed before the nano – but that’s not as important, ultimately, as which models you like.) The Akai assumes you want something that’s a bit bulkier than the Korg nano line – with, presumably, a payoff in playability.

MusicRadar gets the scoop on the mini models to be announced at Summer NAMM. (Really? People still go to that?) Our friend Ben Rogerson says Akai tells them these are expected Q3 of this year – just in time for back to school. Matrixsynth posted the full press release though we do expect official details Friday.

Update: Akai tells CDM they will make the official announcement on Friday, by which time we’ll have more details to share.

The LPK25 keyboard looks like the biggest competitor here. Korg’s competing nanoKEY sacrifices quite a bit of playability to fit into an ultra-compact space, with an action that — while, incredibly, velocity-sensitive — feels like a laptop keyboard. The LPK25 has some sort of synth action. That ups the weight to “under a pound,” and it remains to be seen whether Akai will match Korg’s unbelievable US$60 street price. But for actually playing a keyboard, the LPK looks like it could be the one to beat – while still fitting on a coach airplane seat tray along with your netbook. And it’s got an arpeggiator, too, not that you really need one with something that only works with software.

The LPD8 is interesting, too, with 8 pads and 8 knobs. But here, to me the Korg may continue to reign supreme. I don’t see scene controls on the Akai LPD8, for one. (I thought the Akai didn’t have scenes, but it looks like program changes 1-4 are that — albeit minus those handy LEDs on the Korg.) Korg’s ultra-light pads — unlike the keyboard — are eminently playable, and feel fantastic. And while the Akai knobs are nice, I imagine I’ll still prefer the hold/flam/roll buttons and X/Y trackpad controller on the Korg. Korg also has some terrific software editing functions. Of course, some people would rather have knobs. That’s why choice is good.

That said, the LPK25 promises to fill a niche I’ve been waiting for someone to fill — a tiny keyboard you can throw in your backpack for programming tunes in a coffee shop.

Stay tuned – I’m finishing up not only a mini (ahem) review of the nanos this week, but also some new templates and scripts that make them easier to use with Ableton Live.

It’s the little things that keep you happy sometimes. The Sunday Soundtrack blog has an interesting idea for tracking work on the MPC — write it down. (I have to say, I miss having paper notes as I did when I was making hard-copy patch diagrams of my Moog and Buchla modular creations in college.) This fellow has a printable template you can use yourself if so inclined – and, of course, it’d work with any 4×4 grid, not just the MPC.

Post:
Music Production on the MPC
Full-sized image for use as a template

Keep anything on paper in the studio yourself – music notation? Lyrics? To-do lists? MIDI maps? Doodles of made-up creatures to keep you company? I’d love to hear how you work.

Previously: A Brief History of the MPC

Out of the box, Akai’s APC40 has some lovely features for plug-and-play control of Ableton Live, with clip triggering, track control, device control, and dedicated buttons for command shortcuts. It also sends and receives standard MIDI messages for every last button and encoder. But what if you still want more? What if you need more controls to do multiple duties, or get bored with simple clip triggering and decide you want additional interaction? Enter the hackers. Already, using MIDI, clever APC40 users are squeezing more function out of this box. And while it isn’t solved yet, there are some clues to the infamous hardware handshake – a System Exclusive string exchanged between the APC and Live that locks certain Live software features to the APC and not to other hardware you might like to use.

Manual MIDI

Before we get too fancy, for power tricks, your first stop should be Akai’s own site:
Tips and Tricks June – APC40

Live allows you to manually override the APC’s dynamic control assignments using the standard MIDI Map. Let’s say you don’t use headphones for cueing. You can select the MIDI Map, pick a control to which you want the Cue Level encoder to be assigned, and you’ll manually assign just that control – the rest of the dynamic template remains in place. Akai has some tips for scrolling through scenes, selecting scenes with one of the two footswitch jacks on the back of the unit, scrubbing and nudging clips, fine-tuning tempo control, and more.

monome Emulation for APC40 and Korg padKONTROL

Our friend Michael Hatsis of trackteamaudio has been hard at work in Max/MSP patching an emulator for the creative patches for the open-source monome hardware. (Thanks on Twitter to ruaridhTVO, too.) By translating from the (and, cough, superior) OpenSoundControl messages the monome supports natively to MIDI, the emulator supports not only the APC but Korg’s padKONTROL, as well. This opens up the use of the APC for creative microsampling and other tasks.

Video demo at top (updated late Sunday night, so if you saw this over the weekend, here’s a tighter version).

Direct download:
http://www.warperparty.com/datter/Monomulator0.9.zip

Forum discussion:
http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=117307&start=0

And be sure to check out the Java- and Python-powered open-source library for the monome on which Michael’s work is based:
net.loadbang.shado

You’ll find plenty of documentation in Michael’s download, and the hope is that this is just the beginning — you Max patchers out there (and Pd, if we can port this) can keep hacking on it and try out some new ideas. One reason you might want to keep hacking on the padKONTROL is that you could find uses for velocity – unlike the monome and APC, Korg’s 4×4 drum pads are velocity sensitive.

APC40 Customization, Performance Tweaks

This is the best video I’ve seen yet with the APC40. The APC itself is strikingly limited for a MIDI device, without even basic abilities like preset switching or the ability to change default MIDI assignments. But because it’s connected to a computer, if you’ve got some MIDI programming skills and time on your hands, you don’t have to stop there. Stray411, the creator of the brilliant nativeKONTROL software for the padKONTROL, Korg nano series, and Akai MPD32 has turned his MIDI hacking superpowers to the APC.

First, he demos the manual remapping technique. But from 1:38 onward, he remaps and reroutes messages via Bome’s MIDI Translator, commercial Windows (and now Mac) software for more sophisticated mapping of MIDI messages. This allows him to create his own dynamic template for control that applies more functionality to the onboard hardware controls on the APC.

I’m not even sure you’ll want to do this – it can make for a more complex control scheme – but it’s impressive just seeing the ideas out there.

Note that this sort of thing should also be possible via any software that does MIDI input and output, including the free Pure Data (Pd) patching environment and Max for Live when it ships in the fall. (I’m not entirely sure how intercepting MIDI with Max for Live will work, though, especially with the hardware handshake to contend with… more on that in a moment.)

Korg fans (and Akai MPD owners), be sure to check out:
http://www.nativekontrol.com/
And see the nativeKONTROL videos:
nativeKONTROL YouTube Playlist

…and really, that deserves a separate post.

MIDI for Lights

Akai left out the MIDI Implementation that’s traditionally included with MIDI hardware (cough), but it does use standard MIDI messages both for outgoing control data (when you move an encoder or press a button) and incoming messages (like Live switching a light from off to amber to green).

I’m going to publish the Missing MIDI Implementation later this week here on CDM, but to get you started, Danny P on the Cycling ‘74 forum has deciphered the toughest part – the messages that light up the clips:

Midi confusion with APC40

And even better, CerebralNektar (of the nativeKONTROL) project has already built a full-blown Max/MSP template for the clip grid:

OK, let’s hack the APC

The Hardware Handshake: First Clues

Ableton has worked with Akai to add a specialized MIDI implementation to Ableton Live, using a set of System Exclusive messages to prevent the hacker community from emulating certain APC features in other hardware. Specifically, this includes several abilities:

• Using bank buttons to trigger different sets of clips in a larger set, without running out of MIDI messages to do so
• Providing a red rectangle overlay to show which 8×5 (40 clip) array is selected in Live
• Sending MIDI messages for clip status back to the hardware (thus lighting up the lights)

Now, granted, as implemented this functionality may be of limited to use to hardware that isn’t the APC40 – particularly because it’s hard coded for an 8×5 grid of buttons, which is a non-standard size. But having talked even to some passionate fans of the APC, I know it’s bothering a lot of people. I think there are several reasons why.

In short, it’s the first time I know of that standard MIDI messages were used not for the purpose of interoperability, but to actually prevent you from using your own hardware. The APC itself won’t work properly with Live if this string is interrupted (and you’ll see complaints on the user forum in which people are having related problems). Also, while the functionality here is hard-coded to the 8×5 array on the APC, that raises another question – why not make a generic implementation for other hardware? Why not a rectangle that shows a 4 x 4 grid for hardware like the Akai MPD series, Native Instruments’ Maschine controller, and the popular Korg padKONTROL and M-Audio Trigger Finger?

In the meantime, cracking the handshake could be useful for owners of the monome or upcoming Ohm64, even with their 8×8 grid – you can use the last three rows for shortcuts.

Michael Hatsis writes (consistent with what I saw running MIDI through MIDI-OX):

from what I can see both the APC’s 2nd string and Live’s 3rd string have 24 bytes, both with bytes 8-23 different each time
- There’s your handshake…

I have set up two max patches that parse and output the SYSEX sent by both the APC and Live. the one called handshake only outputs the unique bytes for both the APC and Live to the Max window. There are more details inside.

Have a download, folks – this gives you some of the MIDI to look at even if you don’t have an APC40:
http://warperparty.com/data/handshooken.zip

I couldn’t figure out what the algorithm was, but then, I’m not terribly good at that sort of thing. So we’ll be interested to see if anyone else can sort it out.

By the way, this is sent in the clear as MIDI messages. There’s no real reverse engineering here. It’d be like printing the secret password for your speakeasy on a billboard at a rush-hour bottleneck on the 101 highway. Nor is there any kind of theft involved. These are capabilities built into Ableton Live, which Ableton has effectively blocked from use with this System Exclusive communication.

In a matter of days since the hardware shipped, the APC40 user community has already done some incredible work. This to me makes a powerful argument for openness – and it says that the same community could do even more if hardware and software used more intelligent communication schemes like OpenSoundControl instead of being locked to the limitations of MIDI.

A Video to Close us Out

To close, here’s a reminder that part of why we expend this much energy on controllers is to make them personal instruments for ourselves. Here’s a YouTube demo that shows people can make the APC, well … shake.

I really have no words for this one, other than there’s a hilarious APC40 meme happening on the Ableton forums. Is it love? Disdain? The APC as the new “All Your Base” for the Live warping set? Does it really matter?

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=116396

It’s good to know that, even as Ableton Live use has spread, us computer music folk are really not normal.

Via Tara Busch on Twitter of AnalogSuicide.

Warp: Engage

The new Warp Mode in Live may actually be friendlier to new users; it’s existing users, accustomed to the previous way of working, who seem thrown for a loop. (Erm… excuse the pun.) I’m at a bit of a disadvantage myself in that I tend not to do a lot of warping/remixing. But Medway Studios has a set of tutorials specifically geared for people wanting some tips on how to assimilate the new working method:

Part 2:

Our friend Dennis DeSantis of Ableton offers his own take in a video shot at NYC-based music tech learning center dubSpot. This is a pretty good conceptual overview of what the whole thing is about.

Basically, what I’m hearing is that people used to previous versions of Warp Markers, while they find it confusing at first, do like the new system once they understand how it works.

Controllerism

Mark Mosher has been doing fantastic tutorials on his site Modulate This. For one thing, he’s got tips for getting Wacom tablets to work in Live 8 and finally getting text entry support, which means Kore works properly in Live at long last (among others).

Best of all, he has a tutorial that demonstrates how he’s putting together all his controllers – the Notation ReMOTE SL with Automap and the Akai APC40 – and making them function more effectively using some subtle controller changes in Live 8.

What’s interesting to me is that this isn’t so much about unique, proprietary stuff added to the APC integration, but basic feature improvements in Live itself, which could help you be more effective with other controllers, as well. That’s the kind of functionality I like to see, because it helps everyone.

All of this is great, but we are getting a little heavy on the Ableton-only video tutorials. It’s time to pick up the screencasting tools and demonstrate other tools, too. I’ve got some time blocked out this summer for the task. Requests?

Not a whole lot to see in this very first video, but it does give you a feel for what the hardware itself is like.  Update: AKAI requested that the first video in this story be removed by its author on Vimeo, so we no longer have a video to embed.

The integration between software and hardware we should see revealed more over the coming weeks. I’m hoping to get my hands on one myself in the near future; I haven’t yet.

Of course, the APC isn’t alone. I’m still eagerly awaiting the Ohm64 from Livid, a beautiful controller with a wooden body, made with care in the US. Unlike the APC, the Ohm has a customizable MIDI response — the way the hardware itself responds is programmable. And, of course, there’s still the classic monome (site | cdm tag), open source hardware with an elegant minimalist design. Custom Max control patches have made the monome a favorite, especially for those with the chops to not only use the community-made patches, but build their own – by coincidence, the monome folks just posted a link to a library of Max monome objects. For both the Ohm and monome, it’ll be easier and more powerful to integrate Max objects with Live when Max for Live ships later this year. Even the APC will get its own custom patches. And, as Hédi points out, there’s also the elegant, compact, solidly-built Faderfox, which could also get a new lease on life with Max patching.

The upshot of all of this: even if people are using the same controller, they won’t necessarily use it the same way, which is how it should be. Stay tuned.

Update: this just in – a second video of the APC, this one sent to us by our friend Stephan Vankov (tetmusic.com). We’ve seen Stephan before, tearing up a wild audiovisual remix of The Karate Kid with the crew at the CDM NAMM party last year. It’s nice to see the APC out of the trade show floors, naturally.

I can’t say this was a mind-blowing week by any stretch – I’ve been perfectly happy to stay here in New York, thanks. (Germany, may I ask, why is that you don’t hold events in Berlin?) But there is some news, so let’s have a look:

Dark Energy is a standalone analog synth from Doepfer. For those of us who have looked enviously at big Doepfer racks, but couldn’t afford / find space for / lift them, this is huge news. It’s a monophonic, standalone synth with USB and MIDI (and, naturally, control voltage), weighing just over a kilogram. Once you get beyond the MIDI interface, everything is analog. VCO (triangle-based, FM, PWM control), VCF (24 dB low pass) with external audio input, VCA, LFO1 and LFO2, ADSR. It’s basically a standalone version of the A-111-5 module. As such, it’s a bit limited compared to what’s out there, but there’s still a lot you can do with it, and at EUR400 it’s a Doepfer you can more easily afford.

Dark Energy Product Page

I actually wish they hadn’t used the vintage-style look, because I like the distinctive, Cyberman-silver look of the Doepfer racks. (Maybe a Light Energy version for those who agree?) But that doesn’t make your credit card any less safe from this drool-inducing monster.

The Miniak is a new synth from Akai that crosses the Alesis Micron synth with an Akai body, adding a boom mic and a 40-band vocoder. There are also some Akai-style features – step and phrase sequencing, and a drum machine/rhythm sequencer. There’s no question this is an attempt by Akai to position the Miniak opposite Korg’s microKORG XL and R3 – and, perhaps, an acknowledgement that the “Alesis” nameplate doesn’t mean much to anyone these days. But given the fact that a lot of people like the sound of the Micron better than the Korg, I think it could be a contender. No pricing yet.

Akai Miniak

In other, if less earth-shaking, Akai news, Akai has added an 88-key MPK, their controllers with MPC pads on them. It also includes MPC Note Repeat and Swing. That’s cool, but for 88-key keyboards, action is everything, so I wonder how the quality may be. I haven’t been blown away with Akai on build quality lately. (As an aside, I think these are all variable — some people love them. You tend to hear positive and negative comments about any lower-cost items. I guess part of my concern is I don’t have much experience with 88-key keybeds from Akai or Alesis, so we’ll see what they use and judge then.) The MPK88 also suffers from the same thing I complained about on the Novation SL: the control layout is exactly the same to save cost, even with the added keys, so you get this oddly-cramped control layout in the center and then big blank spaces on either side. Then again, you have a place to store sheet music, sandwiches, etc.

There’s also the rather sad-looking MPD18, which is a 4×4 MPC pad controller with just one fader. I think most people would rather have the MPD24 or MPD32 which actually have other controls on them.

So, in other words, Akai’s APC40 Ableton controller from NAMM and the Miniak from this show are likely to be the big newsmakers.

Samplitude 11 / Sequoia 11: The beloved (if not terribly widely-known) audio software from Magix is getting a pretty significant update – and best of all, Magix is dropping the dongle in the basic version. (See KVR for some heated debate about the value proposition there.) Samplitude has a new integrated UI, a new effects suite, “artifact-free” timestretching, and a new EQ. Sequoia adds “multisynchronous cut” for easier comparison of takes and visual feedback when timestretching, AAF/OMF support, video export, and new user admin features. There’s also a new guitar amp simulation, though I’m unclear why the world needs another of those. Sadly, details are scant right now and someone had the terrible idea of spending time instead of Flash animations of bird woodcuts (see my caption for the image above), but go enjoy:

Samplitude

I love OpenLabs, in that they seem – kind of crazy. DBeat is the latest in their line of massive hardware-computer hybrids. Interestingly, their capacitive touch screen will be multi-touch capable with Windows 7, which is very cool. Otherwise, well, everything you could put on this, they did – that is indeed an iPod dock on the top and a trackball on the bottom right. It comes preconfigured with Ableton Live and their own Riff virtual instrument host, plus GURU running inside Riff.

DBeat [Open Labs]

What you get is an integrated hardware interface and pre-tuned software configuration – though I do wonder how you get inside for repairs / upgrades. It costs US$3999 – 3499 intro – but make one Geico ad and it should pay for itself, as the NeKo did for these guys:

Euphonix with their MC Transport have created what must be acknowledged as the world’s most beautiful jog wheel. It even has a gorgeous Time Code Display, made … well, quite small, apparently because it’s artier? Those are transport buttons, function keys, navigation controls, and of course a numeric keypad, and it all connects via Ethernet – something I’d love to see more of. The controls work with Euphonix’s own EuCon, plus HUI, MackieControl, and plain keystroke support. For those of you who can’t afford an entire Euphonix setup, get the jog wheel!

MC Transport

The surprise news of the store: PreSonus Studio One, a new DAW. Apparently we don’t have enough of those with Samplitude (see above) and Pro Tools and Logic and DP and Cubase and Tracktion and Live and Reaper and Ardour and … so on. As with Mackie’s Tracktion, the goal appears to be to build a new foundation from the ground-up, for easier ease of use and slicker features. But I’m still scratching my head as to what the real advantage is here. The primary selling point is a new audio engine that can switch between 32-bit and 64-bit floating-point audio processing on the fly. (They note “even with a 32-bit OS,” but that’s true of all 64-bit audio; it’s not directly related to the OS.) Other features seem Ableton-influenced – drag-and-drop, instant timestretching and (again, as with Tracktion) a one-window interface. But all in all, this looks like reinventing the wheel to the extreme. (A new virtual sampler!)

One interesting implementation detail: MIDI mapping is designed to be easier, by moving your hardware control and software control for linking. (That’s the way assignment works, for instance, internally in Kore.) And there’s full Mac and Windows audio interface driver and plug-in support, plus even VST3 support.

But if you’re building a new tool in a crowded marketplace, why not do something really different? Why not support OSC or build in clever new networking features or change the interface paradigm? This entire industry sometimes seems addicted to reinventing proprietary tools to create new “platforms,” without any real thought into why we’re doing it. And I personally can’t describe how little I want another DAW. (I could try breaking down and crying, for effect.)

Maybe it’s fantastic. But even if it is, it certainly didn’t take this opportunity to do something radically new.

PreSonus Studio One

And the oddest photo from Messe (snagged for us at CDM):

Messe Picks

These wound up being the biggest stories of the show for us personally – in part, just in terms of what I’m anticipating.

The synth that stole the show without making a sound (meaning, it had better sound great when it ships):

Teenage Engineering OP-1: Insanely Slick, Pocketable Controller + Synth

Operator-1 Details: The Casio VL-Tone of the 21st Century, Plus the Synth Alarm Clock!

High-Density Screens Due; OP-1’s Gorgeous Display

There was one actually-shipping software program that has made a big splash, naturally.

Ableton Live 8 Released (For Real)

A major announcement:

Garritan Rescues Giga Sampling Technology, Talks Open Standards (to me, the biggest news of this show)

Updated Novation ReMOTE SL Line, and the Controller Keyboard Battle Heats Up (cool, though not the “product of the show” Novation hyped it up to be)

Cakewalk V-Studio 100: Mixer + Recorder + Computer Audio Interface + Controller

And no, nothing I covered this week was an April Fool’s Joke. Jeez.

Did I leave anything of import out of this round-up? Let us know!

Disagree with my take? Say so. (That’s why we have open comments.)

Want to load ReCycle REX sample files onto your MPC? Or looking for a better solution for chopping up samples – that is, firing up ReCycle on your screen? Joe Lambert writes in to share his GBP11 Mac utility for the task:

Just a quick note to let you know about a little application I wrote that lets users easily convert chopped Recycle files into Akai MPC program files.

http://apps.steamshift.com/

This essentially allows a producer to chop a breakbeat (or other sample) using their Mac instead of having to use the built-in chopshop and small screen on the sampler itself. It also makes sample CD’s with pre-chopped loops a lot more useful for MPC users.

Unrelated, but he also has a nifty “virtual BCF2000″ utility so you can make use of its control mappings on the road, even when you don’t have the Behringer handy. (Editing in coach class, anyone?)

I’m curious what your REX/MPC workflows are like and if this is helpful.

MPC Forever

I certainly have no doubts that this is relevant to some people. I actually spent a good part of yesterday and today hanging out with MPC creator Roger Linn. Among many other conversations, Roger noted his own bemusement at the ongoing popularity of the original MPCs – to say nothing of the MPC as a category in general. You can buy version 3.10 software for the MPC60 from Roger Linn Design. Tom Oberheim’s SCSI adapter for the MPC also came up. From that site:

NOTE: As of March 1, 2009, Tom Oberheim’s Marion Systems has stopped manufacturing the MPC-SCSI due to diminished demand. However, he’ll make another batch if there is enough demand. If you definitely wish to purchase one at for the former price of $300, email us to let us know and we’ll add your name to a waiting list. When the list grows long enough, Tom will make another batch and we’ll contact you.

Yes, just to be clear, we’re talking the MPC60 and the now-defunct SCSI. (While you’re at it, maybe you’d like a new dust case for your Apple III?) Of course, despite allegations that electronic music tech is easily outmoded or disposable, the MPC is doggedly neither. And while I have no personal need for an MPC60, elegant achievement that it was, I find something comforting in that. So I’ll do my own small part – with apologies to Tom and Roger – to call attention to the thing.

Of course, if you do want something new designed by Roger Linn, the LinnDrum II is planned for release later this year. The moment I can talk more about that, I will.