Akai MPC Tutorial. Make WEAK kicks sound FAT in the MPC Standalone.

[@leogolive]

Man I just wanna say that what you’re doing is really commendable. I feel too many people don’t learn their equipment inside out. They’d be surprised what their equipment can do if they took time to actually learn it. I appreciate your willingness to show how much can actually be done with the MPC.

[@TheCratesMotel]

Exactly. We live in a world where people want instant fixes or one button does everything. Where is the fun in that. Surely it’s more satisfying to really really learn your instrument. Thanks for your kind words and thank you for watching.

[@JayFingers]

This is EXACTLY the video I’ve been looking for. I feel like other videos on this topic are either trying to steer me toward using MPC software (which kinda defeats the purpose of using a standalone machine) or are inexplicably vague, so I truly appreciate what you’ve done here. Thanks so much for sharing this. 🙏🏾

[@TheCratesMotel]

You’re welcome dude. I’m always happy to help and inspire. Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment.

[@SPL_MTD]

If your drums sound weak you can also try to use SoftClipper in Program Edit Drum FX section.

[@TheCratesMotel]

Yes dude, exactly. I’ve actually made a video about the extra 8 FX you get in drum FX.

[@maschinelab8598]

This is gold!!

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thanks dude and thank you for watching

[@BareRareBeats]

Boooooooooom!! Thank you

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thanks for watching dude

[@philrodgers2167]

A helpful refresher! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thanks for watching dude 🙏🏼

[@ja_da_li]

Thanks! Love using simult play and in amp env using decay from start, rolling the attack forward on one kick and the decay back on the other with shapes at 0

[@TheCratesMotel]

That’s a great tip. Thanks for sharing.

[@Reggi_Sample]

1 More little piece of advice - Check on headphones or good monitors before EQing your kicks or you will overcompensate those sub frequencies! Great video Conan

[@TheCratesMotel]

Definitely. In most circumstances it’s better to check your subs on a good pair of cans. Unless your room is really well treated, you’re going to be in a world of pain.

[@Noise-Conductor]

You use the old high pass filter trick to boost the kick by turn the resonance way up sweeping the cutoff until you hear it & trust me you'll hear it. You can use Simultaneous Play to trigger its own pad on each pad layer, so that's like play the same kick 5x. Though once is enough.

[@Bigguccibeats]

I NEEDED THIS CHANNEL IN MY LIVE THANK YOU

[@TheCratesMotel]

Ah thanks man, and thank you for watching. I am glad there is something here for you.

[@pelvinsjamz]

Thanks 🙏 again my new favourite go to . Top work

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thank you for watching dude

[@W6rr10r21]

Another great one! Keep them coming Conan!

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thanks for the support brother

[@DJdariocaminita]

Another great video bro ❤

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thanks Dario

[@rebelkleff6250]

these videos are excellent. A huge help for starters and even experienced MPC users myself. I have another tip, I don't know what firmware you are on but in 2.10 they added a drum fx tab in program edit with some simple but effective one knob effects (bass boost, soft clip etc) When these are dialled in a little can definitely help enhance kicks too :)

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thank you for your kind words and thank you for watching. Yes I actually mention the Drum FX in the video (I think in the Layering Section of the video). They are very handy. I use the bitcrusher a lot on drum sounds.

[@niklassilen4313]

We really need a simple polarity switch. Offset is sometimes a good workaround but its mind boggling that there is no polarity flip.

[@TheCratesMotel]

Yes I mention this. It makes no sense, especially as the MPC workflow encourages layering samples. They’re literally saying “Hi. Please feel free to introduce phasing issues” lol

[@niklassilen4313]

@@TheCratesMotel I've been sending them this as a feature request wish at least 3 times per year, ever since the Mpc live mk1 was released (bought mine within a month of release). I don't care where the polarity flip is, it could be simple sample editing offline processing thing where fades etc are found. Nicest would be to have a simple button right next to the offset slider for each layer.. but yeah. Maybe if a high profile user like you would request it we could finally have it available some day.

[@TheCratesMotel]

@@niklassilen4313 I will definitely request it, but I imagine it’s not a priority for them lol.

[@niklassilen4313]

@@TheCratesMotel Indeed. It's a single line of code but perhaps fitting it into to UI is what makes it a bit more work.

[@thundersnow819]

Can we get a high hat video?

[@TheCratesMotel]

I’ll add that to the list brother. Good shout. Thank you for watching.

[@thundersnow819]

WORD

[@TheCratesMotel]

My favorite comment. Thanks mate.

[@manatee_flips6811]

Best takeaway, “Use Your Ears” don’t use your eyes.

[@TheCratesMotel]

I think it is one of the main reasons I went back to writing in the MPC. There are less visual distractions. Thanks for watching.