Akai MPC Key 61 - Linear Multi-Track Song Recording Tutorial

[@marquiselektrek8452]

Finally, someone who still records like I do. Linearly! 👍🏻! Yes, I know that in this world of looped drums and looped music parts, linear recording may seem like a relic from the past. - But for those of us who learned to record our songs in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early to mid 90s, this is exactly how many songs were recorded in studios around the world,...part by part, instrument by instrument, and track by track. So glad that I discovered your channel! 👍🏻

[@INeedsMoneys]

Just to be clear, you was able to put down a masterpiece in a quick video because you are incredibly gifted. For us mortals this would take years to produce. My man 🔥

[@DSoundman]

Haha thanks man!

[@hooyah_whit7054]

Agreed!!! Im one of the mortals in the realm of "flow" creators😁 So I will be hanging out on this channel to hone my skills when I get my Key61!

[@GODInTheWax444]

It takes time and practice. I'm not there yet, but this guys skill level is not un-reachable. You just need to put in the time and effort to learn and get better. I know this is an older comment, but I felt compelled to say that to you. Best of luck to you....

[@Aetek]

Hello, great video. I also come from the DAW. I enjoy seeing how you can produce a song and not just a beat. You did a great job explaining the basics without getting lost in the details. I really appreciate your videos and always learn something. Thank you so much for your effort.

[@DSoundman]

Thank you!

[@thefunkgodeloheem2278]

phenomenal video & a great change of pace from just another beat making video (and all of the spoiled to DAW complaints). I do come from a beat making background & the MPC is and always will be my favorite. I remember that Teddy Riley, Prince and Stevie Wonder could & sometimes would play (Linear as you call it) all the way top to bottom on some of their recordings. Awesome demonstration.

[@MichaelScottGordon]

Appreciate you sharing this very personal song and also the informative nature of the video for those of us deciding on whether to purchase the Akai MPC Keys 61.

[@MrChrisKnight]

The capability of things you can do is absolutely amazing thanks for sharing.

[@marcosmonteiro9746]

Love your videos on the Akai. It flows well and it’s ease to understand. Thanks

[@Timatimati]

WoW ! Amazing vocal 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@darrickkeels6387]

Great job as always!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks Darrick!

[@lynnettewilliams3312]

Great video! I didn’t know this kind of way to use the mpc 61 was called linear. THIS is what I bought the mpc to do, but in other videos I have seen from other musicians, it was more about mixing and that is not how my brain works. I hear it in my head and I need to spit it out all at once. Then go back and add, again, all in one take. THANK YOU! Please do move videos on Linear recording! You have a fan!

[@WilmarBoer]

Nice of you to show that the MPC is not only capable of EDM and R&B! And i like linear recording. This is exactly the kind of video I like to see with a Maschine as the recording device because that's what I'm using.

[@TCordy]

That recording there sounds better than a lot of so called professional recordings with computer daws. Great job 👍

[@istvanzoltankiss]

Like your approach very much! I'm new to the MPC workflow (owning an X), and being just a hobbyist, it was great to see someone doing things a bit differently. Thanks for your effort on this! Hope to see more good ones from you. 🤓👍

[@DSoundman]

Thanks!

[@K24U76]

Thank you for this different workflow, I am not a beat maker myself, I enjoy recording a improv session and I feel this workflow works better for me.

[@manny2092]

That's a really nice song! I dig your voice! Great job sharing a little of yourself while giving us a tutorial!

[@MusicWizard85]

You can absolutely record XYFX or TouchFX! Select the track you want it on. Now hit the eyeball icon. Select "Inserts". Select "Harmonic" and scroll down to either TouchFX or XYFX. So if you pick XYFX the next step is go back to the Main screen, select XY on the bottom left. At the top left of your screen it will say "XYFX Location". Select Program (or main outputs if you want). Touch the green icon at the top right of your screen to change it from "R" for read in green to "W" for write in red. Now overdub record your XYFX and it will be there! You're welcome! ✌️

[@sumyungduhmho5975]

Thank you!

[@mh22xv]

Awesome tutorial!! Nice song! Great Job! Wish Yamaha would implement this kind of workflow and very editable sequencer with a piano roll in their next flagship synth.

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! Yeah, that'd be nice!

[@russellcreek1585]

Would love to see your workflow with the Key 61 your DAW together…meaning how you produce with both together, where you crossover, etc. (with MPC2 plugin). PS. Really appreciate all your vids on the Key 61 (as a recent purchaser, also not from a beat making background).

[@DarminDeflern]

I create many genres on my MPC Live 2. I Use combination of drums, synths, instruments on the midi side. I use the audio for vocals, sometimes guitar and bass. The way I do the songs is create four bar loops for the drums with the same pattern for 3 bars and a variation on the fourth (for a verse for example). I then put down the bass line this can be four or eight bars usually. I build other instruments as needed on top. I will then expand the track to however many bars the need to be in order for the vocals to fit. Then start again on the chorus and so on and so forth. Depending on the song I may need to build drum fills to link the different parts of the song together. I often use track mute to create the intro and outro out of the bridge, verse or chorus (without the vocals obviously).

[@SticksAandstonesBozo]

Why is there not a single video of someone recording instruments or other gear via audio in ?? Come on community. It’s a lot more than just a beat machine.

[@DSoundman]

I agree...a lot more than something to make beats with. I'll add that to my list of videos to make as I think that's a great idea, both from sampling and from recording it as a track.

[@MaxOstrovtheheadyhive]

Right?! It has up to 32 inputs if you daisy chain it! I’m curious if you can record a whole band playing live? I think you can!

[@PianoMan-hx3ev]

Good to see something done with this besides hip hop. I’m SOLD!!! (Wait it’s not in stock at Sweetwater yet...)

[@INeedsMoneys]

A lot of good tips and tricks in this one. Beautiful playing and singing too. My guy is low key microphone god. You should do punk rock music acoustic with only piano. If done right u could blow up BIG TIME. no joke my guy, u got that punk voice and melodies. Incredible stuff my g

[@INeedsMoneys]

Sum41 - Pieces. For inspiration. 💯💯🙏

[@DSoundman]

Thank you for the kind words! Haha I'll check it out! Thanks for the support, I appreciate it!

[@alanking7993]

Cool video, great to see someone add vocals, it’s rare and you did as great job 👏. I have mpc live and love it. The new presets however are extremely slow to load live, mpc 61 has more RAM so I assume it can load quicker on the fly. My Kronos2 doesn’t have such issues. Thanks for your efforts, amazing 👍

[@DSoundman]

Thanks!

[@he-man-music]

Another great tutorial! You make it look so smooth 😬. Request: it would be great if you can speak through how we can use this amazing machine in conjunction with a DAW- Logic or others for ex. Since a lot of us are coming from a DAW environment

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! That's a good suggestion, I'll give that some thought for a future video!

[@he-man-music]

@@DSoundman thank you sir!

[@MaxOstrovtheheadyhive]

I’m also interested! 🖐️

[@amaulen]

Great video! + 1 on the Logic-MPC Keys idea. Also maybe record a guitar.

[@MusicIsleGuy]

Really Enjoy Your Video's !!! Could You Please Make A Video Showing You Taking A Sound From One Of Your Other Keyboards And Sampling It Into The Akai MPC Key 61?

[@billbradleymusic]

Seriously great sounding cheese!

[@kosemoja8348]

It would be nice on each track you can set the base to loop then you can set the other tracks to a longer length

[@playonkorg]

' the girl of my dreams would take the words away from my mind" -------> you've still got the best......music!!

[@k-fountain154]

This video was very informative! It helps out a lot too

[@Kinglex-gg6vb]

Great, great video.👏👏👏

[@keysthomas1966]

Well done, Sir!!

[@johnpaulgard]

Hi there, these videos are great but one simple thing that people aren’t addressing is how do you put in the next part of the song putting an eight ball is fine but you might have a chorus another verse and improvisational bit please someone tell us how to do that at the moment, it’s any good if you wanna record 4 to 8 bars or however many bars you need, but if you need to build a song up nothing out there seems to tell you had to do that

[@ChrisP3000x]

Very cool! Please cover punch-in/out and copy/pasting song parts. 8 plug-in max? Does that mean (for example) after using drums, bass, piano/strings, pad, lead, synth, synth 2 that no more sounds could be added?

[@DSoundman]

I've got those in my list of quick tips to make! 8 plugin programs. So for example, if you had three piano tracks using the same plugin program, that would count as one, but if you have 8 different sounds, that would be the max you could have at a time without bouncing tracks to audio. Drum programs are separate from plugin programs and therefore don't count towards the 8. There are some workarounds to the max of 8 and I'll try to make a video walking through those soon.

[@ChrisP3000x]

@@DSoundman awesome, thanks so much!

[@douglaswaterson7107]

Great job and nicely done in one take. For we mere mortals, can you do stuff like punch in/out if there’s a bad section in the middle of a long linear audio take?

[@mh22xv]

I second that! How to punch in and out also how to use the pads as triggers for patterns (one pad for verse, another for intro or chorus etc) to use for example when playing live and/or making a song.

[@DSoundman]

Haha thanks! You can punch in/punch out, but IMO it's a little clunky compared to say pro tools or some other DAWs out there. I'll put that on my list of quick tip videos to make!

[@wireguy123]

Thanks for the great workflow tutorial DS, Does this unit have drum loops or do I have to "tap" using pads

[@hvhvgitaar]

Thank you. From what I understand of the MPC workflow, it isn’t possible to copy a track from one sequence to another one, so if you use the ”sequence” construct to set out your song structure (intro/verse/chorus/bridge/outdo) , you need to re-record parts that are identical across the song. Of course you could create one “parent” sequence and then copy it a few times but it still feels convoluted and time consuming. I love the concept of the MPC Key but the MPC workflow seems very ill equipped for songwriting. I currently use Maschine and that has such a flexible workflow which makes it easy to lay out a song structure, experiment with it, overlay it with vocal takes across the timeline etc. Maybe I should wait for a “Maschine Key” :-)

[@peterjessop1878]

I understand your point, but copying sequences is easy and in no way convoluted or time consuming. Yes you do have to think in a particular way, but that is true of all workflows. The other option is if the song is complete, just record it as a single sequence so it’s then a completely linear recording, then add other instruments as required. I do this quite regularly as oppose to separate sequences per part.

[@MusicWizard85]

It is absolutely possible to copy a track from one sequence to another! You can use grid view and shift copy, shift paste or from the main screen you can copy events or bars from any sequence or track.

[@hvhvgitaar]

@@MusicWizard85 sure, but that’s just copying the events, not the plug-in you use, its settings, effects etc

[@MusicWizard85]

@@hvhvgitaar If you copy a sequence via the pencil icon it copies everything (plugins, effects etc). There are a lot of good tutorials if you search on KZbin. ✌️

[@lancerben4551]

@@MusicWizard85 yes that works.

[@CRV1958]

I think you do an excellent job of displaying a steady work flow with this instrument. All of your videos are very clear and concise. I personally operate in a DAW and live environment with numerous keyboards and VSTs along with Motu DP DAW. Question for you : If lets say I record a midi track onto the MPC software either in stand alone or in control mode, and while recording make and on the fly patch change from the external midi keyboard and/or sound module which transmits program change data, does the MPC record and play back that Program change data? I have tried this thru my DAW and have found various outcomes. In some cases it records it as a Patch Change... in other cases it records it as a sys ex event. When I take that Midi File and bring it into my K2700...{ Kurzweil} that data does not play back at all, so the patches do not line up. I would need to manually insert those program changes into the K2700 which is time consuming. Can you tell me if the MPC would record that data and save it to play back later within that sequence file? Either way, thank you for your videos and the effort employed to make them. Time consuming for sure but much appreciated. Thanks

[@JessieThorne886]

Great song and tutorial. ❤ But you recorded every Instrument in one long take; is it possible to record the verse as one part, the chorus as another, so that you can re-use, say, the instrumental tracks for a second verse, etc?

[@cesarenriqueherviasmartine9244]

Hola, gran video y excelente voz... me gustaría saber cuantas pistas midi es posible grabar, cuántas canciones y qué capacidad de memoria tiene para cada canción, felicitaciones por el video y mucho éxito.

[@charlesmusicprojects6800]

great video tutorial

[@scott-bh5gi]

Fabulous video and fabulous music! My question(s) involve volume. (1) Can I make a track louder or soften? Say I recorded a voice track but want the voice to be louder, can I do that and if so, how? (2) Can I vary the volume of a track within a song. I.e., make the background voices softer when I'm singing, but louder when I'm not? Thanks again.

[@DSoundman]

Thanks! You can either adjust the volume of your track, or add a compressor to the insert effects and leverage that. For your second question, you can record the automation (changes to volume and other parameters) onto your track, so turn automation record on, overdub your track, and adjust the volume to your hearts desire. Make sure to turn automation record off after you're done. Hope that helps!

[@DJCoolHandRoo9871]

Can you create chord progressions from a record sample. Basically assign a chop to the keys, rather than the pads and get all the variations of notes from the sample. Not from the library/sound kits included with the machine, just from record samples. I have yet to see anyone do this. I'm on the fence with buying this machine. And I'm still in the dark, as to whether or not this is possible.

[@andyhoss21]

Great video!

[@user-qr8qn5ux2q]

Your voice style reminds me of Ben folds!

[@progwaver]

One thing I ask myself now was, if you have one sequence doing recording on tempo 90 for example, it is as I know not possible to change the tempo in the linear time like it is possible in Ableton for example. But if i would take now a second sequence doing that in 120 and maybe a third doing in 150, its then possible to arrange these sequences like first second first second third first second third ?? Like a combination of seperate linear recordings for verse, refrain, break, solo, etc but arrange them then later how they are played back. Also interessting in a live performance where you could change then that only play verse and refrain once for example. If I have right understand the koncept that should be possible and then also to have finally each sequence with its own tempo adjust ? I am yet quite new in the MPC Key and I am really blown away by its possibillities, but the some things I yet still have to learn.

[@Dibdibber]

Thanks :) What about punch in an out on a midi track and also audio tracks. Basically how does the a linear workflow work with overdubs, layers etc....

[@pierrefitch]

You connected that mic into your MPC key 61 - what microphone you using with MPC key 61 thank you much appreciated

[@nicholasbrudnicki7097]

Love this! One question…how do you trim the number of bars once you have finished adding all your tracks? Thanks.

[@wdbearfan]

thank you! subscribed!

[@_thevaporz]

Now that the MPC X SE dropped the Key 61 is the move at new price $1,500. There is nothing the SE has worth an extra grand. Guitar Center put me over the edge w $150 rewards credit and 48mos zero interest financing $32/mo (offer good 'til 5/3/2023). And I'll use rewards credit on a stand/bench/sustain pedal set up or other accessories. I have a feeling Akai is not done yet this year and will drop another unit this summer (maybe Force II).

[@MikeSteinSeaTac]

Hi again, you're fantastic and thank you for these brilliant videos. I'd like to know how you would get to the start of the 27th bar to continue recording the song?

[@MusicWizard85]

On the Main screen go to Grid View (the # symbol on the left). He goes there at about 7:38 in the video. Then use your 2nd Qlink knob from the top to adjust the playhead until you get to the 27th bar.

[@MikeSteinSeaTac]

@@MusicWizard85 Thank you ! ! ! !

[@jomarcanales]

How do you records vocals on top of over 13 sequences that are part of a full length song? I get what you do but that only applies to one sequence and for whatever length the bars loop are for but if I attempt to record vocals due to my structure of 13 sequence im unable to layer vocals on across those 13 sequences. Is there away to get this done? Im I making sense?

[@rogercravero4995]

Thanks. The brozic

[@paulleighton9568]

So would you be able to forward to the end of the verse and then record the chorus? For me when I am writing a song its not always flushed out and i create it a section at a time.

[@FA-Q]

You can resample the main outs and record any automations...

[@DSoundman]

Good idea! I’ll have to try that!

[@andrewwatts1602]

I accidentally created way too many “(unused)” tracks or whatever they are. they could be anything I guess but, I have to scroll all the way through them to get to my audio track. This may be an easy fix but, I have yet to discover how. Please help me erase them if you have the time. Thank you

[@narfsounds]

Hi, thanks for the tutorial. Just wanted to find out how you would copy or repeat measures of multiple tracks. Normally when recording in a linear fashion, I would record verse 1 and chorus 1 then repeat those measures to create verse 2 and Chorus 2. Then would probably insert a bridge, copy the chorus to the end, and have it repeated twice. How would you do this on the MPC?

[@he-man-music]

For that you have the Sequences. You copy the sequence and add/ delete tracks and create a new section

[@DSoundman]

Yes exactly, you could split the song up into different sequences and then string them together. Another option that I would do if working with a DAW like Pro Tools is to re-use good takes in other parts of the song. For example, I put down a killer pluck riff that I want to re-use in other parts of the song. In this instance, you'd still be in one sequence, but you could go to the edit screen, select the portion of the track you want to re-use, copy, and paste to where you want it. Definitely possible, but I find that doing it on a touch screen is sometimes not as pin point accurate as I can do with a mouse on the computer! :-)

[@pierrepomerol9375]

Thank you!!!

[@MikeSteinSeaTac]

Hi all... I'm recording Billy Jean. On sequence 1 I have all my instruments and the loop is off. On sequence 2 I have only a 4 bar beat with the loop on. I can't seem to play sequence 2 while recording sequence 1. I hope that makes sense. H E L P !

[@MusicWizard85]

You can only record on whichever sequence is currently selected. It makes no sense for sequence 2 to be playing if you're recording sequence 1. There are lots of MPC tutorials on KZbin. It took me a good month of watching videos before I got the hang of it.

[@MikeSteinSeaTac]

@@MusicWizard85 Thanks man, I've been watching KZbin videos till my eyes are watering LOL

[@MikeSteinSeaTac]

@@MusicWizard85 Playback of what's been recorded while laying down more sounds doesn't make sense? I must be missing something here... in fact I'm sure I am lol.

[@MusicWizard85]

@@MikeSteinSeaTac I still watch YT vids about MPC and I'm still learning new things sometimes! 😄 We all start somewhere. You stated "I can't seem to play sequence 2 while recording sequence 1". Usually sequences are re-named in order: sequence 1 = Intro, sequence 2 = verse, sequence 3 = pre-chorus, sequence 4 = chorus, etc... So why would you be playing back verse 1 ("sequence 2") while recording the intro ("sequence 1")?? 🤔 Have you considered multi-track recording in a linear way, everything in 1 sequence? There are few videos about it but it's 100% possible! Check out this video and see if that helps. kzbin.info/www/bejne/inXadIFqnJyqadU Keep in mind there's no right or wrong way to use your MPC. Keep watching tutorials and lessons, especially from the past year since they're more likely to have more up to date firmware. I suggest checking out channels such as the guy I linked you above, DSoundman, Create Educate Inspire, Poli Popo, Ave Mccree, and others. Look through their channel playlists and videos for MPC lessons. KZbin has a ton of information on MPCs. ✌️

[@quimzealex9629]

Great video! Thanks What the max. length to audio track(Mb)?

[@LeighWilbraham]

Does it have autotune feature for vocals?

[@worldofchando8463]

I named the Sequence "Demosong", but when I named the track "Piano", it changed the Sequence "Demosong" to Piano! It this normal? I don't see that happening on your Akai MPC Key 61! Could you please help me out with this? Thank you! I'm new to the keyboard

[@jacquesmertens3369]

It doesn't come with 88 weighted keys. It doesn't come with Midi 2.0. No XLR outputs. What were they thinking at Akai ? If this is supposed to be a professional instrument they'd better step it up a notch.

[@Rishat23]

Watched almost all your Key 61 videos.. Wish I could write Key 88.. Which microphone are you using? Can you please mention the model number? Thanks a bunch!! ❤

[@frankr7239]

Great

[@dhwani74]

I am from India. I couldn't find a dealer yet. So can anyone tell me how can i buy it?!

[@dmitriysoldsarg2526]

No upbeat on it? I need it for looping.

[@KirklandWilliamsWorkout3000]

Nice

[@chrissneider7550]

Douglas how many tracks can be recorded and played simultaneously ??

[@randymalone1749]

Douglas - have you done anything with FS2 or the Expression pedal inputs? There doesn't seem to be any documentation for those, and I'd like to set FS2 for sostenuto and Expression for output volume (or other things if possible).

[@DSoundman]

I tried a little and it seemed buggy, so I was either doing something wrong or there are some things they still need to smooth out. I'll be doing some testing soon and making a quick tips video for using them.

[@randymalone1749]

@@DSoundman Thanks!

[@randymalone1749]

I found, under Keyboard Control, where to assign the controller for FS2 and Expression,. Haven''t tried expression yet, but I set FS2 to CC66 Sostenuto, but it's not holding. If I set it to Sustain (CC64) it works fine.

[@randymalone1749]

Update - Expression pedal works well. tested for Volume and Modulation (leslie speed on organ). As for Sostenuto, the pedal sends through Midi to other synths; I looked in Edit for various plugins and can't find anything that 'turns on' CC66 per plugin. No reply to my ticket with support either. Thanks

[@popwa6977]

HELLO you look like "phil collins" 🤠

[@DSoundman]

Haha thanks!

[@popwa6977]

@@DSoundman 👍😉

[@bakerman3039]

this is so ridiculous. Because he uses 1 sequence for the whole song, he has to record the drums in real time. He can't make a sequence into this sequence to make the drums loop. This is like 4 track recording in the seventies. Also the audio recording: He can't move a bit of audio when he missed the beat. There is only one big audiofile. Everyone should realize that the MPC has no arranger view. You must break your song down in short sequences.

[@Blaalys]

You can choose parts of The sequence and turn on loop of The track you record.. this allows The overdub function…

[@tobybaker5187]

Real shame that this keyboard has the most horrible feel for proper players.

[@Google_Was_My_Idea_nr.1]

Good effort, appreciate your inputs!! (Please don't sing, play the bass and drum anymore on YT, practice these parts first)

[@MegaTechnoteacher]

Enough already with the hands

[@keysthomas1966]

Well done, Sir!!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks!