Equalibrum - Akai MPD32 Live Beat - Live Looping

Buy the Akai MPD32 here: goo.gl/eVUQhX
Also, check out these other models.
Akai MPD26: goo.gl/k1ax3V
Newest Second Generation MPD pad controllers
Akai MPD226: goo.gl/k1ax3V
Akai MPD232: goo.gl/R28zBS
Twitter: @equalibrum | Facebook: tinyurl.com/454xdra
Also check this Vid of me messing around: • Equalibrum - Drums, Ba...
Ignore the song itself. It more of a demonstration of the live looping technique I figured out. My music sounds nothing like this. Go to my channel to peep the actual music I produce.
Using two pads to loop what I'm playing on the fly. Then overdubbing top of it. creating new loops over those. its free form. Any tempo. No midi clock. Like guitar pedal accept im using samples looping with two of the pads instead pedal. Pretty cool. Took me year figure out how do this. Not Able live. Its FL Studio a VST called "mobius"

[@therockbrigade]

i remember this from 10-11 years ago i was amazed this was so dope i still think it is today and it's 2019

[@XalenMaru]

Same. Was looking thru my older saved vids and came across Equali's stuff. Used to have an Akai MPD and FL Studio. Good times.

[@magnificentreality100]

Brah Time Management by this guy has been my shit for well over a decade! Hell yea.

[@shotzfire]

I'm sure you've heard this already but would you be able to make a video on how to sample, creating your drums the works like a complete beginner to expert package i'd buy it. BTW this was dope

[@imaginexist]

glad to see you 10 years later, after seeing your time management beats and then discovering you with intuition, you're one of my favorite producers forsure

[@Equalibeats]

thanks! thats crazy thats so long ago. My bad haha. Im going try to be more active here.

[@imaginexist]

@@Equalibeats would love to hear new stuff! 🤘🏼

[@eSSentialplaysYT]

To be honest, you, Damu the Fudgemunk and Beardyman are taking electronically designed music, presentation and production to a whole new level. Big up!

[@Equalibeats]

i made tutorial. there is another free VST you need called "midi2qwerty" its HARD to find. I have it included in the template and tutorial tho. Its honestly easier to jsut use my template. It will save ALOT of time. This shit took me over a year to dream up and get to work. I do not wish that upon anyone. It was a pain in the ass.

[@muchogoocho]

hell yes equalibeats! thank you so much for sharing your setup in the description!!! ive got an mpd in the mail and will definitely be hitting up your FL tutorial after i finish messing with what ableton can do. i remember seeing this video when it had a few hundred views and its awesome that your still bumping man, much love from the west coast

[@tjsean81]

Thanks for the help man i bought my mpd32, 3 months ago and I couldn't figure it out in fl studio. I followed all ya steps and now im rockin.. U are a true life saver ... Im Sean from Columbus Ohio

[@hurricanestarang]

I just got an mpd32 last night, set it up on my fl studio, and just started playing and recoridng basic drum patterns/vocals and cuts.. this is a huge inspiration man. I'll keep working until I can do this live like you

[@roboedar]

Man... Seriously. This has got to be the greatest MPD video I've ever seen.

[@RADI0ACTIVE]

Dude I heard you three years ago an your song time management played on my ipod recently. I decided to come back check out what new stuff you have. An you're just simply talented, glad you're still doing your creativity. Keep it up, you have a loyal supporter.

[@amg955]

By far the best video for the MPD32 and some of the best improve beats of any Akai vids out there. Keep it up!

[@Ancaja123]

im still so damn amazed at this video ive seen it probably 500 times. you inspire me so much.

[@gdynamics]

personally i belive the best music is from ordinary people who dont have the equipment. now that you do the best music is out. You inspire me!

[@lX-NDR]

this is the only dude on youtube that is this dope with an mpd,most just bang the pads dont know what they are doing

[@kobbynuyork]

yes sir u just made my day. i nearly gave up on trying to simply figure out how to use this gadjet for days. bless u.

[@LordJHouse]

F'ing sick. Nice work man. Best use of the MPD32 I've seen.

[@Equalibeats]

startred making beats in 1999. the growth of safotware has been amazing. Im not sure im ever going to go back. But and MPC is definately good to learn and also have around in the studio.

[@RapGame05]

This is brutally beautiful

[@ilikelittlebikes]

as always, your stuff is tight and makes me want to get banging on those pads. keep it up man, your really an inspiration. when i first heard time management i knew you were an ace. peace.

[@Equalibeats]

@SteveDronez Thanks man! glad it inspired you..dreamed of doing this since i had my first MPD16...even before that when I was making beats on hardware devices! Glad to see others out there experimenting with this stuff as well!

[@EgoManiak]

i just picked up an mpd32 this last weekend. let me tell you; it took me a while to figure out how to use it (and only decently well) and the whole time this video was driving me crazy! like "hey, you can't even USE it?! look what I can do!" haha, you're incredible

[@MousikaE8ismenos]

Been checking you out for a while man.Keep doing your thing, shit's crazy. You holdin' it down.

[@Casus911]

du hast es drauf. mein größtes idol. bringen wir die alte schule zurück !

[@J11oNE]

YOU'RE MY HERO MAYN!!!!!!!! Damn, you just made me change my mind frm buyin an expensive ass MPC to an MPD. That was absolutely ILL!!!! Props

[@cconrad120]

i love the creativity, everything live,. great style man. keep holding it down!

[@6thCreated]

thank you for this you are showing people that a mpc is just a really old computer in a box with pads and knobs. Now that we have the controllers we can use new PC's and get all that power to do things never thought of before.

[@earwigorigamisama]

yo, thanks Equal........u really saved me a bunch of loot. i intended to get a a looping pedal for live situations, ....but this has really cut the cost and equipment lugging to a mere minimum. i very much appreciate. to add on to this exceptional setup, i have added 2 footswitches to free up the 2 pads used for recording and over dubbin....works like a charm. thnx again dawg....ur a true innovator. EarwigOrigami Landminds Dept. of Public Works Hawaii

[@metamorfosisdeambulante]

this is SICK man... totally digging it.

[@fastlane1500]

I've been using my 32 for a little over a year, and have become static in my usage of it. This really opens my eyes to a whole set of possibilities. I'm going to second (maybe 3rd or 6th for all i know) the request for more instruction on how you set this up. I've been listening to this for a few days straight. GREAT sound, GREAT know how on the 32. Beyond impressed.

[@xAchillles]

Your the first dude who actually responds to stuff

[@Equalibeats]

Glad finally some people are starting to get what is actually happening in this video and USING it.. pretty dope live situation setup..BUT NOT MISTAKES allowed! Only makes you learn it good you know? like a guitar. i got two pedals hooked up too..but i keep them over by my turntables. and have the pedals setup on the MPD to trigger the pads. this way i can loop with the pads when im on the MPD..and pedals when im on the tables. running the tables thru the FL mixer then route to mobius.

[@ejektro]

dude your really talented! love this.

[@alantrevor]

Its working! .. gonna have a lie down now! .. Thanks for all your help and patience - you've been excellent.

[@killamaita]

Congrats! You have mastered this techinque! Wicked :P

[@IndoleMugen]

Fantastic work! My favorite mpd32 vid on youtube. ^_^ You make it look so easy!

[@Equalibeats]

yeah surprisingly im getting more and more messages about people figuring this out. Im glad. One day ill make a tutorial..but i spend most my time working on music usually... im more then happy to answer questions. I jsut can't hold your hand through the whole thing. You gotta read and experiment and try to understand the directions first..then i am more then happy to answer questions from there.

[@nigiano]

That is a nice bounce homey. Keep it live with the tracks ya dig!

[@Equalibeats]

i have been making beats since i was 18. I am 32 now. I originally learned to make beats with an MPC and ASRX. Several other beat machine. Switched to software arround 2004 or so...loved software but missed having pads to bang on...then the mpd16. hated it..bummed. then the MPD24 came. LOVED it...then i got the mpd32..

[@WieranKilding]

The part after 1.29 in this video is inspirational. Equalibrum you have made me buy an MPD24. Thanks

[@Equalibeats]

Flstudio combined with a loop pedal VST called "mobius" running on one of the mixer buss tracks. two pads (13 $ 14) control the REC and Overdub of the loop pedal VST. the other pads are dedicated to sounds. you can switch the sounds and the other two pads still keep funcionality.

[@diabeticbeats3109]

You have some mad skills man - keep it up!

[@Equalibeats]

@1892Drod it also really depends on your external audio device or soundcard. You need one with low latency. At least below 10ms. Default stock soundcard in a computer will give you 40ms delay. You wanna get it under 10ms to feel responsive.

[@Equalibeats]

@V19torrent exactly. for instance. This MPD32 is designed to be used as a pad controller. Basically like a midi keyboard..but with pads to record midi info into the computer sequencer. But because of the computer. I was able to customize it to not only record what i was doing..but loop it live on the fly no matter the tempo. Much like looping on a CDJ like a dj would..cept im looping what im playing right then and there. If you had an MPC..you would need a loop pedal to do this.

[@DocMaple8]

Very true. There are a lot of wack beatmakers because of software. I can't tell you how many guys have been like, "check out this beat I made!" Oh yes, that beat you "made" by having a software program chop up samples for you and all you need to do is click a button to make it a song. Yes, that song. Of course. Hardware is straight up. Not dissing on all software producers by any means...there are a lot of talented people who use software-like this guy for example.

[@Equalibeats]

this is a looooong explaination. that i prolly couldnt even explain in an email...took me about a year to figure the whole thing out and make it work flawlessly. Thats why i created a FL project template. im also working on a video tutorial. to explain how to set it up using my template.

[@Equalibeats]

The 32 has the assignable buttons which played a big part in this live looping video. But it can also be done with the 24 because you can set the transpose buttons to be assignable buttons as well... They dont need to control the play stop re ff etc...

[@SedBuildsThings]

Fun stuff man! You keep it real on the MPD

[@Equalibeats]

thanks man. the actual beats are kind of whatever. it was jsut made to showcase the live looping i figured out..and test to see if i could throw together a whole little session i could perform live..without having to touch a mouse or computer keyboard.

[@alpenjon]

Masterclass! I really love the parts around 1:40 and 4:00!

[@uugene]

Dang look at those finger movements! You're pretty dextrous, and a good musicianship to boot! Great job, I wanna learn more of this.

[@jesswah82]

that was awesome mate, you made it look way easier than im sure it was!

[@MPDproducer]

Dude, im totally inspired by your performance on this MPD, actually, you are the reason I made this youtube account AND bought an MPD32 myself. I'm still learning the basics of music production in FL studio though. but once I get something neat, I'm gonna show u!

[@motaki79]

awesomeeeee performance! i'm totally getting this model. thanks!

[@Equalibeats]

yeah man the 32 is dope. esp for stuff like this.. I LOVE the assignable buttons. opens up a ton of options.

[@Equalibeats]

@SevenScientist correct. FL hosts the sounds and kits and routes everything to Mobius. The tricky part is having the MPD32 control the FPC kits and Mobius simultaniously..being able to switch FPC kits and still maintain funtionality with mobius. Everyone runs into the same wall. When you try to set it up you'll see what I mean.

[@TomsChevelle]

Sounds great!

[@zenbe]

At 4:12 my favourite part! Amazing work man, god I need to get myself an mpd32, it's too expensive too make electronic music, why did I get involved with this... I guess it's because it's just way too awesome when you see amazing skills like this, you're a hero man, you've got great live skills, and you make very good sounds. Cheers for you!

[@hydraulikz]

best drum pad video on youtube!

[@daniltemnov694]

Its incredible!

[@MrTripplenipple]

went on your myspace page. sick ass beats dude. keep it up man.

[@Equalibeats]

I like the 3 banks of assignable knobs, sliders and buttons...this gives you a total of 24 knobs sliders and buttons to assign. The assignable buttons are grwat..you can assign them to mute or to turn effects on and off..or anything you want. NOTE repeat is definately cool The overall feel of it is great too. Feels like an MPC. Its tight i love mine.

[@lucyndskywtdiamonds]

U a beast on them Akai's bro!!!!

[@Equalibeats]

i think so. both have the same great pads tho if thats all you are interested in. both feel sturdy and built solid.

[@ETKNhuiz]

10/10 bro well done, inspirational

[@earwigorigamisama]

yo EQUAL......hey i took second at a local beatroot here in hawaii thanks to this setup. i think i woulda took it too if i hadnt choked in the last rounds.you were definately right about having zero mistakes. the whole live aspect blew the judges away. thanks again homie! oh ps. if u wanna check it out itll be posted soon under the heading beatroot 2009 or easymusiccenter. peace! EarwigOrigami Dept. of Public Works Neighborhood Watch

[@MatrixxSoundlab]

Dude, you are sick with yours!!!

[@rayzel83]

that was dope, and as for ur tutorial thing on imagine line.. dope work man... thanks !

[@DopamineOverload]

.... you press one of the MPD32 buttons, and seem to be "testing" a few of the pads, before you go into the next groove. Somewhere in there, you're also playing either a song or pattern in FL Studio, to play along with it (maybe that's why you're tapping the MPD32 in that one section). I'm going to fully figure this out and then do a tutorial on it. This is so fucking dope. Still inspires the shit out of me several years later. You're the KING.

[@Equalibeats]

im not saying going all hardware is the best way to learn..it def helped me..but i can tell you i spent a hell of alot more time trying to figure the gear out then actually making tracks. keep in mind this was like right when the internet just came available to the public. i wasnt like i could hop on youtube and watch some tutorials. i just had to teach myself. but it made FL soo much easier to learn. you can literally do ANYTHING in that program...and FAST.

[@Equalibeats]

both have the exact same quality pads. if you are not too concerned with linking controls to knobs and slider. the MPD24 has plnety of options and is awesome. The MPD32 has 3 banks of slidres and knobs..and now assignable buttons that you can assign to mutes or to turn on and off effects. the tap tempo is cool and also to note repeat buttons. you can also hook up 3 pedals. and it has standard midi ins and outs in the back too.

[@misztsz]

I am impressed man. Great stuff. I like the scratching in the other video. I'll try it on my Axiom pitch-bend, I think it will work the same way. Some inspiring things You showin here.

[@Equalibeats]

@gumdrops27 cool glad you got it to work man! yeah once you understand whats going on and it clicks its really easy to modify it. Thanks for supporting man!

[@SCPF]

That was just fucking dope brother. Real Motor coordination with taste, that's talent.

[@Equalibeats]

@S4rockz yes. it will work with any midi controller. just have to link all the functions.You could technically do it with just midi keyboard having a few keys dedicated to the looping funtions.Ive done it before in my early days of experimentation.

[@Equalibeats]

@yunyas Pads 13 and 14 are used to contol the on the fly timing of the loop. Like a pedal... But with your fingers instead. It's easier to time the looping that way.

[@sean1ers]

sick ...your timing is something else.

[@MichaelBLevi]

You are ultra-proficient at your craft sir. This is precicely what I want to do with my APC20. Levi

[@Equalibeats]

mobius is a loop pedal VST running on a mixer track. you route your sounds on the pads to a mixer track..then reroute them to the Mobius. Two pads (pas 13&14) are dedicated to control the timing of the loop instead of a pedal. you can switch between FPC kits and pads 13 and 14 still control Mobius. The other buttons under the sliders control RESET, UNDO and MULTIPLY in mobius. FF and RW switch between FPC kits. other assig. buttons are mutes and effects ons and offs on various mixer tracks.

[@soliloquy1023]

whoa... awesome stuff. you have to really be great to make it look that easy.

[@Equalibeats]

@gumdrops27 yeah it would totally work. you just ahve to assign the functions to different pads. it will pretty much work with any midi controller provided there enough buttons pads to assign everything to.

[@sirloznunotha]

YOUR A SICK DUDE MAN !!THAT WUZ TIGHT!!!

[@RawlistikMusic]

Nice setup out there, inspired me a lot. I kinda do the same with Reason but never tried looping like you do. You could perform this on stage ahah this is sick!

[@Lespaulcoolio]

so wicked, the main first song sounds like a nice early four tet groove

[@cofts]

Legendary man!!! keep it up!

[@crackseedkila]

man you make it look soooooo eassssy, pro status right here people!

[@genpatsusensei38]

genius man....I can say you made new instruments.

[@Equalibeats]

@i2ivis The thing is love and use all the time is the assignable buttons. You can use them to assign to anything. Mutes, Turn on and off effects...trigger things. They are great. It has Note repeat but i never use that. Also i like the larger transprt control buttons. Also just the feel of the whole piece feels better.

[@djodysey]

this was really dope... good job.

[@Equalibeats]

@Therioz yeah. in the FL mixer you can route external instruments and record them into the loop as well. ive done it with Turntables, Guitiars, Bass...and external hardware keyboards...my ipad..iphone...etc... Yeah possibilities are limitless. Its dope.

[@prayingmantis86]

This is so damn impressive!

[@Equalibeats]

when you hold down the pedal and hit EDIT on the MPD..you can set it to pad mode..and have the pedal actually trigger a certain pad.. so i set each pedal up. one to trigger 13 and one to trigger 14. Then i put them over by my tables wich are running into my aux input on my audio card. if you click on a mixer track and select that input in the mixer you an then route the tables (or any instrument) to mobius. this will let you pull and loop from vinyl live AND still have full pad Loop control too

[@Equalibeats]

yeah ive used and MPC. Also used a Ensoniq ASRX-pro too. I switched to software because it keeps getting better and better. More backup options. You can run mulitple programs. Store more samples. burn CDs. Upload mp3s. everything the BEST MPC does..plus more cuz new programs are always coming out. Only thing software was lacking was the MPC pads. Wich thanks to AKAI..thats what the MPD16, 24, and 32 are for.

[@JasonChamberlain]

You play really really well. This reminds me of like the soundtrack to resident evil.

[@romadmike1]

Very well done!

[@Equalibeats]

Most people who get MPDs just assume there is like one way to use it or set it up..the beauty of it is everything is completely assignable to whatever funtion you want in your program. You can use the pads just as mutes if you want even..or to trigger certain funtion is a program rather then sounds. I seen someone do this with Scratch live.

[@Sandison3210]

Thanks, this helped make up my mind. Definitly getting one.

[@guicercal]

OMG!!! VERY GOOD... this is the LIVE POWER!!

[@Equalibeats]

FL studio with a loop pedal VST running called mobius. Im setting up FPC kits..playing the pads and using two of the pads to control the loop pedal VST instead of using a pedal.

[@Equalibeats]

@vaidisuh two ways. If i loop it witht he same record button the loop plays and you can play over it without it recording into the loop. If i loop it with the overdub pad..the loop will play but in record mode so i can keep adding to it. While the loop it playing you can turn the overdub on or off by hitting the overdub had (pad 14). Another way is some sounds/pads played are not send to the mixer track the loop pedal VST is on...so they dont get recorded into the mix.

[@Equalibeats]

my setup is simple. "Soundforge" to record/chop/Edit my samples. I load the into "FL studio" wich is my main DAW sequencer... i use Cool Edit or protools to record vocals and live instruments..then mix it down to an accapella..and load the accapella into FL...where i do my final mixdown into basic stem tracks (drums, bass, samples, vocals, etc)..