MPC: CONNECTING MIDI DEVICES

this is the mpc one and in this video we're going to take an in-depth look at connecting midi devices to the mpc with the release of firmware 2.8 many advanced midi features were added allowing users numerous ways to control external gear as well as engage with the mpc by the end of this video you should have a good understanding about what midi is how to connect a variety of midi devices and how to configure them within the mpc so let's get started from the very top there are some things we should know about midi it is a means of communicating between musical devices communication typically occurs over the midi 5-pin din connector but recently usb midi is becoming commonly found on devices and it's important to know that standard midi din connectors transmit data only one way to and from the device depending on the ports it's connected to either as an input or an output not to confuse matters but some devices have through ports as well which we'll discuss later usb midi on the other hand is capable of being bi-directional depending on the device midi can even be transmitted over bluetooth or wi-fi on select devices midi data is typically transmitted over 16 channels to send and receive data the benefit of this is that you can have 16 devices each configured to different midi channels and each could be controlled independently midi data can be several things including node events velocity vibrato note messages stereo panning and clock information having a good understanding about what midi is and how it's used to communicate is important and it's the basis of all the information that is to follow with that understanding let's get back to the mpc our mpc will act as the central hub connecting all of the devices and midi data will either be coming to it or from it let's start by discussing common devices that would transmit data into the mpc midi keyboards are probably the most common device you would use to send midi data into the mpc connecting a midi keyboard allows you to have keyboard keys in addition to pads midi keyboards come in two types of connectors usb and midi din usb is more commonly found but some keyboards have both one advantage of usb midi keyboards is that they are typically bus powered meaning that the usb connection will power the keyboard and it's important to note that connecting via midi din will often require a separate power supply to power the keyboard so let's connect our midi keyboard over usb connect a usb cable between the midi keyboard and the usb a port on the mpc the keyboard should power up and transmit data to the npc on our npc at the top of the touch screen you should see feedback indicators for midi in and out if we play some notes on the keyboard we should see corresponding feedback on the midi in this tells us that at the top at the device level midi is coming into the mpc if we tap the midi feedback area we get a midi monitor overlay this shows us a list of all midi activity in and out of the mpc let's show you another useful screen if we go to preferences and then midi sync we get the midi multi-mode menu here we see all connected devices in terms of their input and output with the mpc and we can see our midi keyboard is connected as an input which is expected because usb devices are said to be discoverable and should auto populate on this screen if we go to main mode and look at the track section of the touch screen we should see some feedback on our midi notes at the track level but we still won't hear sound until we load a program into this track let's quickly browse for a plug-in sound load it and then select it from this tracks program now when we play our keys we should hear sound coming out of the mpc next we can record the notes we play into this midi track this process is essentially the same as recording and playing the pads of the mpc we press record to start the recording and the metronome will count us in now when we play the keys of our keyboard those notes are recorded into our midi track including velocity and other information note not all midi keyboards can transmit velocity and aftertouch data now what if we wanted to connect a second midi controller for example we could play a baseline on one keyboard and a melody on another first we'll need to connect our second keyboard this may present a dilemma if we only have one usb a port if you have only one usb a port on your device like on the mpc one or even if you have two like the mpc live in x investing in a usb hub will allow you to greatly expand your setup a powered hub is recommended because it can provide power to connected devices without taxing the power on the host device in this case the mpc let's connect this rsh tech powered hub to the usb a port on the mpc then let's connect our midi keyboards to the hub we can see that both keyboards are now powered and they are both sending midi to the current track but we want to route each one to a different track as to not cause interference we'll need to route the inputs of our midi keyboards at the track level there are a few ways we could do this we can go to main mode open the channel strip and then set the input of our first keyboard in the input section we could then do the same on the next midi track however there is a more convenient way to configure the inputs if we select the channel mixer on the left side of the touchscreen we see an overview of the tracks within the project and we can assign the inputs of each midi track on this screen next we'll need to arm each track by default only the currently active track is armed if we hold shift and then press the arm button on another track we can arm multiple tracks now when we play our keyboards each one will correspond to a different track and we can play them simultaneously let's take a quick moment to show you another useful routing feature if we wanted we could route midi from one track to another for example we could layer multiple synth tracks but play them with one midi keyboard we have set up two midi tracks each with a different plugin we can select one to be the primary so it's controlled by our midi controller and it sends midi to our secondary track on the primary midi track open the channel strip and select track view we can see several settings for inputs and ascend to section for the input we'll select our midi keyboard in the send to section we'll select the secondary track if we play our keyboard we should hear both tracks layered together question what if we don't have a usb hub but wanted to connect multiple keyboards well we still have some options depending on what devices we're trying to connect for example this arturia key step has both usb and midi din we could utilize the midi din input on the mpc to connect the arturia while connecting this m audio midi keyboard via usb in the midi track input sections the midi din input is simply labeled mpc we can then set that input to a track and we can play two different tracks as we could before note the mpc live and x have multiple midi ports and a numbered list of ports should be available as both inputs and outputs on those devices question what if we don't have a second midi keyboard could we still control multiple tracks well some keyboards allow you to split the range of keys into sections that output as separate midi channels if you have one of those you could configure the keyboard with a split and assign each one to a different track similar to using two different keyboards another question if we didn't have a keyboard that allowed us to split the keys and we didn't need to play the keyboard parts simultaneously could we then configure one midi keyboard to play different tracks with a keyboard that allows you to select which midi channel it transmits out you could then switch channels to control multiple tracks to do this let's go to the channel mixer screen and set both of these tracks inputs to npc which is where our atoria keyboard is connected let's put one track on channel 1 and the other on channel two on the keyboard we can play some notes on one track then quickly change midi channels and play notes on the second track alright before we move on from midi input we have one more thing to discuss in addition to using keyboards to input notes and aid performances you could also use an external device to adjust parameters on the mpc sometimes midi keyboards have a section of knobs or faders that can be assigned to parameters additionally there are dedicated controllers like this midi twister and this nano control 2 designed specifically for controlling parameters remotely the benefit of using these controllers is that they give you quick access to several items within the mpc simultaneously for example we can assign volume mute solo and pan from multiple programs to this controller for quick and convenient access this is particularly helpful if you want to use your mpc in a live performance to assign parameters to an external controller you can use the midi learn feature within the mpc once your controller is connected the first step is to enable it for control within the mpc to do this go to preferences then midi sync on the input list find the controller and enable control on the right now let's assign midi parameters using midi learn go to the menu select midi control and then select the midi learn tab let's assign our program's volume to this volume slider press the plus button on the top left to add an assignment move the fader on the controller the mpc should show the midi data from the controller in the source field select a program and then in the target field select volume our parameter is now assigned we can quickly repeat this process for the program's pan and assign it to the pan knob on the controller now let's show you how to assign the mute and solo buttons which are slightly different press plus to add an assignment then press the mute button on the controller for the source select our program and then the target to be mute select the type field and change it to toggle button we could make it a momentary if we want but typically this is a toggle type button now let's repeat this process for the solo button now let's quickly test the controller by going to main mode and opening the channel strip just for visual feedback we should see the actions of our controller reflected on the screen now let's move on to outputting midi from the mpc in many scenarios we want to use the mpc sequencer and pads to control external synths so let's explore how that's done most synthesizers have a midi input to allow for control from an external device like the npc this is beneficial because we can program a sequence edit the notes and make it repeat exactly the same every time as we mentioned previously midi can communicate over usb and midi din some synths have both and some have one or the other here we have a korg nts1 synthesizer which happens to have both midi in and usb midi let's show you how to connect each type starting with usb we can connect a usb cable directly to the usb port on the mpc or via our powered hub then connect the other end to the synth this synth is bus powered and we should see it power on next we'll connect our audio output from the synth into the input on the mpc we're using a stereo 8 inch to 2 mono quarter inch cable to make this connection next we'll need to configure some settings within the mpc we have a track and we'll set that to a midi type by selecting the midi icon next in the program section select the midi port field and then select the nts-1 to complete the configuration we'll need to set up an audio track to accept the audio from the synth go to an audio track and tap input config make sure the track is armed and set input monitoring to n if we return to our midi track and play the pads on the npc we should hear a corresponding audio we can now record nodes into the track if we then play the sequence which will loop by default we can make adjustments on the synth until we like how it sounds [Music] lastly if we wanted we could record this audio into our audio track which would allow us to disconnect the synth and use it for other tracks since the nts1 also has midi n let's quickly show you how to connect it via midi din for this we'll need a special 8 inch trs to midi in adapter it's important to note that these adapters come in different types and they're not interchangeable so make sure you get the one that works specifically for the device you're using in this case the korg all right we'll connect our midi cable from the mpc's midi output to the synth's midi in since the nts-1 is also bus powered we'll also connect usb strictly for power a typical phone usb power supplies should work for this purpose connect a usb-a to usb micro b cable from the power supply to the synth it should power on the audio connection is the same as before connect the audio output from the synth to the audio input on the mpc the midi din settings within the mpc are similar to the usb settings although the device name will be different in the program section of our midi track in the midi port field select mpc for the midi din output we should now be configured and we can create some magic [Music] now what if our synth were multi-timbral and we wanted to control each synth voice independently for example we have the digitone here and if we wanted to we can control each of its four synth tracks independently first we'll connect the midi output from the mpc into the input on the digitone for audio we'll use two quarter inch cables going from the digitone's audio outputs into the mpc's audio inputs this means audio from our four synth tracks will be combined into one stereo track on the mpc one note on the mpcx you could use two stereo inputs and have two stereo audio tracks within the mpc we have four midi tracks to correspond to the four synth tracks on the digitone each track's midi port should be set to mpc as that's the midi din output now the trick is to set each track to a different midi channel and both the mpc and the digitone need to have these exact settings for example we could set our first midi track to midi channel one two to two three two three and four to four we'll need to do the same on the digitone we'll go into the midi configuration menu and set each synth track to input on the same midi channels as the mpc when we switch between the tracks on the mpc and play the pads we should hear audio from each synth track coming back into the mpc from here we can program notes into each midi track record audio into our audio track or even sample each synth into dedicated audio tracks the next level of complexity to explore would be to add another synth into this setup let's add the zoya which communicates over midi din via an 8th inch adapter we've already used the midi output on the mpc1 but one of the benefits to midi din is the ability to daisy chain devices our digitone has both a midi in output and a midi through port we'll want to connect to the midi through port which allows our midi signal to pass through the digitone and onto the next device in the chain alternatively we can use a midi through box if the devices in our setup don't have a midi through port connect a midi din cable from the midi through port of the digitone to the midi input on the zoya next let's discuss audio routing for a moment we could route audio from the zoya into the audio input on the digitone the digitone has an internal mixer which can combine audio with its internal synths and then send it to its output this will allow us to have five independent synths to control from the mpc and all of the audio would come back simultaneously into the npc's audio input alternatively we could route audio from the digitone into the zoya and then to the mpc the benefit of this is that the zoya is not only a synth but also a powerful effects processor depending on which preset is loaded into it if we want to use it for effects we'll want it downstream from our diggy tone if you want to use it as a synth we'll want it upstream from our diggy tone but for this example let's just stick to creating a 5 synth chain and route audio from the zoya to the diggy tone into the mpc once we've made our connections we need to configure the mpc we still have four midi tracks assigned to four midi channels on the digitone we'll add a fifth midi channel for the zoya its port should also be set to npc but will set its channel to 5. on the zoya we assign our synth presets midi module channel input also to channel 5. this means midi note data is received at the preset level not the device level if all goes according to plan we should have 5 synths to control from the npc [Music] now this is a good time to point out that you can send program messages from the mpc to synths that can accept them the benefit of this is that we can switch sound presets from another device and record those changes into a sequence for example on the mpc in the zoyous program section we could change the program number and it will change the preset on the zoya question how will this be different if we connect everything via usb instead of midi din well there are some similarities and differences so it's best we explain it say we want to control midi din devices like the digitone and the zoya but we need to do so over a usb port we can use a midi to usb interface like this midi plus t-box this model has two inputs and two outputs now each of our synths could be connected via a dedicated midi output port without daisy chaining them together the usb from the interface box could go directly to the usb a port or to the hub the settings within the mpc are similar but let's take an extra moment to quickly configure our interface box if we go to the midi multi-mode menu within preferences we see that both sets of inputs and outputs appear on this list usb devices are discoverable so their names auto-populate but it would be helpful to rename the output ports according to the device they're connected to let's rename output 1 on the t box to digitone and rename output 2 to zoya alright jumping to our midi track pages we need to set the midi ports of our four digitone tracks to the digitone and our fifth track will be set to the zoya the midi channels should remain as they were previously one through four on the digitone and five for the zoya when we test each track we should get an audio signal coming back into the mpc we could continue to build off this setup if we wanted to we could add a midi keyboard we could add a usb hub and start adding usb devices we could add a controller to control various parameters as well you get the point the one thing to note when the complexity of your system begins to grow is that audio routing should be well considered having a dedicated audio mixer is the recommended means of routing audio from external devices otherwise you'll need to get creative about daisy chaining audio between devices since some devices don't have an audio input this is where you'll run into limitations within your setup alright some of you may be wondering about bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity our understanding is that the mpc live and x both have the ability to send and receive midi over bluetooth and wifi since the mpc one does not have bluetooth or wi-fi we won't be able to demonstrate these features but that may be a topic for another video we may be at the end of this video but hopefully this is only the beginning of your exploration with midi and the mpc so get creative experiment and have fun if you made it this far you're awesome give yourself a high five and give a like if you learned something and enjoyed this video and subscribe for more content like this your support helps us grow this channel and it is always appreciated everybody counts thanks [Music] you

Channel: Ollie Loops

Views: 59,673

Rating: 4.9581499 out of 5

Keywords: akai, akaipro, mpc, mpc one, mpc live, mpc live ii, mpc x, midi, device, devices, connecting midi, connect, connection, how to, tutorial, explain, explained, korg, nts1, synth, synthesizer, keyboard, instrument, elektron, digitone, arturia, keystep, live, live 2, mpc live 2

Id: 3ArGfSUIyZw

Length: 23min 1sec (1381 seconds)

Published: Thu May 21 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/rebelmerther]

Midi sequencing is the only thing I use my MPC for, it absolutely shines in that regard despite most users just using it for sampled music. Here are a couple examples of me sequencing midi with mine.

https://youtu.be/xhagPsLPjKM

https://youtu.be/DYQ6q2XORLA

[u/yeahyiff]

I'm definitely going to check this because midi is new and foreign to me.

[u/brentndifer]

Is anyone having trouble connecting the novation mini nova synth to the USB? It’s telling me the device is unrecognizable but it’s literally the first device they plug into on the promo video for 2.8 update.