Help me eliminate my PC.

[quicksilverXP]

My band had an audition today to try to land a gig... we landed it but I had a huge problem with my Presonus Firebox just failing to respond. Trust me, I have completely installed a bare XP and used XP lite to make it as fast as possible. I play mainstream hip-hop and I used Ableton and the Firebox to do the following:

 

1. Mixer (handles all the inputs from both my voice)

2. Antares Auto-tune VST (for the T.Pain, Akon effect)

3. Sampler (I use the sampler to play small samples usually found in hip-hop music... think Kanye West)

 

I already have 1 & 2 solved, we're investing in a better 16 channel mixer and a PA system, and we're buying an Antares ATR-1 rack unit for the T.Pain effect. Number 3 is the one I am confused about.

 

I have been told to look at either an MPC or a groovebox (Electribe). My problem is, some of the samples I actually play with on the keyboard via Ableton... and I set key ranges via Ableton so I could play the sound in specific zones on my midi controller. I also use "Sampler" in Ableton to select which part of the .wav file I want to play.

 

Can I do these things with either an MPC or a groovebox? In particular, I'm asking about allocating specific samples to play in certain keys if I play through a small 25 key midi controller... and being able to alter the pitch. I really don't want to have to lug around a Triton or Fantom... as I have a Radias to carry around already... I just want something small and portable... and with the few amount of samples I play anyway... a groovebox or MPC seems the way to go. I will love the day I can get rid of this Firebox/laptop combo.

[eric]

You probably should just get a Macbook Pro and then you'll be done.

[quicksilverXP]

Well... I figured the samples I trigger aren't even long... maybe like less than 5 seconds each... so I don't really need laptop at all. It's just I play the samples in multiple keys. If I were maybe running loops of music then I could see the ease of having a laptop. But for small samples it isn't worth it.

[Guest Anonymous]

 

Get a MPC1

 

Light and portable

[whitepapagold]

Get a MPC1 Light and portable

 

Thats freakin AWESOME! Does it have a 1 track sequencer?

[whitepapagold]

 

Can I do these things with either an MPC or a groovebox? In particular, I'm asking about allocating specific samples to play in certain keys if I play through a small 25 key midi controller... and being able to alter the pitch. I really don't want to have to lug around a Triton or Fantom... as I have a Radias to carry around already... I just want something small and portable... and with the few amount of samples I play anyway... a groovebox or MPC seems the way to go. I will love the day I can get rid of this Firebox/laptop combo.

 

 

1. Don't lug a triton around. I did for 7 years and it slowly breaks- those were built from CRAP!

 

2. ANY sampler will work. I would look at even the old Akais. Crap you could even get an Akai S5000 for maybe 500 bucks and it would have more power than you would ever need.

 

3. Any decent sampler will allow you to key map your samples- if you go MPC just add a midi keyboard controller.

 

Ill say this- your decisions are 100% RIGHT ON. The mixer will SOUND better. The Rack autotune is brilliant! Just ask Madonna! And once you get the sampler, you will NEVER CRASH or have issues again... Well maybe not NEVER but if you do go down it will be for a real good reason!

 

I would pick the sampler completely based off how much sampling memory/power you need. Sonically EMU or Akai are the way to go and computers have driven their prices to the ground!

[Son of HuHefner]

recycle the piece of junk and buy a , a..

(guess)

[Yoozer]

My band had an audition today to try to land a gig... we landed it but I had a huge problem with my Presonus Firebox just failing to respond. Trust me, I have completely installed a bare XP and used XP lite to make it as fast as possible.

Firewire is picky about chipsets. That's nice with desktops where you can put in another PCI card for just that, but not so great with laptops.

 

XP lite and all the miracle stuff about disabling services is a minimal gain at best; you're better off improving on the hardware (which for a laptop generally only means a faster/bigger harddisk or more internal memory, there's not much to choose).

 

I have been told to look at either an MPC or a groovebox (Electribe). My problem is, some of the samples I actually play with on the keyboard via Ableton... and I set key ranges via Ableton so I could play the sound in specific zones on my midi controller. I also use "Sampler" in Ableton to select which part of the .wav file I want to play.

On the Electribe, with the display and all that, this is a hell to program.

 

Can I do these things with either an MPC or a groovebox?

The problem with the samplers on those machines is that they generally don't do automatically what Sampler does - transpose stuff up.

 

and being able to alter the pitch.

And that's where the buck stops, because you can tranpose samples on the MPC and there's the "16-note" mode that'll automatically do this for all the 16 pads, but those are workarounds. It's trivial to use the same sample under a different pad with a different pitch - at least it was on the MPC1000 I had, but you have to program this. It's also trivial (with the 2500 and 1000) to chop the sample up in 8 or 16 pieces and spread them over the pads. If that's what you need, then the MPC will do the job.

I will love the day I can get rid of this Firebox/laptop combo.

And you will dread the day that you have to deal with old-fashioned sample formats, old hardware, SCSI chains, and a cramped display . But a built in laptop drive (ironic, isn't it) and a stack of CompactFlash cards will go a long way.

[Awake77]

recycle the piece of junk and buy a , a.. (guess)

 

A...better PC?

[quicksilverXP]

Thanks for all the help guys. Really... my sampling is very minimal. There is 5 of us in the band so I'm not trying to use the sampler as a substitute for any of the other instruments. If anything, all it would do is "add" to the nuances of the song... but the song could be done without it... I just felt having a laptop and a firewire device for that purpose alone wasn't worth it.

 

Like I said before, this sampler is meant to be just for short "blurbs."

 

As for the MPC/Groovebox, I noticed you can map a sample to each pad... and then you can assign each pad a midi note to be played on an external midi controller... this sounds perfect for what I need.

 

I'd like to not spend a lot... as I really won't be using it for anything else... I've got software on my desktop to handle all the editing/sequencing I would ever need... if I could ever find the time to even make music in the first place.

 

So here are my choices if someone could help me out.

 

1. Roland SP-404

2. Electribe ES-1

3. MPC500

4. Electribe SX

 

I calculated all the space I need and I only need 10 MB. Told you it wasn't that much... a laptop to hold 10MB? Anyone have any experience with any of the above and trying to do what I would want to do with them. So far I heard its a pain on the electribe... but I'll be editing each wave via software anyway... in a way... it'll be more of a storage/playback device rather than an editing tool. Can any of these work without problem if I transposed all the wavs myself and cut up each wave how I want them too using software?

[Son of HuHefner]

A...better PC?

 

yes ! a better PC ' customized' under the wheels of a Hummer:

[Yoozer]

 

As for the MPC/Groovebox, I noticed you can map a sample to each pad... and then you can assign each pad a midi note to be played on an external midi controller... this sounds perfect for what I need.

 

There's no difference between a pad and a key. Both transmit a MIDI note signal. It's just that with the pads, you're not bound to any fixed order of notes - you could make the top row C1, C#1, D1, D#1 and the bottom three rows totally random.

 

 

in a way... it'll be more of a storage/playback device rather than an editing tool. Can any of these work without problem if I transposed all the wavs myself and cut up each wave how I want them too using software?

 

Yes. Of all of those, I think the MPC would be overkill (while small, it's still got quite a bit of power) and the SP-404 would be small/useful enough to do the job.

[OPEN OCEAN]

just throw your pc or give it away and get yourself a brand new Roland mv 8800...got the 8000 and is THE machine to make beats and produce music...

[quicksilverXP]

The MV8800 is sweet. My friend who produces just got one instead of an MPC... and he loves it. But I think it'd be way to overkill for me.

[xmlguy]

Get a Juno-G, and you won't need your Radias or a separate sampler, unless you also use the Radias Vocoder. It's only 14 lbs., not only has sampling but also 4 stereo audio tracks with faders, and full sequencer. It still has good live control of patches. For pitch correction, you might look at the TC-Helicon VoiceWorks instead of the Antares. VoiceWorks also has 4 part harmony and more features than the Antares hardware, besides the Cher Effect.

[quicksilverXP]

Thanks... I actually did have a Juno-G at one point... problem is I use the Radias for 2 things.

 

1. Vocoder

2. Talkbox sound source

 

I like it because it has multiple outs so I can use one out for regular synth playing, and the other to my talkbox. It also has pitch wheel and mod wheel, which I find easier than the Roland pitch bender.

 

I do miss the Juno-G... but my keyboardist already has an XP30 to handle the rompler area. But my other consideration was getting a V-Synth... it has sampling, vocoder, a good synth engine, and I can just run a midi controller off it with a good pitch and mod wheel when using the talkbox.

 

As for the TC-Helicon... I wish he could get that... but we really don't need all the effects... I have played with one though and it is awesome.

[ShakaCthulu]

 

I suggest one of these for the PC.

 

 

The ESX-1 is the one I'd go for of those you mentioned.

[keybdwizrd]

[xmlguy]

 

Thanks... I actually did have a Juno-G at one point... problem is I use the Radias for 2 things. 1. Vocoder 2. Talkbox sound source I like it because it has multiple outs so I can use one out for regular synth playing, and the other to my talkbox. It also has pitch wheel and mod wheel, which I find easier than the Roland pitch bender. I do miss the Juno-G... but my keyboardist already has an XP30 to handle the rompler area. But my other consideration was getting a V-Synth... it has sampling, vocoder, a good synth engine, and I can just run a midi controller off it with a good pitch and mod wheel when using the talkbox. As for the TC-Helicon... I wish he could get that... but we really don't need all the effects... I have played with one though and it is awesome.

 

 

Ah, ok. I might be able to help you eliminate the SP404 and ES-1 from your list, though. The SP404 doesn't easily let you pitch shift a sample like a keyboard. To get the same sample with different notes across the pads, you would need to use the chromatic pitch shift effect and resample for each pad for each note. I had the SP555, which I exchanged for a Juno-G. The SP555 biggest strength was the ability to use a 2GB Compact flash for 12+ hours of sample time, but that's not important for you with only 10MB.

 

The Korg ESX-1 can automatically pitch shift a sample using its keyboard part feature. But I don't think the ES-1 and ES1mkII can't do that.

 

The MPC500 can pitchshift samples to different notes without resampling using the tune parameter. I'm not an expert with grooveboxes and MPCs, so any comments or corrections are welcome, if I missed something.

 

The V-Synth GT seems to be right direction for you with its vocal designer effects, as well as a good candidate to replace the Radias and do the sampling you need. I wish I could afford one, but for now I'll have to just dabble with the store display model.

[quicksilverXP]

I think I'll just have to decide between the MPC500 and the ESX-1. I'm looking at the MPC500 right now... no wonder people have made the switch to software.

 

I'm even considering getting a rack mount sampler. I know it's a backward step in comparison to computer software... but maybe an older one would do since I don't have many samples. Plust I just got a standtastic stand that can have optional rack mount holding brackets.

[Metrosonus]

I really want to say something about exlax here ..

[realtrance]

Don't forget to get a good sledgehammer to use on that PC first.

[Yoozer]

 

I'm even considering getting a rack mount sampler.

 

An E-mu ESI4000 is cheap as chips and has 10 buttons that can act as note triggers for a preset. Haven't tried this in a live situation, though.

[quicksilverXP]

Trying to land an ESI-2000, but I found an awesome deal on a local Electribe ES-1... its too cheap not too get it.

 

But I wanted to know if you can control the pads on the Electribes like an MPC can.

 

Can you program the pads on the Electribe to only playback a sample while you press down on the pad? For example, I want to be able to hold down on the pad, and have the duration of the sample dependent on how long I'm holding down the pad. This is never mentioned in the manual.

[ShakaCthulu]

 

Trying to land an ESI-2000, but I found an awesome deal on a local Electribe ES-1... its too cheap not too get it. But I wanted to know if you can control the pads on the Electribes like an MPC can. Can you program the pads on the Electribe to only playback a sample while you press down on the pad? For example, I want to be able to hold down on the pad, and have the duration of the sample dependent on how long I'm holding down the pad. This is never mentioned in the manual.

 

 

Yes, it should have rudimentary pad functions like gate (plays sample while pad held), trigger (plays sample all the way through when tapped once), loop (loops sample until you hit pad again) etc. Even the Zoom Sampletrak had that kind of functionality. Check Korg documents, there's got to be a PDF online for the ES-1.