SOUND ON SOUND

[Bjorn91]

How do I record more than one layer of synth from the bass station 2 in the mpc 500's midi sequencer. When I try the previous notes interfere with the new recording. I have tried changing the midi channels and changing tracks on the mpc but with no result.

Any help much appreciated!

[Sam Spoons]

The Novation Bass Station II (which I assume is what you are asking about) is a mono synth so the short answer is that you can't replay more than one layer at a time. Put another way, every new note will end the previous note.

Welcome to the forum BTW :thumbup:

[Sam Spoons]

Apologies, I misread your MPC500 and "MC500" (a midi only sequencer). The MPC500 can record audio so you could record each layer to an audio track individually and replay them simultaneously, what you can't do is use the Bass Station II to replay more than a single sound/midi note at a time (which is what it sounds like you are trying to do).

For detail on how to go about this we'll have to wait for somebody with more intimate knowledge of the MPC500 to show up.

[Bjorn91]

ok thanks yes I'm trying to record midi not audio

[Sam Spoons]

In which case my first reply is correct.

[Bjorn91]

ok thank you, still getting my head around it

[BillB]

Hi Bjorn, Sam is right, to have two (or more) separate sounds responding to multiple MIDI tracks on the MPC500, you would need two or more synths. This could be a second synth or a single multi-timbral synth which can respond to MIDI data on multiple channels.

Each MIDI data stream can carry 16 Channels, but you have to be able to connect the data stream to multiple synths.

The MPC has a single MIDI out connection, and the BS2 does not have a MIDI Thru socket, so you would need to invest in either:
- another synth with MIDI Thru. You connect its MIDI in to the Out of the MPC, then connect its MIDI Thru to the BS2 MIDI In
or
- a 'MIDI Thru' box which can pass the MIDI stream to multiple synths, to which you then connect the MIDI In of the BS2 and the MIDI In of a 2nd (3rd, 4th) synth.

Hope that helps!

[Sam Spoons]

ok thank you, still getting my head around it

BillB has explained it a little further but if I can expand, in it's most simple form a midi sequencer/recorder records the key press as a 'note on' and a 'note off' as you press and release the note. when you replay it the synth thinks you have pressed the key again and plays the note. Since the Bass Station can only play one note at a time it has to stop playing the previous note before playing the next if you record a second not the that starts before the first has finished.

The Akai MPC can record the sound the synth outputs and could, I'm guessing, be used as a crude form of multitrack recorder. If you can work out how to do that you can playback the synth playing 'part 1' (say the bass line) into the MCP and record that, either as a complete track or as a short loop which the MCP can repeat. Then you can playback the second track (melody?) using the single voice of the Bass Station.

HTH

[BillB]

This review https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/akai-mpc500 is short and doesn’t say a lot about MIDI but may help to provide an overview. SOS reviews are often the ‘missing manual’.