Preferences & reference

Info: what the screen tells you

MPC Firmware

The current firmware version, which includes the standalone operating system.

Serial Number

The hardware’s serial number.

Control Surface

The current firmware for the control surface.

Tap Update to choose a route

Key combinations

SHIFT + Legal Info

Shows legal information about the MPC.In Preferences > Info

SHIFT + Version Info

Shows additional version information.In Preferences > Info

Reset the Preferences

1. 1Tap Reset Preferences.
2. 2Tap OK to carry on, or Cancel to return to the Preferences.
3. 3A second window follows. Save stores your project before the reset, Don’t Save goes ahead without storing it, and Cancel takes you back to the Preferences.

Activations: sign in to your plugins

1. 1Make sure the MPC is on a Wi-Fi network (Preferences: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth).
2. 2Under Activate Plugins, tap Log In.
3. 3Use a mobile device to scan the QR code, or visit the URL on the page in a browser.
4. 4Enter the code displayed on your device and sign in. If you have no account yet, you will be asked to create one.

Once you are signed in

• Enter Serial: type a serial number, then tap Register to record a purchase.
• Refresh: updates the page with your latest purchases and activations.
• Categories: All, Instruments, FX and Features, at the top of the list, sort it.
• Get Trial: starts a free trial of the plugin beside it.
• Activate / Deactivate: adds or removes a plugin’s activation on this device.
• Change: at the bottom of the touchscreen, picks the Content Download Drive: the internal drive, a connected USB drive or an SD card.
• Download icon: downloads a purchase to that drive and shows its progress. When it finishes, the plugin is ready to use in standalone mode.
• Log Out: signs you out of your account.

Join a Wi-Fi network

1. 1In Preferences > Wi-Fi, tap the On/Off selector to turn wireless on. Networks in range are listed below it.
2. 2Tap your network, then tap Connect.
3. 3If it has a password, type it on the virtual keyboard. Tap Show to see what you are typing.

Managing a network

• Select a connected network and tap Disconnect to leave it.
• Select a network and tap Forget to clear its stored details, such as the password.

Key combinations

SHIFT + Info

Shows the Network Information window: network name, IPv4/IPv6 address with subnet mask and gateway, security type and signal strength as a percentage.In Preferences > Wi-Fi, with a network selected

SHIFT + Reset

Resets all Wi-Fi settings.In Preferences > Wi-Fi

Pair a Bluetooth device

1. 1In Preferences > Bluetooth, tap the On/Off selector to turn Bluetooth on.
2. 2Tap your device under Available Devices to select it, then tap Pair. It moves to Paired Devices.
3. 3Select it under Paired Devices and tap Connect.

Managing a Bluetooth device

• Tap Disconnect to drop a connected device under Paired Devices.
• Tap Remove to return an available device to its original state.

Audio Device

Audio Device

Chooses the Internal sound device or a connected USB and Linux class-compliant audio interface. If you are unsure about an interface, check with its manufacturer. It must also be set to a 44.1 kHz sample rate and a 128-sample buffer.

32 Inputs/Outputs

Check this to allow up to 32 inputs and outputs at the same time. More channels mean more CPU overhead.

USB Audio Channel Out

How many USB audio channels are available. A lower count can improve compatibility with some USB audio hosts, including Android devices.Range 8 In, 8 Out or 24 In, 24 Out

Audio/Export

Enable Disk Streaming

Turns disk streaming on or off. The MPC needs a restart after you change it, which may ask you to save or discard the current project. Once on, each sample can stream from disk or play from memory, chosen in the Project window (Project window).

Recording Bit Depth

The bit depth of recorded audio.

Bounce/Extract Bit Depth

The bit depth of bounced or extracted audio.Range 16-bit, 24-bit

Audio Export

What the Export Audio icon exports. Track exports the track on screen, within the current sequence. Main exports every track in that sequence whose program is routed to the main outputs.Range Track, Main

Audio Tail Length

Extra silence added to the end of an exported audio file. Set to 0 for none.

Include Track Volume/Pan Settings

On, the exported audio or MIDI file keeps its volume and pan settings. Off, they go to 0 dB and centre (C).

Bypass Track Effects Plugins

On, third-party effect plugins used on the track are included in the exported file but bypassed. Off, those effects are active.

Default Audio Warp Algorithm

The default time-stretching algorithm, used when a sample’s length changes without its pitch changing. With Repitch, warping shifts the audio’s pitch to bring it into line with the MPC tempo. To depart from the default, pick another algorithm in the Samples tab or Track Edit Mode, or change it in Grid View.Range Pro Ten, Repitch

Audio Track Auto Warp

Set to On, any audio track region you record is warped automatically to the current project tempo, so it stays in time if you then change the tempo.

BPM Auto Detection

Detects the BPM of samples automatically when they load.

BPM Detection Range

The span of BPM values that automatic detection can return, and that TAP TEMPO | GLOBAL can enter.

Ports

Input Ports

Lists every MIDI input port. Double-tap the keyboard icon to rename one, or click the reset arrow to reset it. Global always sends the port’s MIDI to the current track, Control sends it to MIDI Learn, and Track lists the port among the track MIDI inputs.

Output Ports

Lists every MIDI output port. Rename and reset work as for inputs. Sync makes the port send MIDI sync messages, of the type chosen in Send, and Track lists the port among the track MIDI outputs.

Enable MIDI Ports When Discovered

On, plugging in a MIDI device turns on its Track option automatically, so its ports can be chosen straight away.

MIDI Control Mode Output

The port the MPC uses to send messages to external devices from MIDI Control Mode.

Sync

Receive

The timing source the MPC follows. It is the same setting as the Sync field in the toolbar. Audio recording is disabled while receiving MIDI Clock, so use MIDI Time Code if you need to record audio while synced.Range MIDI Clock, MIDI Time Code (MTC), Ableton Link, Off

Ableton Start/Stop Sync

On, devices connected with Ableton Link share start and stop commands.

Receive MMC

Lets the MPC take MIDI Machine Control messages (MIDI Machine Control).

Send

The timing signal the MPC puts out.Range MIDI Clock, MIDI Time Code (MTC), Off

Send MMC

Lets the MPC send MIDI Machine Control messages (MIDI Machine Control).

MTC Frame Rate

The frame rate for MIDI Time Code, which matters for correct timing, especially when scoring for film. Choose 25 in most cases.

Start Time

The starting time sent when sending is set to anything other than Off, written as hours:minutes:seconds:frames.

Messages

Filter ‘All Notes Off’ CC

On, the MPC ignores “All Notes Off” (“MIDI panic”) messages, handy if an external device sends them and you do not want them. Off, it receives them normally.

Program Change

What an incoming program change message switches.Range Sequence, Track

Pads

Pad Brightness

The overall brightness of the pads.

Pad Threshold

How much force it takes to trigger a pad.

Pad Sensitivity

How readily the pads reach high velocities. Low values need a harder hit, while high values get there with little force.

Pad Curve

How a strike turns into a velocity value. A is essentially linear, and B, C and D are exponential.Range A, B, C, D

Velocity & Aftertouch

Meters that show how hard you are striking and pressing the pads. Watch them while you adjust Pad Threshold and Pad Sensitivity.

Screen

Wall Power Dimming

How long the MPC waits before dimming its touchscreen automatically.

Wall Power Brightness

How bright the screen is in normal use.Range Dimmest, Dim, Bright, Brightest

Buttons

Tap Tempo

How many presses of TAP TEMPO | GLOBAL it takes before the new tempo registers.

Flash Tap Tempo Light

On, the button’s light flashes in time with the tempo. Off, the light stays off.

Bank Button Press

How the pad bank buttons behave. With Select A-D, a press picks from banks A–D, and SHIFT + a bank button picks from banks E–H. With Select/toggle bank, each press alternates between the button’s two banks, so you never need SHIFT.Range Select A-D, Select/toggle bank

Shift + Q-Link Press

What SHIFT + Q-LINK | EDIT does: opens Q-Link Edit (Q-Link Edit), or steps backwards through the Q-Link columns.Range Q-Link Edit, Cycles Backwards

Pitch bend

Global Pitch Bend

On, this overrides every track’s own pitch bend setting, so tracks with bend disabled or set to another range all use the global range. Off, each track can use its own.

Range Down / Range Up

The pitch bend range, in semitones.

Date and time

Date

The current date as Month / Day / Year. Files saved in standalone mode carry it in their metadata. In Controller Mode it is overwritten with the host computer’s date.

Time

The current time as Hour : Minute, stored the same way. In Controller Mode it is overwritten with the host computer’s time.

Time Zone

The current time zone, as Continent / City.

USB-C port

USB Type-C Data Role

How the MPC treats a device on the USB-C port. It usually adjusts by itself according to what you connect, but you may need to set it for dual-role devices such as a smartphone. Act as device makes the MPC’s standalone MIDI ports and audio device usable on the connected device. Act as host lets the MPC run the connected device’s features: its MIDI ports, file storage or audio device, for example.Range Act as device, Act as host

USB Type-C Power Role

Whether a dual-role device on the USB-C port receives a charge.Range Charge connected device, Do not charge connected device

Playback and recording

Note Length (Playback)

What happens during playback to events that run longer than the current track. As Recorded leaves them untouched, so they may overlap themselves as the sequence comes round again. Truncate Length cuts an event that outlasts the sequence, so it can never overlap itself.Range As Recorded, Truncate Length

Note Length (Recording)

What happens during recording to events that run longer than the current sequence. See the comparison below.Range Truncate To Sequence Length, Truncate To Sequence End, As Played

Record Track Mute and Solo Events

On, mutes and solos you perform in Track Mute Mode are recorded, and timing correct settings affect where they land. Off, they are not recorded, so you can use the mode just for performing or listening (Track Mute Mode).

Record Pad Aftertouch Events

On, aftertouch data from the pressure-sensitive pads is recorded. Off, it is ignored.

Place Events Recorded During Count-In at Start Point

On, a pad you press during the count-in lands at the start of the recording. Off, nothing records until the count-in ends. This setting is ignored when you record with the Arpeggiator active.

Note Length (Recording), compared: a note starting on bar 2 of a 4-bar loop and held for 5 bars

Mutes, solos and arming

Track Mute State Per Sequence

On, each sequence keeps its own track mute setup, giving you more freedom in live performance and when building arrangements.

Solo Behavior

Single allows one soloed track at a time by default. Multi lets you solo several at once by default.Range Single, Multi

Rec Arm Behavior

Single is the default: selecting a different track arms it and disarms all the others. With Multi, tapping a track’s record button adds it to the group of armed tracks.Range Single, Multi

Key combinations

SHIFT + tap solo buttons

Solos several tracks at once.With Solo Behavior set to Single

SHIFT + tap record buttons

Arms several tracks at once.With Rec Arm Behavior set to Single

Q-Links and display

Q-Link Playhead Increment

How far the playhead moves when a Q-Link controls it. 1/16 Note locks it to 1/16 notes. TC Division ties it to the current Timing Correct division, which you set in the Timing Correct window, reached in Grid View through the clock icon at the grid’s lower-left corner (Timing Correct).Range 1/16 Note, TC Division

Q-Link Swing Control Applies TC Settings on Release

On, turning a Q-Link assigned to Swing and letting go applies that Swing straight away. Off, you have to apply it from the Timing Correct window.

Display Resolution

How finely pulse values are shown in parts of the operating system, measured in PPQN (pulses per quarter note). It changes what you see, not the timing.

Project Defaults

Default Tempo

The default tempo in BPM.

Default Global Tempo

On, the default tempo is used as the global tempo. Off, it is used for sequences.

Default Mode

The mode you land in when the MPC powers on.Range Main Mode, Sounds mode

Default Q-Link Mode

The Q-Link mode to start in (Q-Links tab).Range Screen, Project 1–2, Track, Pad Scene, Pad Parameter, Track FX Rack, MIDI, Volume, Pan, Send 1–4

Default Sequence Bars

How many bars a new sequence has.

Default Sequence Loop

Whether loop is on by default.

Default Time Signature Numerator

How many beats a bar has by default.

Default Time Signature Denominator

The note value of each beat by default.

Default Pad Slice

How new samples play once loaded or recorded into a project. Pad sets the Slice menu in Track Edit Mode to Pad, where you set the layer’s start point, end point and so on. All sets it to All, which plays the whole sample.Range Pad, All

Default Drum Filter

The filter type new drum tracks use. See Filter in the Glossary.

Default Plugin Synth

The instrument plugin a new plugin track loads, chosen from the window that appears.

Default Audio Monitor

The default audio monitoring behaviour.Range Off (default), In, Auto, Merge

Default MIDI Monitor

The default MIDI monitoring behaviour.Range Off, In, Auto (default), Merge

Use Fixed Track/Row Color

Check this to create all tracks in one fixed colour.

Default Track/Row Color

The colour used when Use Fixed Track/Row Color is on.

Enable Pads User Level By Default

Checked, all pads play at the set user level by default. Unchecked, they use the standard velocity response.

Default Pads User Level Velocity

The default pad velocity when the setting above is on. Holding FULL LEVEL | USER LEVEL is another way to set the level (Full Level and User Level).

Project Load/Save

New Project Behavior

What loads when you select New Project.Range Empty Project, Factory Project, User Auto Load Project

User Auto Load File

The project (.xpj) or program (.xpm) that opens by itself whenever you start the MPC.

New Project Dialog

The choices you get when starting a new project. Off gives an empty project with only your project defaults applied. Demo offers a demo project from several genres, or an empty project. Recent offers recently loaded projects. Demo/Template/Recent offers a demo, a project template or a recently loaded project.Range Off, Demo, Recent, Demo/Template/Recent

Template File

The project template behind the User Template choice in the New Project Dialog window. Saving a file with the Save as Template box selected puts it in this field. User Template is on offer only when New Project Dialog is Demo or Demo/Template/Recent.

Temporary File Location

Where temporary files are recorded: on the device or on connected external media.

Auto Save Enabled

On, the project saves itself after each timeout interval. Off, it only saves when you save it.

Auto Save Timeout

How often the project saves itself.

Key combinations

SHIFT + Empty project

Creates an empty project even when an Auto Load project is set.In the New Project dialog

Parameters

Vintage Mode

Applies an emulation to the audio output, such as the sonic qualities of the MPC3000 or MPC60, or leaves it clean with None.

Audition Auto Play

How long a sample sounds when it auto-previews.

Audition Outputs

Which pair of outputs plays auditioned sounds, as available. It covers Browser previews of samples, tracks and projects; playback and the Cue and Slice Previews in Sample Edit Mode; and playback in the Sampler’s Keep or Discard Sample window.Range Out 1,2–7,8 in standalone mode; Out 1,2–31,32 in Controller Mode

Cue Preview

What you hear as you move the cue playhead through a waveform: a little of the sample before it, a little after it, or nothing. Also available in Sample Edit Mode (Sample Edit Mode).Range Before, After, Off

Slice Preview

What you hear as you move a slice marker through a waveform: a little of the sample before it, a little after it, or nothing. Also available in Sample Edit Mode.Range Before, After, Off

Show Mode Shortcut Panel

On, swipe right on the grey bar at the left edge of the screen to reach a panel of shortcuts. Rearrange the Menu layout to put your five most-used modes in it (The Menu). Off by default.

BPM Detection Range

The span of BPM values that automatic detection can return, and that TAP TEMPO | GLOBAL can enter.

Show Q-Link Status When Touched

On, touching a Q-Link pops up its current assignments and values.

Automation Lane Follows Q-Links

On, touching a Q-Link brings up its automation status in Grid View’s automation lane.

Collect Usage Statistics

Whether usage statistics are sent to Akai from time to time, to help improve the MPC experience.

Link your account and sync

1. 1Tap Get Login Code. If the MPC is not on a network, it asks you to connect before this button appears.
2. 2Follow the on-screen instructions to link the MPC to your Splice account in a web browser. The link can take a few moments.
3. 3When the message confirming the link appears, tap OK to return to the Splice page.
4. 4Tap Sync Files to download samples from your Splice account to a drive.

Find your samples

1. 1Press LOAD | SAVE to open the Browser.
2. 2Go to the Content tab and tap the Splice shortcut icon. If nothing appears, check that you have connected your account and synced your files.
3. 3Browse the top-level folders on the right, which sort your library by BPM, Instrument, Key, Pack or Tag. All Your Samples lists everything you have downloaded.

Also on the Splice page

• Check For Update shows how many samples are available to download from your account.
• Log Out signs you out of your Splice account.

Digital Audio System

Line Inputs 1–2

Line Outputs 1–2

Headphone Output

Mechanical

CPU

File System Compatibility

Wi-Fi

Bluetooth

Connections

Power, size and weight

Aftertouch

A MIDI message produced when you lean harder on a key you are already holding. It makes a sound more expressive, for instance by adding vibrato.

Aliasing

An audible by-product in digital systems. It appears once a signal contains harmonics above half the sampling frequency.

Amount

How strongly a modulation source affects a parameter.

Amplifier

The part that sets a sound’s volume according to a control signal, which might come from an envelope or an LFO.

Attack

The opening stage of an envelope: how fast it climbs from its starting point to its highest value. It begins as soon as a trigger arrives, such as a note played on a pad or keyboard.

Bit Rate

Also called word length. The number of bits storing the level of each slice of a sample. More bits describe the dynamics more precisely. Audio CDs use 16 bits, and the MPC handles up to a full 24.

Clipping

Distortion that occurs when a signal goes over the most a system can handle. In analogue gear the signal is effectively capped at a maximum level. In digital systems it acts like a numerical overflow, turning the excess portions into negative polarity.

Control Change (Controllers)

A MIDI message in two parts: a controller number from 0 to 127 that says which parameter to affect, and a value that says how much. It can create effects such as a slow swell of vibrato, shifts in stereo position or movement in filter frequency.

Cutoff

The frequency a filter works around. A low-pass filter, for example, dampens what lies above it and lets what lies below pass untouched.

CV

Control voltage: an analogue way of sending control signals to external synths, drum machines and the like. It usually works alongside Gate, with CV setting a note’s pitch and Gate setting when it plays and how long. Signals go from the MPC’s CV outs to the device’s CV inputs. Each device expects its own voltage range (1V/oct, for example), and a mismatch can rescale the octaves in strange ways. See CV/Gate.

Decay

How fast an envelope falls from its attack peak to the sustain level.

Envelope

A contour that moves a sound-shaping component over time, set off by a trigger, usually a MIDI note. An envelope on a filter’s cutoff, for example, opens and closes that filter. The classic ADSR has four stages: attack, decay and release are times or slopes, and sustain is a level held until the trigger ends, when release carries it to the minimum. See Anatomy of an envelope.

Filter

A component that lets some frequencies through and dampens others, with the cutoff frequency as its key setting. Low-pass, the most common type, dampens everything above the cutoff, and high-pass everything below it. Band-pass keeps only what is around the cutoff, band-stop dampens only what is around it, and band-boost lifts that area as an EQ band would. More poles make a filter more drastic: one or two sound subtler, six or eight far more pronounced. The Model filters emulate famous vintage synth filters. Model1 has four poles and distorts at high input levels, Model2 pairs a mellow resonance with a fattening low-end distortion, and Model3 can make howling resonances and extreme subs. The Vocal filters are formant filters imitating the human voice. Vocal1 makes “ah” and “ooh” sounds, Vocal2 uses three bands for “oh” and “ee”, and Vocal3 uses five bands to model an idealised vocal tract. MPC3000 LPF is the dynamic, resonant 12 dB/oct low-pass filter of the original MPC3000 from 1994. See also Resonance.

Gate

An analogue signal sent to external synths, drum machines and the like. Usually paired with CV: CV sets a note’s pitch, and Gate sets when the note plays and how long. It leaves the MPC’s CV outs and goes to the device’s CV/Gate inputs.

LFO

Short for low-frequency oscillator. It produces a repeating, slow-moving wave in a choice of shapes and, like an envelope, can modulate a sound-shaping component.

MIDI

Short for musical instrument digital interface. It dates from the early 1980s, when no shared standard existed, and lets electronic instruments from different makers work together through simple connectors. A sender connects to one or more receivers: data leaves the sender’s MIDI Out and travels by cable to the receiver’s MIDI In. On gear that has it, MIDI Thru passes incoming data on untouched, so you can chain further devices.

MIDI Channel

A number carried by most MIDI messages. A receiver reacts only if it is set to the same channel the sender is using, which is how a sender can address one device among many. There are 16 channels, numbered 1–16.

MIDI Clock

A message carrying tempo in real time, to keep connected devices in step. A delay on a sound generator can lock to a sequencer this way, for example.

Modulation

Using a source to change a sound-shaping destination. Sources include envelopes, LFOs and MIDI messages. Destinations include filters and VCAs.

Normalize

A process that finds a sample’s loudest point and lifts the whole sample until that point reaches 0 dB, with no distortion. It generally makes the sample louder overall.

Note On & Note Off

The core MIDI message, which sets a note’s pitch and velocity. A note-on starts a note, with its pitch given by a note number from 0 to 127. Velocity runs from 1 to 127, and a velocity of 0 counts as a note-off.

Panning

Placing a signal within the stereo field, or the position that results.

Pitch-Bend

A MIDI message of its own type, though it works much like control change. It has far higher resolution than an ordinary controller message, because our ears notice very small changes in pitch.

Program Change

A MIDI message that calls up a different sound program, numbered from 1 to 128.

Release

How fast an envelope falls to its minimum once the trigger ends. It begins at that moment, whatever stage the envelope has reached, so it can even cut in during the attack.

Resonance

Also called emphasis. A filter setting that amplifies a narrow band around the cutoff frequency. Turn it up until the filter self-oscillates and it generates a fairly pure sine wave.

Root Key

The original pitch of a recorded instrument or sample. The MPC stores it with the sample, creating it automatically as you record or import.

Sample

A digitised snippet of audio, mono or stereo, that you trigger from the pads. Record one with the sampling function or load one from the Browser, shape it by trimming, looping, pitch-shifting or adding effects, then assign it to one or more pads.

Sample Rate

How many times per second an analogue signal is measured to capture it digitally. CD audio uses 44,100 per second, written as 44.1 kHz.

Stretch Factor

A value worked out by the Warp algorithm. Audio you record carries the project tempo of that moment, written into the sample file on saving. Warping an audio track region takes that tempo and the current BPM value and derives the factor from them.

Sustain

The level an envelope holds after its attack and decay, until the trigger ends.

Time-Stretch

Another name for Warp.

Track

A lane of musical data in a project. A MIDI track holds notes and controller data rather than audio, and relies on an external MIDI sound module, or on the samples in a drum or keygroup track, for its sound. An audio track holds audio that was recorded or imported into the project. Both can be edited once captured. See About tracks.

Trigger

A signal that starts something off. A MIDI note or an audio signal can act as one, and a common job is starting an envelope.

Warp

Changes the length of an audio track region or a sample while leaving its pitch alone, so you can fit it to a sequence or a bar and keep it in key. It is heavy on the CPU and can cause drop-outs if overused. To ease the load, keep pitch adjustment on warped audio small, avoid extreme Stretch values in Track Edit Mode, avoid warping very short regions, warp as few tracks and regions as you can (especially ones starting at the same moment), and avoid rapidly retriggering warped samples. On a drum or keygroup track, Flatten Pad can consolidate a pad’s layers into one sample that no longer needs warping.