001 Overview 3
Introduction 3
The Kit 3
The Recording Chain 4
002 Technical Details 6
The Samples 6
The MPC Kits 7
Velocity Switching Kit 8
Round Robin Kit 10
The Full Monty JJOSXL Kit 10
The Low Memory Kit 11
Maschine Kit 11
003 Tips & Tweaks 13
Optimising Memory Usage 13
Adjusting MPC Pad Sensitivity 13
Finger Drumming 14
Custom Kits 14
Programming & Performance Tips 15
Table of Contents
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'The Pro Studio Kit' from MPC-Samples.com is a multisampled acoustic drum
kit recorded using a top-of-the range flagship drum kit from the world’s most
foremost drum manufacturer, Sonor.
The Sonor Designer Kit is an incredibly versatile and natural sounding acoustic
drum kit featuring an impressively fat warm tone and huge projection. It’s widely
considered to be one of the best drum kits ever made and, unsurprisingly, is
currently found in many high-end recording studios across the world.
This particular kit comprises of a Sonor 22" kick, 12” & 14" Sonor rack toms
(high and low), a maple 14 x 5 Sonor Artiste snare, a Zildjian 13" KZ ride
cymbal, a Zildjian K custom fast crash and an 18" Zildjian k custom hi hat.
Overview
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The Recording Chain
The Modern Session Kit was recorded at the famous MU Studios in Sheffield UK
along with veteran session drummer Darren Ford, using 11 separate
microphones to capture the most natural recording possible, including three
mics for the kick, three mics for the snare, two tom mics, two overheads, and a
dedicated room mic. Everything was recorded into Logic Pro X via an Amek Big
by Langley desk.
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The Samples
The kit itself contained 7 unique instruments; kick, snare, hi hat, crash, ride, high
tom and low tom. Additionally, some instruments are provided with a number of
different articulations - for example the hi hat has three articulations; a closed hat
hit across the main section of the cymbal (‘closed hat bow’), a closed hat hit on
the edge of the cymbal (closed hat edge) and an open hat.
We recorded Darren playing each articulation in gradual steps across the full
range of velocity, from the very softest touch (velocity ‘1’) right up to a hard bash
(velocity ‘127’) – this process was repeated several times for each articulation,
giving us hundreds of samples for each articulation, from which we selected the
best 18 samples.
There are a total of 16 unique articulations provided:
1. Kick drum isolated (ki) – this was recorded without the snare present
and all other instruments dampened to ensure only the kick can be heard
2. Kick Drum with Snare (ks) – this kick was recorded with the rest of the
kit, this tends to give a more natural ‘kit’ kick sound.
3. Snare (sn) – a snare drum hit in the centre of the head
4. Snare Side Stick (ss) - a hit on the snare rim using the fat end of the stick
while resting the thin end on the head
5. Snare Rim Shot (sr) - a simultaneous hit of the snare head and rim
6. Snare ‘drag’ (sd) – a short snare roll
7. Snare flam (sf) – a very quick double snare hit
8. Snare Edge (se) – a hit on the very edge of the snare head
9. Closed Hat Bow (hc) – a closed hat hit at the centre
10. Closed Hat Edge (he) – a closed hat hit on the very edge of the cymbal
11. Open Hat (ho) – the same hi hat hit while 3/4 open
12. Crash Cymbal Edge (ce) – hit on the edge of the cymbal
13. Ride Cymbal Bow (rd) – a ride hit at the centre of the cymbal
14. Ride Cymbal Bell (rb) – a hit to the bell of the cymbal
15. High Tom (th) – centre hit on a high rack tom
16. Low Tom (tl) – centre hit on a low rack tom
Technical Details
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With 18 velocity steps per articulation, that’s 288 unique drum multisamples. The
number of samples available for your particular sampler is dependent on the
sampler model and operating system you are running, as each have their own
unique technical limitations.
The MPC Kits
Locate the folder that refers to your particular MPC model. Inside you will find a
collection of ready-made program files for each compatible MPC. In these
programs we have laid out your kit samples in a finger drumming friendly
configuration and have included pre-configured mixer settings and performance
based program parameters such as velocity switching and mute groups. So
simply load up the desired program file into your MPC and immediately start
creating realistic drum performances!
Due to differing functionality between different MPC models, we’ve provided
program files and samples that are tailored to specific models and their general
technical (and practical) limitations.
• MPC Software/MPC5000/MPC4000 – for these MPCs we have provided
24 bit, stereo samples, with 4 velocities provided per articulation, and in
the case of the MPC Software and MPC5000, additional samples to be
used for a special ‘round robin’ program.
• MPC1000/MPC2500/MPC500/JJOS – for these MPCs, we have provided
16 bit stereo WAV samples, with up to 3 velocities per articulation for
JJOS2, JJOS3 and JJOSXL, and up to 4 velocities per articulation for Akai
OS and all other JJOS versions.
• MPC2000/MPC2000XL/MPC3000 – 16 bit mono SND files with up to 3
velocities per articulation. As these MPC models have limited memory,
these programs and samples are optimised to ensure minimum memory
usage.
To use the kits, simply transfer the appropriate folder to your MPC’s usual
storage. Once transferred, load up the program file for the kit you wish to use and
assign it to a track in the current sequence. For more information on transferring
your sounds to your MPC, see our article here:
http://www.mpc-samples.com/article/mpc-file-transfers
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The Velocity Switching Kit
The core MPC kit is the Velocity Switching kit (vs) which uses the velocity
switching feature that is common across all MPC models. In this kit, each pad is
set up to play one of up to four different samples depending on the velocity
you’ve hit the pad with. So if you hit the main snare pad very hard, it will play
back a ‘hard’ snare sample. If you hit it very softly, it will play back a soft snare
sample, and so on. Obviously the full benefits of this kit require FULL LEVEL
turned OFF!
The layout of this kit (and all other kits in this collection) is very ‘finger drumming’
friendly:
We have placed the main ‘bread and butter’ drum sounds on pads A5 to A8; kick
(A5), snare (A6), closed hat (A7) and open hat (A8). Typically you would use
your left hand to play the kick and snare, and your right hand to play the closed
and open hats. You can use whichever fingers feel the most natural.
We have placed the ‘edge’ hi hat on A3, just under the closed hat, this way it is
easy to also incorporate some nice variation in your hat patterns. The edge and
closed hat both automatically ‘mute’ the open hat.
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For the snare, we have provided a number of different articulations which when
used together will create an incredibly realistic snare performance, with a
standard ‘centre’ hit on pad A5, an edge hit on A13, a rim hit on A14, and a side
stick on A02. Additionally, we have a ‘flam’ on A09 which is a very short double
hit and a snare ‘drag’ (which is a very short snare roll) on A10.
The layout for the 12 pad MPC500 is a little different to account for the fact that it
only has three columns of pads instead of four. So here we have placed the most
common articulations on bank A, with the less used articulations moved to bank
B:
In MPCs from the MPC4000 or newer, velocity switching is accomplished using
pad layers (or ‘zones’), so all samples used in a velocity switch for a single pad
are stored within that pad. For legacy MPCs (MPC2000XL or older), velocity
switching is accomplished using the ‘Vel Sw’ option, where the additional
switches are stored on separate pads (found in banks B and C).
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Please note that due to ‘mute target’ limitations in legacy MPCs, the open hat
only features two velocity layers.
The Round Robin Kit
In a ‘round robin’, multiple hits of a pad (regardless of velocity) will play back a
different sample each time that pad is hit. In the Round Robin kit (rr), each pad
is configured to play one of four ‘takes’ each time it is hit. This produces a very
realistic sounding recreation as it mimics the way acoustic instruments never play
the exact sound each time they are hit, instead you’ll always hear a very slight
and subtle change in timbre.
Round robins are perfect for sequences where the same instrument is played in a
continual succession, such as hi hat patterns and drum rolls.
The only ‘Akai’ MPCs that support round robins are the MPC5000 and MPC
Software. Please note that unfortunately you cannot use the round robin feature
with the velocity switching feature on the same pad, it’s an ‘either-or’ situation.
But you can of course customise your kit to contain some pads with velocity
switching and some with round robins. If you need help doing this, check out
‘Beat Making on the MPC5000’ and ‘MPC Renaissance & MPC Studio:
Sampling Laid Bare’, which both cover this area extensively:
http://www.mpc-samples.com/section.php/8/0/akai-mpc-tutorials/
The layout of the round robin kit is identical to the Velocity Switching Kit.
The JJOSXL Kit (‘The Full Monty’)
Unlike the MPC5000 and MPC Software, any MPC1000 running JJOS2XL or
MPC2500 running JJOS-XL can utilise both velocity switching and round robins
on a single pad!
This is accomplished by setting up the standard velocity switching on each pad
and then setting of ‘CYCLE’ play in the ‘PROGRAM > MUTE’ screen. The
difference here is that CYCLE play uses additional pads to provide the samples
for the round robins (found in banks B, C and D). But each of these pads can
also be configured for velocity switching, so it really is the best of both worlds.
Memory usage is just under 18MB, – we’ve had to limit the articulations that
utilise round robins and velocity switching as this would send the memory usage
through the roof, so there’s less variance in the cymbals. Just remember that the
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other kits are also compatible with JJOSXL, so if you need lower memory usage,
select one of those or modify the JJOSXL kit to use less velocity switches or less
round robins! See the JJOSXL Chopping Bible for more details on how to set
up JJOSXL DRUM programs:
http://www.mpc-samples.com/product.php/209/jjosxl-chopping-bible/
Important: This kit is purely for JJOS2XL and JJOS-XL; it will not work correctly
in any other JJOS as the pad cycle feature is not present in these OS (it was
even removed from JJOS128XL and OS3). For all other JJOS, please use the
Velocity Switching kit.
The Low Memory Kit
This one simply uses one sample per pad to provide a less memory hungry
version of the kit (just under 6MB). To enhance the realism, it has velocity-based
timbre emulation built in, such as ‘Velocity > Attack’ (produces a softer sounding
sample at soft pad hits) and ‘Velocity > Pitch’ (which produces slight changes in
pitch depending on how hard you hit the pad).
I recommend only using this kit in legacy MPCs or in situations where the rest of
your song need more memory. It will work in all MPCs, but please note that the
MPC5000 has a bug where ‘Velocity > Attack’ is unfortunately working the wrong
way round, so I suggest avoiding using this kit on the MPC5000. There is also no
need to use this in the MPC Software as you don’t have anywhere near the same
memory restrictions!
The Maschine Kit
Maschine has less technical restrictions on the number of velocity zones we can
set up, so our Maschine kit uses all 18 velocity takes per articulation, providing
an un-paralleled amount of realism. Layout is the same as the standard MPC
velocity switching kit.
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Optimising Memory Usage
If you wish to reduce the amount of memory used by any kit kit, you can of
course remove samples that you deem unnecessary. For example, if you
generally do not use toms in your drum performances, simply remove these from
the kit.
You could also reduce the number of samples used for a given instrument,
especially for cymbals which take up quite a lot of memory. For example, rather
than using three velocity layers, you could use two layers on the rides, crash and
open hats, e.g. just use the hard and soft samples and simply remove the
‘medium’ velocity switch. Just remember to adjust your velocity range settings
accordingly. After making any changes, save your new program file with a
different name to the original.
On an MPC4000 or MPC5000, you could use the 16 bit samples instead of the
24 bit ones.
Adjusting MPC Pad Sensitivity
If you are using the kits for finger drumming, you’ll probably want to ensure that
your pad sensitivity has been calibrated to your playing style. Pad sensitivity
refers to how responsive your pads are to reflecting the velocities you hit them
with.
Ideally you want to be able to comfortably achieve a full range of velocities from
your pads, from 1 up to 127, so if your MPC model supports custom pad
sensitivity settings, you can use these to fine tune your pads to suit the way you
naturally play.
In the MPC1000/2500/500/5000, pad sensitivity can be adjusted in ‘OTHER’
mode (MODE & pad 10). In the MPC Software, the pad sensitivity settings are
found in the hardware OTHER screen or via Preferences > Hardware in the
MPC Software.
Tips & Tweaks
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Simply hit your pad at a comfortably ‘hard’ hit and watch the ‘Velocity’ read out.
Adjust the Sensitivity setting until you can hit a velocity of 127 with a
comfortable but hard hit. Now try hitting the pads with a range of velocities and
get a feel as to how the pads are responding to those changes. If it doesn’t feel
quite right, adjust the Pad Curve settings to see which velocity response curve
works best for you (curve A is typically pretty good). Finally if you’re finding the
pads are producing ‘double hits’, try increasing ‘Pad On Level’ (or ‘Threshold’ in
the MPC Software).
The MPC4000 also has a way to adjust the individual pad sensitivity - hit the
PAD ASSIGN button, and select ‘SENS’ (F2). The default is 100% - increasing
this value is a good idea if you find it difficult to naturally hit the pads to produce
the high velocity values (e.g. over 90). The maximum setting is 200%.
Finger Drumming
If you want to learn some finger drumming techniques and exercises, check out
the videos from Jeremy Ellis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEpLD6vD43E
He uses his own preferred layout, but the core techniques are the same
whichever kit layout you adopt. And you can of course adapt our example kits to
have any layout you prefer. Just use the COPY PAD feature found in most
MPCs which will allow you to copy all the settings and sample assignments of a
pad exactly to a different pad in your program.
Custom Kits
You can of course build your own custom kit from scratch using a new blank
program. This way you can choose your favourite timbres for each instrument
(remember each instrument comes with 12 different timbres in total), your own
custom layout, you can miss out certain instruments that you never use and of
course add other sounds to your kit (e.g. more percussion, bass, piano etc). For
detailed guidance on how to build custom kits, check out my ‘Beat Making on the
MPC’ books, as well as the JJOSXL Chopping Bible and ‘MPC: Sampling Laid
Bare’.
http://www.mpc-samples.com/section.php/8/0/akai-mpc-tutorials/
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Programming & Performance Tips
Ideally you should try playing your kits with FULL LEVEL turned off as this will
produce a much more natural variance in the velocities you play. But if you prefer
to have FULL LEVEL tuned on (or have to if your pad sensors are too
knackered!), then always choose the round Robin version if your MPC supports
it, and regardless, remember to take advantage of the dedicated ghost notes to
produce those softer sounds.
When recording live into the MPC sequencer, setting a TC value of OFF will give
your sequence a more human performance. You can fix any obvious errors later
in STEP/GRID EDIT. Only use quantize if you are looking to create a more rigid,
sequenced feel to your breaks. Or consider recording the core elements of your
break with a 1/16 quantize and then setting TC:OFF and overdubbing the more
funky ghost notes and fills.
Try to add variety to your sequenced breaks, don’t just loop the same two bars
for 3 minutes – add fills, ghost notes, funky hi hat pattern changes etc. Listen to
the way real drummers play and try to mimic some of the grooves from your
favourite drum performances.
Consider placing each individual instrument on a separate sequencer track (e.g.
Kick on track 1, snare on track 2, etc). This will simplify mixing within your MPC
and will make tracking to a DAW easier. If you play all drums live to a single
track, you can separate them into individual sequencer tracks after they’ve been
recorded. Typically you would use SEQ EDIT to selectively copy specific
instrument events to unique tracks.
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http://www.mpc-samples.com/product.php/252/the-pro-studio-kit/
Recorded & Produced by MPC-Samples.com.
Copyright © 2015 MPC-Samples.com. All rights reserved.
Drums performed by Darren Ford
Engineering by Martin Smith, Mu Studios
Sample Editing & Sampler Programs by Andy Avgousti (MPC-Tutor)
Published by MPC-Samples.com 2015
For more information go to:
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