How To Revitalise Your Loop Library By Slicing Audio With Akai MPC 2 Software

Slicing audio into regions so it can be played like an instrument is at the heart of how the MPC software works. This video shows you how it's done.  

The terms "chop" and "MPC" can often be found in the same sentence, with the legendary family of hardware and software sampler / sequencers well known for their abiities in the field of sample slicing. In this video from the course MPC 2 Software 101: MPC Software Explored, expert producer Alex Solano delves deep into the process of region chopping in the MPC software, showing you how to cut up audio loops to prepare them for re-sequencing and other tasks.

MPC 2 Software 101: MPC Software Explored

Alex begins by taking a classic hip hop beat and importing it to the sample editor. Then he goes to the Chop menu and chooses to divide the sample into regions so it becomes playable across the pads on his MIDI hardware controller. You'll see that the different parts of the beat can be retriggered from the pads, turning the regions into controllable slices and making the MIDI pads into an instrument.

By slicing the loop into regions and then mapping these across the pads (which is simple to do), you are then able to quickly record a new pattern into the MPC software's MIDI sequencer, creating a new sequence from an existing loop with just a few steps. This technique is fundamental to working with the MPC software and is at the heart of the way you use audio loops and samples as the basis for making music. There's much more, so be sure to check out the rest of the videos in this course for a complete guide to everything you need to know about the MPC 2 software.

Watch the course MPC 2 Software 101: MPC Software Explored in the Ask.Audio Academy | macProVideo | Ask.Video

Hollin Jones was classically trained as a piano player but found the lure of blues and jazz too much to resist. Graduating from bands to composition then production, he relishes the chance to play anything with keys. A sometime lecturer in videographics, music production and photography post production, Hollin has been a freelance w... Read More

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