Here are some definitions of terms most commonly used within the MPC and throughout my guide to using it, you should understand these and familiarise yourself with them practically before moving on to doing bigger things as without a good grounding in these areas you may get confused with the MPC's unique way of performance pertaining to arrangement etc.

I will introduce you to numerous functions, methods and techniques throughout this guide so it is of grave importance that you can follow the basics as the MPC is a simple machine to use and is based around a handful of basic generic functions and screens, on the other hand it is one of those real 'get to know' pieces of gear that has a following of lots of rather sad people who don't get out much!.

As you find your footing with it you will encounter endless creative delights and surprises and lots of "I've never seen that before" moments, this all manifests towards its user-friendliness for people that take the time to really learn it (and it really isn't that hard!), plus its not over expensive, intuitive and portable (I keep mine in a turntable flight case) thus it has deservedly gained major cult status over the years (particularly in Hip hop etc.), I once heard it aptly named 'The Grey Beast'!.

Sequence:-

A sequence is the most basic unit in creating data on the MPC2000. The performance data from a MIDI keyboard or pad is recorded on each track within a sequence. Each sequence has 64 tracks each to which data can be recorded. It is possible to have up to 99 sequences.

There are two ways to create music data on the MPC. One way is to create a long sequence as one whole piece (like Cubase), the second is to create short sequences for each part of your piece (i.e. bridge, chorus and verse parts/ loops) and play them sequentially using the Song feature.

One sequence as a whole piece.

A multiple sequence piece.

(setting short sequences with the Song function).

Track:-

There are 64 tracks in a sequence to which individual performances can be recorded. For example, track one could be piano, track two bass, track three organ etc. Normally you will record one track at a time, it is possible to record a new track whilst listening to the others in different combinations of on/ off status to get the 'feel' right and it is also possible to entirely record over a track or overdub it. You are able to select either a drum track (playing an internal sampled sound from the drum pads) or MIDI track (playing external MIDI source).

Song:-

This function sequentially plays the data of selected sequences, you can set the order and number of repetitions of a sequence. This is used to play multiple pieces consecutively or to complete a song by arranging the sequence data for each part, it is possible to create up to 20 songs each having a total of 250 steps. A sequence is assigned to each step to create a song, in doing so it is also possible to set each step to repeat a number of times.

Sound:-

Each individually sampled recording in the MPC is called a sound, whether recorded in the SAMPLE page or loaded from disk. The sound can be edited on the TRIM page in numerous ways, it is then assigned to a pad number where it is possible to set the envelope, filter or pitch. Assign a note number to each pad to play the sound from the MPC pads.

Drum Pads:-

Sounds are played by assigning them to a drum pad. It is possible to assign up to 64 sounds with the pad bank keys. To play a note from a pad assign a sound to a note number then assign the note number to a pad (it is not usually necessary to specify a note number, especially if you are not using much external MIDI gear). By playing a pad it is also possible to send the MIDI note information of the note number assigned to the pad from the MIDI Output.

Note Number:-

This refers to the position (note) of the MIDI note event on the keyboard, for example, the note number for Middle C on the piano is 60, the lowest number on the keyboard is A-1 which is note number 21. On a MIDI track the data is recorded as note numbers. On a drum track the note number is used to playback the internal sampler.

Program:-

A program is a collection of sounds assigned to up to 64 pads. It is possible to set the envelope or filter on each pad individually, you can have as many as 24 of these programs loaded at once (depending on memory space). The sound is played back by a pad only when it is assigned to a note number in a program. When a sequence is played back the sound is played according to the note data recorded on a track. You can instantly switch the program by selecting it in PROGRAM mode. It is also possible to use the MIDI program change feature to switch the program (another really useful live function).