Installation and Operation of MPC Editor Software

Introduction

Purpose of this document. The following instructions describe how to install and use the MPC
Editor software for the Akai Midi Production Center drum samplers. These instructions also
cover additional MPC Editor features, troubleshooting and registration. Please review this
document prior to installation and use of the MPC Editor.

MPC Editor Description. The MPC Editor enables a user to create program files for the Akai
Midi Production Center models MPC60, MPC3000, MPC2000 and MPC2000XL on a personal
computer. A program is a collection of samples and a file containing these sample names and
settings. Program settings can be adjusted, such as mute groups, mixer settings, tuning,
resonance and filter with the MPC Editor. Once the program is created, the program data is
saved or exported to a disk drive.

Since the Midi Production Center does not support transfers over SCSI like other Akai samplers,
the MPC Editor simulates the program creation and editing of the Midi Production Center on a
personal computer. The MPC Editor saves completed work to files on disk that can be read by
the Midi Production Center. Features of the MPC Editor include:

• Accepts PCM WAV and native Akai SND format files.

• Preview wave and snd files in MPC Editor.
• Open and edit existing programs.
• Import Recycle 2.0 AKP files.
• Simple interface to set mixer and note settings for pads.
• Export function exports program file and necessary samples to any drive or directory.
• Export function converts sound files appropriate to the model Midi Production Center.
• Fix Disk OEMID for MPC disks.
• Disk format utility for using MPC3000/60 removable disks under WindowsXP.

MPC Editor Installation

Prerequisites. The minimum hardware requirements to operate the MPC Editor are the same as
the minimum requirements for a personal computer to run a 32-bit Windows™ Operating
System such as Win9x, Win2000, NT or WinXP. There are no additional software requirements
to operate the MPC Editor. Users of the MPC Editor should have basic working knowledge of
the Midi Production Center and basic working knowledge of personal computer operations.

Downloading MPC Editor. The MPC Editor is distributed electronically over the Internet and
can be downloaded from http://www.midicase.com.

Note: The download is 2 MB in size and will take approximately 15 minutes to download over a
56k modem connection.

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To download the install file, locate the install file at the www.midicase.com website, right-click
with a mouse on the MPCEditor download link and select `Save File As`. Select a location on
the computer hard drive to store the installation file.

Caution: Prior to installation, it is recommended that you close any open programs.

Run the Install File. Extract the downloaded file to a temporary location and run Setup.exe.
Follow the on-screen prompts to install the MPC Editor software.

During the installation, choose the installation directory as shown in Figure 1.

(Figure 1- MPC Editor Installation directory selection)

A successful installation will be indicated as shown in Figure 2.

(Figure 2- Successful installation indication)

A shortcut is installed in the Programs menu for MPC Editor. MPC Editor can be started from
this shortcut.

Installation Troubleshooting. If the installation fails to install, download the install file again.
Ensure all open programs are closed and execute the installation file. Additional assistance with
installation can be obtained by contacting product support at [email protected].

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MPC Editor Operation

Overview. If the MPC Editor is not yet registered, a dialog box will appear indicating the
number of days remaining in the trial period (Figure 3). If you have purchased the MPC Editor,
you may enter your registration name and code. Once registered this dialog box will not appear
again.

(Figure 3 – MPC Editor Registration screen)

The main working screen of the MPC Editor is shown in Figure 4.

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 Menu

Directory
List

Pads
File List

Program
Size

(Figure 4 – MPC Editor main screen)

The pads in the MPC Editor represent the pads on the Midi Production Center. Each of the four
banks of 16 pads can be selected with the tabs above the pads labeled A, B, C and D. The
Directory List and File List display the directories and files located on your computer’s hard
drive. Highlighting the sample name and clicking Play will preview samples in the file list box.
Long sample playback will be halted with the ‘Stop’ button. Note: Please avoid using non-
alphanumeric directories or filenames like ‘?’ or ‘!’. This will be addressed in a future update.

Note: It is suggested to use 8 character or less names to avoid file naming issues when
transferring between the MPC and PC.

Creating Drum Programs

Assigning samples to pads. Using the directory list, navigate to the directory in which samples
to be used in the program are located. Files in the selected directory will appear in the file list
box (Figure 4). To assign samples to pads, drag and drop the samples from the file list box to the
pads. To indicate a sample has been correctly assigned to a pad, the pad will display the name of
the sample (Figure 5).

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 (Figure 7 – MPC Editor sample assigned to pad)

Notes: The sample may be previewed again by clicking on a sample assigned pad. The sample
name will be truncated to eight characters for proper reading by the Midi Production Center.
Samples can be drag and dropped from pad to pad. Hold the SHIFT button to drag and drop a
sample from one pad to another.

Samples may be cleared from a pad assignment with a right mouse click on a pad to display the
cascade menu. Select `Clear` from the cascade menu (Figure 8).

(Figure 8 – MPC Editor sample clearing and settings)

Editing pad parameters. Right clicking on the pad to bring up the cascade menu and selecting
`Settings` will access the parameters for each pad (Figure 8). The Pad Settings screen will
display the most common parameters (Figure 9).

(Figure 9 – MPC Editor Pad Settings)

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The MPC Editor Pad Settings correspond to the same available settings found on the MPC
hardware. Refer to the manual for your model Midi Production Center for descriptions of the
settings.

Note: Parameter changes will not be reflected in Preview from the Editor. Some parameters will
be implemented in a future update.

Editing Program Parameters. Change program parameters by selecting `Edit Program

Parameters` from the menu (Figure 10).

(Figure 10 – MPC Editor selecting program parameters)

Change settings as desired for the program (Figure 11).

(Figure 11 – MPC Editor program parameters)

The MPC Editor Program Settings correspond to the same available settings found on the Midi
Production Center. Refer to the manual for your model Midi Production Center for descriptions
of the settings. In addition to the program parameters, the MPC Editor Program settings screen
provides global override settings for the pads. Select Poly, Mono Note Off to set the Voice
Overlap Mode for all 64 pads without having to set these individually.

Saving Programs

Note: it is not necessary to Save the Program prior to export.

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Once the program has been created with the desired samples and settings, optionally save the
program for editing at another time. To save the program, select File and then Save Program
from the Menu. A dialog box will appear prompting for a program name and format (Figure 12).

(Figure 12 – MPC Editor program name and format screen)

Enter a name for the program in the text box. Select the export format that matches the model of
Midi Production Center that will be using the program file and samples.

Notes: 1. MPC60 users select the MPC3000 option.

2. It is not necessary for MPC60 users to select the 12-bit option. The MPC60 will drop
these last 4 bits when loading anyway.
3. MPC2000 and XL will load MPC3000 programs.
4. The only difference between the MPC2000 and MPC2000XL export is that the XL
export will not convert *.wav files to *.snd format, but instead directly copy the *.wav
files.
5. If only saving the program, sound data conversion does not occur. See Exporting
below for data conversion.

Select OK to display the directory browser to select a directory to save the program (Figure 13).

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 (Figure 13 – MPC Editor Directory browser)

Note: It is recommended to save the program file to the same directory in which the samples that
are used in the program are stored. All samples with a program need to be in the same directory
in order to later open the program file.

Select a directory in the directory browser. Confirm the selection by pressing OK. Program
saving is completed.

Exporting Programs and Samples

The most powerful feature of the MPC Editor is exporting. This process quickly converts the
data and copies it to an external drive for immediate loading into the Midi Production Center.

Precautions for exporting:

• If exporting to large removable drives such as Zip or Jazz, do not exceed 500 files in the
root directory of the drive.
• When exporting for MPC3000, the drive will need to be in MPC3000 format or formatted
using the Disk Formatter utility in the Disk menu (XP only).
• If exporting to floppy, a single sample cannot be larger than the capacity of the floppy
disk; however, the sample files for a simple program may be saved on more than one
floppy.

Select `Export Program` in the File section of the MPC Editor menu. The program name and
format dialog will appear (Figure 12). Enter program name in the text box and select proper
export format for your Midi Production Center. After confirming the entry, select a destination
drive for export (Figure 13). Confirm the location by pressing OK. The MPC Editor creates the
program and sound files and exports to the selected drive. When exporting is completed, remove
the disk from your computer and place in the Midi Production Center disk drive. Load the newly

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created program file using the MPC. The program is ready for use in the Midi Production
Center.

Export Troubleshooting.

• If using removable drives other than floppy disk check that the destination disk has
enough available space to hold the program. The bottom right status box on the MPC
Editor main screen displays the approximate amount of required free space to hold the
program.
• Check that the destination disk is not write-protected.
• Check that Windows Explorer can see contents of the disk and test that you can manually
copy test files to the disk. If Windows cannot mount and see the disk, the MPC Editor
will not be able to write or read to the disk.
• Check that there are not more than 500 files in the root directory of the disk drive.
• Windows XP and MPC3000/60 limitations: XP may not mount a MPC formatted Zip
drive. If using a MPC3000 or MPC60 and XP, use the Disk Formatter under the Disk
menu.
• Windows XP and MPC2000(XL) limitations: XP systems might not mount an
MPC2000(XL) large removable disk and the MPC may have problems mounting an XP
formatted Zip disk. Iomega has resolved this issue with their Zip tools found at
http://www.iomega.com/software/ioware402pc.html Formatting using this Iomega tool
creates a disk system that can be read and written too from both MPC2000(XL) and XP
to allow for transfer. The Disk Formatter can also be used for MPC2000(XL) transfers.

Opening saved programs

Select Open Program from the File section of the menu to open saved programs. Ensure that the
files required for the open program are in the same directory as the program. The MPC Editor
will display a warning box if sample files are not located in the same directory as the program
file.

Additional Operations

AKP import. The MPC Editor can import AKP and sample files exported from Propellerhead
Recycle 2.0™. The MPC Editor converts the AKP file into a program file that is compatible
with the midi file that is created by Recycle. Select Import AKP from the File section of the
menu to open AKP files. Once the AKP file is imported, edit, save or export the newly created
program as needed. Manually copy the midi file to the export disk to use in the Midi Production
Center.

Auto assignment. Groups of samples can be automatically assigned to pads with a single mouse
click. This auto assignment automatically assigns up to 64 samples to the 64 pads. Select the
directory in the Directory List in which the samples are located. Select Auto Sample Assignment
in the File section of the menu. The newly created program is ready for editing, saving or
exporting.

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Opening/Saving Effects files. You can transfer effects settings from one program to another by
exporting the effects settings from your MPC programs to load in another program.

MPC XP Disk Formatter. This utility formats removable drives in a method that allow XP and
the MPC to read and write to disk. This feature is only available under Windows XP™ which
has a problem reading some MPC formats. Note: This operation destroys all data on the
removable drive. The Removable drive must be at least 32 Meg in size. There will be only 1 32
Meg partition on the drive when completed. The disk may need to ejected and re-inserted to
recognize the format.

Disk OEMID Protection. This utility creates a registry entry that prevents Windows from
overwriting the Disk OEMID of MPC formatted disks. It is suggested to run this utility prior to
inserting MPC formatted disks. The PC will need to be restarted before this takes effect. This
change is permanent and only needs to be run once for any single installation of Windows.

Disk Backup/Restore. This utility is still under testing. Use at your own risk. This reads the
entire MPC disk, including multiple partitions, and saves to a file on your PC hard drive. Use
this to backup your MPC formatted disks. Disk images can be restored using the Restore
function. Use only the same size disks for restoring.

Additional Considerations

• If the samples loaded in the MPC do not match those that were assigned in the MPC
Editor then the MPC is not loading the pad layout from the Program File created by the
MPC Editor. Change the pad layout settings on the MPC from MASTER to PROGRAM.
See your appropriate MPC manual for instructions. If you would like to use a custom
pad layout, then create a program without samples on the MPC and save the program.
Transfer the program to your computer, load that program and add samples to it for
export when that layout is desired. It is possible to have several of these templates ready
for loading into the MPC Editor.

Support Contact

Free support for the MPC Editor is provided by email at [email protected]. Please include
the model number MPC, MPC Editor Version (found under Help/About) , Microsoft Windows™
operating system used, and a detailed description of the operation under which the error
occurred.

MPC Editor Registration

The MPC Editor is free to use for 30 days. After 30 days the MPC Editor will require
registration of 29.95 USD.

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Payment online by a secure method using your credit card or other methods is located at
http://www.midicase.com/purchase.

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