Akai MPC units, can they solve my problem?

[feflower]

Hello folks,

Please be patient with my long posting. I've read some similar posting, and they were helpful, but I have a very specific question.

I'm really quite new to this world of sampling. I'm a traditional "Asian" drummer who is interested in sampling all my instruments into a sampler, to be triggered by electronic drum pads. I will using the Alesis I/O to convert the signals into MIDI. The purpose of this is to be able practice/compose silently but also to be able to change sounds at an instant.

The long term goal is to make this into an innovative live performance "instrument". My ensemble is comprised of 4-5 drummers and I want to make a custom drum kit for each person as well as a "playground" of triggers on the stage. In all I foresee about 30 triggers/pads on the stage. Because of the way we play, in terms of polyphony, I see at most 10-12 sounds produced simultaneously.

My question is can the Akai MPC units handle the job? How many "quality" samples can this hold? In other words, I'm not to interested in using the native sounds, but in essence building a whole new drum kit.

From what I've read, (and I understand) I might be limited to only two samples per channel. I would like to have as much subtlety as possible.

Any opinions or any suggestion regarding other hardware samplers would be greatly appreciated.

I have a MAC and Logic, but I would most prefer the stability and compactness of a hardware unit if possible.

Thanks in advance.

[holowok]

not sure an mpc will be the right choice for such a task. it doenst sound like you would be using the sequencer (which is half the units purpose really) - rather triggering samples live - so a rack sampler with a midi controller would be a better option if youre opposed to using a laptop. also the mpc series (except for the 4000, which is much more expensive & not so compact) all have quite simple sample editing & shaping facilities - so they wont get you so far in terms of subtly. if you want to recreate the nuances of these drum sounds - ie. how the sound changes when you hit it harder or on a different part of the drum etc you want something that is capable of multi-sampling - from wikipedia: "multisampling; instead of a single recording of an instrument being played back faster or slower to reproduce other pitches, the original instrument could be sampled at regular intervals to cover regions of several adjacent notes (called "splits") or for every note. This provides a more natural progression from the lower to the higher registers; lower notes don't sound dull, and higher notes don't sound unnaturally bright. It is also possible to sample the same note at several different levels of intensity, reflecting the fact that both volume and timbre change with playing style. For instance, when sampling a piano, 3 samples per key can be made; soft, medium and with force. Every possible volume in between can be made by amplifying and blending the samples."

look into an emu e6400 or an akai s5000 or a yamaha a5000 - all should be suited to what youre trying to do. the good news is they can be had for a relatively low price these days as most people prefer to use software...not so compact though.

[feflower]

Thank you holowok for your input. I think you hit it on the mark. The sequencer is incidental in importance. Yeah, basically I'm looking for one of those Drum Modules, but one where I can fill up with what I want.

I have looked into those hardware samplers in the past and it seems like they are hard to come by. It would be lovely to get a classic piece of hardware for a low price, but I cannot wait around til something shows up on craigslist or local ebay (I prefer buying in person still). Is there anything comparable today?

I am willing to pay for quality and reliability. How about those synths like Roland Fantom series? The addition of other samples and the possibilities of trigger loops sound favourable to me also.

Thanks again

[holowok]

not sure about the fantom, maybe someone else can chime in on that...as far as I know there arent any dedicated samplers like the ones i mentioned currently being manufactured. you can still buy a mpc4000 from certain stores although they are no longer in production - mpc's have a fairly intuitive interface which would be helpful since your just starting out & the 4000 (from what i have read - havent used one) has a pretty capable sampling engine (with multisampling) plus you would have the pads right there to trigger the sounds - you could just ignore the sequencer. i think it has a decent amount of memory also.

i didnt mention it since you specified you would prefer hardware - but honestly i think the best solution is to get a decent laptop and have it dedicated to running a software sampler, like native instruments kontakt or something similar. bear in mind most software samplers dont actually 'sample' - you would also need an audio editor like adobe audition or soundforge to record your sounds & then import them into the soft sampler for editing. but it terms of features & interface (rack samplers tend to be quite laborious to use because of their small screens & only few buttons to navigate with) this, imo, is the best way to go.

[feflower]

Thanks for the reply,

I do have a mac with Logic, EXS. I know that laptops and soft-samplers have gotten more stable. I've also tried out Battery.

I'm really torn between the ease of use of soft samplers and hardware samplers. I am really quite impatient and I can possibility see myself wanting to throw a hardware sampler out the window....But there is also something very attractive about having everything set up in one tight hardware unit.

Can anyone chime in on this? In terms of stability and reliability how many now feel at ease with software samplers in a live show?

I've also considered a Muse Receptor...