WHICH MPC Compressor? Mixing in the MPC Standalone. Compression Tips and tricks for the BEST mix.
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- Опубликовано: 6 авг 2024
- So which compressors do we have at our disposal in the standalone MPCs?
In this video, I go through each compressor as well as offer some tips and tricks on how and when to use them. Keep it locked for an old-school vocal stacking trick at the end.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:23 A compressor breakdown on the MPC
00:59 The Compressors
01:27 Why use a compressor?
02:23 The Air Channel Strip
07:20 The Air Compressor
15:28 The Bus Compressor
20:26 The Opto Compressor
23:44 The VCA Compressor
27:32 The Vintage Compressor
31:10 Stacked Compression for Vocals
36:32 Outro
Disclaimer:
My MPCs are bought and paid for and my opinions are my own.
For mixing and mastering services feel free to email me at: conan@thecratesmotel.com
Rare breaks for your beat tapes:
thecratesmotel.bandcamp.com/a...
If you enjoy our videos and would like to support The Crates Motel, you can donate an amount of your choice to the following link:
paypal.me/thecratesmoteluk
Follow us at The Crates Motel:
www.thecratesmotel.com
/ thecratesmotel
You can buy me a coffee at:
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Equipment I use:
Headphones:
Audeze LCD-X
Beyerdynamic 770/880/1990
Shure 535
Sennheiser HD25 MKII
Pioneer HDJ X10
Aiaiaia TMA-2 Wireless+
Presonus Studio One 6
RME ADI-2 DAC FS
SPL Phonitor 2
Presonus HP4 (My Grot Box)
Presonus Faderport V2
Arturia Minilab MKII
Novation 49SL MKII
Arturia Microlab
Akai MPC One
Akai MPC Live II
Roland SP404 Mk2
Headache Sounds Omni Turntable
Content Creation:
Presonus Revelator IO24
Zoom H6 Recorder
Earthworks Custom Icon Pro Microphone
Sennheiser MKE 600 Microphone
Logitech Brio 4k Cam
Apple iPhone 12
DJI Osmo Mobile 6
OC White Ultima Mic Arm
Davinci Resolve
Filmic Pro 
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Please do a series on all the FX and dynamics etc. I will watch it again and again. I have been looking for something like this forever! This could be a really great way to expand content on your channel. I would readily support you in this.
Thank you. Yes I am gradually working my way through all the effects. Thanks for watching.
Just found this channel, and it’s really the best explanation of MPCs FX and plugin suite on RUclips.
Please keep em’ coming!
I love hearing a more in depth explanation on getting the most out of my MPC’s built in FX from an actual engineer! Appreciate all your hard work!
Ah thanks man and thank you for watching. Definitely more to come.
I love how you say it doesn’t matter if the compressors emulate what it says it’s supposed to, use your ears, become a black belt and know which compressor to use in each situation. It’s refreshing to have someone with your experience using standalone MPC plugin versions and get use from them instead of saying they’re all no good. Thanks for your opinion on each function such as the Old School “tape” description. I takes notes on your descriptor and descriptions. I’m going through your back catalog to get a lot of knowledge quickly! GREAT JOB BROTHER!
Thanks dude. Yes I think a lot of people get hung up on "Does it sound exactly like the original hardware" when actually it doesn' t matter. If it sounds good, then it is good right? And most of the people who say it doesn't sound like the hardware don't have the hardware there with them to compare anyway. They are just repeating what they have heard or read online. And trust me, I have worked in studios with all the hardware and the engineer still doesn't make it sound good haha. Thank you for watching.
It was very easy to understand.
Thank you very much!
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment
Gems man!! Appreciate your content. I've learned so much from these vids, very informative for sure!!
You’re welcome dude. Thank you for watching 🙏🏼
I'm a recent graduate of audio engineering and while I don't know it all (because this audio thing is a life long learning process) I was struggling a bit to get a grasp on how some of the tools are different in the MPC vs a DAW or hardware. Your channel is the answer to a lot of those mysteries for me. I love my MPC and know that there's a TON of power in those boxes, but now that I have a better understanding of the tools I can take my tracks to a whole new level right inside the box thanks to you.
That’s awesome dude. It’s the reason I do this. Always happy to help. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
Posted this the day I got my MPC One. Absolute legend 😁!
Awesome dude. I love my One. Enjoy your beats and thank you for watching.
Love the attention to detail and as an engineer an producer always looking for that little extra umph to a track General mastering Compression tips for how much headroom etc.
Thanks for watching bro. I will be doing a video on limiters in the MPC, so I will be covering headroom and master compression in that video.
@@TheCratesMotel I am working with an Akai MpC Live in standalaone mode and a Tascam 2488 portastudio. Your video on compressors is really useful and I am looking forward to that video on limiters as well.
@@marcopolo4350 Hey thank you for watching. I am really happy there is something useful for you there. Yes keep an eye out for the MPC limiter video, coming soon!! :)
Cheers man, great clip
Thank you and thank you for watching
Excellent breakdown of the akai compressors! The AIR Compressor is my current fav.
I think overall, it is definitely the cleanest and most versatile. Thanks for watching.
Subbed. Interested more and more about completing everything in MPC.
Thanks for watching dude, I appreciate it.
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 bro thank you for your videos
It’s a pleasure my brother 🙏🏼
This is one of the best Akai demos ever! It would dope if you showed how each comp can be used on the same drum-loop or w/e & to get a different sounds of it. Kinda like what you did when you compared two of them, but do it with all of them going into detail like you did here. I learned about you a from link from MPC-Forums, but I'll also shared it. Peace!
Hey thanks man, I’m flattered. I’m just paying it forward. Thank you for sharing. I might do a compressor follow up along the lines of what you’ve described. Good shout.
Again amazing video full of examples and specific usage, super clean explanations thanks a lot this is really great knowledge you share with us !
Thank you for watching brother.
Perfect overview! Thanks!
You’re welcome. Thank you for watching.
This Was Very Educational In A Precision Way Towards Akai's Compression Line... (SAVED)! 👍🏽👍🏽and Thank You, Great Job.
Hey man, thank you for watching. I am really happy there was something there for you. I am just paying it forward.
@@TheCratesMotel Akai's Sound Engineer's Team Should Be Proud Of You, You Did Them A Great Comparison Breakdown Service. It's Definitely A Reference Point That I'll Use.
@@babysunn2 Ah thanks man, I appreciate your kind words. The feedback I get from the community makes it all worth it. I will pop my invoice in the mail to the Akai Sound Engineer team haha
Great video, thank you
You’re welcome dude. Thank you for watching and for your comment.
Really cool. Thanks a lot. Could you maybe think about a video, where you would mix a boom bap beat only in Standalone in the MPC? That would be awesome.
Hey dude, thank you for watching. Yes I will definitely add that to the list. I have had quite a few requests for that type of thing.
Thanks again! I like to use the buss comp on live bass after the chorus effect... Works nicely.
Nice tip thank you
Thanks for that useful walkthrough. (btw, would love to hear your thoughts on basic use of busses fx channels and a basic mixer setup in standalone, i find it really unintuitive compared to ease in a daw like S1)
Thanks for watching dude. Yes that’s a great idea. I will add it to the list.
@@TheCratesMotel Great! and i mean "basic" because as many others i guess Ill be exporting the project for a final mix. But still it would be great to make use of busses for at least giving the track a first overall shape, with fx channels too and being able to keep that. Unfortunately I loose the enthusiasm trying to figure it out in standalone, could be me but i find the mixer stiff and awkward.. So Ill be on the outlook. Cheers
@@houseoflatin Yes the mixing process could definitely be more intuitive. Hopefully it is something they will update. If they really want people to take mixing in the standalone they need to rethink things a little. They have great plugins, so why not make them easier to apply on a mix properly.
Akai Force's envelope followers can be used to effectively "side-chain" any parameter. Set an envelope follower to listen to, say, a beat click, and it can work as a pumper for any parameter on any plugin. There is speculation that the Force's software, which has version number 3.something, is a prototype of things that might be coming to the MPCs as well.
Thanks for the info dude. I’ve never used the Force.
Thank You Kindly . 🔥 Video
You're welcome brother. Thank you for watching.
I like the air channel strip
Yes. Definitely a decent plugin.
great video, great knowledge! i've been ranting about the need of a sidechain eq\filter on compressors and mother ducker for quite some time. just a critique: in the last example, it worked very good except for those "F" s and "T"'s pumping a bit too much, almost clicking, but this shows a bit the limitations of mpc compressors... anyway great video, some of the best mpc related content out here on yt, thanks!
Thanks for watching dude, yes to be honest, with those actual vocals I did a lot of work with clip gain on the actual mixdown and those things were addressed, but for the MPC example, I wanted to use a raw untouched version otherwise it would have been cheating a bit. I also wanted to push it a little so people could hear the effect through the awful RUclips audio conversion. On the OG video, it doesn't sound quite as obvious (thanks RUclips haha).
@@TheCratesMotel meanwhile i've watched the entire series, again thank you for your great contents, we need more of this good stuff! subscribed, of course. i'd like to hear your opinion about Air Transient. i'm quite fond of it, both for some transient shaping but also to use as a no brainer limiter\clipper (without touching attack and sustain, just the level). also: what do you think of the Air Maximizer and how it compares to Air Limiter in your opinion? thanks again, mate, awesome job!
@@delfiobacco7156 thanks again dude. I will definitely be looking at all the aforementioned plugins in the coming weeks and making videos on them.
Really useful information for mixing on the MPC.
It would be great if you had some fx presets that you could share?
That’s a great idea dude. I’ll get a pack together at some point. Thanks.
I love your content, and I'm excited that the RUclips algorithm sent your video my way! I'm gonna experience and explore what you've shared. I just subscribed to your channel!🙏🏾✊🏾💚
Ah thank you. Hopefully YTs algos will spread the word. If you use FB, feel free to join us at facebook.com/groups/akaimpctutorials
Yeah me to my brother.
it's good all his tutorials but the best is always to start with the basics. Gain staging, level and panning. I hope you will talk about it
Thanks for watching. If you look through my videos I have talked a lot about the basics of mixing including gain staging, balance and panning, all of which is applicable when mixing in the MPC.
@@TheCratesMotel ok ill check thanks you
@@slice307 I will probably make a video in future demonstrating these techniques inside the MPC. Thanks again for watching and taking the time to comment.
@@TheCratesMotel thank you because it is really important
@@slice307 I agree. A lot of people forget the fundamentals and just want to do all the flash stuff with tons of plugins etc
In regards to side chain compression, ive been trying to iron out routing for the 4 send/return, and the submixes.
Could have just kick pad going to submix 2 and the rest of the program to submix 1, and apply bus compression to submix 1.
Thanks for watching dude. Yes there are definitely some creative ways to get around it. Workarounds, so to speak. I will be looking at some of those in a future video.
The mpc motherducker is kind of sidechaining but dont know a bout compression
@@hertzislandboss1561 Yea it is totally dude, you’re right. And it is kind of a compressor as well. I’ll be going into that in more detail in another video. Thanks for watching.
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I wish Akai would work on adding Hornet plugins to the MPC, that would be fire.
Yeh Hornet make some dope plugins
What about the Mother Ducker? for sidechain compression?
As I mentioned in the video, I made a dedicated video for the Mother Ducker. Thanks for watching.
The "F" in From and Far sound a bit plosive-y, and problematic. Curious how you might attack that challenge on the MPC! :)
Absolutely. To be honest, as is the case with alot of my videos, and most other peoples, I over exaggerate the effect so people can hear it through the RUclips audio destroying rendering lol. I would never normally push the compressor that far. If however I was given a vocal with F's like that, quicker attack and a longer release would sort it out. You would want to round off the plosive and not bring up the sound of the tail of the plosive, so lengthen the release so it doesn't pop out as much. Also, this vocal was in solo and it would be hidden in context a little more. I would never normally mix in solo, again, its for the benefit of the video. However, saying all of that, in the 90s when I was making tracks entirely on an SP1200 and S950 and did not have unimted compressors or EQs, I would have literally chopped the vocal up and turned down the F, maybe filtered it. Workarounds haha.
Would you suggest mixing at a low dB for every channel before doing any limiting, compressing and maximizing? What's a good dB to mix at initially before finding your final dB mastering? I always mess up on that by leaving myself not enough headroom. Rookie mistake I know but it's a bad habit of mine of pushing faders.
As a mastering engineer I always tell my clients to leave me around 6db of headroom. That's a pretty good guideline. But I do get sent files with no headroom at all unfortunately, it happens. It's not so important if you are working in 32 bit floating point.
When I use air compressor for gluing I'm getting a lot of 50hz rumble and quite a bit of white noise. what an I doing wrong? Equipment used: air compressor, spray gun, ados f55, respirator.
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@@TheCratesMotel dad jokes aside, I really appreciate the mpc deep dives, you're making some very useful videos, covering the less discussed plugins in standalone. Keep up the great content mate!
@@mikeekto You're welcome dude. I appreciate the dad jokes lol
that Q-link button is right next to your finger...
To be honest I prefer to highlight and use the data wheel. Thanks for watching.
May I ask where you did get those different knobs and data wheel for the MPC One? Thx
Sure mate, I got them on Amazon.
Knobs:
www.amazon.com/dp/B07TXYBB7Z
Data Wheel:
www.amazon.com/dp/B08R5THKZD
@@TheCratesMotel Thank you so much! Are the replacement knobs for the q-links touch sensitive?
@@MakingMadBeats Yes they are, theoretically, but they can sometimes be a little sketchy. They’re not as responsive as the original factory knobs to be honest. But generally 99% of the time, they’re good.
Every time I use an in box compressor it just ruins my sound. I know I'm a novice, but I feel like it just ruins ny overall mix.Feel like it makes everything sounds boxy and the drums become buried.
Hey buddy, don't despair. It's the most asked question by my students "How do I get the compressor to work properly without crushing the sound?" Compression is one of the hardest things to get right and the MPC compressors are not exactly the best out there, or at least not the most user friendly, and the meters are not at all accurate, so using your ears is even more important. However, with a bit of practice and experimentation they can get great results. Be subtle, make small adjustments. Try not to listen for an obvious effect. If you can hear the compressor working, you are probably doing too much. Unless you are really going for an obvious compressed sound, you don't really want to be doing more than a few dB of gain reduction. There are no rules, no right or wrong, but a good general method is push the compressor subtly until you can hear it beginning to work, and then back off a bit. Thanks for watching.