Anyone have experience sequencing Nord Lead 2x w/ MPC500?

oam13 · Joined: Nov 08, 2010 Posts: 3 Location: nyc

I'm new to midi and I've hooked my Nord Lead 2x up with my MPC500, with the hope that I can use it in a live situation to loop melodies and play over top beat sequencse. I'm having trouble putting this idea together, although I seemed to have figured out how to have beats playing at the nord loop over, I often run into trouble with

1) When I start recording a synth line over a beat, the synth line is staggered an doesn't start until a round or two more after I've taken my fingers off the synth?

2) changing the voice on the nord while looping: it changes the voice on the loop that I tracked on the mpc. i've even tried to start to a new track but the minute i change a voice setting the whole sound changes?

Which leads me to:

3) can anyone recommend the best way to separate and be able to play sequences of beats that i've built from the mpc, whilst playing melodies and bringing them in an out as necessary? or is it recommended that I separate the two and sequence the nord with some other piece of equipment?

Currently I have the mpc configured as the Master, to receive all channels, soft thru off

The nord is configured to channel 1 on programs A-D, local off

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Wout Blommers · Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:23 pm Post subject:

oam13

I'm not familiar with these kind of problems, but the thing which pops up my mind is Global Midi...

[Shift=2xMidi] opens up the Global Midi settings. I advise to set these using the arrows up&down to channel 16.

It's worth a try...

Wout

Wout Blommers · Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:26 pm Post subject:

About the staggering: the Lead is sensitive to continious Midi input, like MidiClock.

Wout

oam13 · Joined: Nov 08, 2010 Posts: 3 Location: nyc

I was wondering about the global setting - but don't quite understand how it interacts with the mpc (i.e. how i set that on the mpc ?) thanks!

Wout Blommers · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:00 am Post subject:

Global Midi is used to change the Program (Voice).
When it is set to the same Midi channel which is used for Midi Notes, etc, the problem might occur (I never work in this situation - got a MPC2000XL for years, but never used it... Shocked

).

At least the unwanted changes might be gone, but I'm not sure...
Maybe a special Program Change track (16) might help?

Global Midi is a relic from the past, like Midi Omni mode.
Keep in mind the Lead is already 16 years in production!!!

Wout

oam13 · Joined: Nov 08, 2010 Posts: 3 Location: nyc

wout-

thanks for all the words of wisdom.

its coming along but i still run into programming issues -

the main one being able to separate the two while playing live - i have two midi cords going to the ins/outs of each but when i have everything going and i hit a key on the nord it may trigger the mpc beat and vice versa. I don't understand how to separate this. i really i just want to be able to play both separately but trigger loops in time to the clock of the mpc.

is there are better/more straight forward sequencer out there that i could be using for the lead 2x wherein I could trigger sequences of beats and loop sequences of the keyboard (one that isn't a computer!)?

thanks again

Wout Blommers · Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 3:22 pm Post subject:

Do you feed in the loops first into the MPC using the Lead and do you want them trigger layer so they are played again by the Lead?

If you have the loops allready in the MPC just simple do not connect the Midi cable Lead Out to MPC In... Only Midi MPC Out to Lead In runs the loops played by the Lead, but controlled by the MPC.

If you need the Lead to create the loops on stage, a more sophisticated Midi Through box with channel On/Off switches could do the trick.

Wout