Hey guys,

I had a quick question on a method I’m going to be using to record some tracks.

I use an MPC for the drum track, record it on my Tascam.

Then I’m hoping to use a looper pedal (like a Jamman or a Boomerang) to compose phrases with a keyboard and guitar/bass. I will then lay these over the drum track.

I read somewhere though, that without MIDI-sync capabilities, it will be hard to match it up or some BS like that. That’s more for live play, though, isn’t it?

It should be fine recording it onto a multitrack recorder by ear (i.e., it’s not going to be that difficult to match it up)?

Thanks in advance

Not sure i understand what you're trying to midi sync though?

You're recording the programmed drums to your tascam, then playing back the drum track and simultaneously overdub/record keyboard or guitar & bass stuff to the tascam?

I'm not trying to MIDI sync anything (although the Korg LE I have does have MIDI sync capabilities - I wouldn't have the first clue how to use it).

Right. I'm going to listen to the drum track while I play into my loop pedal with a guitar/keyboard/bass, then record it with the Tascam. I don't think there will be any problems getting it all in sync, but on some forum, they said it would be a hassle to do it without a MIDI clock.

Depends on the latency of your setup. The only way to find out if it will work is to try it. You don't necessarily need a word clock sync.

Which Tascam?

most of the loop pedals i know of are designed with live performance in mind so imagine as long as you trigger to your record track in time with your drums you should be fine.

i might suggest recordig just a kick and snare track so you dont get distracted by any syncopations in your drum programming.

not knowing the Tascam you're using though it might have a latency but id wager its negligible (within 10 samples say,samples being the unit of measurement, not colloquialism) and wont be heard.
can you make any timing edits once you record to your Tascam? ie. you have your drums down and you record a keyboard line, can you slide the keyboard track independent of the drums fwd or backward in time?

That’s what I was thinking

I’ll try that.

Probably going to do a budget one like the dp-008 or dp-03.

I don’t know about that. That would def be helpful.

Thanks for the advice!

Another Question: Say I have a "song" that's composed of three or four different sections. For each section, can I output it from the Tascam (once I have it all mixed down) into the MPC1000, and then sequence it from there using the different sections?

The only sequencer I've used is on my keyboard, so I'm not sure how user-friendly the sequencer is on the MPC1k. I'm also not worried about sampling time because they will be short sections.

Once I have it sequenced, I want to then record it with the Tascam in its finished song form. Is this feasible?

I dont know what kind of inputs the mpc1k has as far as recording or length of time. I know of folks who sequence on their mpc2k's (obviously every beat maker circa 91-97).

I've never sequenced on an mpc1k, i do know the sequencing on the 2k is a slightly steep learning curve but once the "logic system" is understood its pretty easy.

Going back and forth is feasible, the only thing I would recommend is if it its possible to maintain a 24bit depth resolution. This way you're not losing any kind of quality of dynamic resolution which is important imo when making music. (I really look forward to the day when consumer audio jumps to 24 bit. I know of this new PONO bull**** but the reality is - sample rates at 192 is absurdist and unnecessary, whereas an increase in bit depth resolution would be waaaaaay more apparent to the common ear /rant)

That said: yes you should be able to go back and forth. What kind of outputs does your tascam have? Best situation would be balanced 1/4" outs or XLRs to balanced inputs on the MPC. Most likely though, the MPC has RCA inputs which are unbalanced - you'll end up raising your noise floor a bit which may or may not be an issue to you depending on what kind of aesthetic you're going for.

I think he'd have generation loss issues going back and forth with that gear, but I'm not 100 percent sure. Does the MPC have any digital ins, and the Tascam digital outs? As an aesthetic thing today (in reference to smoking's words about that), hiss is bad. Almost no one is intentionally adding hiss to their stuff, and stuff like Ableton makes it so that rank amateurs have access to completely clean elements (winning half the battle of learning how to do sound). Now most people just try to dirty up the clean elements, which is much easier to do, in my opinion, especially than cleaning up dirty elements.

To your rant, smoking, I don't think the consumer will ever notice a difference between 24 Bit and 16 Bit, though it is certainly better. In post, everything is done (when able) at 24 Bit 48kHz. If I have to make something 16 Bit from the 24 Bit sources, the difference in quality is pretty negligible for my ears, and I think it wouldn't even be noticeable to consumer level ears. Just getting the standard to be 320kbps mp3s for consumer delivery would be a greater advancement than anything short of .wav files or CD. That's the only mp3 resolution that I think comes close to capturing the intent of my mix.