I think I’m gonna ditch my mpc 2500 for Koala

[thedreampolice]

I have always had a love/hate for mpc’s and Reason has always been my main rig but I have fun playing with hardware. I built a workspace for a no computer workflow with an mpc 2500, elecktron RYTM, KORG Prologue, a Roland space echo and a real Rhodes. But it’s sooo slow. I have been playing with Koala on my iPad Pro and I think I like that even better. And holy cow logic for iPad is amazing. Maybe the next record will be all iPad. Check out Koala if you haven’t https://www.koalasampler.com/ it blows an mpc away and I can even hook up my drum pad to my iPad and it works perfect. It’s also cool to have the songs im working on, on my phone too, pretty slick.

 

[Fade]

That's too bad. It's always fun just to play around with the MPC instead of using an app. Of course the computer stuff is going to be much more powerful but it's always good to have some standalone hardware. Years ago I thought about just using my DAW but once I got my MPC it just made it fun again instead of using a mouse.

 

[thedreampolice]

Well with the iPad touch interface I get the hardware control feel but I get all the benefits of software. And I can stay focused still since it’s not a computer. It doesn’t feel like a downgrade.

 

[Leopard Cohen]

Well with the iPad touch interface I get the hardware control feel but I get all the benefits of software. And I can stay focused still since it’s not a computer. It doesn’t feel like a downgrade.

When the iPad was first released, I didn't get it. To me, it was an iPhone that you couldn't put in your pocket - what's the point? Then I saw one as part of a DJ setup and was like "yeah, now I get it."

I'm with Fade, I like the feel of a knobs.

If an iPad is good enough for Madlib (allegedly), then you're clearly in good company - and Koala is tight.

 

[Dusty B]

I'm of the school of thought that it's ultimately about whatever is easiest for you to transpose your mind to music.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Its all about ease of workflow for me. I find having to mess around engineering sounds is like a tangent that distracts from my creativity, hindering progress.

 

[Kane the MOD]

In the end only the end result counts. Nobody gives a sh!t if you played in the triangle in the background yoursalf.

 

[Dusty B]

Do you think Koala could be a good tool to chop samples on the fly? I've been looking for a wav editor or something to chop samples on my phone/tablet whenever I'm listening to music throughout the day and find something I want to flip.

 

[2GooD Productions]

In the end only the end result counts. Nobody gives a sh!t if you played in the triangle in the background yoursalf.

Nobody else might give a shit, but my self respect gives a lot of shits. That said, you are 100% right.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Do you think Koala could be a good tool to chop samples on the fly? I've been looking for a wav editor or something to chop samples on my phone/tablet whenever I'm listening to music throughout the day and find something I want to flip.

I do all my sample chopping in my DAW, when I used reason I would chop my samples in soundforge, and also do the final mastering. Now I dont even need an external wav editor with cubase, can do it all within the program.

 

[Dusty B]

I do all my sample chopping in my DAW, when I used reason I would chop my samples in soundforge, and also do the final mastering. Now I dont even need an external wav editor with cubase, can do it all within the program.

That's what I do right now in FL. Chop in Edison and time stretch right in the playlist. But I'm looking for something where I can snag a loop I like, save it down to a Google Drive, and then when I'm able to sit and work at my desk/DAW load up what I chopped and fine tune as needed. Right now I start most beats with ~30 mins of sample chopping and I'm wondering if there's a way to cut that down.

 

[2GooD Productions]

That's what I do right now in FL. Chop in Edison and time stretch right in the playlist. But I'm looking for something where I can snag a loop I like, save it down to a Google Drive, and then when I'm able to sit and work at my desk/DAW load up what I chopped and fine tune as needed. Right now I start most beats with ~30 mins of sample chopping and I'm wondering if there's a way to cut that down.

Because I do a lot of composition over the samples I dont spend very long chopping samples any more, most of my time is spent making them tight to the beat and fixing any timing issues.

 

[Leopard Cohen]

Do you think Koala could be a good tool to chop samples on the fly? I've been looking for a wav editor or something to chop samples on my phone/tablet whenever I'm listening to music throughout the day and find something I want to flip.

With Samurai Mode it looks promising.

 

[thedreampolice]

Do you think Koala could be a good tool to chop samples on the fly? I've been looking for a wav editor or something to chop samples on my phone/tablet whenever I'm listening to music throughout the day and find something I want to flip.

Yes, it sure is. I can’t find anything an mpc 2500 can do that Koala can’t. Its super easy to use. And with how the program is built I get basically the knobs and faders right on a touch screen. So it’s pretty slick. I recreated my last few mpc beats In Koala and it’s so easy to use. And I can have a version in my phone too and work on a song anywhere. It’s pretty crazy. I will export stems eventually and finish the song in Reason. But holy cow Koala Samurai mode is insane. Highly recommended. And since I have an iPad Pro I literally hook my dock to it and I have my focusrite interface and my nektar controllers. So I’m using this with Koala https://nektartech.com/aruba-beat-composer/ and it works great. But honestly I don’t mind using the pads right in the iPad screen. I’m flying to NYC tomorrow. Maybe I will make a few whole songs on the flight and finish them in Logic Pro on iPad. My iPad is more and more becoming my main computer.

 

[TWU]

Yes, it sure is. I can’t find anything an mpc 2500 can do that Koala can’t. Its super easy to use. And with how the program is built I get basically the knobs and faders right on a touch screen. So it’s pretty slick. I recreated my last few mpc beats In Koala and it’s so easy to use. And I can have a version in my phone too and work on a song anywhere. It’s pretty crazy. I will export stems eventually and finish the song in Reason. But holy cow Koala Samurai mode is insane. Highly recommended. And since I have an iPad Pro I literally hook my dock to it and I have my focusrite interface and my nektar controllers. So I’m using this with Koala https://nektartech.com/aruba-beat-composer/ and it works great. But honestly I don’t mind using the pads right in the iPad screen. I’m flying to NYC tomorrow. Maybe I will make a few whole songs on the flight and finish them in Logic Pro on iPad. My iPad is more and more becoming my main computer.

I just can't make beats without proper monitors and an organized/quiet environment, certainly not on a flight. But to each his own I guess...

 

[Dusty B]

I just can't make beats without proper monitors and an organized/quiet environment, certainly not on a flight. But to each his own I guess...

Just curious, why not?

 

[TWU]

Just curious, why not?

I'm easily distracted. When making music I want to be "zoned out" if that makes sense. That's not going to happen on a noisy airplane...

 

[2GooD Productions]

I just can't make beats without proper monitors and an organized/quiet environment, certainly not on a flight. But to each his own I guess...

Im the same, I like peace and quiet when being creative

 

[Dusty B]

I think my ADHD benefits from a lot going on. The beat I just submitted I actually made in like 4-5 different 20-30 min sessions, to include chopping some samples on my phone via a wav editor app I found haha.

 

[thedreampolice]

I just can't make beats without proper monitors and an organized/quiet environment, certainly not on a flight. But to each his own I guess...

Why do you think I wouldn’t have proper monitors or a quiet environment? The thing literally hooks right up to my focusrite audio interface and just works. It’s just nice that I also CAN use it anywhere. I’m getting on a flight to NYC in an hour and you know I’m making beats on the flight.