Akai MPC 2000XL User manual

MIDI PRODUCTION CENTER
mpc2000xl

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol , within an equilateral triangle, is
intendedtoalerttheusertothepresenceofuninsulated“dangerousvoltage”
within the product’s enclosure; that may be of sufficient magnitude to
constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
Theexclamationpointwithinanequilateraltriangleisintentedtoalerttheuser
to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instruc-
tions in the literature accompanying the appliance.
THE SYMBOLS ARE RULED BY UL STANDARDS (U.S.A.)
5B-En
WARNING!!
To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.
1-En
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK).
NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.
REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
12 / 7 / 2001 Rev. 7

Page i
Warning
WARNING: WHEN USING ELECTRIC PRODUCTS, BASIC PRECAUTIONS SHOULD
ALWAYS BE FOLLOWED, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:
WARNING
The MPC2000XL is designed to be used in a standard household environment.
Power requirements for electrical equipment vary from area to area. Please ensure that
yourMPC2000XLmeetsthepowerrequirementsinyourarea. Ifindoubt,consultaqualified
electrician or AKAI professional dealer.
120 VAC @ 60 Hz for USA and Canada
220~240 VAC @ 50 Hz for Europe
PROTECTING YOURSELF AND THE MPC2000XL
• Never touch the AC plug with wet hands.
• AlwaysdisconnecttheMPC2000XLfromthepowersupplybypullingontheplug,notthe
cord.
• Allow only an AKAI professional dealer or qualified professional engineer to repair or
reassemble the MPC2000XL. Apart from voiding the warranty, unauthorized engineers
might touch live internal parts and receive a serious electrical shock. There are no
serviceable parts inside.
• Do not put, or allow anyone to put any object, especially metal objects, into the
MPC2000XL.
• Use only a household AC power supply. Never use a DC power supply.
• If water or any other liquid is spilled into or onto the MPC2000XL, disconnect the power,
and call your dealer.
• Make sure that the unit is well-ventilated, and away from direct sunlight.
• Toavoiddamagetointernalcircuitry,aswellastheexternalfinish,keeptheMPC2000XL
away from sources of direct heat (stoves, radiators, etc.).
• Avoid using aerosol insecticides, etc. near the MPC2000XL. They may damage the
surface, and may ignite.
• Do not use denaturated alcohol, thinner or similar chemicals to clean the MPC2000XL.
They will damage the finish.
• Modification of this equipment is dangerous, and can result in the functions of the
MPC2000XL being impaired. Never attempt to modify the equipment in any way.
• Make sure that the MPC2000XL is always well-supported when in use (either in a
specially-designed equipment rack, or a firm level surface).
• In order to assure optimum performance of your MPC2000XL, select the setup location
carefully,andmakesuretheequipmentisusedproperly.AvoidsettinguptheMPC2000XL
in the following locations:
1. In a humid or dusty environment
2. In a room with poor ventilation
3. On a surface which is not horizontal
4. Inside a vehicle such as a car, where it will be subject to vibration
5. In an extremely hot or cold environment

Page ii
Warning
WARNING
THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED
IMPORTANT
This equipment is fitted with an approved non-rewireable UK mains plug.
To change the fuse in this type of plug proceed as follows:
1) Remove the fuse cover and old fuse.
2) Fit a new fuse which should be a BS1362 5 Amp A.S.T.A or BSI approved type.
3) Refit the fuse cover.
If the AC mains plug fitted to the lead supplied with this equipment is not suitable for your type of
AC outlet sockets, it should be changed to an AC mains lead, complete with moulded plug, to the
appropriate type. If this is not possible, the plug should be cut off and a correct one fitted to suit
the AC outlet. This should be fused at 5 Amps.
If a plug without a fuse is used, the fuse at the distribution board should NOT BE GREATER than 5
Amp.
PLEASE NOTE: THE SEVERED PLUG MUST BE DESTROYED TO AVOID A POSSIBLE
SHOCK HAZARD SHOULD IT BE INSERTED INTO A 13 AMP SOCKET
ELSEWHERE.
The wires in this mains lead are coloured in accordance with the following code:
GREEN and YELLOW —EARTH
BLUE —NEUTRAL
BROWN —LIVE
As the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may not correspond with the
coloured markings identifying the terminals in your plug, please proceed as follows:
The wire which is coloured GREEN and YELLOW must be connected to the terminal which is
marked with the letter E or with the safety earth symbol or coloured GREEN or coloured
GREEN and YELLOW.
The wire which is coloured BLUE must be connected to the terminal which is marked with the
letter N or coloured BLACK.
The wire which is coloured BROWN must be connected to the terminal which is marked with
the letter L or coloured RED.
THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED
Ensure that all the terminals are securely tightened and no loose strands of wire exist.
Before replacing the plug cover, make certain the cord grip is clamped over the outer sheath of
the lead and not simply over the wires. 6D-En

Page iii
Warning
VENTILATION
Donotprevent theunit'sventilation,especially byplacingtheunit onthesoftcarpet, inanarrowspace,
or by placing objects on the unit's chassis—top, side, or rear panels. Always keep the unit's chassis
at least 10 centimeters from any other objects. 31C-En
CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS NOT EXPRESSLY APPROYED BY THE MANUFACTURER FOR
COMPLIANCE COULD VOID THE USER’S AUTHORITY TO OPERATE THE EQUIPMENT. 32-En
ThisdigitalapparatusdoesnotexceedtheClassBlimitsforradionoiseemissionsfromdigitalapparatus
set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications.27-En
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
The AKAI MPC2000XL is a computer-based device, and as such contains and uses software in
DISKsand ROMs. This software,and all relateddocumentation, includingthisOperator’s Manual,
containproprietaryinformationwhichisprotectedbycopyrightlaws. Allrightsarereserved. Nopart
of the software or its documentation may be copied, transferred or modified. You may not modify,
adapt, translate, lease, distribute, resell for profit or create derivative works based on the software
and its related documentation or any part there of without prior written consent from AKAI
professional M.I. Corp., Yokohama, Japan.
FCC WARNING
ThisequipmenthasbeentestedandfoundtocomplywiththelimitsforaClassBdigitaldevicepursuant
toPart15oftheFCCrules. Theselimitsaredesignedtoprovidereasonableprotectionagainstharmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio
frequencyenergyand,if not installedandusedinaccordance with theinstructions,maycauseharmful
interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur
in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try
to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is
connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. 21B-En
AVIS POUR LES ACHETEURS CANADIENS DU MPC2000XL
Leprésentappareilnumériquen’émentpasdebruitsradioélectriquesdépassantleslimitesapplicables
auxappareilsnumériquesdelaClassBprescritesdansleRèglementsurlebrouillageradioélectrique
édicté par le ministère des Communications du Canada. 27-F

Page iv
Warranty
WARRANTY
AKAI professional M.I. Corp. warrants its products, when purchased from an authorized “AKAI
professional”dealer,tobefreefromdefectsinmaterialsandworkmanshipforaperiodof12(twelve)
months from the date of purchase. Warranty service is effective and available to the original
purchase only, and only on completion and return of the AKAI professional Warranty Registration
Card within 14 days of purchase.
Warranty coverage is valid for factory-authorized updates to AKAI professional instruments and
their software, when their installation is performed by an authorized AKAI professional Service
Center, and a properly completed Warranty Registration has been returned to your “AKAI
professional” dealer.
Toobtainserviceunderthiswarranty,theproductmust,ondiscoveryofthedetect,beproperlypacked
andshipped to the nearest AKAI professional Service Center. Theparty requesting warranty service
must provide proof of original ownership and date of purchase of the product.
If the warranty is valid, AKAI professional will, without charge for parts or labor, either repair or
replacethedefectivepart(s). Without avalidwarranty, theentirecostof therepair(partsand labor)
is the responsibility of the product's owner.
AKAI professional warrants that it will make all necessary adjustments, repairs and replacements
at no cost to the original owner within 12 (twelve) months of the purchase date if:
1) The product fails to perform its specified functions due to failure of one or more of its
components.
2) The product fails to perform its specified functions due to defects in workmanship.
3) The product has been maintained and operated by the owner in strict accordance with the
writteninstructionsforpropermaintenanceanduseasspecifiedinthisOperator'sManual.
Before purchase and use, owners should determine the suitability of the product for their intended
use,andownerassumesallriskandliabilitywhatsoeverinconnectiontherewith. AKAIprofessional
shallnotbeliableforanyinjury,lossordamage,directorconsequential,arisingoutofuse,orinability
to use the product.
The warranty provides only those benefits specified, and does not cover defects or repairs needed
as a result of acts beyond the control of AKAI professional, including but not limited to:
1) Damagecausedbyabuse,accident,negligence. AKAIprofessionalwillnotcoverunder
warranty any original factory disk damaged or destroyed as a result of the owner's
mishandling.
2) Damage caused by any tampering, alteration or modification of the product: operating
software, mechanical or electronic components.
3) Damagecausedbyfailuretomaintainandoperatetheproductinstrictaccordancewiththe
writteninstructionsforpropermaintenance anduseasspecifiedinthis Operator'sManual.
4) Damage caused by repairs or attempted repairs by unauthorized persons.
5) Damage caused by fire, smoke, falling objects, water or other liquids, or natural events
such as rain, floods, earthquakes, lightning, tornadoes, storms, etc.
6) Damage caused by operation on improper voltages.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This warranty becomes void if the product or its software is
electronically modified, altered or tampered with in any way.
AKAIprofessionalshallnotbeliableforcostsinvolvedinpackingorpreparingtheproductforshipping,
with regard to time, labor, or materials, shipping or freight costs, or time or expense involved in
transporting the product to and from AKAI professional Authorized Service Center or Authorized
Dealer.
AKAI professional will not cover under warranty an apparent malfunction that is determined to be
user error, or owner's inability to use the product.
THEDURATIONOFANYOTHERWARRANTIES,WHETHERIMPLIEDOREXPRESS,INCLUD-
INGBUTNOT LIMITEDTOTHE IMPLIEDCONDITION OFMERCHANTABILITY,IS LIMITEDTO
THE DURATION OF THE EXPRESS WARRANTY HEREIN.
AKAI professional hereby excludes incidental or consequential damages, including but not limited
to: 1) Loss of time.
2) Inconvenience
3) Delay in performance of the Warranty.
4) The loss of use of the product.
5) Commercial loss.
6) Breachof any expressor implied warranty,including theImpliedWarranty ofMerchant-
ability, applicable to this product.

Page v
Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................... 1
Features .............................................................................................................. 2
Panel Descriptions............................................................................................... 4
Front Panel.............................................................................................. 4
Rear Panel .............................................................................................. 7
Handling Floppy Disks......................................................................................... 8
The Disk Drive......................................................................................... 8
Taking care of your Disks........................................................................ 8
CD-ROM Care......................................................................................... 9
Chapter 2: The Basics ............................................................................................... 10
Hooking Up Your System .................................................................................. 11
The Terms Used in MPC2000XL....................................................................... 12
Sequence .................................................................................. 12
Track ......................................................................................... 12
Song.......................................................................................... 12
Sound........................................................................................ 13
Drum Pads ................................................................................ 13
Note Number............................................................................. 13
Program .................................................................................... 13
Operating the Front Panel and Screen.............................................................. 14
The Cursor, Cursor Keys, Data Fields ...................................... 15
The Numeric Keypad and DATA Wheel.................................... 15
The Function Keys .................................................................... 15
Basic Functions ................................................................................................. 16
Loading and Playing Programs ............................................................. 16
Playing the Drum Pads, the PAD BANK, & FULL LEVEL Keys ............ 18
Selecting Programs ............................................................................... 19
The NOTE VARIATION Slider, ASSIGN and AFTER keys................... 19
The ASSIGN Key ...................................................................... 20
The AFTER key......................................................................... 21
The 16 LEVELS key .............................................................................. 22
Chapter 3: Recording Sequences............................................................................. 24
How Sequences are Organized......................................................................... 24
Bar.Beat.Tick............................................................................. 25
Examples of Sequence Recordings .................................................................. 26
Example 1: Recording a Drum Pad Performance ..................... 26
Example 2: Recording a Loop................................................... 28
Example 3: Recording With External MIDI Equipment.............. 30
The MAIN SCREEN .......................................................................................... 32
Selecting a Sequence ........................................................................... 32
Renaming a Sequence.............................................................. 32
Name Window........................................................................... 33
Deleting a Sequence................................................................. 33
Copying a Sequence................................................................. 34
Next sequence function............................................................. 34
Second Sequence Feature ....................................................... 36

Page vi
Contents
Setting the Tempo ................................................................................. 37
Tempo Change Window............................................................ 37
Entering and Modifying a Tempo Change................................. 38
Selecting a Tempo Source .................................................................... 39
Setting the Time Correct (Quantization)................................................ 40
Setting the Beat..................................................................................... 41
Setting the Number of Bars ................................................................... 42
Looping a Sequence ............................................................................. 44
Setting the Recording Count In/Metronome .......................................... 45
Selecting a Track................................................................................... 47
Renaming a Track..................................................................... 47
Deleting a Track ........................................................................ 48
Copying a Track ........................................................................ 48
Turning the Track ON or OFF ............................................................... 49
Deleting All the Tracks that You Have Turned Off ................................ 50
Setting the Track Type .......................................................................... 50
Settings for MIDI Reception .................................................................. 51
MIDI Filter Function ............................................................................... 52
Setting the Track’s MIDI Channel.......................................................... 52
Settings for MIDI Output........................................................................ 53
Multiple Track Recording....................................................................... 54
Editing the Velocity................................................................................ 55
Setting the Program Change Transfer .................................................. 56
Locating with the DATA Wheel.............................................................. 56
Units Used to Locate a Point..................................................... 56
The Main Screen Function Keys ........................................................... 57
The Play/Record Keys and the Locate Keys ..................................................... 58
The AUTO PUNCH IN/OUT Function................................................................ 60
Chapter 4: Editing Sequences .................................................................................. 61
Overview............................................................................................................ 62
Erasing Data with the ERASE Key .................................................................... 62
Erasing a Note in Real Time ..................................................... 62
Using the ERASE Window to Erase Data ................................. 62
Step Editing ....................................................................................................... 64
Step Editing Screen............................................................................... 64
Timing Correct in Step Edit ....................................................... 65
The Event Display ..................................................................... 65
Operating the List Display ......................................................... 66
Selecting and Editing Multiple Events ....................................... 66
Copying an Event...................................................................... 67
Deleting an Event...................................................................... 67
Pasting an Event ....................................................................... 67
Inserting an Event ..................................................................... 68
Step Recording...................................................................................... 68
The Editing Screen ............................................................................................ 69
Copying an Event...................................................................... 69
Editing the Duration of a Note ................................................... 70
Editing the Velocity of a Note .................................................... 70
Transposing a Note................................................................... 71
Copying by Bar.......................................................................... 72
Rearranging the tracks.............................................................. 73

Page vii
Contents
Sequence Preferences.............................................................. 74
Transposing a Track ................................................................. 74
Chapter 5: Song Mode ............................................................................................... 76
Overview............................................................................................................ 76
Song Mode ........................................................................................................ 78
Creating a Song .................................................................................... 78
Renaming a Song.................................................................................. 79
Selecting a Song ................................................................................... 78
Deleting a Song..................................................................................... 80
Copying a Song..................................................................................... 81
Setting the Tempo ................................................................................. 82
Setting the Loop .................................................................................... 83
Selecting a Step and Changing a Sequence......................................... 84
Repeating a Sequence.......................................................................... 84
Deleting a Step...................................................................................... 85
Inserting a Step ..................................................................................... 85
Moving to a Specific Point in a Song (Locate)....................................... 86
Converting a Song to a Sequence ........................................................ 87
Chapter 6: Creating and Editing Sounds ................................................................. 88
Sampling a New Sound ..................................................................................... 89
Editing a Sound ................................................................................................. 93
Selecting a Sound ................................................................................. 93
Renaming or Displaying the Specification of the Sound ........... 93
Deleting a Sound....................................................................... 94
Copying a Sound....................................................................... 94
Converting a Sound............................................................................... 95
Converting Stereo to Mono ....................................................... 95
Converting Mono to Stereo ....................................................... 96
Re-sampling .............................................................................. 97
TRIM Mode............................................................................................ 98
Fine Adjustment of the Start Point ............................................ 99
Fine Adjustment of the End Point............................................ 100
LOOP Mode ........................................................................................ 101
Fine Adjustment of the Loop Points ........................................ 102
ZONE Mode ........................................................................................ 103
Fine Adjustment of the Start Point of a Zone .......................... 103
Fine Adjustment of the End Point of a Zone ........................... 104
EDIT Mode .......................................................................................... 104
BPM Match.......................................................................................... 107
Setting the Sound Parameters ............................................................ 109
Beat Loop Function ................................................................. 109
Chapter 7: Creating and Editing Programs ........................................................... 110
What Are Programs? ....................................................................................... 111
Creating a program ............................................................................. 112
Selecting a Program and Assigning a Sound .................................................. 113
Selecting Programs ............................................................................. 113
Renaming Programs ............................................................... 114
Deleting a Program ................................................................. 114
Creating New Programs.......................................................... 115

Page viii
Copying Programs .................................................................. 115
Assigning Notes to the Drum Pads ..................................................... 116
Assigning Sounds to Notes ................................................................. 117
Auto Chromatic Assignement.............................................................. 117
The Pad Assign Mode and Initialize .................................................... 118
Deleting Unused Sounds from the Memory ........................................ 118
The Program Sound Generation Mode ............................................... 119
Editing Note Parameters ................................................................................. 121
Selecting Programs ............................................................................. 121
Selecting Notes ................................................................................... 121
Copying the Note Parameter................................................... 122
Setting the Envelope ........................................................................... 122
Setting the Filter .................................................................................. 124
Setting the Pitch .................................................................................. 125
Setting the Voice Overlap.................................................................... 126
The MIDI Settings of the Sampler ....................................................... 127
Chapter 8: Mixer Functions..................................................................................... 128
Stereo Output Mixer ........................................................................................ 129
Setting the Volume .............................................................................. 129
Setting the Left/Right Pan ................................................................... 130
Linking the Volume/Pan Levels ........................................................... 130
Setting the Individual Outputs and Effect Send (Option) ................................. 131
Assigning the Sounds to Individual Outputs........................................ 131
Setting the Output Level...................................................................... 132
Linking the Individual Outputs/Output Levels ...................................... 132
Sending Effects ............................................................................................... 133
Setting the Effect Send Level .............................................................. 133
Setting the Volume or Pan for Each Note........................................................ 134
Setting Up the Mixer ........................................................................................ 135
Chapter 9: Effects (optional) ................................................................................... 137
Editing Effects.................................................................................................. 138
Turning Each Effect On or Off ......................................................................... 138
Multi-effects ..................................................................................................... 139
Setting the Effect Routing................................................................................ 139
Reverb Effects ................................................................................................. 141
Editing Each Effect .......................................................................................... 143
Chapter 10: Disk Operation..................................................................................... 151
Overview.......................................................................................................... 152
The Device: Field ................................................................................ 152
The Device Icons................................................................................. 152
Before Proceeding to Use a Floppy Disk ............................................ 153
Formatting a Disk ............................................................................................ 154
Formatting a Floppy Disk .................................................................... 154
Formatting a SCSI Drive ..................................................................... 155
Saving the Data ............................................................................................... 156
Saving Across Multiple Floppy Disks .................................................. 159
Saving to Folders on a SCSI Device ............................................................... 160
Creating a New Folder ........................................................................ 160
Making Folders Within Folders............................................................ 161
Contents