padpimps OB-MPC Operation manual

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Contents
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OB-MPC: Introduction
• OB-MPC is our tribute to the iconic 80s analog synth, the OB-Xa. Inside are 101
custom multisampled synth patches combined with the MPCs filters, LFO, FX
and envelopes to produce an immense collection of thick analog pads,
haunting drones & strings, powerful leads, fat punchy bass and rich ethereal
keys, all optimised for super-fast loading & minimal CPU.
• All keygroup programs are fully categorized and tagged for easy browser
searching/filtering and program previews provided for every single instrument
so it’s always easy to find the exact sound you need.
• This expansion is compatible with all modern MPCs running with MPC 2.10 (or
greater). This expansion is also fully compatible with the Akai Force, the MPC
Software and the MPC Beats App.

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What’s Inside?
OB-MPC contains 101 custom instruments for the MPC, made from 1904 samples.
Each instrument is pre-mapped chromatically for you so you can just load it and
play; there’s no need for any configuration or tweaking, simply listen to the
instrument previews in the browser, load your chosen instruments into your project
and start playing chords, riffs and melodies on your pads or an attached keyboard.
OB-MPC is suitable for any style of electronic music and contains the following
instrument categories:
• 22 Keys & Organs
• 19 Basses & Subs
• 19 Lead & Brass
• 23 Pads & Strings
• 19 Plucks & Synth instruments
These instruments are MPC ‘keygroup’ programs which utilise multisampling and
subtractive synthesis techniques making extensive use of the MPC’s own internal

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filters, envelopes, LFO & FX, all combined with thousands of perfectly sustain-
looped samples.
All instruments are fully memory-optimised, with an average instrument size of only
8MB. This means you can easily load dozens of these instruments into a standalone
MPC/Force without any memory concerns whatsoever.
All instruments are 100% compatible with PAD PERFORM (‘Notes Mode’) and the
arpeggiator, while keyboard controllers can also utilise pitch bend and mod wheel
control of LFO for many of the instrument patches.
All instruments are also fully editable via PROGRAM EDIT so if you wish, you can
tweak the FX, filters, envelopes, portamento and LFOs as per your specific
requirements.

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Install: Standalone MPC & Akai Force
After downloading the expansion, extract the zip file contents to your computer.
Enter the ‘Standalone MPC-Akai Force’ folder and inside you’ll see a sub folder ‘OB-
MPC’ – this is the folder we’re going to transfer to your MPC/Force.
Expansions must be installed to either an SD card, a USB drive or, if you have one,
an internal SATA disk.
The first step is to mount this ‘MPC disk’ on your computer. If you use an SD card or
USB disk, you can just eject the disk from your MPC/Force and physically insert it
into your computer’s SD card reader or USB port.

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Alternatively, connect your MPC or Force via USB to your computer and go to MENU
and hit the ‘MPC chip’ icon at the top of the screen (this is the 'Laptop' icon in the
Force).
Now select CONTROLLER MODE ('COMPUTER MODE' in the Force).
Whichever connection method you choose, your MPC disk should now appear as a
removable drive in your computer’s file manager (e.g. Finder or File Explorer). Click
on the drive to open its file system:

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If it doesn’t already exist, create a folder called ‘Expansions’ in the root of your disk.
Now copy the ‘OB-MPC’ standalone expansion folder inside this ‘Expansions’ folder.

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All done! If you had physically transferred the MPC disk to your computer you
should now eject the disk from your computer and put the disk back in your MPC.
Alternatively, if you used USB transfer then go back to MENU and select the
computer icon to return to standalone mode - don’t forget to eject/unmount the
MPC from your computer first, this avoids any potential data loss.

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Loading Instruments (Standalone MPC/Force)
In your MPC, go to MAIN and create a KEYGROUP type track:

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In the Force, hit the ‘+’ icon in the touchscreen matrix and select a Keygroup track:
This adds a new blank keygroup track to the matrix:

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Now go to ‘MENU > BROWSER > Expansions’ and tap on the ‘OB-MPC’ thumbnail.
On the right side, select the PROGRAM filter to view all the available instruments:

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You can also use the ‘Search’ option to filter the results by ‘tag’; for example, enter
the phrase ‘keys’ to display only ‘keys’ instruments:
Single tap the program to hear a preview (requires ‘AUDITION >AUTO’).
To load the instrument to the current track, either double tap the XPM file or single
tap and press LOAD.

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Install: MPC Software/MPC Beats App
Locate the ‘OB-MPC Expansion Installer.XPN’ file and drag & drop it directly into
the MPC Software/MPC Beats UI from your computer’s File Explorer/Finder:

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Please note that an XPN file cannot be installed by double clicking from your
computer’s file explorer.
After dragging the XPN into the software UI you will see the following:

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Select ‘Import’ and once installed, open the Expansion Browser (‘X’ on your
keyboard) and click on the ‘OB-MPC’ thumbnail to view:

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Expand the ‘Programs’ group to reveal all the instruments, all organised into sub-
categories based on the instrument type:
Single click any instrument to hear its program preview - this requires ‘Autoplay’
enabled:

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Double click a program to load it to the current sequencer track. Alternatively, drag
the program directly into your project. All instruments are ‘keygroup’ programs and
must be assigned to a ‘KEYGROUP’ type track in your sequencer:

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Playing the Instruments with the Pads
The notes in a keygroup program cover the MIDI range ‘C-2 to G8’ (starting on pad
A01 on the MPC). However, the notes in bank A and B tend to be too low to be
usable (unless you need a really low rumble!), so BANK C will often be the ‘playable’
starting point for many programs.
A great way to play instruments with your pads is to use Pad Perform Mode (‘Notes
Mode’ in the Akai Force) which will set your pads to only play back notes from
specified scales, or even trigger an entire chord from each individual pad.
With your instrument assigned to a track, in the MPC go to Pad Perform Mode by
hitting the PAD PERFORM icon on the ‘PROGRAM’ row in MAIN. Alternatively, press
SHIFT & 16 LEVEL.

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To create melodic leads and riffs, select NOTES & under ‘SCALE & OCTAVE’ select
your preferred scale, octave & musical key.