padpimps MPC-MS20 Operation manual

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Contents
MPC-MS20:)Introduction) 3!
What’s)Inside?) 4!
Install:)Standalone)MPC)&)Akai)Force) 6!
Install:)MPC)Software/MPC)Beats)App)12!
Playing)the)Instruments)with)MPC)Pads)18!
Playing)the)Instruments)with)a)MIDI)Keyboard)22!
Portamento)24!
Further)Resources)27!
Copyright)&)License)28!

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MPC-MS20: Introduction
• MPC-MS20 is our tribute to the classic analog synth, the Korg MS20, with 101
custom multisampled synth patches combined with the MPCs filters, LFO, FX
and envelopes to produce a stunning collection of velocity sensitive,
monophonic and polyphonic instruments.
• Instruments include fat squelchy basses, powerful leads, lush pads and deep,
sumptuous keys, all optimised for super-fast loading & minimal CPU.
• All 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 fully compatible with any MPC running MPC 2.4 (or greater),
the Akai Force, the MPC Software (2.4+) and the MPC Beats App.

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What’s Inside?
MPC-MS20 contains 101 custom instruments for the MPC, made from 2285
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.
MPC-MS20 is suitable for any style of electronic music and contains the following
instrument categories:
• 15 Keys & Organs
• 29 Basses & Subs
• 20 Lead & Brass
• 20 Pads & Strings
• 17 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 100% compatible with PAD PERFORM (‘Notes Mode’) and the
arpeggiator and are pre-configured with Q-LINK adjustable portamento to provide
optional ‘glide’ between notes.
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 and LFOs as per your specific requirements.

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Install: Standalone MPC & Akai Force
From the downloaded files, enter the ‘Standalone MPC-Akai Force’ folder and
inside you’ll see a sub folder ‘MPC-MS20 – this is the folder we’re going to transfer
to your standalone MPC or 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, 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 ‘MPC-MS20 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.
Now go to MENU > BROWSER > Expansions and tap on the ‘MPC-MS20 thumbnail
to view the expansion. Select the PROGRAM filter to view all the available
instruments:

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Single tap/click the program to hear a preview (requires ‘AUDITION >AUTO’).
Double tap to load the instrument directly into the currently selected sequence (or
single tap and hit the LOAD button).

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Use the ‘Search directory’ option to filter the results by ‘tag’; for example, enter
‘lead’ to display only ‘lead’ instruments:
The instruments are standard MPC ‘keygroup’ programs which must be assigned to
a ‘KEYGROUP’ type track.

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Install: MPC Software/MPC Beats App
Locate the ‘MPC-MS20 - MPC Software 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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Alternatively, you can drag the XPN from the MPC 2.x ‘File Browser’ (shortcut ‘F’):
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 ‘MPC-MS20 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 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 MPC Pads
The pads in a keygroup program cover the MIDI notes ‘C-2 to G8’ starting on pad
A01. 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.
All instruments are fully compatible with Pad Perform Mode (‘Notes Mode’ in the
Akai Force) which can configure your pads to only play back notes from specified
scales, or can be used to trigger entire chords from each pad. With your instrument
assigned to a track, go to Pad Perform Mode by hitting the PAD PERFORM icon on
the ‘PROGRAM’ row in MAIN.

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Select NOTES & under ‘SCALE & OCTAVE’ select your preferred scale, octave &
musical key.

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The 16 pads on your MPC will now only play back the notes in this specific scale. Red
pads indicate the ‘root’ note in the scale. You can also play a complete chord on a
single pad by selecting the CHORDS or PROGRESSIONS options.