Akai MPC User Manual page 278

Release An envelope parameter. This term describes the descent rate of an envelope to its
minimum value after a trigger is terminated. The Release phase begins immediately
after the trigger is terminated, regardless of the envelope's current status. For instance,
the Release phase may be initiated during the Attack phase.
Resonance or emphasis is an important filter parameter. It emphasizes the frequencies
Resonance
around the filter cutoff frequency by amplifing them with a narrow bandwidth. This is
one of the most popular methods of manipulating sounds. If you increase the emphasis
to a level where the filter enters a state of self-oscillation, it will generate a relatively
pure sine waveform.
Root Key The root key defines the original pitch of a recorded instrument or of a sample.
Samples in the software contain the dedicated root key information. This information
will be created automatically during recording or importing.
When you tap the pads on your MPC hardware, you can trigger sounds that we call
Sample
samples. Samples are digitized snippets of audio that can either be recorded using the
recording function of your MPC software or loaded from the File Browser.
Once a sample is present in the software, it can be manipulated in different ways. For
example, a sample can be trimmed, looped, pitch-shifted or processed, using various
effects offered by the software. When you have finished editing your sample, you can
assign it to one or more drum pads to play it. Samples can be either mono or stereo.
Sample Rate This is the frequency representing the amount of individual digital sample scans per
second that are taken to capture an analog siginal digitally. For normal CD audio
recordings, 44100 samples per second are used, also written as 44.1 kHz. The
software offers sampling rates up to 96 kHz.
A Sequence is the most basic building-block of music you can compose on the
Sequence
software. MIDI information from your MPC hardware's pads, buttons, and Q-Link
Knobs (or an external keyboard) are recorded to the Tracks of a Sequence. Each
Sequence has 64 Tracks. The software can hold up to 128 separate Sequences at the
same time.
The length of a Sequence can be set from 1 to 999 bars, which would be enough to
create an entire Song using only one Sequence. However, the software has a
dedicated Song Mode that lets you chain Sequences together to create a Song.
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