Akai MPC 5000 Reference Manual page 177

The sound will be affected to the position of Q-LINK slider/knobs at the point the Pad is hit. But the sound will not be affected by
changing the Q-LINK slider/ knobs after hitting the pad.
You can change the sound during playing back by changing the Q-LINK slider/knob.
The Screen shown to the right will be displayed. Each of the following settings for
each Q-LINK is quickly displayed here.
When you move a Q-LINK controller, that controller will be highlighted. You can also select a Q-LINK Control with the [CURSOR].
This will open the Q-LINK EDIT window as shown on the right.
You can select the pad you wish to edit by hitting the desired pad, or scrolling with
the [DATA] wheel. The effect of the slider or knob will be applied to the selected
pad. If you do not wish to use the Q-LINK function for any pad, select OFF by
turning the [DATA] wheel.
The setting value of the Q-LINK slider/knob at hitting the pad affects to the sound. If you change the Q-LINK slider/knob while the
sound is playing back, the sound will not be changed. The information of the slider or knob position will be sent to the sampler section
as Note Variation data The Note Variation data is included in the Pad Event and converts the specific parameter value to slider or
knob position data. For example, when you select TUNE as a parameter, by moving the slider, you can affect the sample tune.
If you change the Q-LINK slider/knob while the sound is playing back, the sound will be changed. When REAL TIME is selected, the
information of Q-LINK slider/knob is recorded as a Q-LINK event, not as Note Variation data.
Displays which MIDI Continuous
Controller will be sent out when the
selected controller is moved
Displays which pad the Q-LINK Controller is set to.
Displays which parameter is to be edited with the selected Q-LINK