Chapter 5: Step Edit Mode; A Note About Playing Events; About Step Edit; Now' Field - Akai MPC 500 User Manual

Chapter 5: STEP EDIT mode

There are two ways to edit sequences. You can select a region and edit several events at one time, or you can edit each event in detail. In
this section, you will learn about the STEP EDIT mode, where you can edit each event in detail.

A note about playing events

You can play a selected event by pressing PLAY button when Step or Move is selected in the 'Parameter' field.
The MPC500 does not play sequences in STEP EDIT mode. When you want to play a sequence, press PLAY START to start playing the
sequence and the MPC500 moves from STEP EDIT mode to MAIN SEQUENCE mode.

About Step Edit

Each track has the performance data you made with pads or MIDI note information from an external MIDI keyboard. The Step Edit
function allows you to edit each event separately. There are other types of events than Pad and MIDI note information.
There are also events specific to the MPC500, such as Q-Link slider information and tempo information, and MIDI events such as pitch
bend and modulation wheel. Step edit is done in the STEP EDIT mode, which is accessed by pressing the [MODE] button and then [PAD
11].

'Now' Field

The 'Now' field displays the current position of a sequence by bar, beat and pulses. This is the same as the 'Now' field in the MAIN
SEQUENCE and the MAIN TRACK pages.
Note: The sequencer of the MPC500 divides the quarter note into 96 parts. Each one of these divisions is called a pulse.

'Track' Field

This shows which track is currently being viewed.

'Pad Bank' Field

This shows current pad bank.

'Parameter' Field

This area shows a selection of different parameters that can be viewed. The fields to the right change depending on which type of selection
is made here:
Step (Step Edit)
You can edit each event that is recorded in the current track one by one.
Scroll Icon
When the cursor is on this icon, rotating the [DATA] wheel scrolls the event list.
Indicates that additional events are recorded in the selected time.
Indicates the middle of the list.
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MPC500 Operator's Manual rev 1.0