Recording A Bass Track - Akai MPC User Manual

Recording a Bass Track

Let's try recording a bass line. Unlike a drum kit, it's important to be able to play and record a bass sound
chromatically, so this will be slightly different than setting up the drum kit.
Adding a bass line over the drum part means we need to add a new Track. A Track is simply a layer of a
Sequence; you can have multiple Tracks in a single Sequence (e.g., a drum Track, a bass Track, a piano
Track, etc.), and they all play simultaneously when you play the Sequence.
First, select a new Track. Go back to Main Mode and select Track 2 (unused) in the Track drop-down
menu above the grid.
Hardware: Press the Main button and then press the F4 button (Track+) to move to the next Track.
Let's create a new Program to assign to this empty Track:
1. In the Track Section in the lower half of the window, click the + button next to the Program drop-
down menu.
2. In the Project Information Section on the right, right-click the new Program (Program 001) and
enter a name (e.g., Bass).
3. Back in the Track Section, click the Type drop-down menu and select Keygroup. This is necessary
because we want to play the bass sound chromatically with the pads.
Now, let's load a bass sound:
1. Click the File Browser's drop-down menu for
an overview of your hard disk structure and
select a location. Double-click any displayed
folder in the File Browser to open it.
2. Locate and select a bass sample. Click the Preview button to preview any selected audio
sample.
3. Double-click a sample to add it to the Project. (Keep in mind that the sample is not yet assigned to a
pad.)
31