MPC One; a Junglistic Review

If you’re a fan of jungle and drum n bass music, you might have wondered how to create those fast and furious beats and basslines that make you want to dance. Well, look no further than the MPC One, a standalone music production center that lets you make beats, sample, sequence, mix and master your tracks without a computer. In this blog post, I’ll share with you my experience of using the MPC One to make jungle and drum n bass music, and why I think it’s one of the best tools for this genre.

Why Jungle?

First of all, let me tell you why I love jungle and drum n bass music. It’s a style of electronic music that emerged in the early 1990s in the UK, influenced by reggae, dub, hip hop, techno and rave culture. It’s characterized by fast breakbeats (usually between 160 and 180 bpm), heavy basslines, chopped up vocals and samples, and a lot of energy and creativity. It’s a genre that has evolved over the years, spawning subgenres like liquid, neurofunk, jump up and more. It’s also a genre that has a loyal and passionate fan base around the world.

I’ve been listening to jungle and drum n bass music for a long time, but I’ve always wanted to make my own tracks. I’ve tried different software and hardware before, but I always felt like something was missing. I wanted a device that could give me the flexibility and power of a computer, but also the hands-on feel and portability of a hardware unit. That’s when I discovered the MPC One.

What about it?

The MPC One is a standalone music production centre that combines a powerful processor, a 7-inch touchscreen, 16 velocity-sensitive pads, 4 Q-Link knobs, a built-in speaker and multiple inputs and outputs. It comes with 4 GB of RAM, 2 GB of internal storage and an SD card slot for expansion. It also comes with a huge library of sounds and samples, including some exclusive jungle and drum n bass packs from legendary producers like Roni Size, DJ Zinc and Breakage. You can also load your own samples from USB or SD card, or record directly from the line-in or mic-in inputs.

The MPC One has everything you need to make jungle and drum n bass music. You can use the pads to play drums and melodies, or use the step sequencer to program patterns. You can use the touchscreen to edit your samples, adjust your levels, add effects and more. You can use the Q-Link knobs to tweak parameters in real time. You can use the mixer to balance your tracks and apply master effects. You can use the song mode to arrange your sections and export your final mix as WAV or MP3 files.

CHOP THOSE BEATS!

One of the things I love about the MPC One is how easy it is to chop up breaks and create variations. Jungle and drum n bass music relies heavily on manipulating breakbeats to create complex rhythms and fills. The MPC One has a feature called Slice Mode that lets you automatically slice any sample into equal or transient-based segments. You can then assign each slice to a pad and play them in any order you want. You can also use the Pad Perform mode to apply different quantize settings, swing values or note repeat functions to each pad. This way, you can create endless variations of your breaks with just a few taps.

Basslines MASSIVE!

Another thing I love about the MPC One is how powerful it is to create basslines. Jungle and drum n bass music is known for its deep and heavy bass sounds that shake the speakers. The MPC One has a built-in synthesizer called Bassline that lets you create analog-style bass sounds with ease. You can choose from different waveforms, filters, envelopes, LFOs and effects to shape your sound. You can also use the Note Variation mode to apply pitch bends, slides or accents to each note. You can also layer multiple bass sounds together using the Keygroup mode or use the Sample Edit mode to process your samples with filters, envelopes or effects.

Live Performance

The MPC One is not only great for making jungle and drum n bass music, but also for performing it live. You can use the Clip Launch mode to trigger scenes of clips in sync with your tempo. You can also use the Mute Groups mode to mute or solo different tracks on the fly. You can also use the Q-Link knobs to control different parameters of your clips or effects. You can also connect external MIDI devices like keyboards or controllers to expand your setup.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, I think the MPC One is an amazing device for making jungle and drum n bass music. It has everything you need to create fast and furious beats and basslines that will make you feel like a pro. It’s easy to use, fun to play with