Multitrack looper & MPC

Having a multitrack looper alongside an Akai MPC for beats/samples/stems is a great way to create engaging multi-layered live performances. Check out this setup!

Using a multitrack looper such as the Boss RC-505 gives a solid backbone to any DAW-less live setup. The beauty is that it can be used in many different ways to augment your live performance in real time. For example, you can pre-prepare WAV files of stereo stems from your studio projects and load them into the looper and/or the MPC Live to use as backing tracks, which will enable you to directly recreate the sound of your record in a live setting.

You can then use any remaining tracks in the looper alongside MPC tracks to layer-up live instrumentation, beats or live vocals plugged into the looper, then bring these parts in and out and effect them as you want during your gig using the volume faders for each track. If you come up with something great during your gig (which undoubtedly you will!), you can also quickly save the setup and loops and recall them later easily without having the distraction of a laptop screen and clunkiness of a computer setup to deal with (ie separate interface, lots of wiring, potential crashing, latency, etc).

Here we’re using an MPC Live as our master MIDI clock and for dedicated ‘one-shot’ beat making and/or to add stems. This particular MPC allows you to easily manipulate samples/audio in real time by using its XY screen for filtering and effecting (much like a Kaoss pad) alongside the Q-link dials assigned to any other parameters you wish. The RC-505 receives MIDI clock from the MPC so that everything stays in sync/locked during the performance (once you hit play on the MPC then the looper will receive start and stop messages and tempo info and you don’t have to worry about timing falling apart).

Once again, you can choose whether you make the beats on your MPC in realtime or whether you pre-make the beats in the studio and then just play them back/manipulate them live; whichever works best for you is fine!

So how does this setup work in a live context? Well, (for example) you could start the performance by pressing play on the MPC Live, with all elements of your pre-prepared beat saved in a muted state (the looper will follow the MPC’s clock). Next plug in a synth for bass (here we’re using a Nord stage for pads, EPs, strings and a separate synth layer for bass) and start by playing atmospheric pads to build tension.

Once you hit a sweet spot, record these elements to independent tracks on your looper. Now bring in some lighter percussive elements on the MPC such as hats, cymbals, swooshes, washes etc and play with the filtering or beat repeat effects on the MPC Live’s XY pad to add drama. Then add in your kick drum, jam along a bassline using the Nord’s bass sound and once you hit upon a great loop, record that into another track on the looper (and so on). Next, bring in your snare on the MPC to add some more drive and energy.

Once you have all the live elements you want in your track recorded into the loop, you can then

effect all the loops using the loopers’ realtime output effects and do the same with your beats in the MPC using the XY effects to build tension, drama, make drops/builds and fire up your audience.

At that point, you can seamlessly transition to your next tune and start building again! Track muting and soloing parts is certainly an easy way for a user to make sweeping or subtle changes to their track in the moment and this feature can be quickly accessed by simply hitting the Main button twice, or by navigating to the Track Mute screen via the Menu button.

Another thing that you should note here is that the MPC Live also features a simple looper of its own, so you could quite feasibly ditch the RC-505, if you were to find that you need to keep the setup more compact for travelling.