45b4 Synchronizing your MPC with Pro Tools
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Synchronizing your MPC with Pro Tools

mpc protools
MPC5000 / MPC2500 as Master, Pro Tools as Slave

Use a MIDI cable to connect an available MIDI OUT of your MPC (Such as MIDI Out A) to the MIDI In of your Digidesign or M-Powered hardware.

Using MIDI Time Code (MTC) & MIDI Machine Control (MMC):

In Pro Tools:

  1. Go to the Setup menu and choose “Peripherals…” Click on the Synchronization tab and verify that the option “MTC Reader Port is set to “Any”.
  2. Put Pro Tools online by pressing the online button to the left of the stop button on the transport at the top of the edit window. This will be verified by a blinking blue “online” button.
On the MPC5000 / MPC2500:
  1. Go to the MIDI/Sync menu.
  2. Set Sync Out to the MIDI output port on the MPC into which you have plugged your MIDI cable. For instance: “SyncOut: A (Master)”
  3. Set Mode to MIDI Time Code. Set Frame rate to 30.  Note: Do not use “30D” which is a drop-sync and is intended for video equipment.
  4. Set Send MMC: to ON
  5. Press play or Play Start on the MPC and Pro Tools should now be playing along to the MPC.
Note:

When using MTC, it is recommended to add 1 or 2 bars of pre-roll to allow reliable sync-up of software and device.

Pro Tools as Master, MPC5000 / MPC2500 as Slave

Using MIDI Time Code (MTC) & MIDI Machine Control (MMC):

Use a MIDI cable to connect the MIDI OUT of your Digidesign or M-Powered hardware to the MIDI IN of your MPC5000 / MPC2500 (such as MIDI IN 1).

On the MPC5000 / MPC2500:

  1. Go to the MIDI/Sync menu.
  2. Set "Sync In" to the corresponding MIDI input port on the MPC.
  3. Set "Mode" to "MIDI Time Code".
  4. Set "Receive MMC" to "ON".
  5. Set the Tempo of the MPC sequence to match that of your Pro Tools session.

In Pro Tools:

  1. Go to the Setup menu and choose "Peripherals…" Click on the Synchronization tab and set "MTC Generator Port" to the corresponding MIDI output port.
  2. Go to the Setup menu and choose "Session." Set "Time Code Rate" to "30". Close the "Session" window.
  3. If you don’t have the "Transport" window open, select the "Window" menu at the top of the screen and choose "Transport" to open it.  Click the arrow at the right side of the window to show "Synchronization".  A "GEN MTC" button will appear in the window.  Click this to enable it.
  4. Press play in Pro Tools and the MPC should now be playing along with Pro Tools.

Notes:

When using MTC, we recommend adding 1 or 2 bars of pre-roll to allow reliable sync-up of software and device.

Make sure there is a sequence on the MPC5000 / MPC2500 containing at least 1 bar or the MPC will not start with Pro Tools.

Using MIDI Beat Clock & MMC:

Use a MIDI cable to connect the MIDI OUT of your Digidesign or M-Powered hardware to the MIDI IN of your MPC 5000 / MPC2500.

On the MPC5000 / MPC2500:

  1. Go to the MIDI/Sync menu.
  2. Set "Sync In" to the corresponding MIDI input port on the MPC.
  3. Set "Mode" to "MIDI Clock."
  4. Set "Receive MMC" to ON."

In Pro Tools:

  1. Go to the Setup menu and choose "MIDI Beat Clock".
  2. Check the boxes for "Enable MIDI Beat Clock" and the corresponding MIDI output port.
  3. Press play. The MPC should now be playing in-sync with Pro Tools.
Note:

Make sure that there is a sequence on the MPC5000 / MPC2500 containing at least 1 bar or the MPC will not start with Pro Tools.

mpc protoolsPro Tools as Master, MPC500 / MPC1000 as Slave

Using MIDI Beat Clock:

Use a MIDI cable to connect the MIDI OUT of your Digidesign or M-Powered hardware to the MIDI IN of the MPC500/1000

On the MPC500:

Go to the MIDI/Sync menu.

  1. Press Mode + PAD 7.
  2. Turn the data wheel to display "Sync."
  3. Press the DOWN cursor.
  4. Use the data wheel to change the sync mode to "Slave."

On the MPC1000:

Go to the MIDI/Sync Menu:

  1. Press Mode + PAD 9.
  2. Sync [F2].
  3. Sync In: 1 or 2 (whichever MIDI input you plugged your MIDI cable into).
  4. Sync Out: Off.

In Pro Tools:

  1. Set your tempo in Pro Tools. Refer to your Pro Tools User Manual for more on this.
  2. Go to the Setup menu and choose "MIDI Beat Clock." Check the boxes for "Enable MIDI Beat Clock" and the corresponding MIDI output port.
  3. Press play. The MPC should now be playing in-sync with Pro Tools.
Note:

Make sure that there is a sequence on the MPC5000 / MPC2500 containing at least 1 bar or the MPC will not start with Pro Tools.

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