Welcome to MPC Maid!
MPC Maid ("MM") is a software editor for the Akai MPC 1000, MPC 2500, and MPC 500:
Works on Mac, PC, and other platforms (Java) and makes the edition of MPC programs files easy.
Switch between the MPC 500 12-pads layout or the MPC 1000 16-pads layout (also takes care of the correct number of filters and sliders thanks to the built-in machine profiles).
Simply drag and drop your samples files onto the pads, and it automatically assigns them, one on each pad or one on each sample layer.
Export the full program and every related sample file together to the target location of your choice.
Also features a semi-automatic slicing tool: drop your loop file to have it chopped into slices based on a beat detection mechanism.
Direct export of the chopped slices as multiple .WAV files, one corresponding .PGM program file and one MIDI groove .MID file.
Multiple window, one window for one program, simply drag and drop a .PGM program file will open a new window for this program.
Download the unique .jar from https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=252031
Double-click on it, MPC Maid must show.
Get the PDF documentation here.
This website for the project can be found here, and the project summary page here.
In Windows, if Winzip or Winrar tries to decompress the file this probably means you do not have Java installed yet. Go to http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp and download the JRE (1.6 update 12 at the time of writing) then follow the very simple instructions. In 2mn you can be done.
On Mac OS X:
On Windows:
View of the 12-pads layout for the MPC 500:
MPC Maid offers a small slice editor to chop loops into their beats quickly: just drag and drop a loop in .WAV format into it:
The editor seamlessly processes the file to detect every beat and marks them with red markers. The slider on the right is a sensitivity settings to help tweak the detection: just move it to see the changes.
Click the Export button, and the loop will be exported as several .WAV files (one for each slice), a MIDI groove .MID file (a chromatic sequence that has the same onset as the original loop), and of course the MPC program .PGM file that goes with the slices samples.
If you copy every exported file to your MPC, then open the .PGM, you have the loop chopped on each pad! If you also open the .MID sequence then you can replay the original loop, then vary its tempo in a REX-like fashion!
MPC Maid is offered for free for everyone so that you can get the best out of your MPC. You can use it forever without any limitation. If you feel like supporting this project then you can send feedback, contribute to the code and testing, and you can also donate what you want.
MPC Maid ("MM") Copyright 2009 Cyrille Martraire
Project homepage: http://mpcmaid.sourceforge.net/
MPC Maid is strongly inspired by the excellent MPC Pad 187 by Stephen Norum, that is unfortunately not portable on other OS'es than Mac OS X.
MPC1000 File Format
Based on the extensive documentation provided by Stephen Norum:
http://mybunnyhug.com/fileformats/pgm/
Automatic Slicing
Beat detection follows the excellent guide "Beat Detection Algorithms" from Frédéric Patin: http://www.gamedev.net/reference/programming/features/beatdetection/
Portable browser launcher (help):http://www.centerkey.com/java/browser/
Bare Bones Browser Launch Version 1.5 (December 10, 2005)
By Dem Pilafian. Public Domain Software -- Free to Use as You Like
Logo design by Yunshan Xia
Copyright Cyrille Martraire 2009 – LGPL license
