The quick-start covers maybe a third of this machine, and even the full PDF hides gold in footnotes. This page collects it: every combo in one searchable codex, every parameter on every page, all 60+ effects, the hard limits and how to get around them, and how the docs changed between revisions.
Each of these is in the official PDF or release notes, or verified by the community, but buried. Badges show the evidence level.
zoom the waveform at Start / End / Loop, in Trim and in Chop. Reviewers missed it because it isn't printed anywhere on the panel. manual
During a recording, tapping other pads drops slice markers live. Lazy-chop a record in one pass. manual
Audio input is always being buffered (), and so are your pad hits (, "MIDI retrospective record"). manual
Play page : trigger another pad from the same bank whenever this one fires. Layer a sub under a kick, or melody + break. Bank-local only. manual
Play page K3 delays sample start after the hit (0–100%). Push snares back for a lazy pocket, or build flams. Automatable. manual
on Amp/Filter Env. With Decay From Start a looping one-shot fades out on its own, so loops become gated swells. manual
Filter type Classic is modelled on the MPC3000 low-pass and behaves differently with resonance up. Plus LPF/HPF/BPF in 2- and 4-pole. manual
The importer reads .snd (MPC2000-era) and .s1s/.s3s (S1000/S3000-era) alongside WAV, AIFF, MP3, FLAC and OGG. Old Akai disk dumps live again. spec
Set Warp (K3, Tune page) to Seq and give it # Beats (): the loop follows sequence tempo. flips stretch ↔ re-pitch. manual
Seq mode B2 toggles SEQ (each sequence keeps its own BPM) and GBL (one tempo). Tempo changes per song section, for free. manual
K1 jumps in powers of two, while picks any length from 1 to 128. With time signatures, you get 3-bar phrases in 7/8. manual
Seq K3 swing is live and non-destructive. Time Correct swing is applied with Do It, and its value also swings Note Repeat. manual
In FX Select, lit pads get the effect and dim pads don't. Put the Pumper on everything but the kick and you've got sidechain without a sidechain input. manual
Project › Load › Kits: ENCODER push loads the kit with 4 starter sequences; B3 Load Kit loads samples only. manual
MIDI Config › Receive Program Change = Sequence: a foot switch or DAW can change song parts. manual
Brighter = higher. For Pan/Tune it's brightest at the center. That's how to find the pickup point blind on a dark stage. manual
Button bright = active · dim = available · off = unavailable. Hold SHIFT: dim red = has a 2nd function, bright red = that function is active. manual
The USB MIDI port appears but stays silent until MIDI Config › MIDI Port = USB. Pads 1–16 answer notes 36–51. verified
Since 1.2 a whole arrangement can become one long sequence, so you can record FX moves and automation across the full song. 1.2
Since 1.3, fresh recordings get Amp Attack 2 instead of 0 (kills clicks). If your old chops click, that's why. 1.3
Input Config › Monitor On plus Rec Input Effects prints Knob FX while sampling: Amp Sim on a drum machine, Tape Delay on vocals. manual
Every combo we could source, in one table. Filter by context, flip to Hidden gems, or type (try recall, zoom, bank). The ⌘K search covers the same data from any page.
B1 / B2 / B3 cycle pages. Push the ENCODER to focus a parameter and fine-tune with −/+.
| Button | Page | K1 | K2 | K3 | Hidden (SHIFT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Trim | Start 0–100% | End | Loop point | SHIFT+K1/K2/K3 zoom · SHIFT+B1 Loop Lock · SHIFT+B2 Normalize |
| B1 | Mix | Volume −∞…+6 dB | — | Pan 50L–C–50R | SHIFT+K2 Kit Volume |
| B1 | Amp Env | Attack 0–127 | Decay (one-shot) / Release (Note On) | Vel Sens 0–127 | SHIFT+K2 Decay From Start/End |
| B2 | Tune | Semi ±24 | Fine ±90 cents | Warp Off · 50–200% · Seq | SHIFT+K3 # Beats · SHIFT+PAD 15 stretch↔pitch |
| B2 | Play | Polyphony Mono/Poly | Mute Group Off/1–16 | Offset 0–100% | SHIFT+K2 Pad Link Off/1–16 |
| B3 | Filter | Cutoff 0–127 | Reso 0–127 | Off · Classic · LPF2/4 · HPF2/4 · BPF2/4 | — |
| B3 | Filt Env | Attack | Decay / Release | Depth 0–127 | SHIFT+K2 Decay From |
| CHOP | Chop (replaces Trim) | Slice Start | Slice End | Type: Threshold · Regions 4/8/16 · Manual | SHIFT+K1/K2 zoom · SHIFT+K3 Threshold · SHIFT+B1 Extract · B2 Split · B3 Merge |
PAD FX, then pads 1–16. Harder press = more effect (poly aftertouch). Four can run at once; a fifth bypasses the oldest until you let it go. B1 latches the current amount. They hit the whole mix.
Source: User Guide v1.3.0, Pad FX table . Filter pads 6–8 have their own tempo-synced LFO (Speed + Range).
One at a time, on the pads you choose. to pick, KNOB FX to drive with K1–K3; hold SHIFT for the second row of parameters.
Source: User Guide v1.3.0, Knob FX table . MPC 3.8 ported several of these (Color compressor, tape & vinyl emulators, vintage emulation) to the big MPCs .
. Sixteen slots of time-based mangling (beat chops, DJ-style scratches, trance gates) applied to the whole sequence while it plays. PAD 1 is the empty, dry slot. Slot names appear on screen; the manual doesn't list them.
| K1 | One Shot (returns to PAD 1 when done) ↔ Loop (repeats until changed) |
| K3 | Dry/Wet 0–100% |
| B3 | Quantize: start on the next division |
known issue glitches while tempo changes, so go 100% dry first.
. A "pumping" compressor that also does gentle peak control. Makeup gain is automatic.
| B1 | COLOR: parallel bass boost + slight pitch wobble + saturation ("tape warmth") |
| B3 | Bypass / engage |
| K1 | Attack 0.1–150 ms |
| K2 | Release 3–300 ms |
| K3 | Amount 0–100% (threshold + ratio in one) |
| SHIFT+K3 | In Boost: hit it harder |
It's a small box. Here is where you'll hit walls, and the moves the community uses to climb them.
Old-school sampler move: sample the record at 45 RPM (shorter, brighter, more fits in a short buffer), then drop it back down. Tune page K1 semi (−5 ≈ 45→33), or Warp mode Pitch. Finish with Knob FX Vintage Emulator SP1200 and filter type Classic.
Record unquantized, then → B2 all → K1 1/16 → K3 swing in the high 50s to low 60s % → B3. Ride Seq K3 for live push. Glue with Vintage Emulator MPC60.
Busy drums + one FX: resample () to a pad, clear the source pads, load the next Knob FX, record the next layer. Repeat. It gets around both the 32-voice and one-Knob-FX limits.
Input Config: Source Rear, Monitor On. Noodle on your synth all night. When magic happens: . It's on a pad, ready to chop.
Sample 20 s of room on Mic → LOOP + (Note On) → long release. Under it, lean on Pad FX 12 Granulator: pressure is your density fader.
Knob FX Spring Reverb on the snare only. During playback hit Pad FX 15 Delay (K3 Ping-Pong), B1 latch on the last beat, then unlatch at the drop.
Shaker loop on a pad → LOOP → Trim Loop Lock on. Now moving Start drags the loop with it: scrub the groove without re-aligning.
Build Song () → B1 → B3 export as sequence → select it → SEQ RECORD and ride filter / Knob FX across the whole track as one take.
Kick on pad 1, sub/808 on pad 2. On pad 1's Play page set Pad Link → 2. Mix each layer separately with its own envelope and filter.
Select a stab → 16 LEVELS → → Filter. Pads 1–8 sweep closed-to-current cutoff, 9–16 current-to-open. Finger-drum a filter riser.
Recipes combine documented functions . Swing percentages and the 45-RPM trick are classic sampler craft and a matter of taste.
We text-diffed every public PDF revision. Here's what changed, and where official sources disagree.
| Revision | Change | Link |
|---|---|---|
| v1.0 | Launch text. Spec table: "MPC Sample projects can be loaded in MPC3". | |
| v1.0 RevB | MPC3 line walked back: "Project import and export is not currently supported… upcoming firmware… MPC 3.8 and higher". | |
| v1.0 RevC | MIDI jacks now specified as TRS Type A. Windows 10 users told to use the desktop updater, not the web page. | |
| v1.3.0 RevA | Adds Normalize (SHIFT + B2 in Trim) and the Takeover settings (Pickup / Scaled / Instant). |