Syntaktical Expression (MPC Expansion Pack)

What if you took the Elektron Syntakt, slammed it through a bunch of analog gear, sliced those samples and then packed them into the MPC? That's what the Syntaktical Expression MPC Expansion pack is in a nutshell.

Quick Stats:

• Genres: Electronic, EDM, IDM, Glitch, Trap, Drum & Bass
  
• Vibe check: Dark, Dirty, Analog, Thick
• Pack Size: 1gig of audio samples
• Drum Kits: 19
• Synth Keygroups: 15
• Tempo Synced Texture Kits: 10
• Raw One Shots: 779
• Textured Loops: 105
• Audio: 44khz 24bit
• Formats Supported: MPC 2.11, Audio wav format
• Heavily processed with multiple pieces of analog outboard gear

License agreement.

This pack has three distinct groups

• Drum Kits
• Synth Keygroups
• Texture Loop Kits

Drum Kits

For the Drum Kits, we processed over 700 one shots from the Syntakt as our "RAW ingredients" and then built up 19 MPC Drum Kits. Each kit has been adjusted for tuning and fx. A lot of the kits utilize the granular effect to add extra space and dimension.

All the kits are heavily electronic sounding (the sounds started with the Syntakt after all!)

Synth Keygroups

The Syntakt has a range of synth tones (both analog and digital) that we sampled through a selection of guitar pedals, before hitting the analog signal chain. The main pedals used were the Way Huge Green Rhino Mk2 (overdrive), Dreadbox Lethargy (phaser), Strymon Mobius (chorus, modulator), and Dreadbox Darkness (reverb). We chose to have the Analog Heat box sit out for the synth groups.

We sampled 15 total different synth sounds. Most of the sounds are sampled within a couple of semi-tones for extra precision in the sound. A few of samples (Ragnoraks Hand for example) got heavy multisampling that's great for the sound and playability, but at the cost of lots of samples in the memory.

Textured Loops

This MPC Expansion pack also includes 10 textured loop kits that total 105 loops. These samples were created utilizing the Syntakt's input processor and sequencer to create a range of alien landscapes and rhythmic tones for your productions. All the samples were recorded at 120 bpm, but the files have been tempo synced so they'll time stretch accordingly.

Note: if you use the Software version of MPC 2, then make sure you have the highest quality time stretch algorithm selected. It makes a big difference!

Most of the textures revolve around C or Cmin as well. Each kit has anywhere from 3 to 16 different sections cut up and each section is typically 4 bars. Some are 8 bars.

Pro tip: If you happen to find a section you really like, just jump into the sample edit and chop it up via bpm and you'll have even slices.

The Signal Chain

Each sample got hit with a barrage of analog circuitry starting with the Elektron Analog Heat. Various saturation and distortion settings were used along with filter sweeps to tease out various vibes from the Syntakt sound. After the Heat, the sounds went through a delicious chain of analog outboard gear.

Starting with the Drawmer 1978 stereo compressor, a fantastic drum buss unit. This compressor has a FET style compression circuit and tons of tone shaping tools. It also has an additional saturator which was utilized throughout the recordings.

Following the 1978, the Buzz Audio SOC-20 stereo optical compressor was used in Mid/Side mode to tease out more vibe from the spatial info in the signal. Essentially different compression settings were used for the Mid AND Side of the signal. This technique helps shape the "space" a bit more out of the natural stereo fingerprint in the signal. Plus it has delicious Lundahl transformers to fatten up the signal.

Following the SOC-20, the signal hit a pair of Purple Audio 500 series LilPEqr shelving eqs that are known for their "3D" vibe they impart from the transformers being slightly driven. The EQ was utilized a bit to bring out some boom and sparkle, but nothing over the top. Sidenote: These EQs are fantastic for vocals!

We're not done yet! The signal then hit a pair of analog tape emulators from Rupert Neve Designs with the RED silk setting activated (adds a bit more high end harmonics). The tape emulation was set to 30 IPS for subtle tone shaping. These tape emulators really impart the tone of tape, but leave out the noise, hiss, and warble of tape.

Finally, the signal hit a pair of Louder Than Liftoff Chroma preamps with the API circuit engaged and an additional iron transformer module to add the feeling of hitting an analog console before the converters.

Curious about the converters? Mytek Brooklin ADC mastering grade converters.

Bonus One Shots

We processed over 900 one shot samples and then pruned those down to 779 drum and fx samples. Not all the one shots were used in the kits, so if you like building kits from scratch on the MPC, or want to import them into another platform like Ableton Live, Bitwig, Polyend Play etc etc ... Then skys the limit!

The "one shots" are organized into typical groups of drum/fx categories. Here's the breakdown:

• 133 Kicks
• 173 Snares
• 60 Rims
• 62 Claps
• 144 Hats
• 36 Toms
• 59 Cymbals
• 112 SFX/Noise
• 379 megabytes in size

Some of the samples are noisy. Some are clean. Most are in-between a state of vibey and punchy.

Supporting what we do

If you do decide to buy a copy of our sample pack, please keep in mind it also helps support what we're doing on YouTube and Bandcamp. So hopefully you can find some inspiring sounds for your productions and in return we get to make more videos, sample packs and music!

Cheers and Thank you!
Tefty & Meems