How To Install Songkey Mk2 For Mac
The MPK Mini MkII is an ultra-compact controller designed for the traveling musician and desktop producer. Along with MPC Essentials, the MPK mini mkII comes with three content packs to help you get started producing beats and making music. This guide walks through where to find those content packs and how to use them. Contents. What is included and how do I use it? Each sample pack comes with a variety of different files:.
Samples: These are the actual sounds and will be labeled as.WAV files. These are your kicks, snares, cowbells, synth stabs, etc.
Drag this to a single pad in MPC Essentials and hit the pad to play and record the sound into your sequence. When you drag and drop multiple sounds across the pads you are creating a Program.
Programs: These are full collections of compatible sounds and will be labeled as.XPM files. This could otherwise be considered a drum or sample kit, or your instrument. When you load a program, you'll see multiple samples assigned across the pads. Now your samples can be played together and used to record a beat, otherwise known as a Sequence. Sequences: These are the pre-recorded MIDI files that will trigger the sounds in your program when played back. To put it simply, this is your beat.
These files will be labeled as.SXQ files and can be dragged over to the sequencer section (the grid area) to be added to your project. Most users will end up creating their own sequences with the sample and program content, but these can act as a good jumping-off point if you are just getting started. Getting Started Before diving into the sample content, you will first want to make sure that your MPK is registered to your Akai Pro account and you are up and running with the MPC Essentials software. For a complete walk through, please make sure to go through the guide below before continuing:. During this guide, we will also be using the MPK Mini MKII editor to load a preset file on to your MPK Mini MKII.
This is very important to ensure that your pads line up with the pads in the MPC Essentials software. Please make sure that you have downloaded and installed the editor from the links below:. Mapping Out The Pads The best way to use the included sample content is with the pads on your MPK Mini MKII. In order to make sure that your hardware pads will trigger the pads in the software, we want to load the MPC Essentials preset on to your MPK mini mkII by simply holding the Prog Select button and pressing Pad 6. The pad will flash to confirm the selection and the pads will follow the assignments described later in this section. If this does not work, you may have an early model or have already overwritten the preset accidentally. But don't worry!
We have a preset file already mapped out for you and ready to be loaded onto your MPK mini. Here's how:. Download The MPK mini mkII MPC Mapping file from. Please make sure to unzip the folder to your desktop once the file has completed downloading. Close all other audio/MIDI software (including MPC Essentials), connect your MPK mini MkII to your computer, and open the editor software.
Select File Open and navigate to the unzipped folder from Step 1. Select the file named mpc.mk2 and click Open.
The preset settings will then be loaded into the editor. On the left side of the editor, click on Send under Program 1. This will send the preset information to the first preset/program on the MPK.
On your MPK Mini MKII, hold down the PROG SELECT button and press Pad 5 (Prog 1) to select preset 1 on your MPK. The pad should flash to acknowledge the preset selection. Now you should be ready to play samples with your MPK mini mkII pads! There are a few things to keep in mind here:.
Make sure to close the editor when you're finished. The editor cannot be open while using MPC or any other DAW to ensure that the DAW is able to acces the MPK. Use the BANK A/B button on the MPK to access all 16 pads in the MPC software.
When lit Green, bank A is selected. The pads will trigger pads A1 - A8 in the MPC software. When lit Red, bank B is selected. The pads will trigger pads A9 - A16 in the MPC software. For more information on using the editor, make sure to check out our. Downloading and Installing the Content. Log in to your account at.
How To Install Song Key Mk2 For Mac
Find the MPC Essentials Sound Content packs in your list of downloadable content withing the Included Software tab, beneath your MPK mini mkII. These are the Elements of UK Dance, Elements of House and Elements of Dystopia:. Click on the link for each pack to download the content. It's recommended to download these one at a time to avoid any issues while downloading.
When finished they should appear in your Downloads folder. Find the folders in your Downloads folder. If on a PC, make sure to the folder before running the installers inside. If on a Mac, just double click on the folder to unzip it. In the unzipped folder, run the Elements of Dystopia Setup file to install on a PC. On a Mac, run the ElementsOfDystopia.dmg. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
Repeat the steps for the other sample content packs. Where to Find the Content Once the content is installed there are a few different ways that you can access it from within the MPC Software:. The MPC File Browser This is on the left side of your MPC software and is essentially the same as the file browser for your computer. You can use this to navigate your harddrive and find samples or files that you've stored anywhere on your computer, including your newly downloaded sound content. To find the content packs, simply click on the drop-down menu at the top and you should see them all listed there: Once selected, you'll then see the browser fill up with the included content from that pack: Important Note: To help you better organize and search through your content with the browser, use the filters at the top.
The browser will only show files that match the filter selection. You can filter by Project files, Sequences, Programs, Samples or No Filter (shows all file types). The Expansion Browser This is a special browser that allows you to view MPC Expansion packs in an organized manner to more easily sort and browse through your samples. To get there select View Expansion Browser at the top or click on the arrow icon in the bottom left corner of MPC Essentials: From here you will see your new sample packs and their icons.
Click on their icons to show the included content separated into full programs, samples (organized alphabetically) and sequences: Additional Guides & Videos For more information on using the MPK mini mkII or MPC Essentials, you can always refer to the, the MPC Essentials User Guide (Help MPC Help) or some of the additional guides and tutorials below:. Further Technical Support Whether you are a customer or dealer, if you already own an Akai Pro product, or if you just have pre-sales questions, the Akai Pro technical support team is available to help! Visit the link below to connect with any of the following support options: online community support, phone support, email support.
Rating 3.50 (2 Votes) The MPD218 is a MIDI-over-USB pad controller perfect for producers, programmers, musicians and DJ's alike. Its intuitive blend of MPC controls and technologies mesh with easy USB connectivity to bring the feel of classic beat making into the world of computer music production. This guide walks through downloading, installing and authorizing the included MPC Essentials, Big Bang Drums and Big Bang Cinematic Percussion. Contents. Plugging in the MPD218 The MPD218 is a class-compliant MIDI device. A class-compliant device is one that doesn't require extra drivers to connect your Windows or Macintosh computer. Class compliant devices use drivers which are built into the host (i.e. The computer) operating system.
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Begin by connecting the MPD218 to a free USB port on your computer. We recommend going into the back of your computer, as this is closest to the power supply. This will provide the most power necessary to the controller for optimum performance.
After connecting the controller to your computer, Windows will install the driver necessary for the MPD218 to communicate with your computer. Registering the MPD218. Launch your web browser, and go to. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, and underneath My Account, select login or create to login to or create your account. After your account has been accessed, you will be presented with a page that says My Products and My Product Registrations. Your registered products and related software downloads will be listed below. We will want to select Register a product now to register.
Next, you will be presented with a screen to enter your information and register your controller. Select the MPD218 from the dropdown menu.
Make sure you enter the serial number exactly as it appears on the bottom of your controller. Important: Neglecting the '(21)' and failing to capitalize the 'A' will result in a rejected serial number.
There is no software version for this controller, so this field can be left blank. Include your purchase date and place of purchase, then select Register Product to complete the registration. MPC Essentials Software Download and Authorization After successfully registering the controller, you will be presented with the serial numbers and download links for the following software:. MPC Essentials - This is the main software that will allow you to put together sounds and samples to build drum programs and beats, or to play the provided plugins. Big Bang Drums & Big Bang Cinematic Percussion - These are your VST plugin instruments.
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These are drum plugins that can be run and played with your MPD218 in MPC Essentials. Follow the instructions later in this guide for information on how to install and use these plugins. MPC Essentials Sound Content -The Elements of UK Dance, Elements of House and Elements of Dystopia are packs of samples, sequences and programs that can be used to create your own beats. Each pack comes with it's own installer.
Once installed, you will see the content available from your browser on the left side of the MPC Essentials software. Start by downloading and installing MPC Essentials:. To install MPC Essentials, scroll down and find the latest version of the software available on your account page. Select the download for Mac or PC depending on your operating system. In this example, the latest version is ' MPC Essentials 1.8.2 Update.' Even though the download is labeled as 'Update' this will still install the full version.
After the download is complete, we will need to extract the files before installation. To do this, make sure you have an unzipping program installed on your computer and right-click in the white space of the folder in which the download is stored. After doing this, select Extract All. To extract the files. Make sure you remember this location so we can retrieve it afterwards.
After the files are extracted, double-click on the installer to run the setup. If you downloaded the latest version as described above this should be labeled Update MPC Essentials. Follow all of the prompts to proceed with the installation. If you receive an error stating ' Update Error: You do not have MPC software installed on your computer,' click OK and the software will proceed as normal. Before the software installation begins, a window will appear and ask what software you would like to install. You will only need to click Install to the right of MPC Software to install MPC Essentials for your MPD218.
Follow the prompts to install the software. After the installation is completed, you will be prompted to unlock your software.
Select Unlock Now to continue. To unlock the software, make sure you're entering the serial number for MPC Essentials found within your Akai Professional account. This will be a 15-digit code containing a mixture of capital letters and numbers, preceded with a '(21)'. You will want to make sure you're entering this number exactly as it appears in your account. To make the process easier, we recommend copy/pasting the code from your account into the software.
Fill in the rest of the information and select Unlock Now. After this, you will see a box saying you've successfully unlocked your MPC! Congratulations, you have successfully installed the latest version of MPC Essentials! Big Bang Drums and Big Bang Cinematic Percussion Installation Walkthrough. Return to your Akai Professional account, and select SONiVOX Big Bang Cinematic Percussion 2.5 and SONiVOX Big Bang Drums to download the plugins. After the download is complete, we will need to extract the files before installation.
To do this, right-click in the white space of the folder in which the download is stored. After doing this, select Extract All. To extract the files.
Make sure you remember this location so we can retrieve it afterwards. After the files are extracted, select Install Big Bang Cinematic Percussion to run the setup file. Note, the.bin files are a part of the installation and do not need to be run separately. Repeat this for Big Bang Drums. Follow all of the prompts to proceed with the installation.Please take note of this file path, as you will need to access it when you are scanning for your plugins in MPC Essentials. Authorizing Your Big Bang Plugins Before scanning the plugins into MPC Essentials, make sure that they are fully authorized and ready to go.
The plugins will install a software called the iLok License Manager that will help keep track of your plugins and allow you to move the authorizations later on if necessary. Here's a quick and easy way to Authorize your plugins by using the ilok License Manager. Open the iLok License Manager. You can find this in your Applications folder on your Mac and under All Programs on Windows.
In the top left corner, click on Sign-in to sign into your account. If you do not already have one, click on Sign-in and the select Create New Account in the window that appears to create your new account.
Once you have signed in, click on Licenses Redeem Activation Code. In the window that appears, enter the authorization code for the first Big Bang. You will find your authorization code in your Alesis user account, directly above the download links for the plugins. You can copy and paste this if you like. Click, Next once the code has been entered completely. In the following window, choose the location where you would like iLok to store your license. For most users, we recommend to store this directly onto your computer.
To do so, select the icon that represents your Mac or PC, and click Activate. The iLok software will scan the license and will ask you to confirm one last time. Click OK and your license should be fully activated to your computer. Repeat steps 3-5 to authorize the second Big Bang plugin before proceeding. Now that all of your software is installed and authorized, check out the guides below to get started using the software and making some music!. Further Technical Support Whether you are a customer or dealer, if you already own an M-Audio product, or if you just have pre-sales questions, the M-Audio technical support team is available to help! Visit the link below to connect with any of the following support options: online community support, phone support, email support.