Sequence and Drum Program Interaction

I'm writing this after spending much time working with multiple drum program and sequences recently and decided to make a page concerning how these two essential parts of the MPC2000XL interact.

First a little bit of background:

You can play any sample from 4 different drum programs at once. This doesn't that you only have 4 available to use, but instead you have 24 available programs from which you call up instantly 4 of them for play at any one time. You can even call up more drum programs during a sequence, and it substitutes one of the existing drum programs (explained below).

Each Drum Program gets a Program change number. This is under SHIFT + 6 (Program), Select DRUM1, 2, 3, or 4 (doesn't matter which). With the Drum program highlighted at the top, select Open Window. Here you can assign a Program change number for each of the Drum programs. This is very important when using many drum programs on the MPC. Remember or write down the assignments you specify since you will need this later. Program Change numbers are saved with the APS (all programs) and I don't recall at the moment if stored with individual programs.

A Drum Track is a sequence in which you have specified a DRUM1-4 as the destination of the note data in the track in the track properties on the main screen. Data saved with each track includes this Drum Track number (1-4). The track also retains what program change is specified for that Drum Track. These two pieces of info are saved with sequence. In other words, DRUM1-4 and program change is stored with the sequence, NOT specific Drum program (which program is called by these two deices of info comes from the program change assignment).

This is where it gets confusing. Think of each DRUM1 through DRUM4 as a temporary storage location for the Drum Program. The program change for the track tells which Drum Program to load into this temporary storage location for playback in that track. This really makes the Program Change a function of the DRUM1-4 "storage locations", not a function of the track itself.

If you are using multiple sequencer tracks for the same DRUM1-4, you only need the program change in one of the Drum Tracks that make use of the DRUM1-4 storage locations. You will only need as many program changes for how many DRUM1-4 you are using (i.e. If you only using DRUM1, then only need one program change specified in one Drum Track for that sequence, since for every other DRUM1 track used, the MPC will use the same Drum Program "loaded" into DRUM1).

If you are already using all four available "storage locations" (DRUM1-4), you call up another Drum Program by using a program change. Now you have to pick which storage location you want to "give up" a program to load the new one. This is simply done by placing a program change in a Drum Track (DRUM1-4). The MPC loads the new drum program into DRUM1-4 when it sees this program change. You can even do in the middle of the sequence by placing a program change in the sequence in the Step Entry screen.

DRUM1-4 is "global" to the MPC. That is, if you switch sequences, the same programs will be loaded into DRUM1 through DRUM4 until you call up new program changes. Remember this if you like to switch between different sequences.

Summary:

DRUM1-4 are "temporary storage locations"

Each Drum program has a Program change number

DRUM1-4 plus program change call another Drum Program into that "storage location"