Akai mpc purchase?

[Mr Fingers]

I'm in the market for an MPC as well. Are there many differences between the lower 1000 to 2500s? Would you recommend the 1000 starting off or should I cut to the chase for the 2500? I have a friend who’s letting his 2500 go for $950, mint cond, should I hop on that rather the 1000 considering theyre about the same price?

Can't vouch for this myself but some dude in Japan wrote a new OS for the 1000 that supposedly puts it on par with the 2500. He sells it for a paltry $30 (http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~mpc1000/). I'm definitely going to check it out. The usual production forums have threads about it if you want to know more.

[JohnnyRed]

The main complaints I've heard about the 1000 is with the OS. So if there's a solution, then the 1000 might be the way to go.

[min2max]

I've been using MPC's for 10 years... they are incredible instruments. Great studio tool, reliable and friendly enough to use on stage. The sequencer is rock solid on timing, the quantize swing kick ass, and it still has unique features such as the note repeat quantize for rolls/stutters.

Sure you could get similar results using a laptop, ableton live, battery 3 and midi drum pads, but with the MPC it's all perfectly integrated, no glitches, no cpu overload and most importantly not a bazillion menus to click at and get lost. The pattern based sequencer on the MPC's is also a much better way of arranging tracks than the linear computer sequencers, i find it faster and more creative, although that could depend on what genre of music you're composing.

Anyways, getting back to the MPC's, i've owned/used them all, the 3000 is the all-round best. the 60 sounds great but is a little bit limited by todays standards. the 2000XL is also a beast (Pete Rock switched his SP for it!).

Now the new ones...to be honest, i think they suckk! i had the 1000, it sounded like doo-doo, the sound is all compressed and paper thin. I guess it's ok if you're just using the sequencer, but believe me the sound quality is sub-par. I sold it quick..

I'd recommend the 2000xl with zip or smart media drive, or a 3000 if you can afford it.

SP1200 are also amazingly good despite the 10 seconds of sampling!

I ain't hating on software though, i use a bunch of apps/ plugins as well, but you just can't beat an MPC for it's quickness and result. Very very recommended for making hip-hop (chopping breaks, loops, re-arranging).

For electronic music, i recommend the elektron machinedrum. it's also a sampling drum machine but uses the roland TR grid pattern composing method, as well as analog drum modeling.

[phen3N]

thread resurrection!

because im interested in buying a MPC1000 and also curious about the outcome of the OP's question

[haploid]

I would say an MPC1000 is maybe too advanced for someone just starting out. Not saying that negatively but the whole process of sampling can be quite complex when dealing with an ACTUAL sampler. You will also need some sort of audio input (a record player, cd player etc) to actually bring samples into it, and then comes the sometimes annoying process of chopping.

Personally, I would recommend buying a MPC-like MIDI controller, and sampling through softwear. It is a hell of a lot easier to make your chops on softwear where you can see the waveform of the sound you're trying to sample. This is sometimes shunned by analog-loving people, but hey, you're just beginning and you've gotta start somewhere.

I use a MPD24 and Ableton Live

http://www.zzounds.com/item--AKAMPD24

I get fantastic results with really easy usability. i still sample from records, from an input in my audio card.

Just a thought!

[destructodisk]

if you want to be an artist i would get the MPC. if you want to be a "producer" (whatever that means) then maybe you should look into getting ableton and all that stuff that will make you SO SLICK TOP OF THE POPS!

I don't really understand this at all. In fact, I doubt anyone does because it makes no fucking sense.

I sympathize with the notion that the endless possibilities for production on the computer can be a bit intimidating at first, but your logic is just all fucked up.

Is that to say if I am a graphic artist who uses an ENTIRE BOX OF COLORED PENCILS, as opposed to one simple graphite pencil that I am a lesser artist, or simply a "producer" of art?

I resent that idea, and I resent the idea that using an MPC is a more pure musical creation tool. In fact, the reason I DIDN'T buy an MPC, and instead just got a midi controller to run through ableton, is because I'm tired (and I think so is the rest of the world) of shitty beats made from 3 old funk songs in 30 minutes. fuckkkk

[mrjuby]

i think he forgot to add the sarcasm meter.