So I’m a fan of Maschine and the workflow it entails - love the 4x4 grid and chopping/sampling/etc. I also have an Octatrack but use it more for live looping/remixing/drums (former 808 owner) and don’t find it as intuitive for sampling/producing. At home this isn’t a big deal - I can do what I need in Maschine, use the Octa after, blah blah. I’ve been considering something self-contained, however, to keep “offsite,” something to mess around with and work within the limitations it has. I’ve been looking very hard at an MPC 2000xl and have a few questions:
1 - Will an MPC 2000xl be familiar enough? I like chopping on Maschine, especially looking at the wave form (although it’s not essential). Will I be able to autochop to each pad then adjust the length or is it much more primitive?
2 - Will I be able to integrate it into my MIDI-centric setup if desired?
I started on the 2000xl, cost me like 2k when they first came out. Sold it and would personally never look back. It slice an audio file into max 16 pieces if I remember correctly. There is not transient detection, so you sill have to adjust start and end points. All of the features on the MPC are done much better in the Octatrack/Maschine. I would suggest a 2500 or something vintage for fun like a 60 if you are going MPC route (just my opinion). Have you ever tried/thought about an OP-1. I’m biased as I am a pretty big fan boy. But for something self contained to play around with it doesn’t get better. Very fun lots of features, built in synths.
I just finished rebuilding/upgrading an old MPC-60. Maxed out the ram, added a USB emulator, new pads. I love the feel of it and the immediacy of just thumping out some beats or chopped-up samples. However, the memory limitations cannot be taken lightly. It takes a long time to load the samples (even from the USB drive) and when you’re ready for a new track, you’d better have a trained monkey distracting people because you’re going to be standing there a while. Also, them memory limitations are going to be a new restriction that you may not appreciate.
Having an MPC is great fun to play with, but you’re not going to get the sample slicing ability you get with the octatrack and you won’t have the versatility you’re used to with modern gear.
quick question - on the octatrack can you sample with an auto-start based on threshold (volume) on the input? i love that feature on mpc when recording a snare / guitar etc etc … i had a look at the octatrack manual but couldn’t see it. would be crappy if you have to use a button press to start sampling …
That’s a real shame … I’d be using the Octatrack primarily to sample acoustic instruments, so really don’t want to have to press buttons before recording. Will keep with the mpc for now!
Personally Id say go for the mpc1000 with some upgraded pads from mpcstuff.com. I have one and its a great bit of portable kit and also has 128mb of memory and takes up to 16gb cf cards for your libraries.
I’m still mulling this all over - I’m slightly obsessed with having an MPC but aware I can do everything it can do already, and better, with Maschine/Ableton/Octatrack. I’ll pose one more question:
Which would be more flexible? MPC 60 or MPC 2000xl + S5000 Sampler? I know the 60 has “mojo,” haha, but as mentioned above the memory limitations might become an issue yes?
I had a line on a 2000xl with 8 outs, card reader, and 8mb ram for $600; I hesitated and he sold it on eBay. I think I may have dodged a bullet though. For $600 I could snag a TR-8, a Nord Drum 2, some Ableton plugins, etc
Basically I love the MPC workflow (coming from Maschine) but maybe an outboard hardware version would be redundant for me (actually, I know it is, I just get obsessed with hardware sometimes).
I would consider looking at 60 or a 3000, or maybe a 500 in your case.
You could also pickup a 2k in the 300 dollar price range first to see if you even like it… You probably know the 1000’s with jjos are fairly popular…
I’ve found a 60 and seriously considered it but, again, I think I’ve just become obsessed with the idea of a piece of hardware that will, in the end, only end up disappointing me compared to what I can achieve with Maschine/Ableton/Octatrack. Yes, I love pads for workflow, but… just let me talk myself out of this before I end up with an MPC 60 okay? Haha.
The 2000 XL is an awesome unit, but I’d really advise against getting one unless it’s fitted with a CF drive. Also, it only has 2 midi ins/outs, so I’d consider the 2500 or something else since CF is standard, and it also has 4 midi ins and outs and tons of other selling points above and beyond the 2000 XL.
The MPC 60 I’d stay away from. Even with a floppy emulator it still is a bit of a chore, even with the most up-to-date OS’es. The sound quality of it is okay (overhyped, to be honest), but it doesn’t justify the prices they go for. It’s also a HUGE unit too. I had a mk1 and you could hide a dead body inside of those things, lol.
I like the honesty of this post. I’m going to stay away from the 60/3000 but may have a line on a cheap 2000xl (will know this weekend). Is a 2500 larger than a 2000xl? Size is a factor too.
If you get an MPC, you’ll really want one that can run the excellent after-market JJOS. This means your choices are limited to the MPC1000 or the MPC2500.
Especially chopping loops will be much more intuitive and easier on an MPC running JJOS2XL than on the MPC2000.
The MPC1000 is pretty compact which means it might make the most sense for live use for you. You do want to make sure you get one with the “pad fix upgrade” installed. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNY3_1NQABQ on how you can check for this.
I’d also recommend upgrading to the MPCstuff Thick Fat” Pads.
Whatever you do, don’t get a MPC500; way too limited.
I agree about the 60/3k probably being overkill - very specific reasons they are popular, and if you don’t KNOW if you want one, then you don’t really want one.
The 2k/xl is an amazing machine, but if yer coming from a modern setup it could start to wear on you the backwards steps in terms of workflow / functionality…or it could be refreshing!
The 2.5k or 1k with JJ are absolutely incredible machines.
The 500 is actually not that bad - think of it more like a 2k with minor updated workflow things (usb, batteries), and it’s not a bad unit.
But I would stress again - if you don’t KNOW you want one, or you don’t care which one, then you really are in for some surprises when you start get one and it aint maschine. In this case - I’d say go cheap and available so you can move on if it doesn’t work.
The MPC 2500 is very similar in size to the 2000 XL, but I don’t think it’s quite as high. I have owned most of the MPC range at one point or another and I gotta say that I love the 2500. The 1000 is excellent too, but I got really annoyed by the fact that it only has 2 midi ins/outs, plus I really like the larger form factor of the 2500, so I sold my 1000’s and bought a 2500. (Also, the 2500 has a tiltable screen!) Like others have said, JJOS is really amazing and unlocks a lot of potential of these units.
I bought a MPC 60 a few months ago after lusting after one for years and it was so totally underwhelming. Sure, the sound quality is interesting, but it feels simply archaic to use when compared to a 2500 or something. I think that most of the love of the 60 comes from people who want to emulate house and hip-hop producers from back in the day. That’s why prices are so high, even though the unit itself has been outclassed by more modern offerings.
The 1000 is really a great value (especially used) but depending on your rig, it might not meet your requirements. I heartily recommend the 2500 though.
