MPC Decision.

evening everyone,

i am debating on which MPC to get towards the end of the summer or middle of the fall (before winter). i have always been hooked to the MPC2000,but havent really played on any other besides the MPC1000/500. i am VERY aware i going to prob spend atleast $1000-$1500 on a machine,so i will have the funds for that in case that is the price range i am working with ( not so much on the 2000 or 2000XL,depends if its custom or not...) but right now,i have bene producing (on and off,so not really that much lol) via software (FL studio,acid, and reason just recently) for about 3-4 years (still learning) and i JUST recently purchased a MPD26 n frankly its pissing me off lol i dont really like JUST hardware,i played on a MPC and im loving how i can just plug it into some speakers,floppy disks, and just go via no software really.i however have been spending a week or so at GC playing on the "Maschine" and its like a MPC (cause its both hardware and software) and rather enjoyed using it,had some great sounds to it and the pads were VERY responsive(not so much on my MPD26 lol) as far as what i am looking for to aid me in my decision: portability ISNT a must mostly optional, hardware/software,expandable memory, responsive pads, easy to use,inexpesive somewhat lol if its possible, and vintage or non vintage,doesnt matter. any suggestions? i was trying to find the 5000 to play on,but no one in my city carries it or as a display.

i dont mind the MPD26 (i suppose i just need to get used to it in a few months lol) im just debating should i have gotten the korg padkontrol instead? or the akai LPD8? the 24 was more expensive than the 26,so i choose that instead lol but overall,i just really liked the feel and easiness of maschine and a MPC over a MPD

First off, the maschine is not a hardware/software combo, its just a dedicated midi controller for software, it wont work without a computer. I wouldn't compare touch sensitivity to an akai mpd, much different on real mpc's. For the money you're looking to spend you could get a MPC 2500 with hard drive, ram upgrade and jj os for under 1500 for sure, thats the route I suggest taking. I've owned almost every type of mpc, they all have their benefits and flaws, but the 2500 is pound for pound the best all around machine when its maxed out with JJ os. If you enjoy the ease of hardware and wanna really get down, you can find 1000 for around 400 (make sure it has the pad upgrade) and with the rest of the money get like a motif es 6, theyre going for around 600 right now used, and are quilty products. at that point you have 500 left over, get a turntable, basic mixer and drop the rest on vinyl. That is a beast set up especially if you midi up to the software you already have. The last setup i mentioned would also cost about the same if you switched the 1k out for 2xl.

ArKyve-31 wrote:First off, the maschine is not a hardware/software combo, its just a dedicated midi controller for software, it wont work without a computer. I wouldn't compare touch sensitivity to an akai mpd, much different on real mpc's. For the money you're looking to spend you could get a MPC 2500 with hard drive, ram upgrade and jj os for under 1500 for sure, thats the route I suggest taking. I've owned almost every type of mpc, they all have their benefits and flaws, but the 2500 is pound for pound the best all around machine when its maxed out with JJ os. If you enjoy the ease of hardware and wanna really get down, you can find 1000 for around 400 (make sure it has the pad upgrade) and with the rest of the money get like a motif es 6, theyre going for around 600 right now used, and are quilty products. at that point you have 500 left over, get a turntable, basic mixer and drop the rest on vinyl. That is a beast set up especially if you midi up to the software you already have. The last setup i mentioned would also cost about the same if you switched the 1k out for 2xl.

didnt mean to write that about maschine,was so caught up in describing MPC and your description was well said,thank you. as far as the 1000,had no idea there were pad upgrades. as far as 2k or 2kxl, should i consider the OS upgrade? saw one at a used music store,which was basically a trailer lol, he had a 2k for $375, zip drive for $10, and case for $35 but wasnt sure of the credibility. the buttons and pads worked fine but the OS disk would not load for some odd reason,kept saying "Disk read error". i have a turn table i can hook up to my MPC back at home,it had audio cables,will that work? and my pops was a dj so he had thousands of vinyls stored away and we only managed to save a few 100 but they are soem quality sounds i guarantee it. anything else i need to know for my purchase? also,is that a 2500 in your picture? i was also considering a 3000 or MKII,good or bad choices?

If you're going to spend $1k you might as well go all out and get a 3000

for the price of that 2k you could get a 2xl which to me is the better buy. The 3k is great but the 2500 with jj is more powerful for a modern day application. that is a 2500 in my picture. And if you wanna run a table to the mpc, unless its a 4k or 5k you need a phono preamp. Some heads around here will all argue they're preferred version of the mpc. but the older models are really just a nostalgia or prefrence to guys that have been using them for years and different models. I used to be a service tech for a major chain store and despite what anyone says about the 5k I've had to fix one to many of those to wanna buy one, but thats just my experience and my opinion, plus for the price you could better invest that money. If you haven't really seen a 25 heres a clip of my choppin on one. I would suggest youtubing vids and reading the specs on akaipro of each model to see what fits you, but if you get a 25 with jj you wont have any regrets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAR0N0lNsb0

Grenozh wrote:If you're going to spend $1k you might as well go all out and get a 3000

whats a benefit of a 3k over a maxed 25, not trying to argue just wanna hear your opinion

ArKyve-31 wrote:

Grenozh wrote:If you're going to spend $1k you might as well go all out and get a 3000

whats a benefit of a 3k over a maxed 25, not trying to argue just wanna hear your opinion

the 3k will last five times longer

Grenozh wrote:

ArKyve-31 wrote:

Grenozh wrote:If you're going to spend $1k you might as well go all out and get a 3000

whats a benefit of a 3k over a maxed 25, not trying to argue just wanna hear your opinion

the 3k will last five times longer

With the 3K you have to worry about storage, either using SCSI or install a card reader. For a newer user, I agree that a maxed out 2500 is a more sensible choice. I now own both a 3K and a maxed out 2500. The 2500 has more functionality and features. The 3K has its own advantages also.

krush777 wrote:With the 3K you have to worry about storage, either using SCSI or install a card reader. For a newer user, I agree that a maxed out 2500 is a more sensible choice. I now own both a 3K and a maxed out 2500. The 2500 has more functionality and features. The 3K has its own advantages also.

true. the first thing about the 60 that appealed to me was that it used floppies and I thought that was badass

right, and i evetually wanna get a 60 but for new users, the mpc will be foriegn to them, and likely due to young age so will floppies and scsi drives

whats a benefit of a 3k over a maxed 25, not trying to argue just wanna hear your opinion[/quote]
the 3k will last five times longer[/quote]

With the 3K you have to worry about storage, either using SCSI or install a card reader. For a newer user, I agree that a maxed out 2500 is a more sensible choice. I now own both a 3K and a maxed out 2500. The 2500 has more functionality and features. The 3K has its own advantages also.[/quote]

i heard the 3k had some memory limits,but i have heard great things about the 3k and lots of ppl are going back to the 3k over other MPCs

ArKyve-31 wrote:for the price of that 2k you could get a 2xl which to me is the better buy. The 3k is great but the 2500 with jj is more powerful for a modern day application. that is a 2500 in my picture. And if you wanna run a table to the mpc, unless its a 4k or 5k you need a phono preamp. Some heads around here will all argue they're preferred version of the mpc. but the older models are really just a nostalgia or prefrence to guys that have been using them for years and different models. I used to be a service tech for a major chain store and despite what anyone says about the 5k I've had to fix one to many of those to wanna buy one, but thats just my experience and my opinion, plus for the price you could better invest that money. If you haven't really seen a 25 heres a clip of my choppin on one. I would suggest youtubing vids and reading the specs on akaipro of each model to see what fits you, but if you get a 25 with jj you wont have any regrets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAR0N0lNsb0

i heard the 5k had some bugs,same for the 4k but i never undestood what they were even w/some research. i just like the design of the 4,5, and 2k. i would really like a 2kxl,im going to have to try and play around with one of each to see what i would prefer, the 1k seemed easy to use as well

Grenozh wrote:If you're going to spend $1k you might as well go all out and get a 3000

thats what most people were telling me that the 3k was top notch but also memory limitations

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