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By blaxquid Wed Jul 23, 2014 12:49 am
Hi!
So, I got a MPD32 as a partial payment for some old synth and while it's fun to work with it in Live9... There's a lot of clicking and typing and it gets annoying fast. So I figured I'd sell it and invest in a MPC... Unfortunately, I never used one and I come into the scene at the same moment they cease to exist.
Anyway, so I found a 5k with a "dim" backlight for 500$USD - so another 180$ to fix it... Still an OK deal. I only wanna sample with it directly from my TT, don't really care for extensive programming and ext. Midi... Simply want a reliable machine with cheap and easy to source parts/mods. It sems the 5k has a good (not excellent) track record as to how reliable the HARDWARE is.

All in all, 50$ more than a 2kXL and 300$ less than the 2500s I can find. About same price as maxed 1ks...

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
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By wavemartian Wed Jul 23, 2014 4:04 am
It's difficult to say with electronic equipment. I happily picked up an mpc5000 on the cheap, boxed and in excellent shape. To be honest, if you're just sampling you won't stretch the mpc's capabilities. I've had one instance a while ago of the mpc automatically shutting down and restarting. After a bit of internet searching it seems 5000 is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in incoming line current. Apart from that no other hardware probs, oh, the screen on mine in the bottom rht hand corner turns a tinge of purple after 1/2 h (common). Anyway for 500+ I'd take the plunge. Best things I like about it
1/ ADAT out for tracking!
2/ Sound much better than 1000/2500
3/Effects same as the REN, so best out of all mpc's
4/Import of S1000, and AKP files.
5/ Direct recording
6/ Continuous tracks for audio
7/ Global edit for programs
8/ assignment of knobs/sliders to midi-great

Lots of people enjoy using this model, but wish it would have just had one more update
By blaxquid Wed Jul 23, 2014 3:31 pm
Thanks for the reply!

Yes it seems that all MPCs suffer from lack of support from Akai at one point or another and yet... you can still find parts even for MPC 60s! But I guess that goes with the bigger user base, which is the actual worrisome part of the 5k.

I'll go check it out tomorrow and maybe I'll come back home with a new toy! Not quite sure though, after having read the bug thread... sigh.
By dryad-66 Wed Jul 23, 2014 4:06 pm
blaxquid wrote:I'll go check it out tomorrow and maybe I'll come back home with a new toy! Not quite sure though, after having read the bug thread... sigh.


Its a great toy.Dont let the nahsayers put you down.Ive had most sequencers and still rock the best.....right now-MPC4000,RS7000 and Roland R8.Nuff said!!!The 5k is a monster.Not perfect under a microscope but whos that uptight!!
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By sirparksalot Wed Jul 23, 2014 5:23 pm
dryad-66 wrote:
blaxquid wrote:I'll go check it out tomorrow and maybe I'll come back home with a new toy! Not quite sure though, after having read the bug thread... sigh.


Its a great toy.Dont let the nahsayers put you down.Ive had most sequencers and still rock the best.....right now-MPC4000,RS7000 and Roland R8.Nuff said!!!The 5k is a monster.Not perfect under a microscope but whos that uptight!!



I gotta disagree. I tried to like the 5000, I really did. But after a month I went back to my 4000.....and everything just WORKED. The only reason I bring this up, is because for $680 you are getting into 4000 territory price wise.

If I had never used an MPC before and the 5000 was my first, I would have probably really liked it. But I knew that there were much better options available, so I just couldn't stick with it. One thing I will say about the 5000 is that I loved the feel and build of it. The scroll wheel is a little f'd up, but the machine felt really solid and tight.
By blaxquid Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:37 pm
Well, as it turns out, I found a 2500 with a cd drive and expanded ram + a working screen (whoaaaaa!) for 700$ so I think I'm gonna head towards that and install JJos. The 5k seems like a risk I don't want to take. 8) Thanks again for the replies.
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By THE ADVERSARY Sat Jul 26, 2014 2:29 am
Just seems like the prices you are quoting are all to high for the various MPs.
I would change my shopping sources.
By blaxquid Sat Jul 26, 2014 3:16 am
Welcome to Canada...! But seriously, it's quite a bit of dough for a tryout. I still haven't went around the pawn shop to have a look at it and now I may have to rethink that impulse buy. Torn between a 2kXL and the 2500 now that I just received my tax bill from the city... :lol:
By blaxquid Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:08 pm
Not really. I know what I want but coming from the software world, find it tough to compromise on certain factors, namely, reliability - a thing AKAI isn't quite known for (or anything electronic produced fairly recently for the consumer market). I'd rather have a machine with easier to find parts/ repair than a crazy amount of features (ie. 5k).
By Clint Sun Jul 27, 2014 6:55 pm
dryad-66 wrote:You seem very confused.


Hence thread moved to the Getting Started forum.

If you are looking for the perfect MPC, that isnt going to happen.

Every MPC has its issues, whether supported by Akai or not.

As long as you don't buy a faulty one, just bite the bullet and stop procrastinating.
By blaxquid Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:50 am
Did just that, 2500 in hands. Will definitely need to RTFM a few times. Thanks for the replies everybody. If anybody in Montreal is looking to snatch that 5k up, it's sitting at the comptant.com pawn shop on St-Hubert!