New MPC 2000XL User!

Hey guys and gals,
First off I hope all is well. Secondly I am posting in this forum for some help since I'm having a bit of trouble figuring somethings out. So chopping has been very difficult for me. I have Dj'ed a long time on vinyl and can loop by ear well. The problem is when i go to chop samples and play them back on the main screen, the pads play back is not smooth. I have been reading and nothing gives a direct answer. I've tried editing the zones by ear, I watched this tutorial on how to "auto chop" by going into the 16 pad function and turning on the velocity and it still is sounding wonky. I feel like this might be the meat and potatoes of this machine and I am having a bit of trouble getting my samples to play properly. I also read you have to go into the decay and adjusting that to zero, plus messing around with the end margin. I've tried to find something in the manual but I think with all the information I'm trying to process I keep heading in circles and am quite confused. I just want to make sure my machine is not faulty, also bare with me I'm completely new to this machine and want to learn this instead of software.

Thanks in advanced!

well you have a couple of options for looping... sequencer based ones that you can exactly time... or length based ones that are done with loop mode being turned on.


First of all let's cover loop mode. If you turn that on... you have to hold the pad to use it... you can no longer just tap it. What is happened here is it plays from the start point when you hit the pad... and then at the end of the sample it loops around to the loop point and back to the end of the sample again (the end point)... so if the loop point is at the very beginning then it loops the whole sample. You will find it VERY hard to have that loop on time. The thing that this mode is good for is more for pad sounds.. bass sounds (sine wav sounds) or crash cymbals... things that need extending. Not for tempo based looping... so you do a pad sound, and you find a good clean undetectable spot to have it loop so you can hold the pad for a long period of time without it stopping... you can then go to 16-levels tune to make a melody.

Now.. sequencer based looping. You record yourself playing the sample on a track... then either adjust the tempo of the mpc to fit..... or you can use 16-levels tune or tune in the params menu to tune the sample to fit the loop (sequence length). One trick to help sometimes is in the params area on the bottom right you can set it from poly to mono. that way it cuts itself off.

Another thing to try out is chopping. I don't like autochop. it always needs adjusting anyways. chop the sample into a bunch of main notes or transients... like in a drum loop cut at the start of each drum noise right up to the next drum noise. Then you record those samples to a sequence and it's locked in... you change the tempo and it's still on time. Going to far though will either cause gaps or overlapping. If you need a sound to cut another sound off.. where you set the sample to mono, push open window and make a pad mute other pads.

Hey man,
First of all thank you for your reply! I have been working through what you have explained but not as much as I would like since this is my work week! I over nights week on and week on, awesome for beat making!

Anyways I just wanted to say thank you for replying and I might have some more questions for you soon! I do want to try and figure out some of this so I don't be that guy who keeps pestering the guys helping in the forums! Everything you stated makes sense I just need to do it i guess to fully understand! I get confused easy so I appreciate the response thank you.

In the mean time if you could explain in your opinion the differences between the 2000 and the 2000Xl since I actually just got the 2000 today for real cheap, and since most of my heroes have and learned multiple machines I figured maybe starting at the 2000 might help with me learning on the XL and I can always sell the 2000 I just got anyways! let me know thanks just trying to learn these machines!
- Grainbelt

oh you have both the 2000 and the 2000XL now?

great!

I love both of those models and have used both quite a lot.

The 2000 doesn't really have any real things that the 2000xl doesn't have.

First before getting into details... the real differences so you know what exactly you have in front of you.

The 2000xl has a tilting display. The 2000 has more of a wedge shape. On both machines you can hold the shift button while turning the jog wheel to darken or lighten the contrast... so on the 2000 you can darken it so it's more visible from an angle since it doesn't tilt to face you.

the 2000xl can read directories (folders) inside the media you insert... this doesn't matter for floppy disks since those can only hold 1.44 megs, however if you had a scsi device or something larger that makes a HUGE difference... that means on the 2000xl you can store each beat and it's contents in it's own separate folder. This can not be done on the regular 2000 (we call it the 2000 classic). On the 2000 classic if you have large scsi devices you have to rely on making partitions and making sure to properly name every sample, sequence, and every file with a unique name so if you save multiple beats in the same partition... they can be reloaded properly.

The 2000xl has a built in atapi (IDE) port internally... this is a huge benefit. You see, the best media to use for saving beats are compactflash memory cards (CF cards) and it's really easy and cheap to buy and instal an IDE to CF adapter. This is not possible with the 2000 classic... you must get either a SCSI to CF adapter.. or a SCSI to IDE bridge and an IDE to CF adapter... that is very expensive. Then when that is said and done... you can't make folder to separate your beats.

the 2000xl can sequence more midi events (3 times the capacity). This only really will concern you if you have external midi gear that you want to sequence... for example a virtual analog synth like a korg electribe or something..... you can through midi actually record sequences that include the tweaking of knobs and have them replayed for you. When talking about just using the mpc by itself you will never run into issues with this I don't believe.

They both sound pretty much identical, but a few of us thing the 2000 classic has a very slight better sound but it can't be proven... since the sound and sample engine is the same... those arguments come down to the factory the parts were manufactured in and the difference in age of the 2 models.

the 2000xl has an auto chop menu in the trim screen... I personally don't like that function.. but some do. I prefer the 2000 classic's way of segmenting samples.

The 2000 classic has the dual jog wheel... the best jog wheel ever made on any akai product. This ties into trimming samples. On the 2000xl it has a great feature I wish the 2000 classic had... and that is the jog wheel acceleration. When you keep spinning the wheel it starts to pick up momentum so instead of jumping by single digits it switches to tens, then hundreds, etc.. the longer you spin it. The 2000 classic spins only one numeral.. and you switch numerals by toggling the outer ring.

The 2000xl has another brilliant trimming feature I wish the 2000 classic had and that is in the trim screen you can hold shift and move the note variation slider... this is a rough quick way to get the start or end points to the general area you want to work in.

The 2000xl has a better track mutes screen than the 2000 classic plus it has track solo.

The 2000xl has dedicated bank buttons... the 2000 classic has one button to round robin through.

the 2000xl is easier to get into the motherboard because it's right under the bottom panel. the 2000 classic doesn't have a bottom panel.

the 2000xl has an internal SCSI port, the 2000 classic only has an external scsi port.

the 2000 classic looks better than the 2000xl, and I would say has a slightly better build quality.

the 2000 classic requires you to turn on the machine with a boot disk... the 2000xl has that built into a rom on the motherboard just like all the other mpc models.

both machines take the same 8 outputs board and fx board expansions.




Learn on both machines at the same time, they are virtually identical except a few things here and there... the OS and menus are almost exactly the same... turn them both on side by side and compare... if you learn 100% of one machine, then turn on the other one... for only 2 minutes you will know 98% of the other machine and after 2 minutes you will also know 100% of it. Use both, use them side by side... make 2000 classic beats, make 2000xl beats... then when you do shows, you can play on one while the other machine loads the next song.. then play that and load the next song on the first machine.

Seriously man you are supper awesome
I picked up the 2000 for real cheap 150$ and it came with a SCSI drive, some zip disks, and a carrying case! The only thing I need to replace is the Gain main volume nob Pot, and I just got one from MPCStuff.com for 20$. Sound only comes out on the left speaker unless you have the nob perfectly placed in a sweet spot the the sound punches out of both speakers. I imagine its easy to replace like on a DJ mixer but I am looking for instructions on how to do so properly! The 2000 has expanded memory and the 8 outs upgrade but I am curious how I figure out if it needs the FX's upgrade you were talking about.

Now let me back up before I get into what I Have found with the 2000 and talk about the XL. Now with my XL I have a multi card reader already installed and I made sure the memory was expanded and I bought and installed the 8 outs upgrade. Now is the FX board something extra but since I can filter in the XL do I already have that or need to purchase one and if so how do I find out if I have it already. Also for my midi question since I am new to midi completely does this mean I can hook up my korg microkorg via midi and sequence through the XL which as you stated has more midi event capacity? If you could elaborate on that in your spare time that would be sweet!

Now back to the 2000, first off from me messing around with it, i agree its build look and sound quality is better! The freaking trim wheel just feels so much more solid and sturdy, but yes not being able to shift trim and spin to increase chopping speed is going to take some getting used to, but i like the classic's wheel a lot more! I actually kinda dig the 2000 a little more thus far but of course I still have A LOT TO LEARN and need to put the time in! Now the Zone edit screen is different then I am used too but to be honest I kinda feel like I can fathom the chopping process a little more on the 2000, which must be the reason why you and others say they like the manual chopping process a lot better! Since the XL really confused me and never allowed me to understand the work flow and chopping process, I find i got more confused because I was trying to loop a sound in the loop screen on the XL and then chop them into segments on the zones screen! I never got the playback to sound the way I wanted with Music samples and samples from records! I have pretty much been stuck in that sense but continued to just make drum patterns and what not! With the 2000 I feel since there is no zone auto chop screen its forcing me to get used to manually chopping my samples, and I guess to use a metaphor for life some times you have to take a step back to move forward. I think thats what I am doing by getting this 2000 classic! I also have to figure out timing and getting my sequence timed on the main screen and figuring out pitch and 16 pad functions. The only thing I am worried about is since I have gotten spoiled with saving on the XL I am a little confused as to how to save and organize my files on zip disks and floppies, i can image labeling is very important in that sense and hopefully i can have only one or 2 zip disks per beat but I may be getting ahead of myself here!

Hopefully I am wrapping my head around all this well and I have what it takes to learn these machines! i definitely want to use the 2000 and then have both machines side by side as you suggested, there is no way I am selling either machine and I want to learn and master both and then of course snag a 3000. LOL I am hooked!

Now even though I have a multi card reader on the XL could still connect the SCSI to the XL and since the OS on both MPC's are pretty similar load files I created from the classic or for the classic and use them on the XL?

Also any suggestions on a mixer to buy so I can use the 8 outs option to mix and blend?!!!!

Also any work flow tips? Start with drums? Chopping Techniques?

Anyway thanks again for the reply! Dude I am soooo excited I have 2 MPC's to work with what more could you ask for! Now its time to get busy!!!

Again you are the man

-Grainbelt

The easiest way to check for the FX card is to go in the mixer screen and push the F key that says FX edit... if you see a mountain picture with a bird then you don't have the card. If you see reverb distortion mod and all that stuff then you have the expansion... that goes for both machines.

Loading and saving.. yes the 2000xl should load everything from the 2000 no problem. I mean you have to try it and maybe it will need some adjusting but it should load flawlessly. Akai used to be pretty good with that back in those days.. I could load double density floppies from the mpc60 in the mpc 2000 and pretty much only the pads need to be put in the right order.

By labeling, I mean renaming the files in the mpc.. so don't leave it to sound-01, sound-02.... etc.. because if you have 3 beats like that you can't have them in the same partition on the 2000 because the files will be the same name. What you need to do is make a system.. maybe a number system.. so if it's the first beat you've done you can call it 00001-01 for the first sound you sampled.. then the next sound could be 00001-02.. basically then you make the all sequences and songs file called sng00001.. then on a piece of paper you keep in your disk case you can write song: 00001 = "real song title" / what samples were used / etc. You gotta be creative.. try out a few things and work your system out.


For the mixer part you mentioned... I would go for a good audio interface before a mixer.. one that has eight 1/4" inputs. Maybe a motu, or a presonus.. or what ever you like. If you really demand having a mixer there are many threads here talking about that. The better the quality the more expensive... stay away from behringer or shit brands because they will add noise and make the beat sound bad.

You are better off tracking into a DAW and mixing in there because you can make changes.. where as if you mix it on the mixer and track that stereo output then you cant change anything.

Thanks again man awesome! I do not have an FX card in the classic, but I do have one in the XL! I am going to chew on all this information!!

Thank you so much for all your time!!!

Justin

-Grainbelt

do this forum a favor... since you came here to find stuff out..... make some music, abd post a link in the your music section.

Of course I can do that for sure!!!! I also will continue to be here a lot!!!! I'm a lifer now!!! I will say this, it will probably be a while before I make anything people would want to hear, I am completely new!!! When I do have some cool stuff ill make sure I post it!!!!