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By MindFuel Fri Mar 20, 2015 3:00 am
Hey peoples,
I've came to the conclusion of getting an MPC over anything else. I'm here to find out from the dedicated, die hard users who know these machines best. From my studies I have settled on the MPC1000, MPC2500 or the MPC4000. I wanted a 5000 but, I've been hearing things about that one. I want something that will not limit me but, isn't to complicated. I don't mind a learning curve tho. I'm looking for that one that I will never need anything else to produce with. My Production Center.

I'm no engineer but, I like to play around and create sounds etc. I was wondering which MPC would you recommend? I prefer a machine I can master at some point. I don't like to be left not knowing where this thing ends. I am on a budget as well. Suggestions please?

And the main thing. Is there any way I can get a brand new one? I take care of my things and know If I had a brand new one it would last as far as on my part; dropping it, pressing buttons too hard etc.

To sum it all up. I'm thinking a 1000 would be good for me. Is that fair to say? Also including portability. Can you record automation on any MPC like the 5000?
By BoyOfVirtue Sat Mar 21, 2015 12:08 am
The 1000 with JJOS is probably the most capable yet easy to use MPC ever made, and its portable so it sounds like that would be what you're looking for.

Brand new 1000s can be purchased from mpcstuff.com for $1000, which is over twice what you'd expect to pay for a used, good condition 1000. MPCs are pretty sturdy, so buying used is nothing to worry about--provided you test it out beforehand to make sure that it works.
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By mr_debauch Sun Mar 22, 2015 5:38 pm
the 1000 and 2500 are basically identical machines when you consider the third party JJOS operating system (a must have for people who own those 2 models) the 2500 has full sized pads, more physical outputs.. and if it matters to you, a CD drive.

the 4000 is the most powerful technically, it can sample the most because it can hold 4 times the ram as the 1000 and 2500... it can make use of USB key drives... and it has more built in things you can do to your samples... more or less... the thing is though, JJOS also has a lot of built in things you can do to samples too..


The real thing you should be looking at is, 1000 with pad upgrade.. or the 2500, or the 4000. The 2500 gets a lot of complaints for the jog wheel... MPC stuff sells a replacement board that has a better wheel that is smooth and doesn't jump around like the original. The 4000 will have better tact switches under the plastic buttons from the factory but if the previous owner has abused the machine you may need to have those replaced anyways..


me personally, I would take the 4000 any day over the other 2 models... especially since you can get one for like 600 bucks if you look out for a deal... some people here have gotten them for even less than that.
By MindFuel Tue Mar 24, 2015 7:58 pm
The 4000 is the one i want because of it's high sample rate. I am a 24bit 48khz guy. I only wanted the 1000 and 2500 for affordability. If I could find a 4000 or 5000 for that price I would definitely jump on it. Only places I know are Ebay and they are quite expensive. Suggestions?

And can you record automation on the 4 like you can on the 5000
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By mr_debauch Tue Mar 24, 2015 8:04 pm
well the 4000 isn't more expensive than the 2500 a lot of the time.. often priced between the 1000 and 2500..

the 5000 some people are fine with it, but it generally was a flop because of issues with the OS and many of them seem to be lemons with hardware issues.... nobody has quite pin pointed the exact reason for that but some people have had bad issues. Also the 5000 sequencer had some sort of resolution (ppqn) issue some people were figuring out that was very odd.
By MindFuel Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:05 pm
Ok thanks for your insight. I havesettled upon the 1000 since i am a first time MPC user. I am also looking for portability and it seems like the best bet. Don't want to go to low like the 500. So you said get the pad upgrade and I should be good? and JJOS? What about the black one. Any kind of faults with those? And finally, where would I be able to get the JJOS from?


But, my biggest issue with these machines is where could i take it if it ever needed service? I would like to have some security knowing if something happened I could easily get it fixed because, I am not the kind of guy to try and fix it myself. Even tho I would like to I rather have someone experienced with the machine..... I know mpcstuff.com / is there another source just in case or more?
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By mr_debauch Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:18 pm
well the black ones tend to come from the factory with the pad upgrade... the blue ones didn't but many people put them in. you have to find out on the specific one you are looking at.

JJOS, check the 1000/2500 JJOS section of this forum.. you will find the link to their website... they have a free version but you want the payed one because the machine is a piece of shit without JJOS.

for repairs by pros who know MPCs specifically.. forat (google him) VST service as well I believe... and there are other ones in europe that people here know about if you are over there.
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By Dj Khayos Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:01 pm
MindFuel wrote:They say the blue one has pad problems? Is this true?


Yes as many already answered,but alot of the blue ones got the new-black-style pad replacement from Akai.

"Someone" gave me an autographed blue MPC with newly replaced OLD style pads and a CF-card full of samples, programs, patterns and songs! That one stays in in the family ;)
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By Dj Khayos Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:09 pm
MindFuel wrote:The 4000 is the one i want because of it's high sample rate. I am a 24bit 48khz guy. I only wanted the 1000 and 2500 for affordability. If I could find a 4000 or 5000 for that price I would definitely jump on it. Only places I know are Ebay and they are quite expensive. Suggestions?

And can you record automation on the 4 like you can on the 5000


Go for the MPC4000! The 5000 is an unfinished buggy hack of the Alesis Fusion.
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By damien907 Sat Apr 18, 2015 7:54 pm
BoyOfVirtue wrote:The 1000 with JJOS is probably the most capable yet easy to use MPC ever made, and its portable so it sounds like that would be what you're looking for.

Brand new 1000s can be purchased from mpcstuff.com for $1000, which is over twice what you'd expect to pay for a used, good condition 1000. MPCs are pretty sturdy, so buying used is nothing to worry about--provided you test it out beforehand to make sure that it works.



yeah get a used one man, one that has been kept in good conditon, with all the upgrades.

if you dont want the pads to be bad, most likely youll want one that says it has been upgraded with the pad upgrade kit. most newer black ones ship with the new pad upgrade thing on it. youll really only have to worry about the blue ones going bad, i think there ware a few of the black ones, but most of the newer black ones are fine.

id def get one with jjos2xl, teh 123 dollar jjos upgrade right off the bat, dont even buy one if it dosnt have that, or if your so inclined the xlcd screen wwould be cool. but i think it looks ugly on the 1k's personally, id rather put that on a 2500.

i currently use a 1k i got off of ebay a few years ago and its working likea champ.

it has a 160 gb hd it it, the 128mb ram, jjos2xl, and i upgraded it with white pads.

i cant stress enough how you would be doing yourself a disservice by buying a new one as opposed to a good conditon used one, you could get it for half the price, and still have every bit as good of a unit, with all the extras. thats what you really want,

i overpaid for mine on ebay at 770, but i knew it had been in good hands, andi would use it for years to come, i could have waited a few months an knocked a couple hundo off of the price, but that was the one i wanted and i had enough money at the time to do it.

good luck man!

a 1k is def my favorite mpc.

i even like it better than the 2500, and i have owned both, and a 4k.

i just like to be able to sit on the couch and make beats in my lap, the other ones are a bit big for that.

good luck!

mpc-stuff.com is a great place to order parts for it, and like some other posters said, they also do reparis, but honestly you can open it up and put new parts on yourself pretty easy.

its about 10 screws to take the faceplate off, and its a cakewalk from there. even if you arent mechanically inclined, its easy enough to just watch a video and do it yourself from there.

if your really worried about it though, you can jus send it in to forat or mpc stuff if it needs to be serviced.