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By sirparksalot Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:02 am
First off, my main machine is my 4000. I absolutely love everything about it. I am comfortable on it, and it just works for what I try to do with it. With that said, I recently picked up a 2000xl as a "backup" machine as I have had to send my 4000 out for repairs a few times. The price was right and it was local so I bit.

Here is what I like about the 4000:

-MUTE GROUPS
-Ease of loading samples, arranging samples, and creating programs
-Tuning is easy
-The big screen really is nice
-It feels really solid
-Sample time
-24bit sampling

Here are some things I like about the 2000xl(so far):
-It is a quality piece, this is the first thing I noticed. But so is the 40000.
-It is a fairly simple machine, especially coming from the 4k things seemed pretty native as with most MPC models.
-THE PADS!!!! Man these things really really feel great....just a comfortable machine
-Even though small, I really like the screen. It is crisp, and lets you work a long period with no eye fatigue whatsoever.

Gripes about the 4000:
-People say that it is hard to learn....I disagree. When you finally read the manual and discover features you go "ah....that makes sense!" so for some this could be a concern
-Fairly large compared to a 2000xl, if you do not have a lot of space this thing is a monster.

Gripes about the 2000xl:
-Really the only thing I do not like about the 2000xl is the lack of mute "groups". Muting only two pads to another is sort of a PITA coming from a machine that can do that.

Final verdict:
I had kind of hoped to sell the 4000 and buy some other gear that I really needed and just use the 2000xl, but I just can't. The 4000 really is just that much better. It is still my work horse and I am just comfortable on it. If someone is torn between a 4000 and a 2000xl, I say go with the 4000 ALL DAY and stick with it and learn it, because whatever you are trying to achieve....it is in there somewhere. On another note, I think the 2000xl will serve me well for what I bought it for, a backup MPC to keep making tracks in case something happens to my 4000. It will be little more of a pain to work with a couple of features important to me, but lets just hope that doesn't have to happen too often.

I hope this could help someone either thinking of upgrading their older machine or ditching their 4000. If anyone wants to know any other specifics, I'm sure some 4000 owners, or myself, would be happy to help. Thanks for reading, and thanks for all of the information you guys provide to me on a daily basis.
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By sirparksalot Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:47 am
Lampdog wrote:
sirparksalot wrote:....."When you finally read the manual...."

You lost 1/8 of the northern hemisphere mpc newbs right then and there.


Word. I don't understand how someone can really complain that the 4k is really hard to learn. If anything, it makes(at least MY) workflow much better, but that was after 2 weeks of sitting with the machine and referencing to the manual and then picking up little tricks a long the way from finding things, as well as other members. I think if I remember correctly there is even an entire thread dedicated just to tricks/shortcuts of the 4000. All the information is right in front of our eyes, it's just whether we choose to use it or not.
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By Lampdog Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:27 am
Glad you said that 'cause with ALL the mpc's it's the same story. You only get out of it what you put into it. Meaning plain and simple what you said already, the manual and that 4k thread! I've had a 2kxl forever and a day. Learned it inside and out, years later got a 4k. I read the manual back and forth almost 3 times completely, watched that 4k thread intensely for maybe 3 months, read EVERY post and learned SOOOO much. I never had to ask a question because everyone in the thread ALREADY had me covered. As I said you only get out what you put in, research AND samplewise!

I still have the 2kxlse2 though. I'm a minimalist so I don't have much gear but what I do have I know it really well.
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By sirparksalot Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:09 pm
Lampdog wrote:Glad you said that 'cause with ALL the mpc's it's the same story. You only get out of it what you put into it. Meaning plain and simple what you said already, the manual and that 4k thread! I've had a 2kxl forever and a day. Learned it inside and out, years later got a 4k. I read the manual back and forth almost 3 times completely, watched that 4k thread intensely for maybe 3 months, read EVERY post and learned SOOOO much. I never had to ask a question because everyone in the thread ALREADY had me covered. As I said you only get out what you put in, research AND samplewise!

I still have the 2kxlse2 though. I'm a minimalist so I don't have much gear but what I do have I know it really well.

Yes! The patience level of some people seems to be thin, which, with machines like these is impossible to have. In the computer age I think that everything gets so fast and so streamlined, that when a younger generation picks up a machine like an MPC, they get frustrated with small things like load time because it takes an extra 15 seconds, much less having to actually learn how a machine works. It has taken me a year to be able to fly around on the 4000, and still every week or two I will find a new trick or shortcut to do something. It keeps it fun and lets me know that I am still learning.
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By ArKyve-31 Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:53 pm
I'll be honest I've never read the manual for the 4000. Once I figured out how to pretty much do a global program edit like the jj os, the rest was just figuring out button and menu layouts over my other mp's I owned, and digging through old forum threads and youtube video's. I just wished I knew about this forum when I got my first xl years back.
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By billynojokes Sun Sep 25, 2011 6:24 pm
yooo thanx for this thread i been really debating gettin a 4k in the futuer but i never even sceen one in person i just hurd lots of good stuff i got one question tho ...

hows the tuning sound in the 4k compared to the 2kxl ? i see in sirparksalot post that he says its easy tuning but how does it sound??..... i said this in an earlier thread. but the only other mpc ive ever got at was a 1000 and the tuning was terrible ... the way i freak my drums has a lot to do with the tunning so its crucial to me... lemme kno wut u think

thanx

~1~
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By sirparksalot Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:12 am
billynojokes wrote:yooo thanx for this thread i been really debating gettin a 4k in the futuer but i never even sceen one in person i just hurd lots of good stuff i got one question tho ...

hows the tuning sound in the 4k compared to the 2kxl ? i see in sirparksalot post that he says its easy tuning but how does it sound??..... i said this in an earlier thread. but the only other mpc ive ever got at was a 1000 and the tuning was terrible ... the way i freak my drums has a lot to do with the tunning so its crucial to me... lemme kno wut u think

thanx

~1~

I love it. As far as sound, I think it's on point. I just sampled a disco record slowed down and went from 0 to -11.0....that's the biggest pitch change I have ever made. The horns and strings still came out strong. It all depends on the sample, the way you record and eq the samples, etc. If the record is already pretty heavy on the lows, pitching down of course is just going to muddy things up. As far as drums go, I use the pitch for breaks ALL the time, but I also use 8 outs to track my drums out to my board and eq/compress them on the board....like if I pitch a snare down, I might need to eq it again or change the compression to retain the "crack" while getting a darker sound from the lowered pitch. If you don't have a mixer or interface to track out I recommend it, You can play with things so much more this way. Go for the 4000....if you can't do it with a 4000, I really don't think any other mpc is going to do it for you and you need to go a different route all together.
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By billynojokes Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:45 am
[/quote]
I love it. As far as sound, I think it's on point. I just sampled a disco record slowed down and went from 0 to -11.0....that's the biggest pitch change I have ever made. The horns and strings still came out strong. It all depends on the sample, the way you record and eq the samples, etc. If the record is already pretty heavy on the lows, pitching down of course is just going to muddy things up. As far as drums go, I use the pitch for breaks ALL the time, but I also use 8 outs to track my drums out to my board and eq/compress them on the board....like if I pitch a snare down, I might need to eq it again or change the compression to retain the "crack" while getting a darker sound from the lowered pitch. If you don't have a mixer or interface to track out I recommend it, You can play with things so much more this way. Go for the 4000....if you can't do it with a 4000, I really don't think any other mpc is going to do it for you and you need to go a different route all together.[/quote]


word good looks on th repliy! im a get some extra flo pretty soon from my seasonal job and im a scoope up a 4k afterwords! i also do track all my beats out to my daw and then from the daw to a mixer .... i kno the 4k has a digigital optical 8 out option do u use that or the analog 8 outs .... seein that i track my beat out like i do i was thinkin thats the way to go ... ??? n e suggestions/ insight on how u opperate?
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By Lampdog Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:54 pm
I have used 4k optical adat (8ch) and optical spdif (2ch) on my digi001 recording into sony vegas at 48/24, sounds great! I don't have analog 8 outs. I've also used the analog main outs (2ch), sounds good, just like it should.
I don't have a preference, either way I record it always sounds good to me so I'm happy with it.

When recording at high rates on the 4k your limited to 2 fx busses, (44/16 is max 4 fx busses) keep that in mind.
The filters on the 4k are really good and you can work wonders with them.
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By MPCWeapon1 Sun Oct 02, 2011 3:59 pm
I have both.

MPC 2000XL is great as a dedicated drum machine. Chopping drum breaks is seamless, the wave comes out thick so it's real easy to create hats and percussion parts. The drum sounds are flawless..gritty and full.

MPC 4000 - when it comes to creating more than drums..like Keys, strings, pads, guitars, etc...You can't compare anything to the 4K..Simply the best drum machine ever created..

Any loyal MPC user who hasn't migrated over to the 4k probably hasn't because they mastered their 2k or 3k and perfected their technique on it and are hesitant to start over again on new machine..because with the 4k you're basically starting over.You cant pick up that machine and run with it. Once you get over that learning curve though you begin to realize the power of the 4K.Best drum machine ever.