Tough learning curve?

Hey guys - I'm new to the mpc scene. I had an ESX 1 a few years ago. I sold it in a drunken exchange not long after and have wanted to get back into the sampling game once more. A good friend of mine had this dusty old mpc that I could have so I've been trying to learn how to use it. I can save relatively easily but loading stuff back up is a total nightmare and have had mixed results. I cannot seem to make head nor tale of the manual! The only success that I've had is saving the entire memory to 'autoload' and getting the sequences etc. back up that way. Anyhoo, its been a bit of a journey the last week or so!!

The 500 has a reputation of being a mind f*ck if it's your first MPC. That said, yoooou cannnn doooo eeeet! *ahem*

Keep playing with it and you'll pick up all the nuances. Outside of menu diving, it is a gorgeous machine.

There are a few 500 wizards that come to mind, maybe one will answer in here.

Load up wav files 16 [email protected].

My MPC500 tutorial book explains everything you need to know about beat making with the MPC500 in clear, easy to follow, step-by-step tutorials:

http://www.mpc-samples.com/product.php/ ... he-mpc500/

check out my mpc500 beat tape down below in my sig.. tutors ebook is a big help, also i learned most of my stuff from supreme's videos, the 500 was my first mpc and when i got it I hit supreme up on AIM on the daily with questions… tutors book is a savior too

PS.. the 500 is my fave mpc by far, i have a 1000 and a 2000xl and i love the 500 way more then the others, even love chopping by ear…just stick with it.

Cheers guys - I feel like I've come on leaps and bounds the last few days. It's just the saving and loading that I am struggling with. I find however, if I save the entire project to autoload - everything is hunky dory. I will definitely check out tut's book when I get paid. I am totally digging it now!

Apart from this guys I've been only with my 500 for about a year and a half. After the frustration of not finding a Ram stick for it I picked it up again only to do beats. Even tho I don't use the sampling portion much, I make beats and sequence everything from my MPC500. And I love it.

My advise would be only to spend lots of times with the unit. With the manual, and everything you can find, and just get down to it. There's no other way of learning how to use it and how to use it the way it works for you.

Now after the last time I spent a month almost everyday looking for a RAM I've spent about two months actively looking for one and I'm not stoping till I get one.

My only complaint about the 500 is that sometimes it goes too slow. Like when in step mode going over the next Pad event or note. Other than that, amazing. All the other functions work very fast and intuitively.

After spending months working with the mpc I can do most if not all the controls almost automatically, and not looking much at the screen, only to make adjustments. I'm kinda stuck at how to place various effects in step mode. It keeps erasing the lower singular number placements ones.

So yeah, spend time with the 500, it pays off. It's a great freakin machine. It sold me on getting a 5000 over anything computer based. It's completely another work flow.