Does anyone here have MPC Live and iMPC Pro 2 and compared?

Looking for Live/X owners that also have iMPC Pro 2 and can tell me how different workflow is from one to the other.

I just got iMPC Pro 2 and the reason was to familiarize myself with newer MPC workflow because I’ll probably buy a Live soon and want practice.

I use mv8800’s, Spectralis 2, Circuit, and Synthstrom Audible Deluge for sequencing, but also Beatmaker 2 and 3, GR16 (Electribe 2 iOS style groovebox), some little work on iMPC Pro and iMPC already. I don’t need DAW integration. Haven’t used a DAW for 4 years now.

I have been collecting samples since 1999 and also frequently buy from Loopmasters, Producer Loops, but make my own a LOT.

Not a crate digger, but now a YouTube digger

Oh yeah - Happy Father’s Day to those that stick around to be one! My son is an actual crate digger, but he’s way cooler than me

I see an option to export to use in MPC desktop software, so I assume it’s probably pretty close. I’ll practice with it.

Ah...Spectralis great machine.Been looking at the Polymorth too.Damn !!!!

dryad-66 wrote:Ah...Spectralis great machine.Been looking at the Polymorth too.Damn !!!!

Poly morph is a fun synth. Easier to learn sequencer by far than a Spectralis, but Spectralis has better synth engines. I bought a Polymorph in 1998 and sold it in 2004 as I went entirely ITB music production until tired of it and back to hardware in 2014. I bought one again used for about $900. Great sequencers and fun to create on.

It’s similar but not 1 to 1, although I must admit I haven’t used the app much. It will give you a good idea of how it works but I still fumbled on the app because it does have some differences.

Cockdiesel wrote:It’s similar but not 1 to 1, although I must admit I haven’t used the app much. It will give you a good idea of how it works but I still fumbled on the app because it does have some differences.

Thanks! Good to know. I think if I can feel it for beatmaking on the app, I’ll definitely feel it on the hardware. I think the way it uses tracks with a sequence and song mode chaining might give me enough to get an MPC workflow. I usually gel with hardware better than software, although Live and X seems a mix of both, but the physical connection to a piece of gear usually gets me motivated enough to want to learn it better.

The live is way better with the integration, just get familiar with the layout, audio tracks, and the other stuff you mentioned. It may help in some cases but I will imagine that you won’t use that app much after getting a live.

AMEN TO THAT!

At this point l don't want no other machine than the Live... Or The X, respectively!!!

Cockdiesel wrote:The live is way better with the integration, just get familiar with the layout, audio tracks, and the other stuff you mentioned. It may help in some cases but I will imagine that you won’t use that app much after getting a live.

Nice to see you still around danoc, hope all is well.

Impc is meh. Sure its an upgrade to their previoua pile of crap, but still its lacking in many ways and i have no trust on the devs. Get beatmaker 3 if you want a serious app on ipad. That is something more comperable to live, or ableton etc

This feels aimed at me.
I have a Live, I brought it with me to use on my lunch break EVERY day. I'd stroll in with my my Live in its laptop bag, my XKey in its a bag slung over my shoulder, and my iPad in the laptop bag. Lunch would happen and I'd setup the MPC, set the Xkey to use on the iPad with all my synths, and due to crappy reception, I'd use my work laptop for sampling off YT when I wanted to sample. I worked and it worked well, though carrying around all that gear got tiring *made heavier by the music theory books I kept with me).

then my wife got me the iPad Pro because I wanted a bigger screen for messing around with some of my soft synths like Thor, I also try to stay abreat to all the tools available to me, so I had iMPC and iMPC Pro, along with Beatmaker 2, Music Studio, tabletop etc. Well I got tired of lugging the Live around for a bit when I wasn't getting my chance to work during lunch and started bringing *just* the iPad Pro. I used iMPC Pro to continue my finger dexterity work and just work on rhythms. Then I tried to just use iMPC Pro to make a song.

It worked pretty easily. the touch screen interface for manually adjusting notes is just as crappy as the Live *har har*, so with both systems, I just turn off all quantization, and if it doesn't sound right, I rinse and repeat. I found after a couple months, that I had less and less use for the MPC Live, so now it just sits at home. With that said, there are several differences for *me*, and I'm sure better MPC userscan chime in on other differences.
1. Having a physical knob for making adjustments is so much more accurate for editting and moving.
2. Physical pads give you a better feel if you are the finger drum type
3. The default sounds aren't even close, the Live destroys iMPC Pro2 in volume and quality IMO
4. There is a feeling of really putting in work when using the Live that 'could' affect the end product, it IS art we are talking about here.
5. Traditional sampling is better

On the flip side
1. Just carrying an iPad around with you is terrific
2. While the selection of audio units is ass cheeks, you can use IAA to sample anything on your iPad, so you gain access to all the soft synths you could want, all the sound generators, or my new favorite thing, text to speech apps.
3. Exports to the MPC software
4. iMPC is frankly easier to navigate and use
5. Setup is much quicker
6. Sound packs are relatively cheap
7. Thanks to IAA you can can some *cringing* 'Gnarly' effects using external FX apps.

Ultimately, I think you'd be a fool to ignore the app, its not expensive in the scheme of things (owning iMPC Pro and using the bundle, made it like a $16 dollar purchase) and provides a relatable experience. Live for me is similar and I can't say the value add immediately worth the cost in comparison. I've been going 'back'' to my Live lately, but that is more a factor of "getting my money's worth" and "sharpening my blade", than "oh its that much better".
-Unreall

Thanks for the input! Yeah, I bought and have been having fun with it actually. Had some sound packs from first iMPC so bought a few more and experimenting with my AU versions of softsynths. Yeah - exactly where I’m using it. My lunch break I kick it in my car in our overflow parking lot with a lot of shade and make beats. It’s actually pretty easy to use iMPC Pro and Pro2 and connected to my 40 watt Bluetooth iLoud, sounds pretty dope.

Thanks again for the breakdown and iaa suggestion on sampling them.

Not a bad workflow. Took a minute to wrap my head around it, but that was about it - a minute. Pretty intuitive and easy.