Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
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By SlowwFloww Thu Apr 06, 2017 10:43 am
I’ve got a mpc500 for two weeks now.. cool little machine. I’m amazed of all the features it has. Also, now I understand why people love the mpc workflow so much, the normal sized MPC's will be even better I assume … I switched from NI Maschine because I got headaches from the confusing workflow… I tried it for 1,5 year and got really fed up…

So I’m glad I tried this small MPC. A couple of things irritate me slightly on the 500:

1. it is possible to move the end point of a sample before the start point: because of this the start point moves (very annoying) . This way I have to be really careful adjusting the end point otherwise I reset my start position. Is this normal?

On my s950.. the end point stops at the startpoint position..

2. The main outputs are noisy: I can hear a high pitched sound when I connect the MPC to a mixer and turn up the gain on the mixer. Also, when in the loading screens I hear a high pitched sound and all sort of beeps.. Is this normal?
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By Ill-Green Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:54 am
SlowwFloww wrote:I’ve got a mpc500 for two weeks now.. cool little machine. I’m amazed of all the features it has. Also, now I understand why people love the mpc workflow so much, the normal sized MPC's will be even better I assume … I switched from NI Maschine because I got headaches from the confusing workflow… I tried it for 1,5 year and got really fed up…

So I’m glad I tried this small MPC. A couple of things irritate me slightly on the 500:

1. it is possible to move the end point of a sample before the start point: because of this the start point moves (very annoying) . This way I have to be really careful adjusting the end point otherwise I reset my start position. Is this normal?

On my s950.. the end point stops at the startpoint position..

2. The main outputs are noisy: I can hear a high pitched sound when I connect the MPC to a mixer and turn up the gain on the mixer. Also, when in the loading screens I hear a high pitched sound and all sort of beeps.. Is this normal?

1-Yes, thats normal, happens to me and its annoying to readjust the points. However, the O.S. is an unfinished one, so like me, you'll figure out how to avoid these type of nuances over time. I have mine since 2006 and I'm pretty ninja-like avoiding all the mines that will blow up on you if not careful. Doing it so long, I experience no hassles but when I read these forums and others run into these problems, I realized my whole workflow is a workaround.

2-outputs need cleaning, my outputs are silent. Also, a resoldering of the output can eliminate that noise.
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By SlowwFloww Sat Apr 08, 2017 1:54 am
Thanx for your reply..

Allright.. that start / end point is quite annoying.. But I realise no machine’s perfect.. so I just have to find workarounds. I'm just used to the s950. I select my start point first, then select my end pont and just rotate the dial and it automaticly stops at the start position.. Do other MPC's work like this also?

About the noise, I updated my 500 from OS 1.11 to 1.31 and it’s more quiet now..

By the way.. you make great tracks, I especially like ‘burning things’.. that string sample is beautiful. Great rapping also.. How did you sequence that track? Does that Roland MS1 have quantize?
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By Ill-Green Sat Apr 08, 2017 7:13 am
The MPC1000/2500 on JJOS can dial and stop at the start point, maybe the 5000 too but I never played one. You know my MS-1 could do it too.

Thanks for the words homie, the violin part was 4 chops that I had on mute groups, on the MS-1, you only get one mute group. The sequencer is more of a tape recorder that just record hits of the pads, really no timing but you, so yes, I did a few takes before playing a perfect beat. And I still work this way because of the MS-1