Testing a used 2000xl (with no MPC experience)? Also, hello!

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum, and I'm getting my first MPC in about 36 hours (if all goes as planned). I'm just wondering what I should be testing for. The seller said he has it plugged in and he can load up a program for me, but aside from that, I don't really know how to navigate the thing and see how everything's functioning as I've never really used an MPC, 2kxl or otherwise.

It has the 8 out, 32mb ram, and I believe the fx board. So what should I do to test out the function of it and what should I look at mechanically? Are there any problem areas I should know about?

I've tried to find an answer for several days and have had no luck. Thanks in advance guys.

Off the top of the dome.

Make sure the OEM screen isn't **** up, if there is any evidence of pixel death.hve him knock like 150$ off the price or walk away, YOU WILL have to replace the screen someday. If there pixels dead it would a guarantee the screen is on its way to dying.

Test all the pads by loading a sound from memory, and making sure all pads work. Test the jog wheel by scrolling through stuff, and all the cursor buttons. All buttons.

Have him boot up the machine off the disc, and watch the OS load etc.

Ask him questions! MPC users are always hyped to share their tricks and what they learned. When I bought my classic the guy sat me down and showed me all sorts of cool shit in the middle of Starbucks for like an hour, and he still messages me to see what I'm working on.

If you are at his place, have him sample something into the machine just to make sure the inputs are in good working condition.

If anything dosnt work as described no matter what excuses he makes or how easy it is to work around have him start knocking dollars off or peace out.


Testing for the expansions.

Ram: to make sure there is ram upgraded, hAve him goto the load off disk screen. (shift + 3) then in the top right corner (under where it says free memory!) it should tell you how much space is free. If there is only the standard you'll see it say 1900kb free space for SNDs (sounds)or whatever, look for it to say like 31000kb instead. Here is a picture of a machine with no extra ram. (note: the ram is allocated for sequences and sounds. The sum of the two should be 32000kb)


8 outs: look on the back of th machine, do you see 8 outs?

Fx board: goto the mixer screen (shift + 7) hit FX. If you don't have the fx board you'll get this little mountain and water landscape screen saying "no fx board installed". Otherwise you will have options to **** with the fxs.

good advice from my homey above.

m56p87 wrote:Test all the pads by loading a sound from memory, and making sure all pads work. Test the jog wheel by scrolling through stuff, and all the cursor buttons. All buttons.

you can test pads / slider easily using the hidden test screen:
From the main screen hit SHIFT + 5 (TRIM) then SHIFT + F1
First go to MEMCHK
then go to PADCHM

http://www.mpc2000xl.com/secret.htm

no fx board will show this picture

Hey guys, thanks for the tips. Already bought it anyway, I trusted the guy as soon as I started talking to him. He didn't hesitate to go through the thing and show me around. Ended up getting a 2000, as much as I wanted the XL. If anything, if I do feel like I need to upgrade, I can take out the 8-outs and FX board, sell the stock 2k, and buy a stock XL. For now, this is cool.

I am, however, slightly feeling the loss of the tilting screen, and the 16 zone "auto chop," although not hugely as I'd never actually used an MPC, I just knew what I expected when I was seeking the 2K XL. For now, I'm just going to try and figure out how to manually chop my samples and enjoy.

Loving the MPC though. I knew it had a great work flow but it's even better than I though. Started recording and over dubbing little sketches within minutes.

Hope to stick around; I've been pouring over the forum for a couple weeks now so I don't see myself leaving any time soon.

djtrex wrote: the loss of .....the 16 zone "auto chop,"
.

If your interested, there is a very simple 16 zone auto chop work around on the 2000 classic. Where you untie the velocity to volume, and in turn tie it to the start of the sample. So when you 16 level w/ velocity instead of getting 16 different levels of amplitude you get the loop with 16 progressive start points.

Edit: here's a video for you http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QFXVl4BWp54

Once you get fast at chopping it up yourself manually though you'll probably just stick with that, but it's a cool parameter to mess with (velocity modulation). It's also a great way to get monophonic chopping.

Love my classic, have fun.

How many other MPC's need a PITA boot disc, should've just went with the XL if you had the chance...selling a stock 2000 classic won't be easy.

clint246clint wrote:How many other MPC's need a PITA boot disc, should've just went with the XL if you had the chance...selling a stock 2000 classic won't be easy.

that is what I thought at first.. but the boot disk actually is not bad at all... plus, the OS is small enough to actually save it on the floppy with the sounds.. though I never tried this, I am sure it is doable.

mr_debauch wrote:

clint246clint wrote:How many other MPC's need a PITA boot disc, should've just went with the XL if you had the chance...selling a stock 2000 classic won't be easy.

that is what I thought at first.. but the boot disk actually is not bad at all... plus, the OS is small enough to actually save it on the floppy with the sounds.. though I never tried this, I am sure it is doable.

I agree, and this is just me but i like booting off disk cause it feels mad fresh everytime I turn on my machine. Like doing a clean install on your computer everyday! Lol but I know not everyone loves that. I've saved stuff to my boot disc, specifically kits I use often. I have been able to fit an the entire tr505 + program with the boot OS and I think I had some space left. I kind of use it as a pseudo flash rom.

You know what I found that same video a couple days ago with the auto chop trick and it's been doing nicely. Thanks for the tip anyway.

As for the boot disk, I thought the XL needed that too? Either way, it doesn't bother me and to be honest, I'm the type of dude that gets giddy at the thought of touching a floppy again, so I've been enjoying myself quite a bit.

It turned out I got confused about which seller had responded to me (I emailed a few people) and it was a 2k classic the whole time, and at first when I figured it out I was pissed. Once he came by though, I got it anyway, which may have been a rush decision, but honestly: I have an MPC, so no regrets. I'm happy as a pig in... Well, y'know.

Oh and @m56p87: the screen was replaced and he said it only had maybe 10 hours use on it, so I'm not worried about that for now.

sounds sweet.. I am a former 2000xl user, current 2000 classic user. Dont ask me why I prefer the classic, I just do. I just find it sounds better and I cant explain why... maybe it's a psychological trick my mind is playing to get me to keep the mpc with the best jog wheel. (IE: it's way better than the 2000xl one, that is for sure)

djtrex wrote:As for the boot disk, I thought the XL needed that too?

No it doesn't, but at least you're a happy pig and that's what counts most.

Enjoy.

i love the Classic MPC2000 or XL but i hated the EB16 fx and the lack of a compressor

Jayo wrote:i love the Classic MPC2000 or XL but i hated the EB16 fx and the lack of a compressor

Yeah, I've heard a few complaints with the EB16. What was your problem with it?

I know the XL includes a high pass filter in addition to the Classic's low pass, so I'm planning just to use the filter in the EB16. How does the EB16's 4 band filter compare to the XL filters? Can I not accomplish the same thing more or less? 'Cause I love that murky filtered bass sound so synonymous with MPC-produced beats.

djtrex wrote:

Jayo wrote:i love the Classic MPC2000 or XL but i hated the EB16 fx and the lack of a compressor

Yeah, I've heard a few complaints with the EB16. What was your problem with it?

I know the XL includes a high pass filter in addition to the Classic's low pass, so I'm planning just to use the filter in the EB16. How does the EB16's 4 band filter compare to the XL filters? Can I not accomplish the same thing more or less? 'Cause I love that murky filtered bass sound so synonymous with MPC-produced beats.

the classic has the low pass filter in the params page... the xl has that too.. no high pass filter in there though... the only way to get a high pass on either machines is by the EQ in the eb16.