Question from prospective MPC2K owner

E-z all,

Had a 2500 a while back and sold it chasing paper; really miss the work flow of using an MPC and have tried other pads over MIDI (Korg, Akai MPD) but they just don't compare to the original and the best.

Considering finding myself a bargain on an MPC 2k/XL. And I had a few questions regarding external Zip drives. It's probably a stupid question, but if I go through with my purchase I am hoping to get one of the newer USB Iomega drives (750mb and above) and a SCSI to USB connection cable (as well as normal SCSI to SCSI cable). This would make it easier to drag and drop samples from Mac via USB, then USB to SCSI.

My question is whether or not anyone has been doing this and if there are problems with the MPC's reading newer Zip drives? Would there be format issues if it was formatted by the MPC? The zip disk will need to be read over USB by a Mac.

Thinking about the hassles I used to have with zip discs/drives sends a shiver down my spine!

If I were you I would hold out for a good second hand 1000 or 2500 and get back in the game where you left off.

as a 2k (non xl) owner for 10 years now, i can honestly say the one thing about my setup that i dont really like is the fact i gotta use the zip drive/zip disks

ive been through 4 zip drives, and ive lost so many beats due to disks **** up


besides that i love my MPC 2k

ive used the 1k but im a 2k kinda dude i guess

What you say is fair enough; but I'm on some bigtime baragain hunting ish, looking for something cheap cheap cheap and have not seen much cheapness on the newer MP's.

Regardless, any ideas about USB Zip drive people??

I am pretty sure you can pick up a MPC 2000 XL for between $300-$500 on ebay easy. However, be cautioned that you might end up with a machine that has some quirks that need some TLC because of the age of these machines. However, there are two places you can go for parts and they are pretty cheap to fix up (mpcstuff and vstservice) unless you have to replace the LCD screen. As far as the zip drives, I purchased an internal ZIP drive for $5.00 plus shipping. I would make sure you are at OS 1.14 before upgrading to ZIP. Your other route is to install an Addonics Compact flash but you will need to be at OS 1.20.

My understanding is that the XL uses an IDE ATAPI bay so you can use a non SCSI Zip drive which is cheaper and probably more easier to get going. The compact flash is a hit or miss from what I am hearing. If you go the Zip drive get two of them you can probably put the other internal ATAPI/IDE zip in a USB enclosure and have a quick and easy way to move samples back and forth. I have got two Inernal Zip drives myself. I need to go out and buy a IDE/ATAPI to USB enclosure as well as mount the internal Zip I just got in my XL after I finish up some minor repairs. I'll let you know what I find out. To those expert members, please correct me if I am wrong but I believe this should be a viable solution and that the XL does take internal ATAPI Zip drives. My particular model is an Z100ATAPI ZIP. Just keep in mind from other postings a lot of other users have had issues with Zip drives. I'd suggest buying 2 if not 3 of the internal ATAPI Zips just to have some spare, if you decide to go the Zip route. The internal ATAPI Zip drives are cheap compared to the SCSI.

Oh... I meant to add that there is a guy on this forum who sells a known working compact flash setup at a good price. Search the forums and you can find him... I believe his handle is Mr debauch.... Forgive me if I didnt spell his name correctly. It's an early morning for me. This is if you go the compact flash route. At least that way you save yourself from all the Zip drive headaches. Oh, if you go the compact flash drive you have to leave the compact flash medium in while the unit is on. You can't remove it while it is powered on. That's not a biggie, just have to remember that though. Good luck.

If you get a XL and going for a ZIP drive don't get an external one..with the XL it's very easy to just get an internal IDE one so no messy cables or power leads..everyting is in the MP that's how I have it and not had any issues.
Got a ZIP250 drive and a ZIP250 USB drive for the PC for transfering certain samples.
Also have an external SCSI ZIP-100 drive for my S-3200XL