jzurd0 wrote:Is not the sound the major difference?
Just asking...
no, they sound the same...
just to list a few differences even though most are already known:
-the jog wheel: the 2000 classic has the outer ring to change numerals in the trim menu... the 2000xl has an acceleration (gear shift) the longer and quicker you spin the wheel... and when that isn't fast enough, the 2000xl has the trick where you hold shift and move the note variation slider to jump large amounts.
-the IDE port (internal port) this opens the door to inexpensive CF card readers for the 2000xl, which are not compatible with the 2000 classic. this was a huge deal back in the day, maybe less so these days because everything is expensive either way. when i upgraded my first XL to the CF reader, the card reader cost me $0.99 with free shipping on ebay. I suspect those days are done. (I already had the IDE ribbon cable at home)
-folder support... very nice because you can save projects in a folder on a memory card... only the contents of that beat will get saved in there... also, you can have drum sounds and stuff saved in a folder on the card to load up if you wanted to. The 2000 classic takes more work... you can only make so many partitions on a hard drive or scsi device, and you can't use folders... so you really need to try you best to give every sound you ever make a unique name. it's highly recommended that you keep the names under 8 characters, even if the mpc will allow up to 16. this helps avoid issues when you take the storage device and plug it somewhere else like a computer for example.
-the tilt screen VS the wedge body... both are fine in my opinion... but with the wedge body of the 2000 classic, you might find yourself holding shift and adjusting the jog wheel a bit more often compared to the 2000xl (which adjusts the contrast by the way)
-the drum programs... yes the 2000xl has drum 1 through 4... it can load 4 different programs at the same time. that is great, but most of the time you don't use all 64 pads of a drum program in one single beat.... so the workaround on the classic is to load up the desired sounds from other programs you have saved on disks individually... then assign them to one of your 64 pads. ALSO, I really like how on the 2000 classic you can go into the shift+program menu (when you are on your way to the params screen) and you don't need to click f1 drum1 every single time.... that is quite annoying on the 2000xl.
-time stretch.... okay, not to be used like it's elastique or some ableton thing.... but if you sampled a break or loaded some one shot drums.... sometimes it's nice to lengthen the crash sounds or the drums sounds in general to fill in the gaps a bit better... that is a really nice feature on the 2000xl. it isn't amazing for everything, but if you take a little pinch of every feature the machine can do, it adds up to something really unique sounding.
-resample. yeah, i mean... it isn't that important of a feature.... which is exactly what you are going to say after you see how long it takes to finish. I know i am not alone when i admit... i used that feature once... never dared to use it again. when i say it takes forever, it takes forever.
-the placement of the boards in the machine, and the way to access the interior. the 2000xl has a plate under the machine where you undo a few screws and you are right at the motherboard. the 2000 classic doesn't have that.... you need to unscrew the top (beige) case and dig your way down to the main board.... however that is rarely done.
-autochop, segment chopping... i know some people like trimming perfectly truncated loops, or loading up loopmaster type loops... that is great, you can choost 8 or 16 divisions and bam, you have everything perfectly chopped so you can record a sequence going 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 on the pads. I never liked that feature personally... i don't use it on any of the newer MPCS either. I prefer the zone edit trim on the classic... or doing pretty much that exact thing on the XL.... i like sampling sounds earlier than the target and leaving air or space in the front on the pad... it makes it sound a bit looser and less mechanical once the sequence is made.
- the midi note event amount. the 2000xl has triple the sequencer capacity compared to the 2000 classic. this will never come up as an issue when you are sequencing the pads... however, it might if you have for example a VA synth and you are recording things like filter sweeps into the MPC sequencer via midi. if you reach the capacity, it will act like it does when you max polyphony.. the newest event cuts off the oldest or you hear muting of the effect.. actually, i can't say that for sure on the 2000classic, because that has only happened to me on some of my mpc 60 beats. I am sure it acts the same though, what else would it do?
there are more differences... i can't think of any really worth mentioning though... nobody really cares anymore about how the 2000classic uses a shorter ribbon cable between the mainboard and the LCD display, which only came up when you wanted to cannibalize a screen for the 2000xl but it wasn't long enough because of the tilt screen housing.