SP1200 vs MPC2000xl

Does anyone have both of these machines and are proficient with them?

Can someone please weigh and compare both of these machines in regards to limitations and advantages over each other, quite often i hear alot about the sp1200 however i don't know much about the machine.

What does the sp1200 have over the MPC 2000xl, what does the MPC2000xl have over the sp1200?

12 bit is like magic........but i will not buy an sp1200.....i love my mpc2000xl

Gotta love that old pete rock, dj premier type of 12 bit sound.
pete rock now uses a mpc 2000xl (mainly 16 bit)while premo is faithfully sticking to his mpc 60 (12 bit sound).

People say that the sound that comes out of the sp1200 is superb but if you want a better sequencer with the same 12 bit sound quality the mpc 60 is the way to go. even though the 2000xl and the 3000 allow you to re sample to 12 bit its just not the same 12 bit sound like it is out of a sp1200 or mpc 60.

all in all a sp1200 plus a mpc 20000xl can only mean "GOD DAMN".

You gotta remebmer also that the "engines" on these machines are fundametally different from what they are nowadays. The sampling time on the SP1200 was something like 10 seconds max thats why you'll find most artist in Hop Hop use it for what its meant, a straight up drum machine. Also the twelve bit theory only really applies to the MPC60, MPC60MkII and the MPC3000 as these have LINN engines in them whereas the MPC2000xl doesn't.
I dont know about you but I have this theory that "less in MORE" . Check it: 12bit as apposed to...MPC60 (whatever) as apposed to 2000xl (less notes to sequence with) 2000xl as apposed to 4000....
These are all ofcourse personal opinions but I see a trend here. Why is it that some of the illest Hip Hop heard has been done with like one sampling/drum machine and not some 100.000k studio.....
I'm going off the beaten track here but do you see my point or have I totally lost the plot completely?

Sp 1200 can only hold 32 sounds.
12 Bit
10 secs sampling time
26khz

Mpc 2000/xl/3000
16 bit
Can hold 64 sounds (16x4 banks)
xl can hold 256 souns (64 sounds per program x 4 programs)
3 - 6 min sample time (mono/stereo) w/32 megs installed
44.1khz

Sp 1200 is overrated. The sequencer is horrible. That crunch you hear in the sound is lack of sound quality (12 bit 26khz) which is usually corrected by eq on mixing console. I can guarantee that premo and pete rocks sp 1200 sounds do not sound alike (it's the eq's and extra processing that make the difference)

I've owned two sp1200's; mpc 2000, 2000xl, 3000 and now I now own an mpc 4000. I would never go backward after owning the mpc 4000. it is the best sounding; absolutely most powerful drum machine/full spec sampler on the market today. Nothing can touch it. It's an incredible machine.
Stop buying into the hype. the sp1200 is garbage. Do a side by side with
sp 1200, mpc 3000 and mpc 4000 hooked up to the same mixer. sample the same sounds into all three and play all three back with the same eq; I'm sure you'll open your eyes.
Sequence on the sp1200 and then on the 3000 or 4000. I'm sure you'll be very surprised.
I can go on but I wont I gave u my honest opinion on this matter.

Peace

Mpc 2000/xl/3000
16 bit
Can hold 64 sounds (16x4 banks)
xl can hold 256 souns (64 sounds per program x 4 programs)
3 - 6 min sample time (mono/stereo) w/32 megs installed
44.1khz

MPC2000 holds 128 sounds max.

The SP1200 is tight, matter of fact I'm borrowin my home boy's one right now. The main beef I have is sure the drums sound gritty, or crunchy, but when I get the drums and other stuff and its time to eq and mix stuff, I find myself "super Eqing" the drums, IE I have to do alot of eq work to make them fit into the mix, and they end up sounding like the drums that would have come out of the MPC. If you wanna grungy up drums there are cheaper and (I think) better ways.

My cheap-o reel to reel tube sound trick comes to mind, as being able to "emulate" the crap sample rate of the SP1200 era by using analog clipping then running the signal thru a compressor and layering it.

You can also buy an SP-12 the earlier model of the sp1200 and its only like 200 dollars and sounds the same for the most part. It has less sample time as it was intended to be only for drums, but if you want it for crunching drums, well there u go.

Dr.Foo wrote:You can also buy an SP-12 the earlier model of the sp1200 and its only like 200 dollars and sounds the same for the most part. It has less sample time as it was intended to be only for drums, but if you want it for crunching drums, well there u go.

please do not get a whole bunch of silly ass groupies who don't know much about the machines to look for this machine......

Polyphony 8 voice
Sampler 12-bit sampling, 1.2 seconds (expandable to 5 seconds)

expansion is rare and expensive

and the acessory disk drive is a Commodore 5 1/4" drive
the disk drive is faulty and out of date......save yourself the trouble....the 1200 is worth it if you didn't have a sampler/sequencer/drum machine....but it functions is outdated......we are not pete,primo or marley and most of us was still in grade school when the sp1200 dropped if even in school.....it is a new time....new age.....and it is more expandable ways to make crunchy vintage music......no doubt it is a machine vintage heads like myself bow down to......but now you can not afford to take steps backwards for some crunchy drums......besides that machine cost too much for what it does....you can buy a g4 for that price.....i am not a fan of putting my music into a computer but....i would rather do that then cop an sp1200.......don't even look my way with a sp12......ha ha ha ha





there are many many ways to crunch up your drums just be creative

True;
Bow down to the sp-1200? I could never; i'd bow down to the people who have patience to work on such a machine. Then i'd go home and play with my Mpc 4000 and pat myself on the back and thank god that I am in a day and age where there are so many choices for creating music.

The mac g4 is a myth too man; I found out the hard way; osx; the promise that it will be great given some time; gee; anyone with time can make an os incredibly stable (win 98SE, 2000 and xp pro) OS. Oh yeah I like the fact that I can pop a new processor on my motherboard or the fact that I can get a new motherboard/processor combo and keep up with the times and not having to pay 3000 and better every couple of years as well as shelling out money for an os that left audio all but dead; (dare; u say logic is all that?!!! LOL)
The macs are pretty; yall can continue to wait for osx to be the greatest thing known to man; wait for those audio units and plug ins; Not all midi interfaces can plug on in (like they said two and a half years ago) and be fully operational. Good Luck and be well; owning a mac slowed down the music making process; OS 9.2.1 was almost on par with win 98SE; osx is not even close to ms 2000 or xp pro. But wait it's going to get better....... Let's not forget about Panther the third upgrade u have to pay for; it's still osx os 10.3. Osx came out 2 and a half years ago; since then every year you have to pay full price to upgrade; that's absurd. The os is far from perfect and they make you pay;
Nuff Said
Peace

Sp 12 weak? dude 8 voices is more then enough for drums. 2 seconds of sample time is more then enough for a drum kit.
a commodore disk drive and 50 disks to store your kits on will run you 15 dollars.
we aint talking about using it a sampler, just as a drum sampler and it does the job well, like the sp1200 and for 800-900 dollars less.

Step backwards? what about all these peeps who have decided that old skool ribbon mic's give them the phat sound (that crooner sinatra sound)? are they stupid for taking it back? (see Jahiem, D'angelo) and they can use new ribbon mic's or a ribbon mic modeler, but its not the same. the old skool parts, methods of construction are gone, and that was part of what made something phat.

all I'm sayin is yes, tech evolves, but as it does many good things get left in the wake (IE THE TURNTABLE), if you ask a dj if they think cd;s are the way to go or if they like final scratch (google "final scratch") most will just laugh at you.
By your logic the turntable is old, outdated tech and should go.
WHy do people modify old roger linn stuff for midi and use it? why pay more to mod it then it cost to buy it and where there are other good alternatives? because there really is something to be said about "old skool" it has its place,.
Granted there are other ways to crunch drums, (s900, s950, tx16w, tube/tape, lotsa work on a pc) but its what you prefer
but dont say just cuz its old its weak and outdated. I'd take a 68 mustang over any 80's+ model anyday.

^^^^^ your point is very valid and if you were to take in all of my words you would understand that i am aware of what these items can do....and how important the turntable and the sp/mpc's are to this game....if i didn't i wouldn't be here......i like this site cuz it a breathe of fresh air in a world of pop......but like i said ppl might get the wrong idea about these pieces of gear like the gear is supposed to do the work for them.....the tubes that primo and pete uses is just as important as the sampler.....the work that they put in to give us that phat sound that we love is just as important.....everybody thinking if you do this and do this you'll be the next primo......get your own ish......these guys were the man not because they were owners of the mpc/sp...it was because they are very creative and in their time no one was knockin them out the box.......most of the guys your heard from 88-95 was owners of the sp/mpc.....and i know you heard garbage.......it is not the equipment.....it is the *****n user that behind it

I owned 2 SP-1200's. I never really understood the attraction to the machines. Much of it is the fact that people think that they cam make music just like their favorite stars only if they owned that certain peice.

I'm not saying that you can't make good music from really old pieces of gear, on the contrary it take quite a bit a of work to get good stuff from it. I really do not have the patience after I have used a newer piece of gear. Sure it was state of the art when they came out, but everything has it's time. In a few years people will be saying the same thing about MPC2000's and soon after that the MPC2000XL. Then 32 Meg will seem like such a tiny amount of memory, people will wonder how we managed.

I have been around long enough to hear the same old arguments about gear every generation. Analog vs. digital, VA vs. RA, tape vs ADAT, software vs. hardware.

The best thing YOU can do for YOUR music to know your gear inside and out. No matter how out-of-fashion your piece seems to be. The gear doesn't write the music.

mpc3000 wrote:I owned 2 SP-1200's. I never really understood the attraction to the machines. Much of it is the fact that people think that they cam make music just like their favorite stars only if they owned that certain peice.

I'm not saying that you can't make good music from really old pieces of gear, on the contrary it take quite a bit a of work to get good stuff from it. I really do not have the patience after I have used a newer piece of gear. Sure it was state of the art when they came out, but everything has it's time. In a few years people will be saying the same thing about MPC2000's and soon after that the MPC2000XL. Then 32 Meg will seem like such a tiny amount of memory, people will wonder how we managed.

I have been around long enough to hear the same old arguments about gear every generation. Analog vs. digital, VA vs. RA, tape vs ADAT, software vs. hardware.

The best thing YOU can do for YOUR music to know your gear inside and out. No matter how out-of-fashion your piece seems to be. The gear doesn't write the music.

my point exactly!

sounds like we all agree.
I was jut trying to make the point that even old gear has its place, cuz as tech advances good stuff gets left behind and not usually for a reason like "the gear was weak" but just cuz peeps move on.
wwwwweeeeerrrrdddd

pz