MPC or SOFTWARE

Hey guys I need your advice:]

I purchased an mpc to write my electronic music on after I injured my hands on the mouse (RSI). It took me much longer to recover than I thought so my MPC4K has just sat in the box.

My question to you lot is whether this thing really stacks up to write electronica on compared to a reason / live / protools setup. I did loads of beat editing and sample work and used rex files and lives time stretching all the time.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

c

RSI?? what the hell is that? any way I think the 4k is complicated, but the bomb diggs. If u like to bang out stuff and actually interact musically instead of piano roll or step edit. I love my bads and the dedicated samplin, sequcening, editing, that the 2kxl provides. The 4k has better editing, the sampling engine is hot, and mad other shit. Computers on the other hand make it easier to do alot of shit. It all depends on what u want to do. But I heard the 4k is a little overwhelming at first. Be prepared to get some headaches gettin over the hump. Peace

RSI - Repetetive strain injury, I got that once, tooooooo much scratching.

RSI - Repetetive strain injury, I got that once, tooo much scratching.

RSI is where your body learns habits, like when you spend hours hunched over a computer, and muscular tension and strain develops. You don't want it, so take breaks and remain body aware.

Yes it seems the mpc will have a learning curve, but that is fine. There are mixed reports around forums bout' the mpc. My main concern is the machine is not too labour intensive to move about, edit, process and the like. Can you guys tell me now that you know you mpcs inside and out are they a breeze to write with? Are you jumping back to the computer to do tasks or are you mainly staying put in the mpc?

Thanks,

c

christopher, i made music on the computer for 6 years (reason, cubase, fruity loops,acid, u name it) now the only thing i use on the computer is aksys for the mpc (and soundforge or recycle for editing sometimes). I can tell u this although everything is much easier on the computer, its worth sacrificing it all for the mpc and outboard equipment. Think of it as a fresh start and dont look back. anyone who sais computers are better than outboard equip(which are basically computers designed for a specific purpose) either doesnt know what he is talking about or has a super-computer the world hasnt seen yet.

i have made music on hardware for close to 20 years and it was great. now i have my whole project studio on a laptop. i can make tracks anywhere. it took me a year to get the system up and running smoothly but i would put it against any hardware project studio (not a real studio just a project studio) anyday. when i compare hardware with software you get more bang for your buck with software. just look at reason for $299 you get as many samplers as your cpu can handle ( i think subtractor and malstrom su*ks, i never use them). the reason nn-xt samplers have multilayered sampling, eight stereo outs, import a wide range of sample reformats and allows individual control over each sample in a patch. i have hp 2.6, 1 gig ram, p4 lappy and run 10 nn-xt at a time with other vsti. redrum is on par with the mpc if you know how to program it (the efx, eq, panning etc). i am not talking about doing step sequencing (i hate that sh*t) but sequencing a track. there are some people who say that they do not like to click a mouse to make music but when i use software the only time i use the mouse is to call up a patch. i have a remote controller to control the start/stop of a sequence, edit the eq, panning, efx parameter.

so this being said it is all up to workflow and what level of control to you want over your music.

on the other hand, i am switching from being a software junkie, to running on the mpc, its hard from time to time to control my habits, i always wanna go back to software, but i try to learn the tuts on the site and practice with the mpc. softwarw in my opinion has become a fashion, and they are being released way too fast, for any serious person to produce music. (wares like mpc editor, is a must have no doubt, and editing wares, but before you know it you got 50gig of software on your boot drive, and doing far less stuff with it, bit like a kid in a candy store.


only thing i use on the computer is aksys for the mpc (and soundforge or recycle for editing sometimes). I can tell u this although everything is much easier on the computer, its worth sacrificing it all for the mpc and outboard equipment. Think of it as a fresh start and dont look back.[/quote]

also, the levels, it seems to me that the levels from hardware have more pinch to it, than that of most soundcards (delta 410) particularly. so iam just runing that way,

btw the eight out is absolutely essential.

skalawa, it is preference. the same way of have 50 gigs of software just sitting on the harddrive i have a corner of my basement with hardware just sitting there. i look at my hardware as the history of midi. plus, tell me any hardware piece that sound as good as trilogy (bass), atmosphere (pads) and stylus (loops).

Bottom line. Dr. Dre makes hits right? and he has made some from hardware from what I understand. If you were to take away his hardware and hold a gun to his head and said make a beat with reason and pro tools and some vynl. Guess what would happen... he would make some hits. in the end its the sound that comes out of the speakers so what does it really matter. I use a combo of both. BTW I used dre as an example cuz I know him (name drop) LOL.

I had not expected so much feedback on this forum. I have not been writing this past year, after a intense four years of producing. I am on the way back now and your feddback is invaluable.

I agree that ultimately the process is just that, the process, and the music at the end is the aim, however I do need a hassle free workflow. Getting bogged down in interfaces does not aid my creative output.

My choice is between hanging on to the mpc and akaisys or moving over to a hybrid approach (protools control surface, reason, live). In either setup I will also be using my cdj800 turntable, rhode mics, dat recorder and my jp8000.

Until now I have been using reason and live together and this method did serve me well. Very easy, very powerfull, creative control at your fingertips. The MPC is a very well designed instrument. I could instantly recognise the value fo writing with a machine like this. I love that it stands alone. My early tests seem to indicate it has a sound of its own.

I want to start out fresh now. The old approaches simply will not do. I want to move on. The same processes seem habitual. I think to get new material I need some new processes.

So thanks you guys, for your advice. I have to make up my mind. On the one hand the mpc and on the other a protools, reason, live setup.

jonloc wrote:Bottom line. Dr. Dre makes hits right? and he has made some from hardware from what I understand. If you were to take away his hardware and hold a gun to his head and said make a beat with reason and pro tools and some vynl. Guess what would happen... he would make some hits. in the end its the sound that comes out of the speakers so what does it really matter. I use a combo of both. BTW I used dre as an example cuz I know him (name drop) LOL.

That was a joke I dont know him.

from www.mpc2000xl.com :

You will likely find that software or an MPC will assist you in making your final product (a track) equally well, but half the fun is getting there. If I cannot use something that I enjoy to help me down that road, why even bother?

I think that pretty much says it all.

LIKE DUDE SAID I USE A COMBO OF BOTH
A MPC IS AN INSTRAMENT
I THINK IF YOUR GOING TO MAKE BEATS ON A COMPUTER AND THATS IT YOU MIGHT AS WELL GET A BUNCH OF NERDS TO MAKE BEATS,AFTER ALL THEY PROBABLY MADE THE PROGRAM


I LIKE MY CPU FOR EDITING AND LOTS OF OTHER SHIT BUT BOTTOM LINE MPC IS THE SHIT........
"ALL I DO ALL DAY IS TAP BUTTONS AND PRESS KEYS"LYNCH
HOLLER
1

Dude no need to shout!