Thinking about picking up an MPC500 tomorrow

DPM wrote:the only thing that is bad about the MPC 500, is having to read all the questions that noobs have about them...particularly "how do i get sounds" "how do i plug my speakers up"...

if you wanna chop, chop in software, transfer via usb and load the sounds. the pads are no different than any other mpc. you can upgrade to the fat pads for $20 and you'll barely have to touch them.

the only reason the mpc 500 has a bad rep is because its the mpc that most noobs start on.

its hard to chop on the sp series, and people make beats on those. at least the 500 has numbers and even usb, to make it WAY EASY.

Jamon wrote:
Now someone replied quoting both long posts? Are you people aware of the Reply button? You don't have to press Quote.

Beats22 wrote:We will see. I know how to get samples on an MPC now, but how do I get sounds like snares, high hats, and stuff like that? Can I download them off the internet?

Beats22 wrote:Techno/electronic/hip-hop is by far my favorite, so I think an MPC500 will do the trick.

MeSoHordey wrote:

Jamon wrote:Look, I'm the first one to actually try Beat Thang Virtual and give it the thumbs down. All the rest of you judged it based on the public front put on by the Beat Kangz. But you know what? They didn't program it. They were just the marketing, interacting with the customers. They're out now it seems, but none of that should reflect the quality of the software.

I haven't bothered to try it again in years, but it is plausible that it has improved since then, and is now quality kit. It was built using JUCE, a C++ cross-platform framework aimed at audio software development. The creator of JUCE is a smart guy and used it to make the excellent DAW software bought by Mackie called Tracktion.



That right there makes it worth keeping an eye on, because JUCE solves a lot of the technical details for audio software creation, so the programmers behind Beat Thang are less likely to make big underlying mistakes.

A new MPC1000 from a common store is $1,000. Plus you'll need the 128MB RAM upgrade, which you should get generic, but if you bought it at the store too you're up to $1,150.

Beat Thang Virtual is $119, and there are various MIDI controllers you can get, but the Akai MPD18 looks MPCish and is $100.



So you've got around $1,050 with non-Akai RAM vs. $220.

Now listen, there's a lot of fandom around here obviously since it's an MPC forum, not Burger Kidz community. But the fact is, there's nothing that special about an MPC. You can do what it can do, easier, faster, with more flexibility using a laptop. That doesn't mean there's no reason to prefer an MPC, it's just, you really have to know before it's legit, and it's not that it's better, it's just differences, most of which are tradeoffs and losses, not benefits.

It doesn't matter what the box says, even with the shoddy copy of Beat Thang Virtual I got years ago I could plug an MPD into a laptop and emulate a lot of the MPC feel, but more importantly, produce something that sounds like music. In fact, the way it was designed, it looked funner for people who want to make music, not play with nerdy details. It's more visual, with everything setup to be optimized for making beats. MPC is more of a generic utility, that can be used as a drum machine, or MIDI sequencer for a classical pianist, etc. Beat Thang is setup from the start to make beats, and make it fun.

That doesn't mean I'm recommending it. I haven't even tried it in years. Maybe once you hooked it all up, and made some music, you wouldn't like it. But for a quarter the cost of an MPC? Yes, that is where I would start, to at least start getting experience to know exactly what I need and prefer.

I might not get that exact combo though. There's other stuff to look into.

There's smaller laptop controllers for around $60:





There's one for the same price of $100 that also has keys:



Double the price to $200 and you've got faders and knobs:



Or for the same price as that you can get this crazy thing:



Then for software, there's energy-XT for $50:



Tracktion works on OSX, but I heard it's got issues with the latest Mountain Lion version, and Mackie seems to have let it die. But if you don't have the lastest OSX, or if people figure out how to make it work 100% on it, it says in my account I can buy another copy of Tracktion2 for $30.

There's Ableton Live for $450, which is a lot, but it has a unique workflow that can be much better than the MPC for more realtime creation. With the MPC you have to stop the song from playing to do a lot of things, and it's designed more for offline construction, like composers would do. Ableton Live is more performance, where you can just drop in loops and samples and modify it all on the fly, as you choose what plays, and it records everything to a sequencer you can then edit and compose with.



If you were on Windows you could check out FL Studio.

Point is, I like my MPC2500, and an MPC1000 with JJ OS would be very similar, and I own the MPC500, but if I had $1,200 of hard-earned cash saved up, and a laptop with stereo, I'd play with software and a MIDI controller first. That might be what I prefer, and never buy an MPC. But it's cheap enough either way to start with, because with a $100 + $50 for energyXT, I could make music that sounds just as good as I could with MPC, and it'd be a different experience looking at a laptop and using the trackpad sometimes rather than cursor buttons and data wheel, but for some people that's better, and it works.

For $150 you could have the tools necessary to produce something that sounds like it required $50k.

An MPC1000 + JJ OS is fun too. But you should be aware of the options, and know that they're much cheaper, without loss of power. For electronic music, there's so many free effects and instruments for software hosts like energyXT. Check out KVR (http://www.kvraudio.com/q.php). For a couple hundred bucks you can get something where you can drop in all kinds of synths and effects. With an MPC, the FX suck, and there's only 2, and it doesn't come with a synth so you'll have to buy more gear to get sounds you don't sample.

You could also get an SP-404SX or Electribe for $500:





Since you said you wanted to make techno, the electribe might be better for you, because I think it generates sounds. An MPC is empty. You get it, and there's no sounds. You can download and record samples, but for a techno sound you're better off with sound generators. You could buy a synth with your MPC, but there's free VSTi synths and samplers, so why wouldn't you download some software and buy a MIDI controller?

Sweet baby Jesus in a pickle jar and wearing a do-rag Jamon. If the guy wasn't confused before, he will be now. All he asked for was some advice about the 500. Not,....

You can make a beats using a



or a piano



or at home



and with your bro



on a truck



or with your duck (squeek squeek)

Beats22 wrote:I found an MPC1000 with the jj software and a few upgrades for around $500. He said it has a small scratch in the screen, but I'm thinking about buying it since it comes with everything I need.

MeSoHordey wrote:Sweet baby Jesus in a pickle jar and wearing a do-rag Jamon. If the guy wasn't confused before, he will be now. All he asked for was some advice about the 500. Not,....




or a piano



or at home



and with your bro



on a truck



or with your duck (squeek squeek)

mcroepster wrote:

MeSoHordey wrote:Sweet baby Jesus in a pickle jar and wearing a do-rag Jamon. If the guy wasn't confused before, he will be now. All he asked for was some advice about the 500.

or with your duck (squeek squeek)

peace