Hi people probably use aan mpc for different proposes than most of you do. I play in a gothic/metal band and we always run sequencers on stage. Once we had a mpc 2000 , and it had the handicap, in my opinion, of allowing one song only for session. This forced me, and most of the users, to convert each song we would play, to arrangment, wich you could have several (but not enough, as well !!). Each time I wanted to change a song structure I had to load its back, in song format, change it, erase the old arrangment and convert the new structure. How does it looks like with the new one ?
I also started out with the MPC2000XL and then upgraded to the 4000 because 32meg was not enough.
I personally created a program for every song the band had. This program was then linked to a sequence (of which there was one for each song). I would then press play at the start of the track which sent a click track to the drummer via a MIDI drum machine (hooked up to the MIDI out of the MPC). The MPC will then do all the sequenced parts allowing me to drop "1 shot" samples in and also apply filters and volume changes. This allows us to have complex electronics but to also give me the ability to "perform" on stage, rather than just pressing play
You can check out my work at www.flipcycle.com. Also, feel free to PM me with any questions
jues.