mpc 4000 vs. mpc 1000&pc

i have 2 options....the 4000 and the 1000w/pc....i have $4000 to spend,which way should i go...any suggestions? i should stress that this is for my home i have another studio which i work out of now with my partner i jus wanna be able to make beats then take em over there.....i dont mind carrying the 4000 either...this is the link to the setup i work with now http://www.cpixel.com/view_exalbums.asp?aid=77687

what are you needs?
Do you just want to make drum beats and nothing
else? Mp 1000 with zip so you can transfer it to your studios 2kxl and leave the mp at home.
Do want to be able to sample synths,keys,
(whatever) on your mp and play them via midi
controller, and make beats.mp 4000.
As for the pc, you need one if you want to record
any thing as well as a sound card or brake out box.
And another thing if you have never had a mp the
4000 might be a bit harder to learn than the 1000. Im not an expert, and think you know most of this stuff already, so it really comes down to what you needs are.

i jus wanna be able to make the whole beat on one machine...if i cop a 4000 i would buy a xv 5080 and madd emu racks....can i sample those sounds into the 4000 if so how....

with 4k you can cop a 4k for 2300, a xp-30 (all the sounds of the 2080 plus keys - midi controller) for 600, a turntable for 150 and a lot of vinyl for 200, that's 750 left, cop a computer for 500 and a omni studio interface for 250 and you're set. Later cop a 5050 after you sell a couple beats, you won't need the 5080...unless you were planning on using it's sampler..which you don't need to do but hey that's your preference. the 5050 has 4 srx slots the xp-30 has 5 jv slots...and keys. the 4k sequences everything you need and yes you can resample your synths. This is made easier with the omni studio cuz you can take the S/PDIF out of the omni studio to the S/PDIF in of the mpc4k (assuming you bought a plus). This will allow you to solo a track assigned to your synth(s) and record the digital in

oh i forgot. you're going to have to sacrifice some of that vinyl budget for cable.

You "can make the the whole beat "on any mp. You can only sample and play
synths( or anything) across the whole key board with the 4k(or a regular sampler).
You get a sample cd full of synth sounds (100s of sounds)
and load them into the 4k,(or sample them off your friends synths) and
then you can play the samples like a key board. So insted of having a lot of key boards you can have a lot samples
to use like a keyboard.To do this you will need a midi controller key board,
or any midi keyboard.Well i hope that clears things up for you. Good luck

what is the quality of the sample cds? i hear alot about them......?do you guys use any? i wouldnt mind using them instead of having a whole bunch of racks.....and what about using a 4000 with motu

For your purposes, focus on portability. Buy the MPC1000. You don't want to carry a large and heavy machine like the MPC4000. The notion of limited space might also be an important concern. Depending on the retailer, you will have 30 or 60 days to return the MPC if you decide that you prefer a different model.

As for sample CDs, this subject would be better covered in a separate thread, but here are a few things you should know. Let me begin by saying that I own gigabytes of sample CDs. A good starter collection costs about $1,000. It offers thousands of samples and a lot of variety. You can mod these samples into something more useful than you could ever get with vinyl samples. Or just use them as is, because they are high quality, ready to use.

To own a useful sample CD library you have to know what to buy and when to buy it. Most high quality sample CDs cost $100. They are always introduced at this price unless the producer skimped on the quality, such as not documenting the samples well, or recording unusual sounds of limited use. The price gradually gets reduced as demand for the disc declines over the months and years. If it is a good CD, the price will stay at $100 for a long time. Visit the popular vendor websites at least once a month to see what the prices are doing.

You can almost bet that any sample CD selling for a low price, say $30 or less, is either of limited value or poor quality. Think about this: if the high quality CDs are $100 and fewer people buy them, and the inexpensive, low quality CDs are bought by a lot of people, which would you rather have?

antb: the xv5050 only has 2 SRX (not 4).

SpikeyMan wrote:antb: the xv5050 only has 2 SRX (not 4).

yah...my bad..only two are worth having anyway

this is all very intresting.....because i wanna do so much but make the most out of my money....it seeems you guys are leaning me more towards the 1000. I do have the mpc editor for my pc...so i can make all my programs on there....damn....isnt this a 4000 forum....shouldnt i be leaning more towards the 4000?lol

NIT3TIM3 wrote:this is all very intresting.....because i wanna do so much but make the most out of my money....it seeems you guys are leaning me more towards the 1000. I do have the mpc editor for my pc...so i can make all my programs on there....damn....isnt this a 4000 forum....shouldnt i be leaning more towards the 4000?lol

1. Going by the specs, the 4k is the better machine. Bigger and heavier but better.

2. Sound quaility on sample CD's is only as good as the source it came and the method used to record to CD, so there is no definitive answer to that question.

3. You CAN make a whole song on any MPC, it's just up to your imagination and creativity as to how far you along you get and tricks you learn along the way. ITCHVINYL once said "the MPC (any MPC) is a blank canvas", reading that phrase implys you can do anything you want same as a picture. You CAN' T paint ouside the edges of the paper but what you put on the paper is entirely up to you and stroke of your many different brushes ya dig. ITCHY was deep with that but I doubt many read into and between the lines and actually GOT the point he intended to make.

4. "....shouldnt i be leaning more towards the 4000?lol" Lean whichever way you like as long as your musical needs and desires are met.

ima be gettin cubase in the studio and my crib so i can transfer sessions instead of equipment...sound like a plan? i dont want to sacrifice sound quality for portability. ima music creator not an engineer so i need the all in one wit all the fixins.

NIT3TIM3 wrote:ima be gettin cubase in the studio and my crib so i can transfer sessions instead of equipment...sound like a plan? i dont want to sacrifice sound quality for portability. ima music creator not an engineer so i need the all in one wit all the fixins.

I wouldn't sacrifice sound quality either. If you are a music creator it's in your best interest to imitate a sound engineer as well in order to master your own music/creations.

can someone break down the piano roll feature.....

and what about using the 4000 is motu or other software samplers to make programs in the 4000?