This message is from Akai....Akai 4000 vs Roland MV8000

I emailed AKAI 2 days ago and here is their response:

Hello,
Myself and a few other musicians are at a standstill of which production center to order between the MPC 4000 and the Roland mv8000. From bench test that we have ran, the mv8000 does everything it has advertised at release. I am a fellow mpc 2000xl user and I'm interested in upgrading to 4000, however I have been told horror stories of how this os release has been put off for clearly over a year. Personally I can't afford to wait on things like that and I was wondering if there going to some new OS releases because at the moment, honestly, Roland has the edge over you guys. Please get these things corrected, this is a major concern and why I have put off purchasing anymore AKAI products.



Thank You


Myself and a few other musicians are at a standstill of
> which production center to order between the MPC 4000 and the
> Roland mv8000. From bench test that we have ran, the mv8000
> does everything it has advertised at release.

While this may be true, there are many more limitation with the MV-8000
that may, or may not, be a factor for you and your associates. Consider
the following advantages of the MPC4000:

1. Patterned-based production - not possible on the MV
2. 24-bit sounds
3. higher resolution sequencer (960ppq vs. 480 ppq)
4. High quality XLR inputs/outputs
5. Expandable to more outputs (8 outs vs. 6 outs)
6. More MIDI I/O standard (requires single rack space module - and more
cash -for the MV)
7. SCSI port for expansion
8. More real-time controls
9. ak.Sys networking and management software

Some of these are very important features that you may miss on the
Roland. That said, the MV has some cool features that are not available
on the MPC4000. TBH, I think the MV falls somewhere between the
MPC2000XL and the MPC4000 in terms of feature set and price points.


> I am a fellow
> mpc 2000xl user and I'm interested in upgrading to 4000,
> however I have been told horror stories of how this os
> release has been put off for clearly over a year.

There are still some issues with the MPC4000. We expect to have a
significant release within the next 2 weeks. It probably will not
address everything, but more updates will be on the way. Are there any
specific issues that are preventing you from considering the MPC4000?

Best regards,
Technical Support

AKAI professional USA Corp.
Phone: 817-834-1900
Fax: 817-834-1983
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.akaipro.com/

It just shows their own interests, nothing more. Who honestly would want SCSI in this day and age? Of course they didn't list a single one of the many more advantages of the MV. They wouldn't dare do that. They can only highlight their own product. But you'll find out in the weeks ahead what they didn't tell you. Just wait and see. AKAI can't go on with their deception game forever. To say "There are still some issues with the MPC4000" is an understatement. They are small but there are several of them, and they can't seem to fix them.

Don't spend your money if you are confused. The fact that there is a doubt in your mind tells you there is something wrong.

Dude you really have some issues with your MPC don't you..YOU can't even list what the MV offers(It must be Top Secert) can't wait for you to blow the lid off that scoop in a few week.
Scsi hard drives have been around for a while, on Tritons and MPC's good idea lets abandon all SCSI harddrives with all your stored samples. Thats smart. Yea yea Akai sucks bla bla. My mpc is still the shit. I know I cant master a cd on it. or record a Audio Track but Hey I wouldnt want to.

Making a list isn't going to help because it will open the doors to a hundred more posts with questions. Yes, let's abandon SCSI. Let's have USB, FireWire, and faster technologies.

If you want an MV or an MPC, then buy it. No one is stopping you. The online stores give you 30 and 60 days to return anything. All you pay is the return shipping. I have done it plenty of times.


Folks,

I can't keep up with these posts any longer. This weekend I have an out of town gig and I have to get ready to leave. I will be back for two days at the beginning of the week when I hope to have Part 2 of the review completed. Then comes Christmas. You'll just have to wait.

Yes, let's abandon SCSI

You speak for yourself, man!
SCSI may be old but many of us still got 'legacy' libraries on SCSI drives from MPC2kXL/MPC3k, S1k or S6k, and they still bangin'

Let's have USB

Yeah, the MPC4k got that too, 2 of'em, 1 for USB drives (USB floppy, flash drive, compact flash cards, ZIP, etc) or USB QWERTY keyboard and 1 for a 'puter with AKSYS.
The MV can't use external drives at all. Period. Its USB is only for transfering files with a 'puter. No editing/management software like AKSYS.
I'm still lookin' at the MV in front of me (I haven't returned it yet, still have another week) and I'm thinkin' WTF???

The simple fact that the MPC4000 has scsi is a reason why I was considering it, why dump my entire sound library and start over? But the MV does look interesting.... but I wouldn't buy a 4000 until I try one for myself and see that I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM with the OS... if the os issues don't affect the way I make music then it won't bother me. I have a friend from out of town that's coming in in a couple weeks and I can't wait to mess with his 4000 and see how and if it would benefit me. I am happy with my mpc2000 but like the new options presented by the MV8000 and MPC4000... I was considering an mpc1000 also because in it's price range it really has alot to offer that my mpc2000 (non XL) doesn't have as far as filters and effects (sampleverb doesn't get rave reviews from anyone I know) and my 2000 still doesn't have the 8 outs anyways... no scsi hurts though but I can always get a usb zip 250 and transfer my files to my pc and back to the 1000 if they actually are compatible... I think the akai guy tried to have some valid points without making the mv look too good but then again that's his job to do... who's job is it to do the OS?

My major issues are streaming samples from the hard drive,
> audition samples that you have loaded and audition is ak.sys.
> Those are MAJOR right now cause I thought I could play the
> 4000 like a snyth if I had a midi controller connected.


Hello again,

If these are major issues for you, then you should check to see if the
MV-8000 will do them as well. So far, I have not seen any
announcements from Roland that they currently support these, or plan to
support these in the future. There are definitely plans to support this
on the MPC4000, but it will not be available in the next release (keep
an eye on our web site for the release).

If you use the ak.Sys software for working with the MPC4000 (if you're
not using it - you miss half the power!) it's much easier to manage your
library on a computer, and audition sounds there prior to loading. You
can assign a sample editor for editing your sounds, and also associate a
separate player for auditioning prior to loading. I've had many users
that were complaining about these things, and after a solid demo of
ak.Sys felt that it was no longer as serious as they first thought.
Nevertheless, the audition/streaming features were promised and will be
supported in a future update.

Best regards,
Technical Support

AKAI professional USA Corp.
Phone: 817-834-1900
Fax: 817-834-1983
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.akaipro.com/

Hey, at least Akai is answering e-mails and seem to be responding candidly.

the best answers we could get are frequent updates (at least once every 6 months, 3 months would be more reasonable but I ain't no day dreamer....)

thats cool the mpc can usb host (its rare). I would like if it could host fire wire too but I don't think they wanna pay apple royalties.

Apple only gets royalties for the use of the word "Firewire", not the device itself. That's why other companies use different names to describe Firewire ports- like Sony using the term "iLink".

arrakian wrote:Apple only gets royalties for the use of the word "Firewire", not the device itself. That's why other companies use different names to describe Firewire ports- like Sony using the term "iLink".

Exactely, Firewire's just a buzz word. It's really know as the IEEE-1394 standard, but I guess Apple decided that wasn't too exciting.




Cheers,

jcat