MPC 4000

Can the MPC 4000 be used as a stand alone unit? I currently use Reason 2.5 and Sonar 3.0, but I'm leaning towards buying the 4000le. The reason I'm asking is because if I were to buy it I probably wouldn't be getting anymore equipment for a while.

With a machine like the MPC 4000 you really do not need anything else.There are plenty of places where you can buy complete sound sets from things like the Triton and Motif for a very small fee so you would not have to worry about that.The only things that you would need to fully enjoy the capabilties of the MPC 4000(I'll just tell you what I use):
1.Small 2,3 or 4 channel DJ mixer depending on how many sources.
2.Turntable,CD player,DVD player,Cassete deck,VCR this is were some of my sounds and vocal samples come from.
3.Maybe buy some sound kits from places like MPC-Tutor,Bangin Beats,MPC Sounds,One stop beats etc...They are inexpensive at around $10 a piece or you can buy their complete libraries for between $250-$400.
4.A MIDI keyboard which allows you to play your samples out over the keyboard which is handy for guitar samples,piano samples and even vocal samples.
5.Plenty of imagination!

You probably will already have some of the stuff I mentioned so you will not have to buy it.The 4000 LE is a great choice because it allows you to get started right away without paying for things that you do not need from jump anyway.As your skills get better you can upgrade by adding the CD-Drive,Hard Drive and lots of memory.The best thing you can do is READ THE MANUAL because every question that you could have about the machine is covered inside the manual in some way shape or form(Although some people have a difficult time comprehending alot of the stuff). I got one and I have not looked back since.

Thanks Earnest,

Your reply helped alot. I really want to give hardware a shot, but I'm afraid I'll get this thing and be saying I could've done all this in Reason and Sonar. Another question, why is having the CD-R such a big deal?

Having a CD-R is not a big deal because it will not let you burn CD's on it unfortunatly.It is however good for importing and exporting data like your samples and sequence information because most modern computers have a CD drive on them.I do not have an internal one instead I use an external CD drive along with an external hardrive.Both of which I bought at the local "Computer-Salvage" yard for $10 a piece.Hope this helps because spending $2000 or more on a piece of equipment is a pretty big deal unless money grows on trees where you live.

For the little it costs you should consider adding a CD-R/RW. If nothing else, it will increase the resale value of the 4000 in the event you decide to sell it some day.

The CD drive can be used for sampling directly from discs and for archiving your work without having to use a computer and ak.Sys. Read the Version 1.40 Addendum to the User Guide for more information about the MEMORY TO CD function.

Hey Earnest where can I find these Triton and Motif soundsets at? I'm glad you mentioned that, because I was leaning towards a Triton or Motif. And also would you please to explain to me how I could finish whole tracks from start to finish with a drum machine? Sorry so many questions but this would be a huge investment for me so just trying to see what's what. Thanks MPC Producer, I'll be sure to take a look at that.

well its all about preference man, you CAN do everything in Reason and Sonar, but I myself like sitting down at equipment rather then right double clicking and shit...but thats just me, and plus the MPC gives your beats the funkiness that software doesnt...and id much rather bang out drums on velocity sensitive pads then mouse clicking..but to each there own.

To one of the responses on here that says you can just buy the Triton or Motif soundsets leaves out some important information. While you may be able to buy the sampled sounds, you don't get the apregios, megavoices, effects to be tweaked the way you like, ctrl sets that go with the various voices for each sound etc etc...so don't fool someone into thinking they can just buy the sounds of a Triton or Motif and it's like having the synth.


I can sample a minimoog, but believe me, I aint got a minimoog.

I was not trying to fool anyone into thinking that they can just buy something that is not what I say it is.You can buy the sampled soundsets from popular synths or you can find someone who has a synth and sample the sounds yourself.Sounds are sounds what you do with them is up to you.With the use of pretty much stock presets so prevelant in todays popular music all the extra goobaligo of those expensive $1500+ sound modules/synths too me does not justify the cost.Why buy something like a Triton and pay 2-3 grand for features that you already have in your MPC that are in my opinion better.With the MPC4000 all one really needs to fully take advantage of it's abilities is imagination.The MPC4000 is an empty canvas and it is to you as the artist to do whatever you choose with it.I will sample almost anything from running water,to bodily functions,movies, music, video games etc...I would tell you were you could find soundsets but the administrators on this board do not think to kindly of giving out there competitors names or websites.I will say that I have bought some really good stuff off of ebay though.Use the search function on your web browser and type in mpc sounds or something to that effect and see what you can find.Be warned though that there are some sh*t compaines out there trying to pass off their sounsets as professional grade when in fact they are junk.

I can not speak on other machines I can only speak on MPC's so here goes.To make a track from start to finish on the MPC is very easy to do.The first thing that I would suggest is having all of your sounds all of your sounds and such grouped together either on your computer using MPC editor or in folders in your MPC.I have all the sounds that I use for kicks in one group,all of my snares in a group,all of my "other percussion"sounds in another group etc...I audition my sounds on my computer and put them in a program's.Once I have a few "drum kits" I am ready to start work.The only time this process differs is when I might be using a vocal sample as the back drop for my music.In that case I always start with the sample first and figure out how I want to freak it or chop it it.I might take a voice sample that says "I'm so in love with you" and assign each of the words in the phrase to a diffrent pad or assign groups of 2 or 3 words to a pad depending on what I am trying to do.Once that is done or if I am not using any vocal samples I start with the kick and the snare.I usually start with the kick and the snare on the same track but once I get it where I want it I go back and put the snare on it's own track.Once the vocal sample,kick and snare are on seperate tracks I go back and add other sounds to taste.Once I have the basic 2,3 or 4 bar loop of what I have made so far done.I then copy the sequence and start deleting bits and peices of it so that I can arrange all the seperate sequences in song mode.Doin this keeps the same feel and tempo of the track but it makes it so that it does not get boring.Arrange it intro,verse,chorus,verse,bridge etc...Once it's all arranged how I want it in song mode I am pretty much done with it as far as the MPC goes.I start tracking using the 8 outputs.I send each sound through my MX9000 mixing board(i.e. kick,snare,high hat,vocal sample)into the bus's on the board and into my Digi002 and into ProTools.I do all of the actual mixing of the song on my mixing board I only use ProTools to add effects and record.Once all that is done sometimes I send everything back through my board for finishing touches and I eventually archive the finished mix on my compter(although it is really not finished sometimes because vocals need to be added)in seperate tracks and as a finshed song just incase someone once to add vocals too one of my tracks later if not I burn the song to disk to used in CD turntables while I'm DJ'ing.Hope this helps...