MPC2500 swing/timing not like the MPC2000XL ...am I wrong ?

true test - have someone make a drum groove on the 2000 that is a particularly good example of the 2000's timing sound, and then have someone recreate it on the 2500/1000

if the person cannot recreate it "verbeatum" then you know it's a problem
if the person CAN reproduce it to an acceptable degree (or even confirm it with an A/B graphical comparison), then there's no problem.

i think you could prob get the two to sound exactly the same...but they both lend themselves to different feels.... the differences in the quantize functions between the two are the main reason i like both of them, if that makes any sense....i get all my effects and stuff from my DAW so that stuff on the 2500 i could take or leave....if i want a 2500 type sound, i go for the 2500...if i want a 2000xl sound, i go for the 2000xl...

ROCKNOID wrote:....if you want an old school type of thing the 2000xl gets that feel a little easier.... the 2500 is better for more modern sounding beats though....

Could you define both styles of beats... perhaps name some commercial tracks with "old school - MPC 2000 XL feel" and " Modern MPC 2500 feel". Your right anyway you definetly have to tweak the MPC 2500 more to get that MPC 2000 XL swing feel.

sure....like stuff on mos def's "black on both sides"...or de las soul's "stakes as high"....those have that 2000xl sound....a little more snappy. versus stuff like kanye west's beats on "graduation" or prodigy/alchemist "Stuck on You"...those sound like the 2500 to me...a little smoother

ROCKNOID wrote:sure....like stuff on mos def's "black on both sides"...or de las soul's "stakes as high"....those have that 2000xl sound....a little more snappy. versus stuff like kanye west's beats on "graduation" or prodigy/alchemist "Stuck on You"...those sound like the 2500 to me...a little smoother

Hmmmm ok, interesting you should mention Kanye West.. and modern - because infact he is known for using an MPC 2000 however I don't know what most of the tracks on "Graduation" where produced on. Which brings me on to my next point I would disagree with the belief that an MPC 2000 XL has an old school sound although that sound is more easily created with an MPC 2000 XL. Prodigy is also known to use an MPC 3000 / MPC 2000 XL although I don't know what he uses currently. So like most people say its really down to the beat maker, I just feel you work a little more on the 2500 to get the "groove" with the built in swing/timing settings.

Thanks for your feed back anyway Rocknoid.

I own them both.... had my 2000 xl for a few years then I bought the 2500 and tried writing some of my 2000 beats on the 2500.

What I found was the sound from the 2500 was a bit more pronounced and sounds a lot cleaner. However the xl had that more rough and rugged sound.

So in my opinion I'm kind of saying that the xl sounded tight on the groove, and the 2500 had more of an easy flow. Not sure if you guys get me but that's what I'm saying.

never owned a 2000 XL, but I do doubt that anyone could tell on which MPC a beat was made. May be diffrent to work with though, I don't know.

there is def a difference between the 2 machines.

i've owned 4 MPC 2000XL's in my lifetime so far. it's like my first girlfriend and first mpc i really learned how to use. it always seems to come back to me or i go back to it.

i've owned 2 MPC 2500's in my lifetime so far. Had a black one and now have an MPC 2500SE.

i can speak from experience. this is what i've found.

there is def a difference in the swing, sound, feel of the pads and features of the 2.

i found that the MPC 2000XL def has a better swing and feel over the 2500. you can notice it when you use the note repeat on sounds and also just in laying basic drums with the standard quantize settings on both machines (1/8, 1/16, 1/32, etc...) the 2000XL seems to be a bit looser and have a better hop to it, especially in the kicks and note repeat for hi-hats and snare rolls, etc... the 2000XL also has a warmer sound, better low end and sounds really good with string and guitar samples. the 2500 is not as loose, doesn't have as warm, full and round of a sound in the low end and is a bit more mid-rangy on samples.

with that said, i love the mute groups, usb, internal hard drive, direct record feature and some other new features of the 2500. the effects aren't bad if used right, the filters are not bad (although the 2000XL only has a low pass filter, i think its a bit warmer than the filters on the 2500. especially for bass sounds). you can play with the swing setting on the 2500 and with some work get good results. also doing some things quantized and some things not on the 2500 helps a lot. also when you track your beats out of the 2500 and into Pro Tools or whatever DAW you use, you can eq compress and mix things to make them sound fuller, warmer, wider, etc...

i love them both. right now i'm sticking with the 2500SE and i also have and MPC 60 MKI, so i can can some 12-bit punch and warmth, plus that classic Roger Linn swing out of the 60.

i would like to get another MPC 2000XL at some point. i really love that machine and it has done me well over the years. i've made some bangers with it.

to heard the difference on some of the things i'm talking about check out these heads and listen to the difference in the sound quality of their beats.

MPC 2000XL
Bangladesh
Marco Polo
KutMasta Kurt
Jaisu
Panik of The Molemen
Stu Bangas
J Scrilla
Newer Pete Rock beats (he use to use the SP-1200)
Older Heatmakerz beats (now they use the MPC 2000XL & the MPC 4000)
Some of 3-6 mafia beats (they use the MPC 2000XL and the SP-1200 sometimes)
Some of Mannie Fresh beats (he uses the MPC 2000Xl and the SP-1200)
Disko Dave
Some of Kanye West beats (sometimes he uses the old MPC 2000)
and there are still plenty of producers using the 2000XL that i'm forgetting

MPC 2500
Araabmuzik
Newer Alchemist beats (he use to use the ASR-10. ive seen it in his studio, so he still has it)
Older Sid Roams beats (especially on Product of the 80's and some of the stuff they did for Hard White)
Ty Fyffe
Frank Dukes
New Showbiz beats (he use to use the SP-1200)
New 9th Wonder beats (he use to use FL Studio)
New Scram Jones beats (he use to use the MPC 2000)
Jim Jonsin
Chad-lo
Emile Haynie (produced a lot of stuff for kid cudi and use to work with Disco D) here's a great read about his workflow on the 2500 and video of him in the studio
http://emusician.com/interviews/feature ... hop_emile/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXI9JlFjTQU

go on youtube and search all these producers. you can hear the difference in sound quality between the machines.

there is a difference in sound quality, swing, feel, features, build quality, etc... between all the MPC's. i love them all.

i think the MPC 4000 is prob the best well rounded MPC for clean or dirty sounds, with a nice swing feel and some great features, but it's a little too complex with all the windows. The MPC 60 and 3000 are classics, sound great feel great, the 2000XL i think is very well rounded and versatile. you can get some raw boom bap out of it like marco polo or some radio ish like Bangladesh. the newer MPC's 2500, 1000, 5000, 500, def have their pluses and minuses.

at the end of the day all that matters is being comfortable and happy with the workflow, sound and feel of the machine you have and getting work done.

it is nice to have more than one MPC if you can. It's also nice to have some ensoniq samplers (EPS, EPS 16+, ASR-10) and an SP-1200 and an Akai S950 and a Boss SP-303, and a... ok let me stop there.

a couple years later and i stand by my statement: if there's a rhythm someone can make on a 2000 that i can't make on a 1000 or a daw with a freeware sample playback plugin, i'll eat my boot

I love the 2000XL...the swing is killer...with the right drums it sounds like a live band..The harmonics are flawless..warm, but not dirty.

That being said..The MPC 2500 with JJ OS XL blows it out the water. Not even a comparison beyond the slight differences in swing and harmonics. I love the 2000XL though that's one helluva machine plan on getting another one to use as a backup.

Nym wrote:true test - have someone make a drum groove on the 2000 that is a particularly good example of the 2000's timing sound, and then have someone recreate it on the 2500/1000

if the person cannot recreate it "verbeatum" then you know it's a problem

Not really. This assumes every new iteration of anything fully obsoletes its predecessor. That may be the manufacturer's intent (they want you to buy the new one of course), but in art, that's almost never the result.

Anyway (and this isn't directed at anyone in particular), if there's an aesthetic difference, then celebrate it. Use it to your advantage. Or just make some music and let it be what it is. Personally, I prefer a significant aesthetic difference between the two. A world where every MPC swings the same and sounds the same (or every paintbrush paints the same) is boring. There's no better, there's only preference. Because its called art.