Brand Spankin New

I just purchased my first ever workstation.
MPC 2500.
Snatched it from Ebay for $1,399 (NIB, warranty) about 7 days ago.
(No CD, No HDD, 128M CF of Factory Sounds)

Im still working on the 16 MB factory memory.
The store I bought it from tried to get me for the $149 memory expansion.
Glad I waited, as I have found the post here with the memory specs and
I am about to cop some on ebay for $27. I owe the board my thanks already.

Im brand spanking new to the production game and I see that I have alot to learn.

I've wanted to make music (Hip Hop, R&B) since my teens, but
it never lined up right.

I have recently become the proud owner of the aforementioned 2500,
a Roland Fantom X6 and a Numark USB turntable, and most importantly,
THE TIME TO LEARN TO USE IT!!!!!

I have Reson 3.0 and Audition on the computer (Although I have ZERO idea of how to use Reason, and a clumsy knowledge of Audition)

I've managed to get my MPC to show up on my PC via USB,
and even made a few simple 808 beats.

Tried looping an sample last night for the first time but I couldnt get it to hit just right. Im sure Ill get it.

Just wanted to introduce my self and say I'll be around, trying to soak it all up. That Tweak site is bananas!

And yea, I READ MY MANUAL!!!!

MPC VETS:
What do you wish you knew about your MPC and music production in general when you first got it that you know now?

If I get the memory expansion, do I really need a hard drive, since I can
USB everything?


Any other words of advice are welcome too.

Pair A Dime wrote:MPC VETS:
What do you wish you knew about your MPC and music production in general when you first got it that you know now?

Just to have patience .....Rome wasn't built in a day.

Listen to you favorite producers and ask questions.

things i wish i knew from the outset;

-If you highlight the MUTE, press window, you get an extra option to record track mutes.
-How to Save - make a new folder each time you save, and then save Progs and Samples, Sequences and then entire memory.
-Download Bluebox.
-Keep one eye on the window LED at all times, as this highlights submenus.

Things I wish I'd learnt straight away..

ALWAYS save ENTIRE MEMORY....( you can go back and delete any old saves when you have no more use for them.. you can never have to many back-up's )...If I'm working on a beat and I change something, I name all the saves after the title of the original beat , but keep tabs on what the lastest version saved is by adding a letter to the end of the title.....ie:1st version is Cool beat A....next time I save it's called Cool beat B and the next time It's Cool beat C , etc, etc,.

I learnt to ALWAYS use a DIFFERENT track for each part when using more than 1 sequence...(you've got 64 so you should'nt run out)...This will save you lots of work if you use multiple sequences and then CONVERT the song in song mode..trust me...I learnt the hard way.

1ABGood2 wrote:you've got 64 so you should'nt run out

thats what everyone says but that is such a load of toss (not directed at you 1abgood2), but i say we need 128 tracks plus.

say you have a drum loop with kick, snare, hat, o hat, rim, crash, tom, tom2, tom3 via midi. You want to split that up to TC or some editing on individual parts, then that is 9 tracks used.
then add 3 external devices with 16 midi channels, then thats pretty much all the tracks used up without even getting round to using samples.
moan moan whine and ****.

Hey dablunt...Funny thing is I thought of you as I typed that comment..(saw your other thread)...I see what your saying...

I'm looking forward to getting more modules and doing what your doing..Cool as

Just installed my memory upgrade.
Smooth as silk.

Now, on to the "To JJOS or not to JJOS" question.
Feel free to weigh in ....

Pair A Dime wrote:Just installed my memory upgrade.
Smooth as silk.

Now, on to the "To JJOS or not to JJOS" question.
Feel free to weigh in ....

I say try it anyway, and see if you like it. You can always go back to the AKAI OS if necessary.

there are manuals available for both operating systems, or you can just listen to the gossip

dablunt wrote:
thats what everyone says but that is such a load of toss (not directed at you 1abgood2), but i say we need 128 tracks plus.

say you have a drum loop with kick, snare, hat, o hat, rim, crash, tom, tom2, tom3 via midi. You want to split that up to TC or some editing on individual parts, then that is 9 tracks used.
then add 3 external devices with 16 midi channels, then thats pretty much all the tracks used up without even getting round to using samples.
moan moan whine and ****.

if you have 3 modules with 16 midi channels each... that doesn't mean you gotta set up 16 tracks for each one of those modules. how many tracks of music are you programming? just use your 9 tracks for your drums, and you still got 57 tracks for keyboards (way more than enough). if you use 64 tracks to make a beat i'd bet money that beats gonna sound like garbage.

soundasleep wrote:

dablunt wrote:
thats what everyone says but that is such a load of toss (not directed at you 1abgood2), but i say we need 128 tracks plus.

say you have a drum loop with kick, snare, hat, o hat, rim, crash, tom, tom2, tom3 via midi. You want to split that up to TC or some editing on individual parts, then that is 9 tracks used.
then add 3 external devices with 16 midi channels, then thats pretty much all the tracks used up without even getting round to using samples.
moan moan whine and ****.

if you have 3 modules with 16 midi channels each... that doesn't mean you gotta set up 16 tracks for each one of those modules. how many tracks of music are you programming? just use your 9 tracks for your drums, and you still got 57 tr acks for keyboards (way more than enough). if you use 64 tracks to make a beat i'd bet money that beats gonna sound like garbage.

yeah i know, everyone says this. im not going to highjack this thread (too late) but the mpc 4000 has 128 tracks.