MPC 2500: Q&A

so whats up with the new way of scrolling through menus, using the one piece data wheel?

dstruction asked:
so whats up with the new way of scrolling through menus, using the one piece data wheel?

New way?? The MPC 2000XL uses a one piece data wheel.

yeah i know that jah, but when i asked if the 2500 had a one piece or a 2 piece (like my classic 2k) you said one piece, and i said how that blows. and you said....

jahrome wrote:

that kinda blows

Maybe..but they give you something else which I may post tonight.

so what is the "something else"


sorry for any misunderstanding my homie

also, is this unit built solid? like a tank?

or does it seem cheap like a toy. I cant see myself slamming the pads on that thing like i do on my 2k. but im just judging from pics you know?

The something else I already wrote about. You can use the Q-link sliders for many functions including sample editing.

I meant that the knob blows because I like the MPC 2000s knob. The 2500 knob is similar to the XL. But it is a piece of plastic though.

As far as the build, Akai used a thinner piece of metal for the botton of the MPC. It is not as robust as the other MPCs so don't go dropping it.

I would slam on the pads of any MPC. There pads are pressure sensitive and you can set them to the full level. It doesn't take much to trigger sounds. Also, you can set the sensitivity of each pad as you see fit.

How is compatibility with the 2000xl? I was dissapointed in how compatible the mpc 1000 was with the xl.

Will an xl user find the transfer to the 2500 easy?

And is the build terrible? where is it made?

jahrome wrote:You can use the Q-link sliders for many functions including sample editing.

does that mean truncating (start/end point)?

Yes. You can truncate the start and end points of a sample with the Q-link sliders when you are in the sample trim menu.

The MPC 2500 is made in Taiwan. I would have liked a more solid data wheel. The over all build is as solid as an XL. I haven't tested compatibility with XL programs but the spec says that they are compatible. If you have used an MPC 1000/2000/2000XL, you will have no problem working this unit. You don't really need to read the manual.

Time's up, Jahrome. This better be a video review. Give us a "Sample Kings" kind of review. Then you can sell it too!

I really like the 2000/2000XL models, and there are very little I would change on them. The 2500 looks interesting, but I want to know about the speed of the machine. On certain tasks, the MPC is SLOW. Timestretching and resampling mainly, and often, my machine will 'hiccup' when I do a few things. It's like the MPC will stop and think for a minute. Did they put a faster processor in the machine, or is the 2500 just a glorified 2000XL. Mr Goins has upgrades to add a hard drive to the XL, and I'm sure you can fine the 8 meg rom card on ebay for about $200 (when it's available), but the processor is the main thing that needed to be upgraded. I haven't read anywhere that said the 2500 has been upgraded in this department..

I posted a little info about the speed of the 2500. I am happy to say that it is much improved over the XL in this and almost every department. The timestretch function is actually useable. I tested this function with a 3 minute sample. It took between 30 seconds and 1 minute where it would have taken 20 minutes on an XL. And the results were good. I mentioned this in a few posts earlier.

I am really working on the review

jahrome wrote:Yes. You cab truncate the start and end points of sa sample with the Q-link sliders whenyou are in the sample trim menu.

great, that's a good feature. Many people will appriciate that!

jahrome wrote:Yes. You can truncate the start and end points of a sample with the Q-link sliders when you are in the sample trim menu.

Is it like 'left slider does start point, right slider does end point,' without holding shift?

lo-fi wrote:
Is it like 'left slider does start point, right slider does end point,' without holding shift?

It seems you already know the answer to this question

Yes, the left slider does the sample start, and the right slider for the end of the sample but you have to hold down the after key. This feature can be improved by allowing me to just press the Q-links after key to enable the Q-link sliders to edit the sample instead of holding it down.

jahrome wrote:Yes, the left slider does the sample start, and the right slider for the end of the sample but you have to hold down the after key. This feature can be improved by allowing me to just press the Q-links after key to enable the Q-link sliders to edit the sample instead of holding it down.

aah man, that's sounds irritating.
You have to hit a pad, then push and hold the AFTER KEY while moving the sliders?
Does Akai think we have 3 hands?
I agree with Jahrome, they should develop another way of entering the slider-truncate mode. So you can use your right hand for triggering sounds on the pads while using your left hand on the sliders (without having to hold the AFTER KEY).

Oh yeah, they should implement the same feature on the 2 sliders of the 1000 O.S. right now. Cause i ain't got money for a 2500 yet