Post your views and questions about the Akai MPC2500
By Cloud.Paradigms Thu Sep 22, 2016 6:48 am
Hey Everyone!

New to the MPC hardware world, just thought I'd put this question out there. I've been told that it would be wise for me to accompany my MPC2500 with a SP202/303 & Akai S900/S950. The older samplers (12 bit) allow for better pitch adjustments as well gives off that old school 90s grime.

My question is, if all these old machines give that grimy sound because of their low frequencies and bit rate, would it be more beneficial for me to get the new Rolan Bitrazer -a mini rack that allows me to control bit rate, sample rates etc.? That way, I don't have to worry about another machine breaking/failing on me?

In essence, does this new machine not do exactly what the older machines did?


Thanks in advance!
User avatar
By richie Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:13 am
@Cloud I would not count on the Roland piece to give you the same result as using a S900 or S950. Also, keep in mind that the S900 and S950 are not bit crushers but they record at a specific bit rate and pitching samples on them is based on playing a sample at a variable sample rate.

What gives those 30+ year old samplers their sound goes well beyond a matter of if it is 12 bit, 16 bit, sample rate. The algorithms play a part, the (flaws in) circuitry play a part, there is just no other clear cut way to say it. Now with that being said, it doesn't make the Roland wack, or any other piece of bit crushing gear, it just has to do with the characteristics behind these machines.

Hopefully that makes a bit of sense.
By Cloud.Paradigms Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:13 pm
@richie Awesome input, I figured that would be the case. My only gripe is the fact that these older machines are in rough condition and sensitive to damage. I just bought my MPC2500, and the first night I started messing around with it, my right cursor tact switch failed. Which causes me to baby these machines.

Enough Complaining haha... I'm plan on picking up the sp303. Seems like the best of both worlds in terms of sound and age.

Thanks a lot for your input!

richie wrote:@Cloud I would not count on the Roland piece to give you the same result as using a S900 or S950. Also, keep in mind that the S900 and S950 are not bit crushers but they record at a specific bit rate and pitching samples on them is based on playing a sample at a variable sample rate.

What gives those 30+ year old samplers their sound goes well beyond a matter of if it is 12 bit, 16 bit, sample rate. The algorithms play a part, the (flaws in) circuitry play a part, there is just no other clear cut way to say it. Now with that being said, it doesn't make the Roland wack, or any other piece of bit crushing gear, it just has to do with the characteristics behind these machines.

Hopefully that makes a bit of sense.
User avatar
By mr_debauch Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:26 pm
the 303 is a good choice... it does a lot of neat tricks and will pair up with the 2500 really well. It has centuries of sample time too.

Also, the 2500 is known to be a machine that was built with really cheap quality parts. There have been many threads on here where people bought 2500s brand new and had to replace half of the tacts within 6 months.
User avatar
By richie Fri Sep 23, 2016 2:45 am
@Cloud a lot of people get those problems with the 2500, and even the 1000s. For that reason alone, whenever I buy MPCs, I have enough spare parts in my supplies that I replace all the tact switches, sliders and rotary encoders so bring everything to a brand new state. Thankfully all the replacement parts for those machines are readily available.

You may as well pick up the 303 while you can because the prices are already retarded for them online. The only thing I dislike about it is that they use smart cards.
By Cloud.Paradigms Mon Sep 26, 2016 9:12 pm
70 bucks later, I have 7 buttons replaced and a working MPC2500...let's just hope it stays that way...

mr_debauch wrote:the 303 is a good choice... it does a lot of neat tricks and will pair up with the 2500 really well. It has centuries of sample time too.

Also, the 2500 is known to be a machine that was built with really cheap quality parts. There have been many threads on here where people bought 2500s brand new and had to replace half of the tacts within 6 months.
By Cloud.Paradigms Mon Sep 26, 2016 9:14 pm
@richie I wish I was more comfortable with soldering tact switches... would have saved me the $70 for 7 switches...

You're right, luckily the availability for these parts are good. Otherwise I probably would have just bought the new Maschine Studio haha

richie wrote:@Cloud a lot of people get those problems with the 2500, and even the 1000s. For that reason alone, whenever I buy MPCs, I have enough spare parts in my supplies that I replace all the tact switches, sliders and rotary encoders so bring everything to a brand new state. Thankfully all the replacement parts for those machines are readily available.

You may as well pick up the 303 while you can because the prices are already retarded for them online. The only thing I dislike about it is that they use smart cards.
User avatar
By richie Tue Sep 27, 2016 2:01 am
@Cloud yeah honestly, $70 would've got you a bag of 1,500 ALPS tact switches. Tact switches are only 4 pins so they are quite simple to do but I can understand that if you never did it before that you'd be out of your element.
User avatar
By Sense-A Fri Mar 05, 2021 2:46 pm
I just bought a Roland Bitrazer.

Haven't tested it yet. But the idea of changing sample rate and bit rate on the fly, having stereo channels, in addition to resonance and HP/LP filter in a small portable unit made it a no brainer.

I'm probably going to have it last in the chain before going into the MPC 1000 inputs.