OS status?

Kalei is right though maybe "ton" isn't the best word to use. The features were listed in different parts of AKAI's web page. I think they were on different pages at different times too but it has been a while so I can't remember for sure. You have to include the features that just didn't work or not as they were supposed to work. So the list was long. I read it somewhere and it surprised me. When the collection of missing things is in one place it would surprise anyone because it is that long. Search for it on this website or others. It's worth the time to read it if you or anyone is interested in the 4000.

Back to the 2500...AKAI seems to improved since the 1000. Is Nakamura himself basically the whole R&D at AKAI? Was he the one that designed the 4000 or most of it? If so, then you can't blame him that much. It isn't easy for one person to design a product and be sure that everything works as expected.

jahrome wrote:

The difference between Chop Shop and Part Phrase is that Part Phrase you may say is invisible( that is the sequence doesn`t show in step edit or grid edit it is like another sequence slave to your master sequence in your main window however the whole phrase is contained on a pad opposed to a track like the older mpcs series.

That way a Part Phrase Program can contain up to 16 or more part phrases on sixteen pads in one bank in the same program. As you play live each phrase acts as a one shot loop that you can trigger anytime even as you adjust the tempo up and down and the phrase with stay in sync. Great for live DJ improv similiar to Ableton Live in a way. Auto sync. Slicing is how Ableton Live and other great loop sequencers work.

Damn....I got it. Thanks Blue Haze.

I kept using old MPC logic. I was thinking how in the heck can you adjust the tempo of a triggered sample in real-time. Your explanation sums it up perfectly and I can now use this function.

My wife just called me to let me know my English manual is on the way


Now that I have played with the Patch Phrase more, it is a nice function. I just wish that it could be used on longer samples. But I guess choping samples into smaller parts and then Patch Phrase these smaller parts will be the best way to go for now.

Blue Haze, do you have acess to an MPC 2500 today?

Yesterday through good fortune Mr. Nakamura had a demo unit and bless me by dropping by as field research and users feedback. It is good to be in Japan near Yokohama. Mainly I work with 4k and I was concern about the 4k upgrades but he demoed the unit, we talked shop about the comparsions of the unit, and the new features of the 2500. Hifana a local electro dance group making crazy beats live with a 2XL on stage had alot of input in the making of the 2500 as an mpc made more for live performance which is why some of the pro studio integration units of the other mpcs were lacking.

As far as the longer samples I was refering to a direct input vocal sample or instrument recorded on the audio track being place into the part phrase program. Naoya tried with the same vocal sample used in the video but the last portion of the sample wouldn`t process cause the processing only went up to 64 parts which makes sense in the 2500 has only 16 pads with 4 banks if I`m right.

I don`t own one but like I said if I was still using a 2KXL as my MPC I would get it. As far as the 4k and Live setup man the possibilites are endless and we spend more time learning and sequencing with that.

Bang on players the MPC 2500 has potential to change the way beats and live beatmakers perform.

sleepersriddle wrote:I dunno if Ableton really works the 'chopping' way...

I would say it uses miniscule enuf slices to be considered 'timestretching' not 'chopping'... especially what about that new hi quality mode in Ableton 5?

Live works in several modes

Beats, Slicing percussion sets by note resolution

Tones, timestretching as you say by granular process

Textures, advanced timestretching by granualar also

Repitch, dj pitch change

and
new Complex mode automated tempo marking based on beats mode also.

Warp markers are basically (tempo markers that set how fast or how slow to sequence) the grid markers (slices set to the transits of notes) are played.

Real timestretching is done in the Tones and Textures mode. However most of the basic and standard usage of Live uses the Beats mode which is beatmapping aka slicing a loop to 1/16 or more resolution in order to easily change the tempo. Less artifacts. Each company uses different terms but , it the same or similar process as the early pre 1990 pioneers did it by slicing. Automation has at the same time taken some of the knowledge and techniques of chopping away from the current users. Just reverse engineering the whole process from software. According to the authors of Live the setup, process, and live playability was based on the MPC 2000. Take care

Blue Haze wrote:Bad news kalei the 4k will not be getting the chop/phrase functions any time soon. But just do it the old school way and count the beats and the set the resolution of the region. Takes time but its doable. Plus if you got Live 5 as a midi slave to the 4k you can do without. May have great things in the future for both Live 5 and the 4kthat is beyond the 2500. Seen it in action.

I really wanted to not having to do it the "old school way". I done that since 1989 and to me its boring sitting chopping samples manually. It steals the energy from my creativity, and I end up gettin frustrated instead. Im mainly doing sample based production with samples from vinyl and its tiresome sitting and chopping stuff manually when its alot of samples.

So, the 4000 just might have to go, im not sure yet but i wont be gettin a 2500 anytime soon. Sorry but if I ever buy a new akai product im gonna be testing that for days first.

Kalei

Kalei wrote:
I really wanted to not having to do it the "old school way". I done that since 1989 and to me its boring sitting chopping samples manually. It steals the energy from my creativity, and I end up gettin frustrated instead. Im mainly doing sample based production with samples from vinyl and its tiresome sitting and chopping stuff manually when its alot of samples.

So, the 4000 just might have to go, im not sure yet but i wont be gettin a 2500 anytime soon. Sorry but if I ever buy a new akai product im gonna be testing that for days first.

Am I missing something here?? The MPC 4000 chops samples. It just doesn't do it the same way as the 2500.

He said that he doesn't want to chop samples manually. Who wants to do it that way when software and newer hardware can do it automatically for you? Manual chopping takes too much time. It can interrupt your creative flow when you want to focus on quick sampling and chopping.

The MPC 4000 does chop samples automatically as does the MPC 2000XL..just not the same way as the 2500.

What's next? Arising from the ashes is the new PHONENIX, the MPC 8000! Just enter you sounds and it chops, organizes, and orchestrates your productions for you! All you have to do is watch and be entertained!

cre8tive wrote:What's next? Arising from the ashes is the new PHONENIX, the MPC 8000! Just enter you sounds and it chops, organizes, and orchestrates your productions for you! All you have to do is watch and be entertained!

I mean REALLY THOUGH

jahrome wrote:The MPC 4000 does chop samples automatically as does the MPC 2000XL..just not the same way as the 2500.

It does it completely "blind" which is no use to me.

And for the people complaining about us wanting auto chopping... Yeah.. Manually chopping is really so much more creative and its like its doing the whole song for us. Morons.

It does it completely "blind" which is no use to me.

And for the people complaining about us wanting auto chopping... Yeah.. Manually chopping is really so much more creative and its like its doing the whole song for us. Morons.

With that in mind, the MPC 4000 would appear to be not for you. It chops samples but not the way you want. You can easily adjust the edit points of these chops to fit your needs. I wouldn't spend $3000 if that was that most important feature I am looking for. For just $150 or so, you can purchase Recycle or the numerous other software programs that chop samples automatically and save them as Akai Programs to load up into your MPC 4000.

You can buy an MV-8000, MPC-2500, MC-909, Fantom X, Motif ES...and many other hardware options. All cheaper than an MPC 4000.

I`m sticking with what I have.

jahrome I agree, I even considered selling the 4000. I just cant make my mind up. I dont know what else I would buy. MV8000? I dont think so.. I dont want anything like a motif, i want a mpc-ish type of sample with pads etc.. So the 2500 might be the best bet. However Im gonna give that atleast 4-5 more months before I trust its OS. Im waiting til a bunch of more users confirms that its working properly, no more YEARS of beta testing for me thank you very much akai.

Kalei

i seem to be having a problem sending PROGRAM CHANGES. i just imported a project from my 1000 that i was working with last night and when i play back to the track to change the program on my synth nothing happens. i run through MIDI Monitor and I see the CONTROL messages (MSB, LSB) correct but no PROGRAM CHANGE. Lame! I hope this gets fixed really soon 'cause it'll totally screw me if i can't sequence my patch changes.

anybody (i know there are only very few) having this problem?

i figured out how to do PROGRAM changes with this thing but unfort. i don't think it'll be compatible with the 1k. i wonder why i can't just insert a PROGRAM CHANGE in with the step sequencer and play it out. it seems as though by default a track cannot transmit a program change. i'll play around with it some more but i really hope that i can figure out a way to use a sequence from either the 1k or the 2.5k 'cause i can't to use them both for live performance.