USB Feature

I finished playing around with the USB function. I wanted to copy samples back and forth between my MPC 2500s 40 gig hard drive and my PC. It took about 15 minutes to move 1 gig of samples either way.

The one thing I don't care for is that you have to disconnect the USB cable from the MPC in order to use it further. This is very annoying. This is not a function that I would use everyday. Just once in awhile to back up saved files.

I would prefer USB functions like the other highend Akai samplers. You can move samples back and forth and never have to disconnect the USB cables. You can also drag and drop samples from your PC directly into the MPCs RAM. This would be a more useful function to me.

i now have four devices with sample functionaltiy and usb - they all work like what you just described. my vsynth and my fantomx don't require you to disconnect the usb cable (you can just eject the "drive" on the computer and it detects it) but both (1k, 2.5k) mpc's act like that. i agree that it would be cool to be able to just connect the mpc to the computer and be be able to access it all the time via usb but something tells me that it's a difficult problem to solve if other vendors' devices act the same way. i just use compact flash cards and a compact flash card reader on my computer: i don't even screw around with the mpc (or vsynth or fantomx) usb features...

now, getting data from the mpc's HD...i guess there isn't really another way, unfort...

Im leaning furter and further towards the 4000 the more I read about the 2500 from you guys....

outsida.2 wrote:
Im leaning furter and further towards the 4000 the more I read about the 2500 from you guys....

The MPC 4000 is in a completely different class. That is the MPC I would choose if I wanted/needed a full sampler in my MPC.

As far as the MPC 2500s USB..they could have made it like the MPC 4000, Z8/Z4, or the S5000/6000 where you don't have to unplug the USB cable. It is not a big deal...but a feature that I would prefer.

i've never used a 4000 but i *really* like the 2500. it does damn near everything i'd want in a sampler. *shrug*

zs941 wrote:
i've never used a 4000 but i *really* like the 2500. it does damn near everything i'd want in a sampler. *shrug*

If you are just talking about the sampler, you can get a Z series sampler for 1/3 of the cost.

i meant "sampler" in a more general sense. by saying "it does damn near everything i'd want in a sampler" i meant that i like the 2500 just fine and that it does just about everything i would want in a hardware device capable of sampling and sequencing. i don't feel i'm missing anything that the 4000 has (although, admittedly i've never used the 4k so maybe i'd find it to suite my needs better...but i doubt it).

jahrome wrote:

zs941 wrote:
i've never used a 4000 but i *really* like the 2500. it does damn near everything i'd want in a sampler. *shrug*

If you are just talking about the sampler, you can get a Z series sampler for 1/3 of the cost.

I havent looked into the Z series, but I just noticed the price drop on the Z4 yesterday and my jaw dropped. Does anyone here have any firsthand knowledge of the Z4? Is it extemely complicated? Any bugs that I should know about? I have absolutely no knowledge at all of the Z series, and I know I'm going off topic, but since I saw the Z series mentioned here, I figure it couldn't hurt to ask.

The Z series was an abysmal failure. It was introduced with many bugs just like the MPC4000. Unfortunately for AKAI the U.S. economy was in a downturn when rack samplers were rapidly being outmoded by software samplers. The combination meant no one wanted the Z4/Z8. The Z4 had an optional effects board. OS development stopped and that was the end of the Z series. Kind of reminds you of the old S5000/S6000, doesn't it? When will it ever end?

I see what you mean. $700 for a brand new Z4 looks quite tempting, though I'm not sure if I really need it. I'd have to read up more in depth, since my outboard sampling usage hasnt gone past the MPC 2K and the 1K.

jahrome wrote:

outsida.2 wrote:
Im leaning furter and further towards the 4000 the more I read about the 2500 from you guys....

The MPC 4000 is in a completely different class. That is the MPC I would choose if I wanted/needed a full sampler in my MPC.

As far as the MPC 2500s USB..they could have made it like the MPC 4000, Z8/Z4, or the S5000/6000 where you don't have to unplug the USB cable. It is not a big deal...but a feature that I would prefer.

Yeah I've alrady been through the specs and the back and forth thought about what features I need. Coming from a 2000xl which I sold a few weeks ago, I wont be able to load any of my songs in the 2500 from what I've read. And now I see the limited functionality of the USB port. I'm just gonna keep reading I got a sec before I purchase anyway, I need to make up my mind.

outsida.2 wrote:
Coming from a 2000xl which I sold a few weeks ago, I wont be able to load any of my songs in the 2500 from what I've read. And now I see the limited functionality of the USB port. I'm just gonna keep reading I got a sec before I purchase anyway, I need to make up my mind.

The MPC 2500 will load your MPC 2000XL SEQ and Programs.

As far as the USB port, it is no worst than the USB port on the MV-8000, MPC 1000, and some other workstations. The MPC 4000 does have better USB port by far though.

Hurricane Producer wrote:
The Z series was an abysmal failure. It was introduced with many bugs just like the MPC4000. Unfortunately for AKAI the U.S. economy was in a downturn when rack samplers were rapidly being outmoded by software samplers. The combination meant no one wanted the Z4/Z8. The Z4 had an optional effects board. OS development stopped and that was the end of the Z series. Kind of reminds you of the old S5000/S6000, doesn't it? When will it ever end?

The Z zeries samplers and the sampler of the MPC 4000 are one of the same. They even use the same version of Ak Sys. The OS in these machines are stable today as is the S6000.

Hardware samplers in general are not generating the sales that they used to. Most companies have gone away from hardware samplers (Emu, Ensoniq, Roland, Yamaha). Akai are among the last in a dying breed because there are powerful software samplers like Giga Sampler out there. Akai is still hanging on while other companies have called it quits with standalone samplers. I applaud their efforts. I don't think they have given up yet.

distortedtekno wrote:
I havent looked into the Z series, but I just noticed the price drop on the Z4 yesterday and my jaw dropped. Does anyone here have any firsthand knowledge of the Z4? Is it extemely complicated? Any bugs that I should know about? I have absolutely no knowledge at all of the Z series, and I know I'm going off topic, but since I saw the Z series mentioned here, I figure it couldn't hurt to ask.

I believe there are some members here that own one or use to. Put you can ask any MPC 4000 user because the samplers are pretty much identical.

The MPC 2500 will load your MPC 2000XL SEQ and Programs.

As far as the USB port, it is no worst than the USB port on the MV-8000, MPC 1000, and some other workstations. The MPC 4000 does have better USB port by far though.

I previously only saved my work as aps and all files, in the other thread with creatives problem they wouldnt load Which is sad cause I was really looking forward to getting this machine. Any progress as far as the APS and ALL files go?

jahrome wrote:As far as the USB port, it is no worst than the USB port on the MV-8000, MPC 1000, and some other workstations. The MPC 4000 does have better USB port by far though.

The MV-8000 does not require the user to physically disconnect the USB cable. The same applies to Roland workstations.

Let's hope future versions of the MV and the MPC use FireWire so we can eliminate USB forever.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by jahrome:
As far as the USB port, it is no worst than the USB port on the MV-8000, MPC 1000, and some other workstations. The MPC 4000 does have better USB port by far though.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hurricane Producer wrote:
The MV-8000 does not require the user to physically disconnect the USB cable. The same applies to Roland workstations.

Let's hope future versions of the MV and the MPC use FireWire so we can eliminate USB forever.

The MV-8000s USB port is the same as the MPV 2500 as far as moving samples from a PC to its internal drives. The MPC 4000s USB port allows you to drop samples directly into the MPC 4000s RAM (memory). With the other units, you still have to physically load the samples into RAM.

I have the rack version of the Phantom Version 2 software with the USB port. You have to disconnect from the USB port. I don't have my MV anymore so I can't confirm anything.