Which MPC (or Tempest?)

With a 1000 you want to find a newer one with the upgraded pads and from there drop $40 on the Fat Pads (they take the machine up to par 100%). It's not as sturdy as older MPC's but it's not flimsy by any means either.

I've seen black ones in great shape for less than $500 3 times recently.

If you don't mind a more limited feature set 2000XL's are sturdier but the LCD's are ticking time bombs due to the unavoidable heating issues with that particular LCD (and the 2000).

As far as Tempest the coder Pym posts frequently at Gearslutz and DSI will surely talk to you directly. Personally I look forward to the full Tempest OS as the sequencer is basically the same as the MPC60 according to Roger Linn.

Yeah I heard about this with the pads. Supposedly, if you get an MPC1000 with the black back-panel (where the outputs are), you don't need to upgrade. However if its a silver back, or if it's one of the all-blue MPCs, then you need to change them...

But yeah, maybe I should get a 1000, assuming that the Tempest indeed does not have the sequencing-out yet.

And actually that was another question of mine. I wish someone had all the specs on the Tempest sequencing versus the MPC sequencing. What features are common, whats different

Metatron72 wrote:With a 1000 you want to find a newer one with the upgraded pads and from there drop $40 on the Fat Pads (they take the machine up to par 100%). It's not as sturdy as older MPC's but it's not flimsy by any means either.

I've seen black ones in great shape for less than $500 3 times recently.

If you don't mind a more limited feature set 2000XL's are sturdier but the LCD's are ticking time bombs due to the unavoidable heating issues with that particular LCD (and the 2000).

As far as Tempest the coder Pym posts frequently at Gearslutz and DSI will surely talk to you directly. Personally I look forward to the full Tempest OS as the sequencer is basically the same as the MPC60 according to Roger Linn.

dtirer wrote:Hm alright interesting.
Isn't the S1000 also 16bit like the s3000? So wouldn't they both have a similar sound?

Well if you think all 16bit samples sound the same, just go for the cheapest possible sampler you can find.

Haha

It was actually a serious question. What sort of differences do they have, cause I know they are both 16 bit?

szr wrote:

dtirer wrote:Hm alright interesting.
Isn't the S1000 also 16bit like the s3000? So wouldn't they both have a similar sound?

Well if you think all 16bit samples sound the same, just go for the cheapest possible sampler you can find.

this kind
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=159779&start=15

and that's only on the d/a side

ah very cool. thanks!

szr wrote:this kind
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=159779&start=15

and that's only on the d/a side

and heres a a/d - d/a drumloop comparison

So as far as the Tempest, it cannot sènd out midi sequences to external hardware yet. It's on the wish list, but no estimated time frame.

As far as the sequencing being the same as an mpc60, iwas directed to the dsi forum to sdk

Metatron72 wrote:With a 1000 you want to find a newer one with the upgraded pads and from there drop $40 on the Fat Pads (they take the machine up to par 100%). It's not as sturdy as older MPC's but it's not flimsy by any means either.

I've seen black ones in great shape for less than $500 3 times recently.

If you don't mind a more limited feature set 2000XL's are sturdier but the LCD's are ticking time bombs due to the unavoidable heating issues with that particular LCD (and the 2000).

As far as Tempest the coder Pym posts frequently at Gearslutz and DSI will surely talk to you directly. Personally I look forward to the full Tempest OS as the sequencer is basically the same as the MPC60 according to Roger Linn.

Resurrecting this thread some...

So I've been doing lots and lots of research. I definitely don't wanna buy the wrong thing.

Tempest is tempting (haha!) but sequencing is really what I want...and if I can't sequence other gear with it (which it can't currently), or load in my own sounds to sequence, then perhaps I'll hold off until they sort some of that out.

So really, I'm thinking either MPC 3000, or MPC 1000. I've been searching for some comparison clips, but am having trouble finding some. Anyone have any links?

People talk about this lo-fi sound the 3000 has, which sounds interesting, but I don't wanna base a purchase on that. I'd love to hear a good comparison.

I play a lot of rock and pop music. I'm really into Nine Inch Nails, which has sort of sparked the interest in all this. So maybe this 'lo fi' sound isn't what I need.

Does the sequencer sound the same on the 1000 as the 3000? I hear a lot about this 3000 swing, but I can honestly say i won't be swinging all that much...

thanks!

^ yeah, you might be more happy with the 1000... just make sure it doesn't have the old pads or you are screwed... it's a much newer piece of gear, it's easier to save stuff... it will cost less... it's smaller... it can have jjos which is still supported.


the 3000 is a nice machine but it will set you back more money, it's way older etc..


as for the sound, well yeah that is great but it has less than half the features... you can eq your samples to get a warm sound. The mysterious swing is IMO a myth... you can get that swing on the 1000... because it also has the swing feature. All swing does is nudge some of the notes around. Also, you can get the s3000 (not the akai s3000xl, just the regular s3000) and it uses the same sound engine... but it has more sample editing features... you would sequence that on the 1000.

do some research to figure it out yourself... that is the best way.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah iv'e been doing non-stop research. the only thing im missing is a direct sound comparison, and the truth to some of the allure surrounding the 3000

Not to say money isn't a concern, but I'm willing to pay more for something built well that will last, versus something built poorly, even if that poor item has more features.

mr_debauch wrote:^ yeah, you might be more happy with the 1000... just make sure it doesn't have the old pads or you are screwed... it's a much newer piece of gear, it's easier to save stuff... it will cost less... it's smaller... it can have jjos which is still supported.


the 3000 is a nice machine but it will set you back more money, it's way older etc..


as for the sound, well yeah that is great but it has less than half the features... you can eq your samples to get a warm sound. The mysterious swing is IMO a myth... you can get that swing on the 1000... because it also has the swing feature. All swing does is nudge some of the notes around. Also, you can get the s3000 (not the akai s3000xl, just the regular s3000) and it uses the same sound engine... but it has more sample editing features... you would sequence that on the 1000.

do some research to figure it out yourself... that is the best way.

dtirer wrote:
Not to say money isn't a concern, but I'm willing to pay more for something built well that will last, versus something built poorly, even if that poor item has more features.

im not gonna lie, the 3000 sounds better than the 1000 (IMO) however the difference is more subtle than you would think when reading about the differences.... the 3000 is built better than the 1000, the 3000 has more outputs, the 3000 has more midi outs..

but, while it is possible to install a compact flash card reader on the 3000 (like how the 1000 has one) you can only install a scsi one..... those are very expensive. Also, you are more limited, it doesn't deal with folders... so right on the card, all your data will be in the same place. This means you must name everything and not use the simple default names if you want to avoid issues and avoid disorganization.

personally, I like the 3000 way more than the 1000... if you get one in good shape you are golden.

Thanks for that info. I think considering this is my first mpc,I'll prob try and get a used 1000, just so I can see how I like it. And then I'm not in too much money. Unless of course I find a great deal on a 3000!

Swing is related to jitter. Different gear=different jitter
random jitter generally sounds c*ap... that's the kind you get on a pc.
The mpc2kxl has a nice swing .. without even using swing.. same with the sp....
Some say the mpc3k and 4k sound a little stiff in comp. to the sp or mpc60..... that all comes down to the fact that the former have practically no jitter...
But that doesn't mean that alot of jitter=more funky... fo example I had an rs7000 ... that had 170 something samples of max jitter.... and sounded horibble as a result (timing-wise)
....anyway not much open scientific research has been done on this.... but timing differences absolutely exist... and swing/funky drums are all about timing.

Theres a nice piece here that goes into more detail
http://www.innerclocksystems.com/New%20 ... ivity.html

Ah interesting, I'll have to check that out!

szr wrote:Swing is related to jitter. Different gear=different jitter
random jitter generally sounds c*ap... that's the kind you get on a pc.
The mpc2kxl has a nice swing .. without even using swing.. same with the sp....
Some say the mpc3k and 4k sound a little stiff in comp. to the sp or mpc60..... that all comes down to the fact that the former have practically no jitter...
But that doesn't mean that alot of jitter=more funky... fo example I had an rs7000 ... that had 170 something samples of max jitter.... and sounded horibble as a result (timing-wise)
....anyway not much open scientific research has been done on this.... but timing differences absolutely exist... and swing/funky drums are all about timing.

Theres a nice piece here that goes into more detail
http://www.innerclocksystems.com/New%20 ... ivity.html