Coming from OctaTrack...? :D

What's up noisy peoples?!

May seem like a strange "downgrade" but I'm looking to sell my OctaTrack and get a few
"smaller" boxes to go along with my Machinedrum. The MPC500 interests me not because
of it's "MPC roots" but more as a long-sample player, that is, when teamed up with my other
boxes. It'd be more for strange vocal/droney monologue sorta stuff. I'd LOVE to be able to
just click a pad and tweak an effects box the 500 would be hooked up to for some hands-on chaos.

Outside of this - I'll be using the 500 for more of the "usual" beatmaking & random sound painting!
I know that I'm going to get dogged on for being a newbie, but I'm also more interested in the 500
than it's bigger brothers & sisters, so please... cut me some slack in the boards.



To the skinny: How does the 500 work when playing those longer samples? Again, droney monologue
stuff. Maybe I'll chop words and "play" sentences live while I'm recording. Also! I'm concerned that the
timestretching of this box may be a bit gimped. I'm not looking for anything insane, but could I maybe
get a link dropped my way to show this particular function off more in-depth?


Other than that- I'm going head-over-heels for this little dude. Can't wait for feedback.


Peace y'all

Why you ejecting the octatrack???????

Don't get me wrong here, the OT is a gorgeous box. Anyone that has a workflow that is 100% reliant on samples should save their pennies for the box, without a doubt. The operating system isn't even at version 1.00 to boot! The reason I'm curious about the MPC500 is because I'm realizing more that the OT is hyper-valuable and I never intended to end up with one. Traded my MonoMachine to my buddy for his brand new OT and have been in love. Confusing, I feel ya but I never really wanted a box that had thiiiiiiiis much sampling power. I guess you could say my foot will never fit the shoe, and that's a gorgeous thing. I have been thinking of a setup to build around my MachineDrum, which I adore 100%. As modest as it is, I don't really "need" anything more than what this MPC500 has to offer.

NOW - another thing is - the OT isn't as "portable". I can always go to a park and plug in somewhere. With the 500, I can literally go anywhere, sample anything without worry (as long as I have batteries! )! I do a lot of random collaborations with my local homies and sometimes we get the wild hair to go out on a cliff and play drums. The 500 would be a perfect noise-making companion for those sorta adventures. The OT on the other hand... is a wonderland of a desk buddy. Plus, with the effects I have (and am looking to collect later) I'll have tons of fun with the 500. I'll miss the slicing in the OT, which is **** insanely beautiful, but what the 500 has to offer sounds like a fair trade... at least right now.

I'm growing WITH the OT, and this is the first time I've had a piece of gear (other than my drum set) that I've been able to grow with. I just started making music with boxes, outside of my drums, July of 2010. Hyper new. Just looking for a modest setup with super solid workflow. Nothing more.

This is THE place to talk about the 500. I'm not a hater on it, I have no weird "MPC-ego" or anything. This thing just seems plain **** cool. No grips here. Y'all are the masters of this humble machine, I'm just a grasshopper in a field of really pretty grass.



Peace & noize

Why they call it OctaTrack if you can only use 6 tracks? Unless they updated the OS.

Hey, I'll trade you my mint nearly new MPC500 + ESX-1 for your Octatrack. Deal?

The OctaTrack has never been just six tracks, my man. You can set up Track 8 to be a "master effects" track, OR it an be a regular sample track as well! Pretty nifty.

That trade doesn't tickle my fancy. When I'm ready - I'm looking to SELL the OT so I can pick up the pieces I've been looking at for a while now. Nothing else.

Maybe if you were looking to trade an MPC500, Korg EA-1, Critter & Guitari Pocket Piano, a Lexicon MX400 and maybe another lil' thing or two... we'd be straight.


Elektron is updating the OS pretty regularly, so go grab a manual (www.elektron.se) and read up on it more in-depth. It's a pretty interesting machine.

medearis wrote:That trade doesn't tickle my fancy. When I'm ready - I'm looking to SELL

I've actually been some-what interested to see if you were going to take that trade.

MAD-tentacles wrote:

medearis wrote:That trade doesn't tickle my fancy. When I'm ready - I'm looking to SELL

I've actually been some-what interested to see if you were going to take that trade.

Maaaaan! I actually sold my ESX to a buddy for partial funding of a much-needed interface upgrade!
Can't say I was a huge fan of that box, again, what it offered was awesome but still a bit too much
for what I'm looking to do with a sampler! This MPC500 is really juuuuust right for the type of sampling
I am lookin' to integrate into my lil' rig. AND - when I feel like creating differently/away from my room,
the 500 can cover all bases. The battery power never hurts, either!



So how does the timestretching feel & work on the 500? It's not "SUUUUUPER" important, but it's
a feature that is obviously very kick-ass so I'm wonderin' about the interfacing & texture from this box!


Diggin' around - this place seems like a super tight community, minus the random dudes that say the
500 is more of a toy than the other MPCs. They're just jealous that they can't rock $500 like it's
$2,000.

medearis wrote:So how does the timestretching feel & work on the 500?

You were about right with the "a bit gimped" assessment. It'll get the job done - but you're going to have to do some messing around - it's all in the technique. Obviously the feature is stronger with other boxes - but you get what you pay for.

medearis wrote:Diggin' around - this place seems like a super tight community, minus the random dudes that say the 500 is more of a toy than the other MPCs. They're just jealous that they can't rock $500 like it's $2,000.

Word. I call it a challenge.

medearis wrote:So how does the timestretching feel & work on the 500? It's not "SUUUUUPER" important, but it's
a feature that is obviously very kick-ass so I'm wonderin' about the interfacing & texture from this box!

Timestretching sucks donkey balls on all MPs compared to software or the OT.

You may end up being seriously underwhelmed by the 500. At a minimum I would forgo the battery power and aim for the 1k instead. There's a lot more options open to you for a bit more cash.

I feel ya on the 500 timestretch VS. the OT. I'm not 100% concerned about how good/bad it is, just curious if it's there AND (relatively) do-able. Also I run Logic Pro 9 so I can probably get in and timestretch stuff there.

Really just looking for something really fun, the OT's THE shit, don't get me wrong. I know what's up there! I'm just looking for something that fits my sampling needs. The OT has a TON of room to grow into, and that is really beatiful. The 500 has something very special to me. I suppose it's like downsizing a backyard. I'm still going to have a ton of space to let my dogs run around, but I won't have to mow as much or pull as many weeds.

Are there any 500-specific vidjyas out there that 'show off' the timestretch (or lack thereof!). I'm really just curious because I love running my buddy's recorded guitar though it to f*ck with it, spit something out that's textured completely different... then, layer a bit, THEN record mah drum set, which is my real wub.

It's worth checking out this thread for what you can do with the 500.

I doubt there's any timestretch vids in there though...


viewtopic.php?f=26&t=121710


There's no doubt it's a capable machine though.

Oh haaaaail yeah! Was listening to some of those yesterday, skipping through pages. Was very cool to see that this "little brother" has such a devoted crew supporting it & the users of tomorrow. That shows some real backbone, and it's always cool to check in o your kinfolk, see how they are sculpting with the same tool(s) you have. Inspirational, to say the absolute least.

Been drooling over this little dude, and, coming from someone with an OctaTrack I think that's the shit.
It will be SO much better for me to drum out my melodies instead of having to program them in on a sequencer. Fun for certain things, but I'd rather bang my melodies out weirdly enough!




Peace y'all & thanks for the warm welcome

C'mon man, that was the deal of the century

Ok, ok. How about I throw in the Beat Thang Virtual, you'll be crunked on that swang feature for days.

Did you just say BEAT THANG VIRTUAL? You found my weakness.... I'll trade.

Word!

Okay - now that I've been browsing the second-hand price of the 500s and 1000s I'm noticing something very strange. The 500 doesn't seem to really 'devalue' itself. It is strange to me that they are still usually $400+. I've read a few stories of people getting lucky and finding one for $300-350. **** lucky!

Local craigs list has one at $400 but I'd have to drive two hours to go pick 'er up. Of course, I make this seem like a hassle when talking to the dude but I have tons of homies that live there, and asked him to drop the price even just a little bit.... haven't heard ANYTHING back from him.

The MPC1000 seems like a really solid route, putting 100% portability aside, because the price makes it a better deal I suppose. Right now on eBay, most of the 1000 auctions are STARTING around $400 or right under. Of course, people bid and all that shit but IF you get lucky - really seems like there's nothing you can lose. Especially with the JJOS.

This is even more confusing than I ever thought it was going to be... not looking for a behemoth of a sampler... just a sampler. On board effects would be nice, but I have a MachineDrum & some other ways of processing... multiple outs would be super nice to have on the 500. Bastard Akai!

Any words from those that used to be in this sort of situation? Ha damn...


PEACE!