multitimbral capability of mpc500?

i don't have an mpc 500 yet, but i am seriously considering getting one. one thing i need to clear up definitively before i get it is the following:
it seems most people use these things as a drum machine type sampler, meaning each midi note triggers a different sound. i am currently using an s2000 and s20. with both of these, you can either play samples this way or as multitimbral (this may not be the right word) where each midi note plays back a sample at a different pitch rather than a different sample. is the mpc capable of doing this, or is it ONLY for beat creation? i have used the search function and read multiple reviews, none of which has yielded a clear answer to me on this.

I think the function your referring to is called "auto chromatic". This is where you take 1 sample on a pad and assign it to all 64 pads; each pad pitched up by 1 interval as you go from lowest to highest. The Mpc 2500 does this but the 500 does not.

you can do it if you midi up the mpc to your current samplers

really??? damn. so, when they say it's a complete music production center or whatever, they mean complete percussion production center. how are you supposed to create any kind of melody anywhere if you can't take instrument samples or synth samples and pitch them differently with the sequencer? or am i completely off base in my concept of how this thing works.

all i really want is something like the akai s20 but with something like a cf card for storage, not a stupid floppy drive. i thought the mpc would be the answer since it is obviously evolved out of the s20. as i understand it, the s20 is in some respects more powerful than the mpc500, which is rather disappointing considering the age difference.

i am looking for something that will

1. easily record and loop samples "on the fly"
2. store to a convenient backup media, preferably cf
3. be able to do the above-described "pitch across keyboard" function AND "drum program" type layout.

so far i've come up with nothing, which is a major bummer and something i find hard to believe considering how much music gear is supposed to have advanced.

goldenhelix wrote:really??? damn. so, when they say it's a complete music production center or whatever, they mean complete percussion production center. how are you supposed to create any kind of melody anywhere if you can't take instrument samples or synth samples and pitch them differently with the sequencer? or am i completely off base in my concept of how this thing works.

all i really want is something like the akai s20 but with something like a cf card for storage, not a stupid floppy drive. i thought the mpc would be the answer since it is obviously evolved out of the s20. as i understand it, the s20 is in some respects more powerful than the mpc500, which is rather disappointing considering the age difference.

i am looking for something that will

1. easily record and loop samples "on the fly"
2. store to a convenient backup media, preferably cf
3. be able to do the above-described "pitch across keyboard" function AND "drum program" type layout.

so far i've come up with nothing, which is a major bummer and something i find hard to believe considering how much music gear is supposed to have advanced.

best you can do with the 500 is the 12 levels function....otherwise I'd get a bigger model mpc

um.. assign tune to q link > 12 levels

yeah you can assign the pitch of a sample with the 12 levels put onto pitch mode. but you only get 12 notes and it does not keep the length of (stretch) the sample