a few intensive questions for 500 owners

1 - i know the mpc500 doesnt have the automatic loop chopping function (chop shop right?)
which really is a bummer, but does it have "patched phrase" or what i understand to be timestretching/pitchshifitng?

in the specs it says it doesnt, but it also says the mpc1000 doesnt either and in this video this dude says it does

as demonstrated in this video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=--GzodmsZtI

im sure i will most likely end up getting the 500 either way but this would be an amazing fuction to have.
it would really help get me way the fu(k away from the computer if i dont hafta goto recycle or even wavelab for anything ever.


also few questions about how it works with the usb interface...this is how im assuming it works..
2 - you have a project folder which contains both the project file that the mpc reads as well as the samples used in that program, the mpc is seen by the computer as a "mass storage device" and you can freely backup these project folders as well as easily drop new samples in the mpc from your computer (.wav?)

3 - how difficult and time consuming do you find it to manually chop your samples in such a symmetrical fashion where you can play the loop out in your own timing like pete rock does in the beginning of this vid (assuming doing this manually is the only way since theres no chopshop?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws2aCAhb ... ed&search=

one last quest (for now)
4 - do any of you have experience with highend software compressors and eqs (eg. waves level stuff) so that you could give me a gauge of how useable the global eq and comressor are on the 500?

ive been lurking around on here for sometime getting myself all good and decided up on this dive into a hardware based setup and i think from what i can tell the mpc500 is gonna be a kickass place to start.
you all seem to be very informative and unusually groovy for a gear forum which usually have far too much ego to ever feel like a comfortable place, also i have noticed the strong sence of comradery, which has most definatly been a big push towards this machine for me.
thanks
-z

1. No timestretch (mpc1000 got both chopshop and timestretch with an OS update, it didnt ship with those features)
2. Yes. the mpc acts like a very expensive usb memory reader and the CF card shows up as a flash drive.
3. Not difficult but it is somewhat time consuming. You are basically manually chopping which means using the datawheel to find start and end points, then copying the sample to create a different start and end.
4. The effects on the mpc are not a major selling point. I've used hardware and software effects (Waves included). They are usable but not stellar. In reference to the compressor specifically, i would compress your samples before you put them on the mpc if you are needing really good dynamics control.

Post back if you have more questions.

spiral wrote:1. No timestretch (mpc1000 got both chopshop and timestretch with an OS update, it didnt ship with those features)

The 500 does have timestretch: Trim Mode > Edit > Stretch

But it doesn't have pitch shift. You could get something useful by stretching a sound, and then tuning the sample to a different pitch, effectively how granular pitchshifters work anyway. You'd just have to make sure you get the timing right to have the new sample playback at the same rate as the original. There will be artifacts, but the 500's timestretch is a little rough sounding anyway.

You can use some of the patched phrase functionality from programs made in other MPCs, but you lose some features (I can't remember which since I've never used a patched phrase) and you can't make them yourself on the 500.

The effects are handy, but I agree with spiral, they aren't exactly the selling point for the 500. As far as I can tell from the documentation, the effects are the same one's you get with the 1000 (not sure what you get in the JJ OS, though, maybe something better?).

I've found trimming samples to be pretty easy. but I've used old samplers before, where you had no choice but to trim by ear. Chopping one sample into several smaller samples (like beatslicing) wouldn't be difficult, just that it could take a long time.

I wouldn't recommend thinking about the MPC500 like other MPCs, since its workflow is generally different than all the others as a result of being so compact. Just approach it like a good portable sampler with a lot of MPC features and you'll be happy.

Because the MPC is so small and light, consider getting some portable outboard effects to use with it. I'm in the process of doing that, have an analog filter on the way, will be getting a good delay soon. It'll still be as portable as carrying around a handful of guitar pedals, and the extra effects will most likely be better than what you get in the other MPCs (I'll probably be getting Eventide's Timefactor as a delay once it's released, even the 4000 doesn't have a delay to match that).

If you really, really just want an MPC, I'd recommend you save some money and get a bigger model.

You're right. There is manual timestretch when you are editing a sample. Thanks for the correction.

Technically the "Tune" function is a pitch shift, just not using Akai's chosen vocab, so it is available. You can shift the pitch of a sample in the program editor but of course that naturally changes the duration of the sample.

What sighup is describing with changing the pitch and then timestretching to keep the duration the same is probably what most other samplers do (or at least provide the option) when they pitch shift.

I think a good way to think about the mpc500 is more of a beat / phrase sampler with an awesome sequencer rather than a production studio like its bigger mpc siblings. Things might change with a software update or a jj OS but it is both powerful and limited.