AKAI UK PRODUCT SPECIALIST MPC5000 ***ANDY MAC*** Q&A

Hi Guy's

Some of you might know me from the Akai trade show's over the past 2 years. I'm the U.K Area sales manager for AKAI UK and Product Specialist.
I look after the MPC sales and manager all the UK training on MPC which includes beat making/Production tricks/Layering/Old Vs New/Swing features/EQ/Comp/

My background with AKAI/MPC goes back many years. Currently I'm running the 5000,2500,1000,500, mpc3000 and s5000 in the studio. I have been using MPC in professional recording sessions now for sometime and have worked with countless signed acts ranging from 3LW to Jon B.

I've been using the MPC5000 for about a week now and I ran the Beatshed and Sounds Expo workshops last week featuring this New beast in our range.

If i can offer any advice on why you should upgrading your current machine then please contact me. I will be login in from around 9pm til 11pm most evenings to answer your questions

Hope I can be of assistance to you guys.


Andy Mac
Akai Uk

Good to see some real MPC rep's in the MPC Forums... anyway I've got a few questions to ask Andy. Ok first of all can I ask why you don't have the MPC2000 / MPC2000 XL in your arsenal of MPC is this just a personal thing or do you have a reason ?

Also I have an MPC2000 XL which I love working with ....out of all of the new range MPC's ( i.e 500, 1000, 2500 ) I have never really felt tempted to upgrade due to the reliability and build of this old beast never ever had a problem with it. So Ok ...now Akai drop the MPC 5000 ok I'm tempted... but on the weekend I hooked up my new Macbook pro, logic pro 8 ( with loads of AU synthesizer's ) an Apogee Duet, (I'm going to be midi up my MPC 2000 XL) so now I'm like ...wait a minute ...why the hell would I need a MPC 5000 ?

So thats my question. I'm not really asking for a sales pitch but honestly, after using it what has the new MPC 5000 brought to the table in 2008 that I might sell it to me ?

Thanks for your time.

I did have a mpc2000xl a few years ago but sold it. Nothing personal about the machine but technology moves on and after spending some time with the 2500 I found i could do things on that i would never have done on the fly with the 2000xl. I can layer drums in my head with easy and make kiks that really hit hard. If you notice urban drums have changed over the past 3 years and drums sounds have become so much cleaner in production. Claps are the new snares and kicks are even more louder then the teddy riley days with the Underdogs holding ballads together on kik and snrs! What can i say about the 5000. Well after having spent about a week with it the O.S is extremely easy to use. Very similar to the 4000 but now added with the Simul feature that gave us the ability to trigger different pads with different envelopes for fronts on clps and Kiks. This is a great feature.

The next feature is the 996 PPQ timing!!! Anyone running a 4000 knows the advantages of this feature. You start programming with ppq this high without quantize on the results are truely amazing. I did some on the spot demo's with this feature and it really was impressive.

The machine is very comfortable to work with and the on board synth can open the doors to some mad/crazy idea's. If you like what Ryan Leslie is doin at the moment than this 3 osc synth can really make your beats move towards something very now sounding. Don't get me wrong.........Im a big fan of the old range but the features availble now give me the ability to produce fast and not hit any brick walls where i need to stop my work flow for the computer to catch up whist im choppin or searching for sounds.

Yes I use Logic the same as you but the drums are always from the MPC!!!!



Hope this helps

macman wrote:Yes I use Logic the same as you but the drums are always from the MPC!!!!

Hi Andy,

Since you use Logic also (and I am hoping you have logic studio), are there any timing issues between MPC (master)/Logic (slave) and vice versa ? IMHO, I think this might be the most important factor for a lot of us to jump on board with the 5000. We would really be appreciative if you can give any/all details pertaining the relationship between Logic and MPC.

Thank You !

The way that im running the machines is programming on the MPC then once I'm happy with the groove I normally start programming my keyboard parts inside Logic running Motif/Triton Rack/SE1X so logic will then be the master and the MPC the slave.Once the SEQ is bangin I will export the midifile seq via usb into logic and then finish off the programming. I have worked this way for years so don't use the MPC as a master.

I will hook this up your way at the weekend and run some tests ok. I upgraded to Logic 8 about 2 months ago but been so busy with shows haven't really had much time to hit the studio.

I can help you with as much data as I can but i do-not use the MPC in every different way (ie) with reason/Cubase/Digital performer (etc)

I'm more than happy to try to answer questions based around my set-up and how I use them but like you know there are so many ways to use these machines with so many different programs.

Hope this helps

I would have to say that this machine appears to have more in common with rolands mc-909 than the mv8800. Ok maybe not looks wise, but mega groove box, yes. Can you tell me what on earth a FULL blown sampler is over what everybody here is calling a "phrase" sampler.
I just thought a sampler was a sampler..!

harmonik wrote:are there any timing issues between MPC (master)/Logic (slave) and vice versa ?

Logic can't be the slave. Its no longer possible as of version 8.

macman,

Please tell me there's some headroom in the filter. One of my biggest pet peeves on the 1000 is that as soon as you get down to about 25-30 on the LPF, the sample starts to clip. Which means you gotta turn the filter down to -6dB or even -12, which then means you have to turn all the rest of the samples down to maintain balance.

fur*q wrote:I would have to say that this machine appears to have more in common with rolands mc-909 than the mv8800. Ok maybe not looks wise, but mega groove box, yes. Can you tell me what on earth a FULL blown sampler is over what everybody here is calling a "phrase" sampler.
I just thought a sampler was a sampler..!

This might be a very shallow answer but here goes:

Full Sampler:
http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM05 ... een-lg.jpg

Phrase Sampler:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Aug01/i ... sp3031.gif

At the Sounds Expo I span one of the crowds 4 bar track (kinda some rhodes slow thing going on which had drums) and used the hi-pass filters and gave it some radio vibe and took most of the drums out then re-programmed some stuff over the top with some hard kik and clp. The guy fell off the chair nearly when the groove kicked in...........

The filter was really amazing plus this 996 PPQ really does lock the drumz in so tight!!!

If your working some Musiq soulchild lazy beat or JonB VIBE again the 996ppq really does go to work.

I would like to know if the 5k has improved the output quality over the 2500. I understand the new filters, FX and envelopes should improve the sound but what about the converters, op amps, internal processing etc.? Does it use the same converters as the 2500?

"The filter was really amazing plus this 996 PPQ really does lock the drumz in so tight!!!

If your working some Musiq soulchild lazy beat or JonB VIBE again the 996ppq really does go to work."

Please....that sounds like some cheap quote out of the brochure.

Andy...let's talk about OS updates...pull up a chair and give us the official word...

is it true that the MPC5000 is a rehash of the MPC3000 Roger Linn, but with updated amentities?

I'm only up here for a few days so I will answer as much as I can.

There will always be version updates on computer based products just like your software programs. We are always looking for ways to ADD features to make the machines even better than they already are. There are many producers making money from the new products and not worrying about the next update that gives him the abitity to program a beat without his hands.

I have put out many tracks on my 2500. Remember all your TOP producers you want your beats to sound like process there drums through the following.

API 550B'S £2000
SSL Buss Comp £2200
Neve Pre Amp's (Darkchild) £1800
Neve EQ £2000
Engineer £600 per day
SSL Board

Remember these guys have worked with every cat in the industry and exchange sounds and have the best people around them. If you personally don't like the sound of your 2500 is will be a few things.

a) The samples your recording
b) Your desk
c) Your over processing
d) Your soundcard

The results I get are amazing and when i drop the SSL across the Buss it's all over. Its like a car.

I prefer driving a new BMW to a old one any day of the week.

Smoother to drive
Better sound system
New technology inside !!!!
Drives Faster
Better handling
More for your money!!
Performs faster

The list goes on

There will always be people whom like there old vintage machines and I respect those guys cause im one myself. I love old eq's and compressors but when im making music i need great equipment around me that gives me the ability to get whats in my head into Logic as fast as possible and the new MPC's give me that.

Back in the day when i would leave the studio session and wanted to program some additional stuff at home I would grab the 3000 + the zip drive + the power supplys and the box of zips (etc)

Now I grap the 2500 and go straight home. Everything is locked inside on the HD. I can plug my synth straight into the inputs and do stuff on the fly..........It has made my life so much easier.

Also remember what do you want your MPC to sound like!!! It's a sampler. It can sound how you want. There are so many tricks on layering drums and using envelopes you can make anything you want. I work really hard on my samples and that was when i used the mpc3000 til today. Even when i ran my s3000xl I would layer and resample to make things sound fat.
Timberland and Darkchilds Kicks did not just sound straight like that.....They processed and layered the sound to create there trade mark same as Teddy Riley. Listen to alot of the old Roger Troutman tracks.......He lifted snares off there then layered them together with other samples.


Hope this helps

LvngDead wrote:
This might be a very shallow answer but here goes:

Full Sampler:
http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM05 ... een-lg.jpg

Phrase Sampler:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Aug01/i ... sp3031.gif

very well explained!

I still want to put it in other words to adress macman:

Do you know of any plans by akai to implement dedicated keygroup, looping and global routing functions like there were in the mpc 4000/z- and s- models into future updates of the mpc 5000?
If not could you please place this as an update request!

thank you