shaobadman wrote:Unreallystic wrote:snip
- Unreall
Well written, I completely understand. I'm no professional producer or anything but I enjoy sampling and making instrumentals from basic samples, I was never really a FL Studio or Ableton or any kind of PC DAW type and that's why my first purchase was an OP1. It was fun and portable, but I outgrew it due to its limited ability in what I wanted to do and that's why I'm after a LIVE now. It might sound wrong coming from someone who doesn't have a unit yet (I'm working on it though) but I can't understand the expectations of the machine from those who react to it negatively. Even though I don't have one yet I really don't think I'd enjoy carrying my laptop around and making beats on that with a mouse and keyboard, the LIVE looks really appealing and judging by all the videos I've watched on it, seems to be priced appropriately (especially second-hand) for what it is.
And as for the design my only gripe with it is the removal of classic MPC buttons like cursors etc, I understand that there's a touch screen but it'd be cool if you had more options to use the touch screen less.
Some people see it as so and so DAW in a box and it doesn't meet their expectations - it makes me wonder how off my perception of the LIVE is, and I view it as the modern answer to the old MPCs with portability and a somewhat more compact size.
Oh the irony, I'm in the process of saving up for an OP-1 now. I know its a bit limiting, but I'm hoping the workflow will help me out when stuck in a slump. Especially the built in synths, I have a ton of gear and can easily get lost either going through the tons and tons of presets between all the gear of trying to NOT use presets and spending a bunch of time tuning synths trying to find something. And comparatively, the iPad - while versatile, and I use it when I don't feel like lugging around the MPC Live, it can get frustrating with some things just not working well together, and having a non-physical set of keys (and if I start bringing my XKey with me, I might as well bring the MPC too).
As for some of the negative energy, the Live sorta replaces a laptop, and that made people want to do everything from start to finish on it, but it simply doesn't excel at that. As well it has some workflow quirps that - while often make sense, slow some people down *cough me* enough to be an annoyance and/or lose that inspiration. I know there was some discussion in another thread about a high end MPC, and while I don't think they need a super high-end MPC, I think more of the population would have been better served with more horse-power and the ability to run VSTs (as a retired Reason user I can sympathize with these emotions)...more of a DAW being slammed into the hardware, than an expensive 'scratch pad'.
Side note, as someone who used to carry around a heavy ass laptop (19" screen, designed for playing games originally with 2 HDD) and a Push in a book bag, along with all the accessories and a Music Theory book, the MPC isn't REALLY any better. To carry around the MPC, I ended up purchasing (
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071H ... UTF8&psc=1 ). then I needed a sound source and wanted some synths so I started carrying the iPad Pro around with me, adding that to the bag and I'm practically at the same weight class I was at with a laptop and Push. Then, because I want physical keys aas I'm learning piano, I added an Xkey37 and case. So frankly, if you want the lightest solution, your best bet IS a thin laptop and something like the MPD216 (or a step up as the 216 has velocity issues - experieince talking). Pair with any DAW of choice and you get MPC pads, with WAY more flexibility and a MUCH lighter profile.
- Unreall