MPC live capability question?

I have used Roland Drum machines,grooveboxs and samplers in the past but am researching about MPCs at the moment (MPC500) because I would like to use my own samples instead of pre programed sounds and have it all in one handy hardware box.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me If MPC's are designed for live perfomance or just production.
I have heard they have limited memory so you can only produce and play one song at a time...but also read in the manual I downloaded they have space for 20 songs..so I am confused..I would like to be able to play a full set with different songs and changes aswell as trigger live samples and loops but am not sure if this is possible, or for how long.
I have seen MCs and DJs use them live but they always seem to go back to records after one song..
If anyone has any experience your advice would be appreciated..

From my experiences using the 1000 and the old 2000, the main problem is switching between songs.

So, if you have a tune loaded up, playing live, you'd need to load up the next song you wanted to play. I don't think you can do it on-the-fly so to speak. You'd need to stop whatever you were playing, and load up the program and sequences (with samples) to play the next tune.

I could be wrong, but if you're gonna be using a 500 (with it's reduced functionality compared with other models), then I doubt it would be much different to my 1000 for live usage.

Anyone else shed any light on this?

How long does loading take? And what does it involve?

Bare with me on this.....

OK, if you're constructing a "song" on the MPC, you can do it a few ways. You can either create several sequences which are basically variations on a combination of samples, i.e. kick/snare/high hat placement, one sequence might have your basic looped sample with a bassline, the next sequence might not, etc etc etc.

You will need to save the sequences, and consequently, load up the sequences when you want to play this song.

The other way of constructing your "song" would be to use the Track Mute method. This involves recording, for example, your kick and snare line on Track 1, and your hi-hat on track 5. In the Track Mute screen on the MPC, you can elect which track to mute simply by pressing the pads.

So, pad A01 (bank A, pad #1) will mute track 1, and so on. Probably more useful for live work.

This method involves saving both the "program" (for your track mutes and samples), and also the sequence (you'll only really use 1 sequence this way as all the changes are done through muting of tracks).

Loading these up, I doubt there's very much difference between the two methods mentioned. Personally, I would use the Track Mute method for song construction and consequently, for live use. You can drop elements in and out of your live performance easily.

I did some FX stuff for a funk band I used to DJ with, and my old 2k was fine. It was just a b*tch keeping everything in time.

Anyway, I always used track mutes as it kept things nice and easy. What's more, you can also label your tracks whatever you like so you don't get confused when faced with 16 pads on the screen (12 in your case).

My simple, and rather sh*tty diagram below shows you how easy track mutes are to use:

For example:

Track 1: Hi-Hats
Track 2: Snare
Track 3: Kick
Track 4: Sample 1
Track 5: Sample 1 (filtered)
Track 6: Bassline
Track 7: Horns
Track 8: Guitar

But, the MPC lays out each track in a grid. 3x4 in the MPC 500, and 4x4 on anything else. By tapping on each pad, you can mute or un-mute. It's that simple.

Anyway, check this video tutorial. The guy pretty much explains what I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpiByZ-B4Kg