mpc500...one backwords interface.....does it get better?

does it get better?

a friend of mine loaned me his mpc500 today, i've been messing around with it but it seems to have a horrid workflow. I know it's only been a few hours of playing with it. but one thing i've loved about sampling drum machines on the whole is being able to pick it up and learn it within a very short time. Ive used many a sampling drum machine: mpc1k, mpc3k, mpc2kxl, mpc2k, mpc60, mpc3k, studio 440, sp1200, forat9000...

does it gt better?!?!:-) it is pretty cute, but a lot of the important features seem well hidden. or just set up so piss poor. when i first heard about this machine i was extremely excited. and also the 2 line interface usually can be pretty good(forat9000's amazing).

I found out the features i most use pretty quick, but getting to them was no one.

anyone with lots of usage end up really enjoying the workflow?

the top reason i feel to go MPC is for the workflow, i'm almost at odds if the mpc500 workflow is any better or possibly worse than working with a computer?

I'l see I guess, my buddy lent it to me in frustration. I am looking forward to using it, he basically lent it to me so i could make him some beats. It seems pretty fun to use. I hope i can get over the interface though...

The work flow on the 500 stinks.

Two things that would have made a world of difference IMO would have been:

1. If they had included a more intuitive and usable number pad.
Maybe by marking the #'s on the drum pads more clearly. Although they would still be a drag to use with your left hand due to the crappy pad sensitivity.

2. If they had enabled using the Q-link slider for data input. I have no idea why they chose not to do that. But Sony does off the wall stuff in between knocking them out the park also, so its just one of those corporate brainfarts I guess.

You do get more used to it, but its always remained a chore to work with for me. Which is a real shame because it does almost everything you need. But you have to fight it every step of the way.


Of the drum samplers I've owned or tried I would rank them for intuitiveness as:
SP > MPC60 > SP808(although that was a turd of a machine) > 500 > 2000 > 440

The 2000 was probably easier than I know after you got used to it. But the few times I tried it it was a mess compared to the 60 OS so I decided that I wasn't interested in it.
The 440 was definitely the worst, although I'll bet that roland MV might match it judging from every roland I've tried in the last 15 years.

I've never tried an ASR-X, but the ASR had a nice interface. Almost as clean as the SP. But I cant picture getting an ASR-X instead of just getting an ASR.

I sure wish somebody would have made a machine with the functions of the modern MPC and the flow of the 1200. Maybe when/if Linn drops his new machine, but thats gonna be high dollar kicks if he does.

Wow, I didn't know it could do all of that.
Thats a shame about the pads, I think I'm knowing that pain right now myself.


It seems like there's no straight out perfect machine really. Everything that has its advantages seems to always have a drawback or two also. Just have to find the one that suits your functional needs and creative temperament the best.

Lampdog, give me the money i'll get one! i'm broke as a joke.

for real though. i dont like the feel of the new mpc pads. i've messed on the 2.5k they're nice but, if i'm going to spend more than 500 on a machine, i'll get an mpc60 instead. and if i'm going to spend about 1k i'd get an mpc3000 instead of a 2500, no real use for me to have the extra memory and what not. i like simple features. tune, start end time of sample, attack and decay. more important to me is good workflow:-)

only thing i wish the mpc3k had was mute via pad....

3001 wrote:Lampdog, give me the money i'll get one!

no

the 500 is so **** easy to use, i picked it up in like 20 minutes, i cant fathom how the "workflow" is bad. the dudes with the more expensive shit like to talk down on the 500 for some reason, idk why tho

-phantom- wrote:the 500 is so **** easy to use, i picked it up in like 20 minutes, i cant fathom how the "workflow" is bad. the dudes with the more expensive **** like to talk down on the 500 for some reason, idk why tho

Have you ever tried anything else?

It only stinks compared to some of the best.

Its not that bad, theres definitely worse.
But it is flawed in a few unnecessary ways relative to the history of similar machines.

You would expect lessons learned and advancements in technology and interface to be accumulative, but like in life that isn't always necessarily so.

The MPC 500 really isn't that bad. It's pretty simple/straight forward once you get your head wrapped around it. I think if you're coming from another MPC, it is a bit tough to know where to find the menus you are looking for. Fortunately the workflow is quite similar to the big brother MPCs... so if you know how to use one of the others it is quite comparable to get around.

There are plenty of documented issues/workflow differences for the 500, but if you give it some time you can really sink your teeth into it. Still depends on what you want to get out of it. The 500 excels at being portable and inexpensive. If you're looking for more then you'll probably want another device. The 1k is definitely a good contender compared to the 500.

-phantom- wrote:the 500 is so **** easy to use, i picked it up in like 20 minutes, i cant fathom how the "workflow" is bad.

I have to agree.
Sitting on the sofa watching TV with the 500 is always fun and productive.
Tried the same with the 1k and even JJosxl couldn't make it as fun and productive.

robthom wrote:


Have you ever tried anything else?

It only stinks compared to some of the best.

Its not that bad, theres definitely worse.
But it is flawed in a few unnecessary ways relative to the history of similar machines.

You would expect lessons learned and advancements in technology and interface to be accumulative, but like in life that isn't always necessarily so.

I own/ have owned EVERY MPC and the 500 doesn't stink compared to any of the other.
Wanna know why?
Because I fully understand whay it supposed to be and what it is.
I don't expect it to be the same as the 4k or 5k I expect it to be a 500.
Why would you compare it to them?
Akai's goal of a portable battery operated MPC was fully achieved.
They were not trying to make a poor man's MPC or an entry level MPC since that's what they felt they did with the 1k.
If you have dealt with something like the MPC60 then the you understand that they made the 500 more like older samplers.

It's actually a pretty straight forward unit.