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By GLF Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:02 am
Hey,

So I recently bought a maxed out 2kxl, I love it. It sounds great and plays amazing. Despite having a macbook pro with Ableton, Logic Studio 9, Pro-Tools (although I never use it) and Reason, I just had to have an MPC, and of course it had to be a 2000xl. I was fully aware of the drawbacks and was prepared to deal with them. But now after having it for a few weeks or months Ive had enough. As I said, I do love it, but I feel its too much of a slow process and its effecting the flow of work immensely. To the point where I loose interest in what Im doing as its taking so long. I must admit, Im only tipping the iceberg and am still learning. But I cant take it anymore!!

The main reason I feel this way is auditioning drums. It takes so long, its painstaking. Reminds me of my childhood, sitting around waiting for my mates old C64 to load!!
I have no problem with the sampling process and I sample from vinyl that I spend hours digging for in thrift store's and record stores all over Brooklyn and the city and I LOVE it!! But I was adamant not to fall into the trap of making boom-bap sounding stuff all the time, and wanted to use processed drum sounds that i spent time tweaking then bringing into the MPC. Also, due to my previous software background im used to flying through kicks, auditioning them quickly untill you get one that suits the beat your working on. But with the 2k you have to individually load them and some times it takes forever. There are a few other small things to but that is the main problem I have with it.
And before people grill me over not doing it "old-school", its not what I had in mind and quite honestly i dont care about doing it old school. Other people do, and i totally respect that but its just not what im after when it comes to drums.

So can anyone talk me out of this??? Before I sell it and get a 1000 even though the pads are shit. Ideally I would get a 2500 but unfortunately it's just not financially possible at the moment.

Please note, im not hear to beat on 2k's and im not here to beat on old school producer's by ANY means at all!!
Im just interested to see if anyone makes a point that changes my mind. If only there was an upgrade to suit my needs!! JJ OS for the 2000xl!

Thanks

G
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By Tapuno Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:17 am
keep the 20xl, buy a second hand used up dirty whore 1000(like I did), order some new parts, get to rebuilding.(like I did)
By dryad-66 Thu Mar 11, 2010 12:18 pm
just got another 2kxl after a long break.(no pun intended)ive got the 4k.........anyways impulse buy.well its great.a complete no nonesense package.ive heard you can make your programes in your pc and put them on disk.good thing youl only copy the best over!!tthink im old school tho so i like the limited style.it sounds really good..you should get the 1k.in fact every one thinkig of crossing over should do.in years to come youl be back.ha a ha
By Sovereign Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:30 pm
GLF, you are thinking right.
What you are seeing with the 2k and not liking means you may not get past it.
BUT.
What you should try is to set the 2k up to use as a trigger for something like GURU, Battery or whatever you have and are familiar with.
That would allow you to see if the MPD path would work.

Other things to consider 2500 are dirt cheap if you shop.
A dogged out 1k should be avoided, go for a working on.
JJ OS2 or OSxl is mandatory.

If you go with either of them you would still need to load the RAM up with samples to be able to scroll through the way you like.
This would mean loading them up when you start working so they are accessible.

You can manually preview sounds without loading them but it's still not the same as scrolling through them.
By John.L Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:58 pm
Hi Mate, im in the same position as you. but looking at geting the 2500. im very tempted! theres somthing really great about
the 2000xl. i had a 4000 a while ago, and i took it back soon after. i have logic and a G5. i would rather work more with just an mpc and my triton, and let it flow. im not to sure about the sound of the newer machines. to clean for my likeing. but i like the 2500 and 1000 theres some good things about these 2. i would feel a little more organized if i had a 2500 with the extra ram, which i think you can also get with for the 1000. i will be keeping my 2000xl for sure tho. do you know if the quantize is diffrent on these newer machines? i hope theres someone hear who knows! would be intrested to know how it all goes for you anyway. keep me posted :D
By GLF Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:17 pm
Cheers for the response everyone.

I already have an MPD 32 among other controllers, the pads are awful though! Ive been meaning to mod them.
One of the main reason's I got the MPC was so I didnt have to use my laptop onstage. Its purely for aesthetic reasons (I know that may sound stupid to some people) as we use analogue synths, vox amps and old combo organs on stage. But I also want to make beats and do all my sampling through it.

Anyway, I reckon im gonna go for the 1000, I just cant afford the 2500 at the moment. And the more I think about it, they cost close to a grand, which is closer to what I paid for my macbook pro! The pads are shit on the 1000 and thats gonna piss me off, but ill just have to live with it. You see, the 2k was bought between me and another guy out of the band and we also bought a bust up 1k and did it up, hence me knowing how the pads feel.

How and ever thanks again to everyone and if anyone is looking for an immaculate 2kxl in the NYC area, hit me up!

G
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By Tapuno Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:38 pm
imo quantize sucks on the 1000, too stiff. The 2000xl just has an overall easier workflow, and if you go 1000, get a jjos, even if its the free one. better and faster.