MPC (ANY MODEL) versus open labs dbeat anybody got one?

the selling point to an open labs is ... everything in one box. interface, control surface, keyboard controller, mouse pad/touch screen, qwerty keyboard..... you dont need to pack up all the loose pieces if you need to go somewhere with your studio. Now that is cool and all... except still it is a lot of money for what it does. I know the cost of those parts do add up, man touch screens are not cheap for example... so that shit adds up plus they need to make a profit. Still, I dont want to pay 5 grand for an ableton/reaper combo.

I feel you on that bro. They're starting to slowly lower the price on the older models due to the upgraded ones that are coming out now. Also, you can get a used one or almost brand new on ebay or craigslist from people who bought it just off hype and probably got fed up with it..lol

yeah man, I mean if I was timbo or some shit like that you know I would grab that just because I want to make hits everywhere and I want to be able to tweak problems in current deadline projects no matter what city i'm in.... but I aint timbo and I dont got money..

NearTao wrote:I've messed with the dbeat... and if you love Ableton Live (or perhaps other software) it certainly is dope. Quite solid and it is layed out pretty well. The thing about it though is that you still have to roll your sleeves up to configure some things. The default setup is quite well thought out, but if you want to do some things outside the 'box' you're going to have some work ahead of you.

I definitely give it a thumbs up, but way too pricey for my tastes... and really it just gives you that itch. When Live 9 or whatever comes out you're probably going to upgrade, but then you'll want that much more CPU/Memory/new controllers and while you have plenty of USB on this unit the whole point of having it integrated is to not be tethering yourself to a bunch of ****. Regardless, if I had more studio space I'd seriously consider making this the 'brain' add in a Launchpad/APC40 and man I bet you can do some crazy stuff.

On the reality side though... I'm going to stick with my MPC 500/1k for now. The MPC workflow is just too tight and well defined for me. I've really tried to embrace it in Ableton Live... some things work, and plenty of things just don't. I've been a Live user since 1.0 and using Reason since 2.0. I can get anything (and more) done with it than I can with an MPC, but man there are often a sea of options and it can make it hard to get things done. Plus, when I'm groovin' I really don't want to have to think about VST management, changing a pad to trigger a different clip or whatever. For better or worse the MPC (barring OS upgrades) is what it is. Mode + Pad 2 will always be Mode + Pad 2. With software/controllers it can be different on anybody's setup, or even for each template you use. Right now I'm kind of diggin' the fact that I can use my MPC here and then go to by bro's and have it work the same on his system instead of having to lug a laptop and a load of controllers.

So all things equal... man I say go for what feels right and lets you get the job done.

Mad props my man. Dropping some sense onto the forum. I'm blown.

séance wrote:Mad props my man. Dropping some sense onto the forum. I'm blown.

I'm quite full of sense... most of it is the non variety though

BGBEATS wrote:alright I see people always making distictions like computer/software/ midi controller versus mpc

computer music not same etc etc,,,


now but an mpc IS a unit with a DEDICATED simple computer, audio interface/soundcard/ and midi controller built in an all in one unit.
but then people still track to a daw

so with that being the case isn't this like an mpc on steroids, crack & heroin at once and true all in one box



LIke having an mpc with ableton live built in whoa

What disadvantage (production/recording wise) could this piece have, other than if the computer goes down, the whole unit useless i assume, but if working properly, what possible disadvantage could there be?

Ok, i feel like this would defeat my own personal purpose of getting and MPC... to get away from the computer for a while... Also, if you get a dbeat, you might as well just get a laptop, mpd24/32 (or whatever other number), a mixer and some DAW's...

note that this is just based on researching the dbeat and using the mpc 1000, 2000xl and 2500 a few times... really wasn't impressed by any open labs products, but hey, thats just me.

this is just my opinion...may be wrong, but its mine

kashief wrote: hey, thats just me.

this is just my opinion...

no it aint! didn't open labs go bankrupt?

damn... bankrupt? well i will say, the concept was nice, but the timing was all wrong. me being me, im all for technology but once again, i was so not impressed by open labs... actually i was, untill i saw they just built everything around a computer. yea you would have to take less stuff but its a computer...something that most people already have and don't want another one. From what i saw of this, it appears to be a midi controller with a pc add-on. i hope they can recoup tho lol when ppl say "didnt they go bankrupt???", that sounds so much worse than "what ever happened to...?"

It was a viable option for those willing to pay a ridiculously exponential price for convenience.

séance wrote:It was a viable option for those willing to pay a ridiculously exponential price for convenience.

This may very well be true, but how many people really thought it was that convenient? Sure, if i had money to burn, i might get one for people who want it in my futuristic, currently non-existing super studio lol.

but na, but open labs products could easily be the standard, for computer based producers, but there are just too many keyboard and mpc users... I would pick a korg m3/roland fantom and an mpc 1000/XL/2500... ah...my dream setup...simplicity...

If this thing is all set up on booting and runs smooth with the programmes,its got to be essential.To much time is lost fiiddling about.Not every one is a mathmetician.Creativity is more important at the end of the session.Id love to have one for a couple of weeks to see how it stacks up.With my ultralite soundccard of course.

dryad-66 wrote:If this thing is all set up on booting and runs smooth with the programmes,its got to be essential.To much time is lost fiiddling about.Not every one is a mathmetician.Creativity is more important at the end of the session.Id love to have one for a couple of weeks to see how it stacks up.With my ultralite soundccard of course.

i can def. dig that.