serious question about 1000 & 2000XL

Ive read about 30 mins of threads on here discussing the *sound* difference between these two machines and most of what i've read is that the 1000 *supposedly* sounds like computer sounds and that the 2000XL *hits harder* and gives your drums a bit of a *harder* feel....you all know the story blah blah blah

my question is, i just bought an SP 303 tonight off eBay and i will be running pretty much all my sounds thru it first AND THEN into my MPC. Well, would it matter at all if i had the 2000XL or 1000 if I ran all my samples thru the 303 first, or would i still get the *different* sounds from the two machines?

I dont use the built in effects that much on my 500 anyway, so Im thinking I wouldnt even bother getting the effect board for the 2000XL, but on the other hand, the 1000 has a bunch more options, more memory, chopshop and more *updated*

Im just looking for that grimey low fi hip hop sound, which im sure i'll be able to acquire with the 303, but should i go for the XL or 1000?

I'm sure you'll get plenty of opinions on this but this is my take...

Unless you are looking for a particular sonic character from the A/D and D/A, then just sample into which one suits your workflow best and gets the job done quickest for you. As you kind of alluded to, if you're sampling one shots either is probably fine, but if you are playing with chop shop and doing complicated cuts you might want the 1k.

Of course you could always sample to the 2k, play, and then sample into the 1k and chop, but depends on how much you believe or disbelieve the sonic character of each device is imparting/taking away. Dunno man, I'd just do what works for you, try out a few things and see what you like and just go from there.

Even if somebody came in here and said here are six steps to make sonic gold, who knows if they fit your workflow or you think it is worth your time. You might also think that those steps produced garbage for whatever reason.

I just picked up an Akai S950, not to get 'that sound' but to experiment and make 'my sound'. Seriously, I could care less about who made what dope beats or hits with it. I'm more interested in it because I was looking at getting a 12-bit sampler to play with at a reasonable price and didn't want to fork over a fortune for an SP-12 or a MachineDrum right now anyways. For the price, I'd rather get the MachineDrum anyways since it'd have a waranty and less risk of dying involved.

Good luck though... both machines are dope. I'm sure you'll have a blas with the 2kxl!

I have both. Used the xl nearly 10 years. Go for the 1000. I personally don't hear much sonic difference between the two, at least not enough to let it influence my purchase. The 2500 seems to hit harder than the xl as far as drums, but again, not enough to base my purchase on.

2kxl all day if you want dope hip hop sound .


Filters are widdack on the 1000. make yo nuts shrink n sheeit .

I vote the 1000 if you're going to be sampling into the 303. The SP series has so much flexibility with samples that it doesn't matter at the end of the day. The 1000 has more features and the 8 outputs are standard, those alone make it a great purchase.

However, I've heard that the 2000xl has better pads and has a sturdier build, and the screen tilts.

Just something to chew on.

The sonic differences are largely "all hype". There are different converters, but at the end of the day - with the computing power that you have on hand - you can get the sound you want from either of them. So I recommend the newer MPC 1000.

Here's my take on it. I have both a 2000XL and a 2500 (which I don't think is much different from the 100 with the exception of added features). I don't hear much of a difference in the sound between the two. I'm sure there is one though since, as someone stated above, the converters are different, but I don't think its something noticeable to most people. So I would say go with what works for you better. Some of the extra features of the 1000 might come in handy (hard drive option, more RAM). And also, if you're doing timestretching and pitch shifting (you will need the effects card for pitch shifting; don't know if the 303 could do this for you) is a lot faster on the newer machines than on the 2000XL; I actually remember sitting for about 5 minutes waiting for a 2 bar loop to be stretched on my 2000XL.

k_roc wrote:The 1000 has more features and the 8 outputs are standard, those alone make it a great purchase.

The 1000 only has 4 outputs, 6 if you include the two stereo outs.

Kavie wrote:The 1000 only has 4 outputs, 6 if you include the two stereo outs.

My mistake.

Regardless, 6 outs is better than 2. Unless you find a 200xl with the board already installed.

the 1000 has got a very annoying peeping noise on certain filtered bass sounds..that a big factory engine mistake.

the xl doesn´t have that.

the 500 and i bet the 2500 have the same crappy Numark engine

freezeforce wrote:the 1000 has got a very annoying peeping noise on certain filtered bass sounds..that a big factory engine mistake.

the xl doesn´t have that.

Old school Akai may be responsible for that.

freezeforce wrote:the 1000 has got a very annoying peeping noise on certain filtered bass sounds..that a big factory engine mistake.

the xl doesn´t have that.

JJ fixed that by allowing pre-filter attenuation. Basically the filter tends to clip on bass heavy sounds.

The sonic differences are largely "all hype"

UNLESS YOU HAVE EARS.

the 1000 has got a very annoying peeping noise on certain filtered bass sounds..that a big factory engine mistake.

the xl doesn´t have that.

EXACTLY.

I don't know which version of JJ you are running, but mine makes "pre-UN-attenuated" clicks all day. sucks balls.

and what else he was saying was that when you pitch down.... it adds wack-ness to your sound (not good for bass at all... sounds cheese ball... only the heads that DIDNT start out on a 500, 1000, or 2500 would know and attest to this.

The 1000 is highly functional but sounds like poop in a jar smells when you put your nose right up to the brim.

Kind of like frooty-toots. great program... highly transparent that you are faking the funk.

my $0.02

The Grublet wrote:I don't know which version of JJ you are running, but mine makes "pre-UN-attenuated" clicks all day. sucks balls.

I don't know whether I just can't hear it, or I am just not paying attention, but I have no idea what you're talking about.

Anyway, I make dopeness all day with my 1k. My first MPC was a 60mkII and then a 3k, thankyouverymuch! I wouldn't take a HUGE step backwards in workflow just for some marginal gains in sound quality. But that's just me. Not when there are a million other samplers I can get (for dirt cheap) to run with my 1k. Not when I can just sync Ableton to it. But again, that's just me.

yo i dig this whole thread. thanks a lot you guys for your insight

so i think i've got a pretty good idea of which one i may get. been watching a lot of vids and i also just got my 303 in the mail today. 15 minutes with it and i was like "holy sh1t, this thing is a beast!"

i feel like the one area that i need to get better at is with chopping samples. i think with the 1000, i'll be able to chop/playback samples better than i have been. the workflow, being able to use more pads, autochop

if i can find a reasonable price for the 1000 on ebay, i will more than likely pick it up and sell my 500 for $$$$