Sp-1200 or MPC 60

I'm looking to buy an MPC 60 or a Sp-12/1200. If you could only buy one. Which one would you buy?
I know both are great..... I don't like pitting them against eachother. But I only have space for one at the moment.

i would kill for a sp-1200.

In all honesty I'd just flip a coin. I think their both about equal in allure. You can probably find an mpc 60 for cheaper than an sp 1200. Read the user manual for both, do some research regarding the functionality of both machines and then see if it changes your opinion. SP1200's have a nice sound but you have to learn to work in a different way if your already accustomed to the MPC. I'm not an SP user, but I've used on in the past and I'm certainly much faster on an mpc. It's up to you to decide if you want to learn the new machine or stick with what is familiar (assuming you already own an MPC)

Dan L wrote:I'm looking to buy an MPC 60 or a Sp-12/1200. If you could only buy one. Which one would you buy?
I know both are great..... I don't like pitting them against eachother. But I only have space for one at the moment.

If I wouldn't have records I would buy the 60 and spend the rest of the money into vinyl. Since I have many records, I would go for the 1200. But I think since the price of these both machines are so different its not really possible to say what to buy. A 60 goes for 650EUR+ on ebay, I never saw a 1200 under 1000EUR.

BUT! Dont buy without testing the machine.

peace

I have a nice collection of records already. ( not that I'm done or anything )

I'm with you 100% on trying before buying. I have a friend helping me locate an SP for a decent price. Same with a 60. If I buy a 60, I'm going to try and find one maxed out already.

Where can I find an owners man for the SP?

I would say, if you use midi whatsoever in your production, the 60.


Workflow is much nicer on the 60... and since it has a much more robust sequencer, it is more valuable to me in the studio...

Screen size... big plus on the 60.

Chopping... it is sloppier on the 1200 to me... but that is a part of the "classic swing" of the machine.


Price... 60 wins again.

Looks? 1200, or 60II are both baller... gigantic, and comfortable to work on

Production... I HATE tapping out shit on SP's ... despise it actually.... its loud, un-sensitive, and cumbersome.. I hooked a Korg padkontrol to mine or an mp...
The 60 pads are sweet usually, but depends on the age and use of the pad sensor.





Sound.... well Apples and Oranges here.

60 sounds punchy in the lows...dusty and dark in the mids, with a little sizzle up top in the 15k range..

the 1200 sounds grindy and brilliant... with extended tight lows and deep kicks, snappy/ slappy mids, and a nice metallic tinge to anything above 10k.... especially when pitched down severely.


I love both.... but if you are looking to do work, and you only have the room for one right now, I would do a 60II with scsi and 3.1... and the sp later.


youd spend 1200us on a clean sp1200 reissue, and you are stuck at floppy disks...

or...

you spend 650us and get a 3.1, Marion SCSI, and expanded memory... and you are at zip disk already, and have 26.2 seconds of sampling... vs 10ish.





Which one is cooler? the 1200, no doubt... but, which one makes more sense if it is either or? hands down the 60.




I just sold my sp-12 turbo... and am planning on buying a 1200 in the near future, but kept my 60II's around cause of functionality.

^ You bring up some good points..... I think I might Just break down and get both.LOL
I'll buy the SP first. Then pick up the 60 later......
Thanks for the help guys.

sound wise, you are not going to be dissapointed

Dan L wrote:
Where can I find an owners man for the SP?

You can find the manual for the SP1200 on this page >> http://www.emu.com/support/legacy.asp

sp1200 aint got a midi sequencer built in so you are limited to sampling everything, also limited to 10 seconds and floopies

edit: also sp1200 sound editing is better than mpc 60 os 2.xx, and more intuitive due to the faders

Thank you for the help guys..... I'm reading the SP's o.s right now.

Grenozh wrote:sp1200 aint got a midi sequencer built in so you are limited to sampling everything

this is not true
the sp1200 has an internal midi sequencer
it is not a sampler like the akai s950
the sp can make sequences and play other instruments hooked up via midi like the mpc

looking at right in the picture you can see midi in, midi out, and midi thru sockets

are you saying that you could hook up a synth to a sp1200 and record a sequence with it?

yes