Mpc 3000 King Of Mpcs Yes or No and why?

So basically we have two leaders now:

The 3000 for it's claimed sound and groove.

The 4000 for it's functionality.



About the sound and groove of the 3000 there's an everlasting discussion. I must say, IMO each sampler has it own sound. My s3000 sounds fatter then my mpc 2500 when playing back beats straight out the box. After recording and mixing one doesn't sound worse then the other.

The 4000 has so many functions people get lost with that one. Or people simply don't need that many functions.

Sound versus funtionality. This is a never ending discussion.

Menco wrote:So basically we have two leaders now:

The 3000 for it's claimed sound and groove.

The 4000 for it's functionality.



About the sound and groove of the 3000 there's an everlasting discussion. I must say, IMO each sampler has it own sound. My s3000 sounds fatter then my mpc 2500 when playing back beats straight out the box. After recording and mixing one doesn't sound worse then the other.

The 4000 has so many functions people get lost with that one. Or people simply don't need that many functions.

Sound versus funtionality. This is a never ending discussion.

You make a great point regarding the number of features versus how many features you need. It is difficult to convince people sometimes that more doesn't mean better in all cases.

Menco wrote:After recording and mixing one doesn't sound worse then the other.

This is the definitive answer to most of these type of threads.

I would only ever buy an MP based on the functions I need, not the apparent sonic differences.

Well dont all MPC's offer one common function? Sequencing? Sampling? I think its based merely on what asking around and what opinions that people have of MPC's...Ive owned them all except the 2000 series...I can get them all to swing with the swanky beats...but I think its more about which one looks the best in my studio. I say that coming from experience...

Nice Honesty there!

The 'King' must be a Roger Linn designed model IMO.

To many reasons for this but put simply real hip-hop was almost dead by the year 2000...the market for hardware samplers began to change mainly due to the advent of software samplers, romplers and so forth.

Akai reverse engineered Roger's designs to create the 2000 series, Numark took the MPC concept and created a plastic synth, midi controller with smaller pads and a low cost mousemat.

The 'King' was there in the heyday of hip-hop, the 80's and 90's.

The 'King' had a floppy drive as standard and eight analogue outputs.

The 'King' had no USB ports, even the 3000LE released in 2000 retained the classic hardware approach.

The 'King' did not load or save .wav files or have the option to fit an ADAT card.

The 'King' is probably the MPC which has the lowest number of functioning units left worldwide.

Long live the KING

^^ The King was a cripple?!?

Coz wrote:^^ The King was a cripple?!?

By 21st century standards, I suppose so...but they simply don't make 'em like they used too due to costs.

All the useful shit has become optional and all the optional shit has become useful.

The 'King' was not a jack of all trades and master of none.

The 'King' was a master at sequencing and as a drum sampler, there were no other claims to fame.

Who is the king of MPC's?

Clint, I hafta disagree. Although nothing will top or compare to what roger linn created, and the newer mp's are mostly cheap plastic, We cannot keep looking in the past, ten years from now, do you really think the 3k will be considered for the title of "king". No as history moves forward and more times passes, it will come down to 4k and a 2500 with jj os. regardless of sonic 'warmth" and swing we all know the same sounds and timing can be achieved on almost every model if the user is a true master of his craft, Linn said himself the timing was all a myth. This forum, and JJ changed everything from here on out, and as time moves forward the after market mod's we come up with make this conversation irrelevant. IMO

This is an awesome discussion. You kats are really opening up your minds on this one! The 3000 did play a huge role in early HipHop, as did the SP12 and 1200. I am kinda torn on this one because of the hardcore, creative programming and production that is being done on the newer MPC's.

ArKyve-31 wrote:Clint, I hafta disagree. Although nothing will top or compare to what roger linn created, and the newer mp's are mostly cheap plastic, We cannot keep looking in the past, ten years from now, do you really think the 3k will be considered for the title of "king". No as history moves forward and more times passes, it will come down to 4k and a 2500 with jj os. regardless of sonic 'warmth" and swing we all know the same sounds and timing can be achieved on almost every model if the user is a true master of his craft, Linn said himself the timing was all a myth. This forum, and JJ changed everything from here on out, and as time moves forward the after market mod's we come up with make this conversation irrelevant. IMO

Damn you aint lying bro...I pick the 4k but the JJOS aint no joke either...

Much respect to the early MPCs, but I want to own one about as much as I want to buy a black and white tv.

Which MPC is the most powerful one really depends on someone purposes.


Maybe we should change the title of this thread into:

Which one of the MPC's had the biggest legendary impact in the sample based music production scene?

As I pointed out there are three era's to consider.

Firstly 1988-1994 The Roger Linn Era = MPC60, MPC60II, MPC3000/ LE*

and 1995-2004 The Akai Pro Era = MPC2000, MPC2000XL, MPC4000

and 2004-2011 The Numark Era = MPC500, MPC1000, MPC2500, MPC5000

Which would you consider to be the 'Golden Era' with regard to Hip-hop...and MPC's?

FWIW I don't really care which is considered 'king' or 'best', the conclusion is always subjective.

*3000LE followed Linn's original MPC3000 design, released in 2000 limited to 2000 units.

The MPC3000LE is the only MPC ever to be re-issued, why?

clint246clint wrote:As I pointed out there are three era's to consider.

Firstly 1988-1994 The Roger Linn Era = MPC60, MPC60II, MPC3000/ LE*

and 1995-2004 The Akai Pro Era = MPC2000, MPC2000XL, MPC4000

and 2004-2011 The Numark Era = MPC500, MPC1000, MPC2500, MPC5000

Which would you consider to be the 'Golden Era' with regard to Hip-hop...and MPC's?

FWIW I don't really care which is considered 'king' or 'best', the conclusion is always subjective.

*3000LE followed Linn's original MPC3000 design, released in 2000 limited to 2000 units.

The MPC3000LE is the only MPC ever to be re-issued, why?

I'm thinking that the windows dos era between '92 & '94 gave akai the option of having a last shot at selling off a heck of a drum machine/sampler before the new technology took its place.

I think technology was riding on a 16 bit platform back then so that seems to answer why the 3k is also limited to its set resources.

The 2k and beyond benefited off of a better 32 bit setting so that's where the changing of the guard took place imo.