MPC 500 replaced by BEAT THANG

I went to best buy today to look at the MPC 500 they had on display for a while. When I got there, it was mysteriously missing. The salesman started to walk away as he answered my question which I thought was pretty rude, and it turns out he was actually leading me to the Beat Thang!

He said they weren't selling the MPCs any more although they could order it. I just wanted to look at it and check it out but it looks like I won't have a chance to do that now. I guess the best thing would be to look thru the manual online in any case, but he really was trying to sell me the beat thang.

I thought about selling my XL for money to get a 500, but I'm still not decided. I know it seems like a wierd trade but I am contemplating it.

Where you from man? Best Buy sold mpc's? Didn't know that...

Btw, the title of the thread made it sound like you dropped the 500 for a beat thang...I was prepared to come in and go

hehehe, yeah i was tryin to be clever with the thread title

oh yeah, i'm in michigan btw

Cool...got any Guitar Centers/Sam Ash's nearby? They'd have a 500 on the floor you could check out...

JDSY wrote:I thought about selling my XL for money to get a 500, but I'm still not decided. I know it seems like a wierd trade but I am contemplating it.

If you need portability, cop a standard 1000.

2000XL to a 500, why?

I would have to agree...a 1000 w/ JJ is a beautiful thing.

There's a GC in Canton MI about 40 min or so from Ann Arbor where I'm at. I should give them a call.

I guess I haven't considered the 1000.

I like the idea of the 500 because it can run off batteries, and also as of now, my MPC isn't the center of my studio. I also like owning gear that is new from the factory for whatever reason. My Girlfriend thinks I should keep the XL and try to get a 500 by some other means, but I think that might be over kill because I don't use the MPC that much. I think the 500 would serve my purposes better because I usually only do some skeletal stuff on the MPC anyway. A XL is bigger and better, but I don't want to make beats only with that. I've done a few tracks using just samples, but it isn't my passion. A lot of my music is about the melody and writing melody. All I need from an MPC is something I can rock out beats on with homemade samples. I'm no wizard at playing pads, but I have rhythm and 16 pads is more than enough. Plus the space issue. the XL hogs what ever table its on....

I have a QY100 and my buddy and I were at the mall getting new lenses for his glasses. We went out to the car and I plugged in the QY into the car stereo and made this beat super fast. I sort of like that idea, plus, midi'ng up a QY and a 500 seems really awesome. If I had a net book than I could be in really good beat making territory that fits into a back pack. I also like the idea of making heat with a limited tool (qy100 for example).

I think though, what is gonna happen is I won't really find any takers for the XL at the price i listed it on craigslist so I'll end up keeping it after all.

if you dont use the XL often, you will find yourself using the 500 even less often.

Sure it has more ram... but that is the only thing besides batteries it does have. The XL is built properly, it has a screen that can fit more then one parameter at a time, and you dont need to go a half a dozen menus away from the main screen to change something that takes one button and open window to change on the xl.

I think your money would be better spent looking at the eb16 or some sort of effect hardware to peak interest in the mpc again.

word, yeah...

I guess I don't really care about having more ram. I actually was thinking 16mb would be fine for my purposes. I guess the form factor and portability were the main attractions. I keep reading that the 500 is really glitchy too, so this is another thing to consider. It would be a no brainer for me if there was no problems with the 500. I just want a portable sampler which does the basics (pads, chaining sequences into a song).

I think your right on about the XL being better designed and easier to use. I enjoy it...

Maybe I just need to set it up again. I keep rearranging my studio. I need to set up a station for it.

The workflow on the 500 is very poor and tends to kill the creativity. It's because the screen is so d.a.m.n. small that you have to scroll through a lot of pages to do simple stuff.

maybe you can grab one of these... I have really been thinking about it also..



I never see these locally and to import one adds a good chunk to the cost when considering shipping fees.

Just got one for the 3000...the quik lok QL-400...$50 on ebay- totally worth it...

yea, mines an On Stage Stand MIX-400... they had it at my local guitar center... wasn't no damn $50 bucks tho, more like $100 (+??)

fits the 2kxl like a glove tho....

True...new they are about a bill. I had been looking for one for awhile so I just had ebay staked out

i was the opposite.... had a pocket full of loot, thought to myself 'hmmm i wonder if they have these down there', hopped in the truck and went and snatched it up...


you could tell me you paid $35 to ship it and make me feel a little better