New to Mpc's and producing

well also keep in mind "better" is subjective...

I have a 60 and a 2000 side by side and the pads are pretty much identical. the 60 is 20+ years old and never has it's sensors replaced... yet it still works perfect. My XL was the same deal except pad 1 worked slightly less well to the other ones (I dont even have that machine anymore though)

the 500 doesn't have pads anything like the old models.. the design is completely different when it comes down to functionality.. in other words.. you really need 12 levels for that machine.

the most sensitive (not really functionally sensitive but the one that needs almost no weight to get a response) out of my pads are on the axiom.. yeah I hate the feel of those pads, and I hate having to do 3 steps to adjust the velocity etc from thing to thing.. but sometimes I put something down on my controller like a pack of smokes or something and it is enough to trigger them.

the mpd16 is supposed to have the same sensor sheet as the xl etc.. as well as the rubber pads themselves.. but functionally they dont work the same what so ever. I dont know why, they just dont.

lastly, the mv.. those pads are designed completely different then the mpc, they are almost in between the axiom and the mpc in terms of feel... yes I prefer the mpc pads over the mv, but I really really prefer the mv over the axiom. They are very responsive and require a lighter touch to do light velocity but require a stronger touch to get 127 without max level turned on (compared to the mpc) in my experience. I think they are just different, and I dont compare them really because I also really like the mv pads.

I wonder if NI will offer sensor replacements or what have you some day... cause if some day if they will continue being used for as long as the mpcs have been.. they will need it.


the bottom line IMO is... why the hell dont MPD's pads feel the same as the mpc series.. where did they go wrong?

mr_debauch wrote:the mpd16 is supposed to have the same sensor sheet as the xl etc.. as well as the rubber pads themselves.. but functionally they dont work the same what so ever. I dont know why, they just dont.

I wonder if NI will offer sensor replacements or what have you some day... cause if some day if they will continue being used for as long as the mpcs have been.. they will need it.

the bottom line IMO is... why the hell dont MPD's pads feel the same as the mpc series.. where did they go wrong?

I've opened 3 of the 5 MPD's released and the sensor sheets are 100% identical (Pretty sure they'll work in some MPC's depending on ribbon length.) The issue is every single one has a significant gap between the underside of the sheet and the sensors. On the inside these joints don't have the sensor array sitting on nice platform like an MPC, the sheet is right on the backside of the PCB board, and board sits on PC case style risers. They just made the risers to high, creating the gap. In grand Akai fashion, they did it on every one since 2004, through 3 design revisions! I actually thought the pads were molded to half normal height at first.

The Fat Pads solve all with these joints. Consensus here seems universal so far from all us who bought them. It's like I just bought my MPD32 and 1000 and they're brand new, it's such an improvement.

I think NI will provide or offer 3rd party distributors parts before too long, there's a lot of units out there at this point, and they will already sell a licensed user a new controller at $399 or $499, I forget, I have to login at NI to even see it listed.

Lampdog wrote:

emptysea wrote:To the OP, be wary of those who will tell you that MPC and Maschine are "two completely different products". They're not.

I have 2 mpc's, I've played with maschine at guitar center several times, imo they are completely different products.

I guess it comes down to how you define "completely different". Anyway, these guys would disagree and say that "it does all that and more and it's faster":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW8EFjMcj5Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnW5boSlkck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YdYcXvnk38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuT3V4GpMDs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfCXGOakm8g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgqPuEo19DA

That's because they're endorsing a product and are therefore part of the marketing system NI try to employ to gain customers from a demographic which is largely MPC based.

Seriously emptysea are you like 12 or something? I'm sure NO I.D. and Ski do actually use their Maschines. But I could just as easily link to a video where they're still using the MPC's they didn't sell.

I am going to ask you again point blank, why does it bother you if someone chooses an MPC over what you have? Why is your goal in life to get upset because people like me use and appreciate both? Why does it upset you that people with sense on this forum recognize they are two different things that individually excel in their own arenas?

How many times must we tell you that your hatred of MPC's is irrelevant?

The difference is that with an MPC you are making beats with an MPC. With Maschine you are making beats with a PC. Maschine is just a controller and if I wanted to, my 500 can control Maschine.

Ill-Green wrote:The difference is that with an MPC you are making beats with an MPC. With Maschine you are making beats with a PC. Maschine is just a controller and if I wanted to, my 500 can control Maschine.

Actually it can only partially do that. NI purposely made any additional MIDI controllers hooked to Maschine only trigger the selected pad in keyboard mode. You can't control it pad for pad with an MPC. Oh no emptysea, a chink in the invincible Maschine's armor I love the thing for working on the PC, but you won't see me trying to sell it like a tele-evangelist.

Metatron72 wrote:

Ill-Green wrote:The difference is that with an MPC you are making beats with an MPC. With Maschine you are making beats with a PC. Maschine is just a controller and if I wanted to, my 500 can control Maschine.

Actually it can only partially do that. NI purposely made any additional MIDI controllers hooked to Maschine only trigger the selected pad in keyboard mode. You can't control it pad for pad with an MPC. Oh no emptysea, a chink in the invincible Maschine's armor I love the thing for working on the PC, but you won't see me trying to sell it like a tele-evangelist.

Oh ok, how about the NI controller controling Ableton or FL or did NI made that impossible?

Of course I have no issues with Maschine but when this emptyheaded dude told people that it can be stand-alone if you turn off the monitor, I thought that was the most ridiculous statement I ever heard. emptysea never played or owned all the hardware he's dissing so how can his word be valid.

emptysea wrote:Anyway, these guys would disagree and say that "it does all that and more and it's faster"

does it run without a computer?

does it have a built in phono pre?

does it have a tilt screen?

does it have particular limits, encouraging a particular workflow and promoting creativity?

does it have 4 midi outputs?

apples and oranges. totally different products. why the fock does it have to replace anything? they can coexist.

Ill-Green wrote:

Metatron72 wrote:

Ill-Green wrote:The difference is that with an MPC you are making beats with an MPC. With Maschine you are making beats with a PC. Maschine is just a controller and if I wanted to, my 500 can control Maschine.

Actually it can only partially do that. NI purposely made any additional MIDI controllers hooked to Maschine only trigger the selected pad in keyboard mode. You can't control it pad for pad with an MPC. Oh no emptysea, a chink in the invincible Maschine's armor I love the thing for working on the PC, but you won't see me trying to sell it like a tele-evangelist.

Oh ok, how about the NI controller controling Ableton or FL or did NI made that impossible?

Of course I have no issues with Maschine but when this emptyheaded dude told people that it can be stand-alone if you turn off the monitor, I thought that was the most ridiculous statement I ever heard. emptysea never played or owned all the hardware he's dissing so how can his word be valid.

It's well established emptysea is often misinformed. Also I couldn't agree more about the base he's coming from, he generally ignores every counterpoint I make to him. But that's probably because I'm sitting here staring at all these MPC's he crusades against. I don't need to resort to You Tube promotional vids when I'm speaking out of actual experience.

To your question Ill, it's a separate MIDI control mode you toggle and you can load alternate maps and Mackie emulations. It's not so versatile when you want to do it the other way around with external MIDI sequencers/controllers.

Normally I ignore dudes like emptysea, but people come here to get good, fair info, hopefully first hand experiences. So we kind of have to show him for what he is. (He' gonna run out of videos soon. )

you can take my mpc from my cold dead hands

Metatron72 wrote:NI purposely made any additional MIDI controllers hooked to Maschine only trigger the selected pad in keyboard mode. You can't control it pad for pad with an MPC.

Actually you can. You just need to learn about Sound MIDI Batch Setup and understand the difference between "Sounds to Midi channel"(plays pitches) and "Sound to midi notes"(plays sounds).

tapedeck wrote:you can take my mpc from my cold dead hands

That's so fake. We all know you can't do that with those MPCs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgqPuEo19DA#t=01m27s

Actually you're right, I was mistaken and had forgotten that's in there. Personally I'm not gonna bother manually setting up 128 pads though.

You still haven't answered my question of why everyone must stop using MPC's to make your world right.

How in the hell is a commercial with Needlz your comeback to Tapedeck's (awesome) flick?

If I take your sentence literally, you're saying I can't lift a 2000XL with one hand over my head. I actually literally did it just now. You must have it confused with a 3000, but what do you know about MPC's other than you hate people using them?

Metatron72 wrote:Actually you're right, I was mistaken and had forgotten that's in there. Personally I'm not gonna bother manually setting up 128 pads though.

You just do it once for one group, save that, and you can load it whenever you need it.

By the way, I don't hate MPCs or the people using them. I've owned the 2000/1000/500 and I have friends who still use MPCs and I have nothing but love for them. I do think Akai missed the boat though.

emptysea wrote:

Metatron72 wrote:Actually you're right, I was mistaken and had forgotten that's in there. Personally I'm not gonna bother manually setting up 128 pads though.

You just do it once for one group, save that, and you can load it whenever you need it.

By the way, I don't hate MPCs or the people using them. I've owned the 2000/1000/500 and I have friends who still use MPCs and I have nothing but love for them. I do think Akai missed the boat though.

Good tip, but I would usually only use my MPC's to send MIDI to my host. I just sometimes try different stuff out just to experiment. Was that added in one of the updates?

As far as Akai, I think they missed an opportunity too, and thanks for finally addressing my question. I have no beef with you man, but you have to realize only posting about one thing and being so gung ho about it, your inviting the perception that you think people are crazy to not choose Maschine. Personally I answer people's direct questions about it, but I make it clear that it's only the better option if you've already made the decision to be in the box the majority of, if not full time.