MPC 4000 vs 3000 Sound test

mr_debauch wrote:is yours an older one or a new one... I always thought it was during the 4000 and 2000xl timeline that akai switched hands.. hence the blue xl etc, the blue 4k, the blue mpd16... as well as the newer akai professional logo design.

Akai had moved its production long before MPC-4000, even MPC-2000 classic was made in China. MPC-2000XL was made in China from the beginning. As far as I know, only MPC-60 (both model) and MPC-3000 were the only MPCs that were made in Japan.

JVC wrote:

mr_debauch wrote:is yours an older one or a new one... I always thought it was during the 4000 and 2000xl timeline that akai switched hands.. hence the blue xl etc, the blue 4k, the blue mpd16... as well as the newer akai professional logo design.

Akai had moved its production long before MPC-4000, even MPC-2000 classic was made in China. MPC-2000XL was made in China from the beginning. As far as I know, only MPC-60 (both model) and MPC-3000 were the only MPCs that were made in Japan.

oh right could be..

but I meant the company ownership.. like.. I thought when the 4000 as well as the z4/z8 were made the company was sold to another company which designed those.. (no longer the original akai) and then that company shortly after sold it to numark which went ahead and made the later or second gen 4000, xl, and mpd16.. isn't that close to accurate? I am not sure what was made where for all their products but my 2000 classic was made in china and my 60 was made in japan.

mr_debauch wrote:oh right could be..

but I meant the company ownership.. like.. I thought when the 4000 as well as the z4/z8 were made the company was sold to another company which designed those.. (no longer the original akai) and then that company shortly after sold it to numark which went ahead and made the later or second gen 4000, xl, and mpd16.. isn't that close to accurate? I am not sure what was made where for all their products but my 2000 classic was made in china and my 60 was made in japan.

Z4, Z8, and MPC-4000 were all designed and released by the original Akai Professional in Japan, but I think they were manufactured in China. (I am bit surprised that MPC-4000 was made in China, as many Japanese companies (especially camera) tend to have high-end products manufactured in factory in Japan.)

I am pretty sure that MPD16, MPC-500 and MPC-5000 were both designed by developers at Alesis / Numark, not by the original MPC developers in Japan.
I mentioned this on other threads, but Numark just bought "Akai Professional" brand name before the original Akai went bankrupted and vanished. Japanese version of Wikipedia has very extensive information on Akai. (JJ used to work at Akai, he was one of MPC-1000's programmer.)

ahh okay, for some reason I thought there was another company that was between the original akai and numark.. not sure where I read that...

ArKyve-31 wrote:straight from source to each mpc, No compression, effects or what have you.


MPC 3000

MPC 4000



I don't think there is too much of a difference, and didn't expect that big of one between these to models

I suspect that if you didn't tell anyone which sample was from which maschine, 99% of the people would guess wrong.

I did a similar test with the MPC 3000 and MPC 2500. Most people like the sound of the MPC 2500.

Askia Shaheed wrote:

ArKyve-31 wrote:straight from source to each mpc, No compression, effects or what have you.


MPC 3000

MPC 4000



I don't think there is too much of a difference, and didn't expect that big of one between these to models

I suspect that if you didn't tell anyone which sample was from which maschine, 99% of the people would guess wrong.

I did a similar test with the MPC 3000 and MPC 2500. Most people like the sound of the MPC 2500.

ive found that the newer mpc s have a kind of candy coating to the tone.Just found the older models to be more precise and true(to my idea of akai and the way the sample should sound-its important how the wave feels when you edit it and trigger it.Felt different on my 4k,2k and 5k).No doubt tho that theres difference and will reflect the end result.Which one is better is just choice.They all sound like akais to me.I always sample to the 4k in 24bits which is gonna make a difference.And they all have there own a/d routes of course.

dryad-66 wrote:ive found that the newer mpc s have a kind of candy coating to the tone.Just found the older models to be more precise and true(to my idea of akai and the way the sample should sound-its important how the wave feels when you edit it and trigger it.

I have heard similar claims. But in a blind test I mentioned, the new model MPC 2500 was favored overed the MPC 3000.

Askia Shaheed wrote:

dryad-66 wrote:ive found that the newer mpc s have a kind of candy coating to the tone.Just found the older models to be more precise and true(to my idea of akai and the way the sample should sound-its important how the wave feels when you edit it and trigger it.

I have heard similar claims. But in a blind test I mentioned, the new model MPC 2500 was favored overed the MPC 3000.

I dont know what you did to make a 3000 sound worse then a 2500 thought you were pro

mr_debauch wrote:

Askia Shaheed wrote:

dryad-66 wrote:ive found that the newer mpc s have a kind of candy coating to the tone.Just found the older models to be more precise and true(to my idea of akai and the way the sample should sound-its important how the wave feels when you edit it and trigger it.

I have heard similar claims. But in a blind test I mentioned, the new model MPC 2500 was favored overed the MPC 3000.

I dont know what you did to make a 3000 sound worse then a 2500 thought you were pro

All jokes aside...I didn't do a thing. If memory serves me correct, I connected both MPCs to a Yamaha 02R. The 02R was connected to an RME digital sound card recorded into Nuendo. There is nothing wrong with the sound coming out of the MPC 3000 and 2500. I was just recently asked what my two favorite MPCs are...without a doubt they are the MPC 3000 and 2500.

mr_debauch wrote:actually may I suggest adding a few second clip of sample.. for example the moondog violin or something because you know how some machines work when there is more of a frequency range covered... like the sp1200 in the upper mid / highs with the "ringing" type artifacting etc..

Yep..I think that's where you will see the 4k shine.

It's hard to compare machines when you're just comparing how a basic kick drum and snare pattern sounds.

the real difference in the 3k and the 25k is the sequencer
there is a pretty vast difference in how tight they are

Chinese factory workers have been protesting the last few days...notably the ones who work for Japanese companies. If it lasts longer than a week companies will be losing big money and it will likely affect stock value. Will be interesting to see which of our music toys will be affected by all of this.
Hopefully there will not be any mean spirited sabotaging of electronic items. Quality control is the really big problem dealing with China. (Corruption, laziness, no oversight, no pride in workmanship etc.)
I know Behringer had to send a bunch of managers to China to start checking that the items were being put together properly. All of their technical designs were done in Germany and then sent to the factory in China, but the China assembly started having lots of errors. Then they had to send over more managers to train and keep an eye on build quality. The wiring in some products like the Headphone amps(HA) have basic mistakes that sometimes cause hum. Newer models have been fixed and there was no product recall of the old stuff.
There is no way to test every model.
Cheers,
Ian
PS Yesterday the Panasonic factory was sabotaged.

Ian Canefire wrote:Chinese factory workers have been protesting the last few days...notably the ones who work for Japanese companies.

That's why I look for the "Made In Japan" logo when I make quality gear purchases.

Ian Canefire wrote:Quality control is the really big problem dealing with China. (Corruption, laziness, no oversight, no pride in workmanship etc.)

Exactly what happened when Vestax switched production from Japan to China, the build quality with China was a bit hit and miss in most ranges from China