add a 2000 to a 3000 - a good idea?

I just bought a 3000 (and just waiting for the zip drive chord to arrive so i can rack some proper samples!) but now might be able to get a 2000 cheap from a friend.. I haven't got to grips with the 3000 yet (it's been here 2 days) but i know saving sample data is an issue and it seems like the 2000 adds the possibility of a cd drive (doesn't seem like this is possible for the 3000?) and may be good to run the 3000 into and use as storage...and maybe more features? do you think this is a waste of time and money or does the 2000 give enough advantage to bother with? (obvs i want the swing of the 3000..so make the beats / samples on 3000 and sequence on the 2000 maybe? i want to keep pc's out of it as far as possible..) what do you reckon? thanks in advance!

a cd drive (in case of the 2000) is read only. so you can not store samples on it. the best option would be a cf card reader. you´d need an external one for the 2000.

**** wrote:a cd drive (in case of the 2000) is read only. so you can not store samples on it. the best option would be a cf card reader. you´d need an external one for the 2000.

You wouldn't need an external one, you could have either internal or external. The Dark blue mpc 2kxls came with an internal reader from the factory...

the xl's doesnt have the same architecture as the 2000, you would need an scsi/ide bridge to make the internal reader work. also the 2000 doesnt support file folder mangement.

You can get pretty much same storage options for both machines.
It would be good to have both machines for large projects but you might find you only need to use one or the other.
I'd stick with the 3000 and only get something else if the 3k can't cope

quote="perilousselector"] (obvs i want the swing of the 3000..so make the beats / samples on 3000 and sequence on the 2000 maybe? i want to keep pc's out of it as far as possible..) what do you reckon? thanks in advance![/quote]

Isn't swing the same ?
Regardless, if you have samples in the 3000 and sequence from the 2000 like you suggest, swing will be coming from the 2000..

if you have the 3000 already, you should leave it at that. why edit all the samples in 3000 and sequence it from the 2000? the 3000 can do almost the same thing, some advantages might be the effects in the 2000 if installed but cant be used via midi.
3000 has more midi. 3000 has 8 outs. only thing i like better on the 2000 is waveform editing. but all the things only counts if you use one of them, i wouldnt use them combined.

now personally-and I can't speak for anyone else-but I'd keep the 3ooo and not really worry about the 2ooo
some people need to be able to see the waveforms, but I've been doing it by ear for so long when I look at the waveforms it's always more time-consuming and takes the fun out of it
also you should consider what your needs are as a producer and go from there
I don't really need the features of the 2ooo as much as I do the comfort and layout of the 3ooo, so if I had the option of getting one I'd pass and get something else for the stu
but whatever works best for your needs is what you should go with
they're both great machines and I think you'd enjoy them both, but for different reasons
the 3ooo is the most comfortable sampler I've ever used and I've used pretty much all of them in some capacity
to put it in perspective, since I've owned a 3ooo (which has been almost a decade now) I've owned a 2ooo, 1ooo, and MV 8ooo but I've used the 25oo, 5ooo, 2oooXL, a few of the Korg samplers and the entire SP series
but I keep going back to the 3ooo after a few months

maybe sounds like adding a rack sampler into the mix might be what you want? then just sequence with the 3000

maybe one of these with an added CF card reader:
Ensoniq ASR 10
Emu 6400 Ultra
roland 750
Akai s4000/s5000

not sure which would suit your needs, but worth looking into. you'll get any of these for similar price to 2000xl, or a lot less.

if its the 3000's os you are not digging then a 2000xl and one of the above samplers might have the desired effect - rack version that sounds most like the MPC3000 is the s3000 (NOT s3000xl) btw...

yeah the s3ooo is basically the MPC 3ooo without the pads
pretty much everything down to the buttons is the same, for the most part, and a lot of them are scrapped for MPC 3ooo parts when they break

Thanks for the tips everyone...as you can tell i am new to this mpc game and don't really have a clue yet. only just got the manual printed out for the 3000 and still only 2mg memory... but i picked up an s3000 xl with 3 external zips and discs (for £22 well happy with that!) as i didnt have a complete zip drive yet...still gotta pick it up tho..

SEED78 wrote:maybe sounds like adding a rack sampler into the mix might be what you want? then just sequence with the 3000

maybe one of these with an added CF card reader:
Ensoniq ASR 10
Emu 6400 Ultra
roland 750
Akai s4000/s5000

not sure which would suit your needs, but worth looking into. you'll get any of these for similar price to 2000xl, or a lot less.


> i actually bought the s3000xl for the zips before i saw this post so that is a nice coincidence!

if its the 3000's os you are not digging then a 2000xl and one of the above samplers might have the desired effect - rack version that sounds most like the MPC3000 is the s3000 (NOT s3000xl) btw...

> it wasn't the os at all only storage options...which obvs are not that different on the 2000. i dont know enough to not dig the os yet and from what i see it seems very straight forward and nice.. so what's the difference between the sound of the s3000 and the xl? i read on vintagesynth that it has the same specs but more options..am i going to want to sample on the mpc3000 all the time instead of both then to get that mpc sound? was hoping to use both for more options..
I'm considering an external CF card reader for the mpc3000 but i know the s3000xl has some kind of hard drive so was hoping to make use of that

thanks again for the advice everyone this place is a gold mine of information!

what I keep hearing is:
s3000xl - sounds like MPC 2000xl
s3000 - sounds like MPC 3000

so original s3000, is prob a bit warmer/fuller than the 3000xl, xl is prob slightly more metalic. But, thats all subjective, ear of the beholder, not a big deal really.

LOTs of producers have used s3000xl for big tracks, so its obviously not flawed soundwise - AND is compatible with more CF drives than the s3000 I think.

ah ok, thanks seed.. sounds like i could do worse for £22! i mentioned it to a friend who happened to have a 950 he ain't using sooo...looks like i can use that for 12 bitness too!! bought the external card reader now, waiting for delivery..