MPC or not to be

Hi all,

Old school beatmaker/DJ here, decided to dust down the studio and crank a few tunes out after a few years hiatus. I want to update/streamline some of the gear but being the old schooler that I am I want to stick with the outboard gear. I've been seriously tempted by the MPC 1000 but in a rare moment of sensiblity decided to ask the experts before taking the plunge - is the MPC right for me?

To give you an idea, I have been used to running an ESI sampler and several synth modules, groovebox and effects units etc with midi sequencing handled by an Atari 1040STE running Cubase 3 - as I say, I'm old

Most of the sampling is done from good ole vinyl on the 1210s - I'm an analgue kind of guy at heart.

Now I don't want to lose the outboard gear but I want to replace the Atari for midi sequencing. I was thinking the MPC1000 would be the way to go because I could also replace the ESI and SCSI drive as well as adding the rest of the functionality that the MPC brings. I don't need to perform live and style will be hip hop with a bit of electr for good measure.

So, given the gear I am used to, the basic needs I have and the desire to avoid software based production, would you guys say the 1000 is the way to go? Any downsides with the MPC? (bear in mind I am used to tiny screens and chopping without waveform editing etc.)

Any help and advice appreciated...

Cheers

Al

you cant go wrong with the 1000 if it is the black model (better pads than the blue model) they can be found cheap used and with the free version of jjos or the upgraded version it is a very capable machine. I think it would fit you rather well with your background in gear. Just learn the manuel and machine and will treat well as sampler and midi sequencer. In my opinion its the best pound for pound model made due to price being so low, all you really sacrifice over the newer bigger models is pad and screen size. Uograde the ram if you wanna sample a lot and a internal hard drive is suggested although def. not needed

thats gonna be my new sig

Cheers guys - looks like I'll be picking the little fella up then soon.

So If i pick up the black version I am safe to assume I am getting the upgraded pads?

I have a black mpc1000 with the old pads.
I believe you need to get an mpc1000 with the black rear plate (not silver like mine) to guarantee you the newer style pads.
However , some old models may have been upgraded.

as long as you're willing to learn how to use it, the MPC1000 should suit you just fine. it can do so much more than most gear it's size. it's not only a great sounding sampler, but it's also one hell of a MIDI controller.

judging by the fact that you are used to older hardware, i'm assuming you're willing to read the manual and get over the initial learning curve that comes with first getting started on an MPC. as long as the smaller pads aren't an issue, i'd say go for it.

I was planning to buy new from someone like GAK. From what I can gather the pad issue was fixed on newer production models a few years back so i assumed buying from new now would almost guarantee the decent pads....here's hoping anyway!

Yeah, unless they have very very old stock, a new mpc1000 will have the newer pads.
Didn't realise you were buying new.

Definitely buy new, more advantages with store guarantees and if its defected you can always get a new one

Cool - is there an easy way to tell which pads it has once it arrives?

greenforehead wrote:Cool - is there an easy way to tell which pads it has once it arrives?

Indeed you can test it at the shop too. Gently pull the external corner of a corner pad (either the 1st, 4th, 13th or 16th pad) and check if the rest of the pad-sheet moves.

Old pads were individually placed on each sensor, so only the pad you're touching would move.

New style pads are on a unique 16-pads sheet which will move as one if you pull on a corner.

Got it?

Yes it sounds failry simple...albiet I will be buying online so can't checks the pads first. Hopefully I'll be ok though

Many thanks for all your help. No doubt I will be calling on you guys more when the new toy arrives

Al

good luck, i think youll be happy with your purchase

although, why buy new when you can buy used, the machines are pretty good in the build quality and you could cut your price in half or less

if you buy a used model, realistically all your gonna have to worry about is maybe a few tact switches going out, but if it has been taken care of at all, you probably wont have to worry about that either.

jjos free or 2xl (the 129 dollar upgrade) version is highly recommended, i think youll really enjoy this little box!

another cool thing about buying used is that you can usually find some with upgrades on ebay and still be paying less!

i just got a 1k on ebay with the 128mb RAM, 80 gb hd, and black aftermarket pads for 770 (this included shipping), and that was a higher price than most were going for, i thought it was still a good deal though because i will be using the piece for years to come

just something to consider if you havent ordered new yet!

and regarding the pads, if buying used, just get one that has a black back, or says "pad upgrade kit installed" then youll be good even if you buy the older blue model, or the black model with the silver back panel.

Well I was watching a few on ebay but bought new in the end - I wanted to make sure I didn't buy something to went wrong after a few weeks/months and with the new machine I got an extra 4 year warranty for free so all is good.

Been playing with it a few days now, got the basics OK, laid down a few basic test sequences and it all seems pretty intuitive really - except the damn load/save file system which seems to have me beat at present...

The one thing I find I may miss from Cubase is the grid editor for that fine placement of notes but it's no biggie. I know it's on JJOS and I will upgrade at some point but will learn Akai OS first. Incidentally - can the OS be rolled back after JJOS is installed in the event something goes wrong under warranty?

Al