Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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By Lampdog Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:29 pm
Ian Canefire wrote:@Lampdog, I don't get why you are doing all this politicing, instead of just telling him to get a 4000. lol

Well, initially 2k/2kxl was asked about, we're in the 2k/2kxl forum so I didn't want to get deep into other mpc's. It's ultimately the op's choice anyway. I'm over my 25 word limit per posts.
By ChingyDi Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:01 pm
Ian Canefire wrote:@ ChingyDi The 4000 is the big daddy....and I mean BIG.

@Lampdog, I don't get why you are doing all this politicing, instead of just telling him to get a 4000. lol

Before I got in tho the MPC's I did a large amount of research....and it goes a little something like this (Hit it):
In order... >
HIP HOP - 4000, 3000, 2000, 2500, 1000, 500, 60, 5000
Dance - 4000, 5000, 2500, 1000, 500, 2000, 3000, 60


The 4000 is easy, heavy, best overall feature set, some say it has bad pads(I disagree), great timing.
5000 has modern things, a nice 3 osc synth, knobs, bugs, nice features, funky timing(so tested by some)
3000 is great, expensive, great timing
2000xl is great but showing its age, nice pads, screen problems
60 limited memory, old, not cheap for what it does, fun cause it makes you think.
2500, 1000, 500 you need another OS in it or else you are using a very limited sampler, portable.

This is the quick and dirty summary. All of these units are fine for making music, depends on the talent working them. You may not need all of the functionality of the 4000 and 5000 or the versions running the JJOS. You may be fine with what Akai gives you in the 2500, 1000 or 500.
I recommend the 4000, 3000, or the 2500(in its plain Akai form).Or you get a box sampler(S950, Z4, Z8, 3200xl) and the MPD(or Korg Pad Control) I have not used JJOS so therefore I cannot comment on it. People in here rave about JJOS.
Peace
Ian


Thanks for that big reply.

I will first have to look into the 4000 deeply before i make any decision. I don't like rushing into anything, will rather take my time with my research and then get something i know I'd like.


Does anybody have a solution to this: I want to record my raps in logic pro. So i want to have some kind of control surface that i can use to mix my beats and also mix my songs when i have spit on them. You know like in professional studios where they have that big surface, ofc I'm not going to have something big like that, but something where the size is good for a home studio and that acts like it. Then i don't need to look at the screen because i really hate it after a couple of hours. So any gear or other suggestions on how i could go about it?
Last edited by ChingyDi on Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
By Metatron72 Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:08 pm
ChingyDi wrote:
Ian Canefire wrote:@ ChingyDi The 4000 is the big daddy....and I mean BIG.

@Lampdog, I don't get why you are doing all this politicing, instead of just telling him to get a 4000. lol

Before I got in tho the MPC's I did a large amount of research....and it goes a little something like this (Hit it):
In order... >
HIP HOP - 4000, 3000, 2000, 2500, 1000, 500, 60, 5000
Dance - 4000, 5000, 2500, 1000, 500, 2000, 3000, 60


The 4000 is easy, heavy, best overall feature set, some say it has bad pads(I disagree), great timing.
5000 has modern things, a nice 3 osc synth, knobs, bugs, nice features, funky timing(so tested by some)
3000 is great, expensive, great timing
2000xl is great but showing its age, nice pads, screen problems
60 limited memory, old, not cheap for what it does, fun cause it makes you think.
2500, 1000, 500 you need another OS in it or else you are using a very limited sampler, portable.

This is the quick and dirty summary. All of these units are fine for making music, depends on the talent working them. You may not need all of the functionality of the 4000 and 5000 or the versions running the JJOS. You may be fine with what Akai gives you in the 2500, 1000 or 500.
I recommend the 4000, 3000, or the 2500(in its plain Akai form).Or you get a box sampler(S950, Z4, Z8, 3200xl) and the MPD(or Korg Pad Control) I have not used JJOS so therefore I cannot comment on it. People in here rave about JJOS.
Peace
Ian


Thanks for that big reply.

I will first have to look into the 4000 deeply before i make any decision. I don't like rushing into anything, will rather take my time with my research and then get something i know I'd like.

The 3000 is kinda expensive for me i think because I'm also getting a workstation, and some kind of control surface/mixer that i can use to mix my beats aswell as my raps with the beats when i have recorded them

Does anybody have a solution to this: I want to record my raps in logic pro, if i don't do that i feel i bought my mac to use logic for nothing. So i want to have some kind of control surface that i can use to mix my beats. You know like in professional studios where they have that big surface, ofc I'm not goint to have something big like that, but something smaller that acts like it. Then i don't need to look at the screen because i really hate it after a couple of hours. So any gear or other suggestions?


The types of surfaces you alluded to are quite expensive. Euphonix is like the Rolls Royce of that stuff. I think those work with Logic but Pro Tools is the main target of those devices. You could look into a used Mackie control surface that would be cheaper and has visual feedback on LCD strips. If you can live without LCD's there's the Behringer BCF2000 at around 200USD. It's not bad for what amounts to the absolute poor man's version of the more expensive control surfaces. Behringer even has a small widget you can install that will emulate the LCD feedback on a floating small GUI. The fact the Mackie control protocol is widely supported gives you a few options. I have to double check but I believe the BCF comes stock with a Logic preset as well.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan05/a ... ollers.htm
By ChingyDi Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:13 pm
Metatron72 wrote:
ChingyDi wrote:
Ian Canefire wrote:@ ChingyDi The 4000 is the big daddy....and I mean BIG.

@Lampdog, I don't get why you are doing all this politicing, instead of just telling him to get a 4000. lol

Before I got in tho the MPC's I did a large amount of research....and it goes a little something like this (Hit it):
In order... >
HIP HOP - 4000, 3000, 2000, 2500, 1000, 500, 60, 5000
Dance - 4000, 5000, 2500, 1000, 500, 2000, 3000, 60


The 4000 is easy, heavy, best overall feature set, some say it has bad pads(I disagree), great timing.
5000 has modern things, a nice 3 osc synth, knobs, bugs, nice features, funky timing(so tested by some)
3000 is great, expensive, great timing
2000xl is great but showing its age, nice pads, screen problems
60 limited memory, old, not cheap for what it does, fun cause it makes you think.
2500, 1000, 500 you need another OS in it or else you are using a very limited sampler, portable.

This is the quick and dirty summary. All of these units are fine for making music, depends on the talent working them. You may not need all of the functionality of the 4000 and 5000 or the versions running the JJOS. You may be fine with what Akai gives you in the 2500, 1000 or 500.
I recommend the 4000, 3000, or the 2500(in its plain Akai form).Or you get a box sampler(S950, Z4, Z8, 3200xl) and the MPD(or Korg Pad Control) I have not used JJOS so therefore I cannot comment on it. People in here rave about JJOS.
Peace
Ian


Thanks for that big reply.

I will first have to look into the 4000 deeply before i make any decision. I don't like rushing into anything, will rather take my time with my research and then get something i know I'd like.

The 3000 is kinda expensive for me i think because I'm also getting a workstation, and some kind of control surface/mixer that i can use to mix my beats aswell as my raps with the beats when i have recorded them

Does anybody have a solution to this: I want to record my raps in logic pro, if i don't do that i feel i bought my mac to use logic for nothing. So i want to have some kind of control surface that i can use to mix my beats. You know like in professional studios where they have that big surface, ofc I'm not goint to have something big like that, but something smaller that acts like it. Then i don't need to look at the screen because i really hate it after a couple of hours. So any gear or other suggestions?


The types of surfaces you alluded to are quite expensive. Euphonix is like the Rolls Royce of that stuff. I think those work with Logic but Pro Tools is the main target of those devices. You could look into a used Mackie control surface that would be cheaper and has visual feedback on LCD strips. If you can live without LCD's there's the Behringer BCF2000 at around 200USD. It's not bad for what amounts to the absolute poor man's version of the more expensive control surfaces. Behringer even has a small widget you can install that will emulate the LCD feedback on a floating small GUI. The fact the Mackie control protocol is widely supported gives you a few options. I have to double check but I believe the BCF comes stock with a Logic preset as well.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan05/a ... ollers.htm


I have looked into those, and actually felt the faders and knobs in the musicstore downtown but it feels very poorly built and that I'll break the faders and knobs after a while. But i know i won't break it even though it feels like that. But thanks, the behringer one is nice because it's not expensive. I'll have to check up some other aswell, and look into the mackie.
Last edited by ChingyDi on Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:43 pm, edited 6 times in total.
By ChingyDi Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:29 pm
Ian Canefire wrote:@ JVC...I know that. I figured he would record what he was triggering into some other recorder, a DAW or use the ASQ10 when using the box samplers.

Cheers,
Ian


I don't see why i would get a box sampler if i had the asr-10 when the asr-10 is known for having a great sampler?
User avatar
By Ian Canefire Thu Jul 05, 2012 8:27 pm
ChingyDi....Sir, when this is all said and done years from now you might be surprised at the amount of gear you will have gone through. You will learn that different units will give you different sounds. Don't think you will only use one machine.
In fact I don't think I have ever heard of a pro who only used one sound source. Take a listen to what vinyljunkie07 creates with his box samplers. The various box samplers made by akai have unique sounds.
Anyway if you can carve out a career in music with only an asr10 as yor sampler, then rock on. Blaze that trail.

Cheers,
Ian
By ChingyDi Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:13 pm
Ian Canefire wrote:ChingyDi....Sir, when this is all said and done years from now you might be surprised at the amount of gear you will have gone through. You will learn that different units will give you different sounds. Don't think you will only use one machine.
In fact I don't think I have ever heard of a pro who only used one sound source. Take a listen to what vinyljunkie07 creates with his box samplers. The various box samplers made by akai have unique sounds.
Anyway if you can carve out a career in music with only an asr10 as yor sampler, then rock on. Blaze that trail.

Cheers,
Ian


I get that man. I haven't been doing music for so long, like i bought my first equipment when i was 16 and now I'm soon 18. My studio has already changed drastically from what i started with and what i have now when it comes to gear. I started with just recording, came into production and got new gear so that i could produce aswell. It's just that i don't have so much money that i can buy different samplers and alot of gear that i can switch between to get different sounds. Right now I'm even thinking that getting the Asr-10 would be to expensive because shipping to Norway is alot, and the tax/import duties are alot, in the end it's alot of money.

And i want an mpc aswell. Just buying the mpc is alot of money to put in. So i was thinking to maybe just get the mpc and a control surface, then maybe in the future some time when i have grown alot with my music I'll get something new that would help me to improve more. I don't really see the point in me getting an mpc, asr-10 and aswell other samplers now because i want to master each gear i have and be able to use all the features i need at it's fullest potential instead of having different samplers that i can't master. Even when i master it in my way, there will always be another way of doing things, and also new and maybe better ways to do stuff.

I don't even think that me getting an asr-10 now is a good decision because i don't think I'll use it to its fullest potential - This is a feeling because i don't know so much about music, I'm only in the beginning of it and would rather have less equipment and master it first.

And i don't think that i will only use one machine throughout my music career, but i don't see the point in getting so much gear now in the beginning of it. Thats ridiculous.

You say that you think you haven't heard of any pro who only used one sound source. I really don't believe that these people you see has made it in music started with having 3 samplers in their studio and using them all at the beginning. Thats imho ridiculous. I believe they started small and expanded as they grew in music.

I also believe that if someone wants a different sound in their music, its a way to figure out how, tweak things and do things other ways to get it where they want with the equipment one already has.
User avatar
By Lampdog Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:22 pm
1k w/ with a decent midi keyboard to trigger your keyboard samples.

One sampler can provide endless sounds, mpc.

Audio interface with at least enough inputs/outputs to handle your mpc and a mic.

Some audio interfaces have a normal mixer surface on top as well if you want the hands on faders and knobs.

Phonic Helix Board 18 Universal USB-Firewire Audio Interface Mixer
Image
Alesis multimix
Image

You can plug up your mic to either one of these and record vocals into your daw and beats from the 1k on the other tracks.
By ChingyDi Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:30 pm
Lampdog wrote:1k w/ with a decent midi keyboard to trigger your keyboard samples.

One sampler can provide endless sounds, mpc.

Audio interface with at least enough inputs/outputs to handle your mpc and a mic.

Some audio interfaces have a normal mixer surface on top as well if you want the hands on faders and knobs.

Phonic Helix Board 18 Universal USB-Firewire Audio Interface Mixer
Image
Alesis multimix
Image

You can plug up your mic to either one of these and record vocals into your daw and beats from the 1k on the other tracks.


Thank you for that. i'll check into those mixers and aswell deeper into the 1k. When you now recommended the 1k, did you think of the jj os or stay with the original Akai os?

The midi-keyboard I have is the Keystation 49e.
Last edited by ChingyDi on Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
By Lampdog Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:56 pm
That's your choice. Look into both and see which one has the features and options you want.

You have GOT to research more or you'll end up losing more and more money buying stuff and not exactly sure WHY your buying stuff.
By ChingyDi Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:04 am
Lampdog wrote:That's your choice. Look into both and see which one has the features and options you want.

You have GOT to research more or you'll end up losing more and more money buying stuff and not exactly sure WHY your buying stuff.


Thanks for the advice but yeah i know. I'm far away from decided on what mpc or mixer I'll go for. I'm going to wait until i know the decision i have made is perfect, no rushing at all.