Upgrade From MPC 1000 to 2500

Hey whats happenin,

a friend of mine is selling his 2500 (80gb harddrive/ upgraded memory) and i am thinking about buying it.

I currently have the mpc 1000 (jjos) do you think its worth my while upgrading?

- can i play my mpc 1000 beats on the 2500?
- are the OS's the same?
- can i transfer my OS from the 1000 to the 2500?
- what are the 2500 set back?


basically would you reccomend me buying the 2500?

1000 and 2500 are virtually the same machines minus obvious phsyciall differences between the two...answer to your question is


yes
yes
you cannot transfer jjOS onto another machine, every mpc has unique ID number and that's how JJ generates his password so if you got paid version of JJ on your 1k you'll have to pay again for the 2500.

2500 got no set backs

if the upgrade is worth is questionable, how much is he asking for it. You can pick up used 2500 for as low as 600-800 bills

i just did it, only setbacks i would say is portability compared to the 1k..i used to throw that thing in a laptop bag and be out, with the 2500 i had to get me an skb case..

physicaly many things are better on the 2500, the number keys can be programmed, the larger cursor wheel, more (better)q-links, tilt screen, the larger data wheel, and of course larger classic pads. if youre running jjos than the os is the same.

there are some things that dont transfer from a jjos1/2 to jjosxl but its miniscule like 16 levels data..

better form factor on the 1k
better data wheel on the 1k
less midi/audio outputs on the 1k.
bigger pads on the 2500

if the latter 2 are the only reason you are upgrading, good.
if it's for other reasons, not so good. the qlinks/extra buttons are unnecessary. 2500 was made that big solely to compete with prior akai models - there's no reason for an mpc to be that big anymore. at all. the core role of the mpc is sequencer - the time spent "tracking out" for any serious musician is absolutely paltry compared to the time spent making the song to begin with. that could be said for even 1 stereo output, let alone 3 stereo outputs (or 5, in the case of the 2500)

for real. tracking out is easy. writing good music is hard. any claim of inconvenience due to exporting tracks from the mpc speaks to at best impatience, at worst incompetence of the end user.

It's worth it for the tilt screen alone (for me) and proper sized pads and buttons, but not everyone cares about such things. The jog wheel is piss poor unfortunately though.

SamDiesel wrote:Hey whats happenin,

a friend of mine is selling his 2500 (80gb harddrive/ upgraded memory) and i am thinking about buying it.

I currently have the mpc 1000 (jjos) do you think its worth my while upgrading?

- can i play my mpc 1000 beats on the 2500?
- are the OS's the same?
- can i transfer my OS from the 1000 to the 2500?
- what are the 2500 set back?


basically would you reccomend me buying the 2500?

All of the folders that I created on my 1000 work just fine on my 2500.

I had to buy a new password for JJOSXL

The only setback would probably be portability, but the 2500 isn't that big...at least not compared to my 4k.

I have a 2500, owned a 1k, I like the 2500 better.

I used 1k for a long time before trying 2500 out and loved it instantly. As mentioned tilt screen, pads, number pad, cursor, IO and the general layout are the things that I like better on 2500.

The individual outs aren't just for recording tracks to a PC faster.



You get a mixer like this, and plug 4 assignable outs into the mono channels. Then you get compression on each, with EQ, and fast pan and level controls. You can assign core mono sounds, like kick drum, snare, bass, and mix it just right.

Then plug the other 4 assignable outs to 2 stereo tracks, and you can route out instruments, or vinyl samples. Plug the MPC2500 stereo out to another stereo track, and your keyboard synth to the last remaining one. Then get some FX.

You don't need to track out to PC after that, because you mix right there with your hands. Then you just record the stereo out from the mixer, passing through any master effects you want, like EQ or compressor, and then you're done.

There's lots of mixers to choose from, and some have built-in effects, and master EQ, even built-in audio interface so you just plug USB or Firewire into your PC to get the master recording.

A MPC1000 still has 4 assignable outs, so you get your 4 monos, plus your master stereo. That's enough for kick, snare, bass, hat, and single stereo for the rest. Then you have 2 MIDI outs for keyboards.

But if you want to expand, and stretch out, with room to grow, being able to plug in 4 external devices, and filling a small mixer with 8 assignable outs, then you go for the 2500. I'd get it just for the extra buttons.

MPC2500 for studio, MPC1000 for live.

Nym wrote:there's no reason for an mpc to be that big anymore. at all.

other than it's bad ass! that's my favourite part about the 60ii

Yeah, they don't make 'em like the 60, 3000 and 4000 anymore.

Definitively worth it!

2500 got much better ergonomics...

ive notice some instrument programs had a different output level when ported to the 2500, fixed the levels inside it and put them back in the 1000, these tend to distort a lot (both JJ OS2XL)


also 2500 has a lower gain level from the main output without noticeable distortion, 1k is fine until u put the gain at 3 O clock maximum, above that it start to have distortion (with little emphasis on mid high frequency range)

The 1000 has always felt like a toy to me, while the 2500 feels so much more significant... and in terms of stage use, a 2500 will turns heads where a 1000 won't...
The only drawback to the 2500 is it's crappy jog wheel (mine broke 5 years ago), but anything that you do with the jog wheel can be done with the +/- buttons so i never bothered to get it fixed...

In regards to the lesser quality jog wheel, does an upgrade exist for it?

i own a 1k.

only reason i would buy a 2500 would be for the extra midi and ability to be multitimbral, and the bigger pad set would be nice.