Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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By tapedeck Thu Dec 06, 2012 9:20 pm
gotta give this one to the wal martman...

in theory, and in digital, gain is nothing more than volume change.

in analog, in reality, it could be interfering with other components, reacting to input voltage, etc etc to actually have distinctive sound.

there is no one way to amp voltage, so each design will have it's own particularities. just because you don't hear it, and you think in theory it shouldn't make a difference, doesn't mean it isn't noticeable to someone else. it is analog and therefore imperfect, however 'negligible' (that's opinion) that imperfection might be. :mrgreen:

for example i had a dj mixer with no eq that did nothing but adjust volume - it sounded like crap.

agree to disagree and let's not get hung up on the nitpicky. :smoker:
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By Wal Martian Thu Dec 06, 2012 9:26 pm
I think we can all agree that the MPC 2000 has it's own sonic signature. This sampler makes stuff sound good and there are a number of techniques to get a fat overdriven sound. The gain knob is the best way I know to control this coloration on the way in.
m56p87 wrote:There is numerous components that effect that sound

Whether it's the input gain amps, or all the circuits except for the amps coloring the sound, it's still a remarkable machine.
By m56p87 Thu Dec 06, 2012 9:42 pm
tapedeck wrote:gotta give this one to the wal martman...

in theory, and in digital, gain is nothing more than volume change.

in analog, in reality, it could be interfering with other components, reacting to input voltage, etc etc to actually have distinctive sound.

there is no one way to amp voltage, so each design will have it's own particularities. just because you don't hear it, and you think in theory it shouldn't make a difference, doesn't mean it isn't noticeable to someone else. it is analog and therefore imperfect, however 'negligible' (that's opinion) that imperfection might be. :mrgreen:

for example i had a dj mixer with no eq that did nothing but adjust volume - it sounded like crap.

agree to disagree and let's not get hung up on the nitpicky. :smoker:


You could definitely construct an amplification circuit to distort your sound, and do all sorts of cool audio stuff with messing with different types of amplifying circuits.but talking specifically about the mpc2000 preamps.. If you use it at 9 o clock or 3 clock it's not gonna color your sound at all if your below 5db.


Sorry thought I made it clear enough with the bold type... I'm not talking about every amplifying circuit in existance. All I was saying is that in terms of coloring your sound of the input on the mpc2000 the gain knob isnt the exactly doing the heavy lifting when it comes to the qualities in the audio.
By m56p87 Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:00 pm
Wal Martian wrote:I think we can all agree that the MPC 2000 has it's own sonic signature. This sampler makes stuff sound good and there are a number of techniques to get a fat overdriven sound. The gain knob is the best way I know to control this coloration on the way in.
m56p87 wrote:There is numerous components that effect that sound

Whether it's the input gain amps, or all the circuits except for the amps coloring the sound, it's still a remarkable machine.


Agreed, last all I say before I stop ruining a great thread :evil: I didn't mean to come at you and veer off on such a tangent. It's just in your initial posts you seem to be advocating that slightly driving the inputs dosnt produce a quality as good as the results that your way of doing things does, and recommended not using a tried and true method of fattening up your sounds....But I'll always shut my mouth whenever the "do whatever sounds best to you" card is played :-D :smoker:
By Solowbeats Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:05 pm
I think some people are too much concerned about clipping and the amount of dB and what not. It's all bullshit, because your ear will tell you all you need to know. On the 2K you saturate the sound by driving the inputs. You gotta go all the way till your levelmeter stops moving and even then you can push it further. There isn't a set sweetspot because every sound you sample will color at a different level/volume. Stop thinking too technical about this. You ear will tell you wether or not you've gone too far and shit starts clipping.

I started this thread 'cos I was surprised and amazed how beautiful the 2K classic colors. My 2kXL could never handle that amount of input gain and didn't saturate like the classic.
Had I knew about this, then I would have purchased a classic years ago!
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By pros&cons Sun Dec 09, 2012 4:46 am
a few weeks ago i bought a 2000 studio from ebay just for the hell
of it, well actually i like they way it looked. I also have a 2000xl and a 2500 and after reading this thread i decided to compare the sound of the 2000 and the 2000xl. I must say that i like what the happens to the sound going through the 2000. I was not aware
of it until i read this thread.
Last edited by pros&cons on Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By SimonInAustralia Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:02 pm
Is the better sound mostly from the overdriving of the 2000 input circuitry when sampling?

How do samples that have been recorded in the 2000 sound when played back in the 2000XL, just as good as when played back in the 2000?
By JVC Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:45 am
Wow, this is an interesting thread. I never thought that 2000 Classic and 2000XL sound different. I had 2000 Classic, I didn't like the LCD screen that doesn't tilt, no IDE support, and no file directory support. I moved to 2000XL and never looked back, but it is nice to see that MPC-2000 Classic got some fans.
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By mr_debauch Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:53 am
JVC wrote:Wow, this is an interesting thread. I never thought that 2000 Classic and 2000XL sound different. I had 2000 Classic, I didn't like the LCD screen that doesn't tilt, no IDE support, and no file directory support. I moved to 2000XL and never looked back, but it is nice to see that MPC-2000 Classic got some fans.


I dont know if it specifically does or not.. it could be a difference from unit to unit too.. I mean some people on these forums have more than one xl, and have mentioned each of them sounding different. I haven't done any side by side comparisons of 10 xls and 10 classics... but I like my classic better for the sound over the xl.. however then again.... maybe it's just in my head :lol: who the hell knows. I admit though, I have not made the same exact beat in more than one machine before.
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By v00d00ppl Sat Mar 23, 2013 7:20 am
mr_debauch wrote:
JVC wrote:Wow, this is an interesting thread. I never thought that 2000 Classic and 2000XL sound different. I had 2000 Classic, I didn't like the LCD screen that doesn't tilt, no IDE support, and no file directory support. I moved to 2000XL and never looked back, but it is nice to see that MPC-2000 Classic got some fans.


I dont know if it specifically does or not.. it could be a difference from unit to unit too.. I mean some people on these forums have more than one xl, and have mentioned each of them sounding different. I haven't done any side by side comparisons of 10 xls and 10 classics... but I like my classic better for the sound over the xl.. however then again.... maybe it's just in my head :lol: who the hell knows. I admit though, I have not made the same exact beat in more than one machine before.



I don't have a classic but I have 2 2000XL's and one has more bass than the other when sampling. I chopped up Sade's Flow and Dream's New York drum break. It has to be a serial number range where the older ones might have the left over AD/DA convertors from the 2000. My current 2000XL sounds punchier and more bass than my spare one I bought on impulse. I bet if we do a poll on MPC 2000XL owners who find their samplers too thin vs ones that are satisfied we can get a rough estimate on the range.