Ian Canefire wrote:I would appreciate hearing your comparison of the two machines. Strengths/weakness'
cheers,
Ian
The 4000 definitely has more features of course and it's more easily accessible due to dedicated function buttons. On the 2500 you have to hit mode then whatever pad. The feature set is deeper on the 4000 and that's including jj os.
The feature set is way more extensive on the 4k. There are 4 efx sends vs 2 on the 2.5k. On the 2.5k you access the efx sends through the program mode. On the 4k you simply hit the effects button. More control over what you're doing to include the key grouping on the 4k that's not on the 2.5k. Again, the separate buttons mean deeper editing.
The first thing that I really noticed was the recording screens. On the 2500 you can actually see the notes running in real time. On the 4000 you just kind of have to know it's there and go into the grid or step edit to see them.
The 4000 screen is bigger of course so there's more information in front of you. Especially in terms of midi control which is huge for me as I have 4 keyboards and 4 sound modules. The 2500 does the same thing but the information is right there on the 4k.
The adat out option was a huge plus on the 4k. I recently switched from an Ensemble to an Apollo so now I can literally run 16 tracks in at time. Big time saver.
Now on to one of my favorite functions so far that I happened to just turn a knob and find. There is real time swing adjustment on the 4k at least while it's playing. You simply adjust on the fly. On the 2.5k you adjust it, hit enter, and a screen pops up and tells you are sure because you can't go back. Basically, I would copy the sequence in the 2.5k and try out different settings. Yes, you can record with swing on in both but to adjust while playing in real time is huge.
I've read a lot of people who say the 4k is too much for them. I can see where it could be for some. For someone like myself who's a hardware guy with a bunch of other things connected it's the way to go. The learning curve was not severe on my end because I pretty much knew the 2.5k in and out.
These things are not a knock on the 2.5k. It's just that the 4k does so much more. The things they both do are fairly simple processes on the 4k. Something like finding efx through the program mode on the 2.5 vs a button on the 4k. Little differences that just make the whole process easier. I see now how people can sit in front of their 4k for hours.