MPC JJOS vs logic for other than hip hop

I have been using the MPC1000/JJOS2XL for a while. All the features and good sides of this great combo (MPC1000+JJOS2XL) are pretty clear to me.

Now look at a DAW like logic with its drum sequencer/synthesizer Ultrabeat and its sampler module EXS24. the combined features, flexibility, possibilities, and even sound quality are amazing. In my mind, NO hardware could rival this type of flexibility and power found in logic. (plse this is not about logic vs FL vs protools etc...)

So my question is: if you are a musician and out to produce full tracks other than hip hop wouldn't you be better off using logic instead of an MPC+JJOS ?

I know that the physical presence, workflow and personality of a MPC is not comparable to that of logic/mac: working with a computer including the screen and a mouse is just not the same: some can find this "cold", impersonal. I also know that the MPC can be used to produce music other than hip hop.

BUT for the sake of musical productivity (and also creativity because of the sheer power of logic), outside of hip hop can we justify working with a MPC (again with JJOS)?

I ask this because I do love the MPC1000 very much and JJOS2XL is an amazing addition to the MPC. This combination machine+OS is truly beautiful.

However if let us say a label is demanding me to produce a full finished track (whether dance, ambient, techno, dub, etc.) I know that I'll need to do it with logic rather than a MPC.

Feedback please !!

this is a dumb comparison... sorry... the MPC is a sampler... Logic is a DAW... each one is used for completely different purposes... yes, music can be made with both... and for any genre of music... i really think people are running out of things to compare MPCs to... if a sampler isn't for you then don't use one.

crossings wrote:this is a dumb comparison... sorry... the MPC is a sampler... Logic is a DAW... each one is used for completely different purposes... yes, music can be made with both... and for any genre of music... i really think people are running out of things to compare MPCs to... if a sampler isn't for you then don't use one.

please re-read my post. i specifically mentioned, among all the functions of logic, the ones that are comparable to a MPC: that is ultrabeat (drum machine, sequencer) and EXS 24 (sampler). the fact that logic can do more than a MPC doesn't prevent comparison of similar features (and is not relevant here).


"if a sampler isn't for you then don't use one."

again, please re-read my post: I AM using a sampler. In fact I am using 2 (MPC and logic EXS24).
I am trying to look a bit at the larger picture: beyond the act sampling to the final goal of making a finished, complete, as professional sounding as possible track, and which tool can get me there as efficiently as possible.

and which tool can get me there as efficiently as possible.

and only you can answer that. Whatever is said in this thread doesn't compare with you actually trying the options and deciding yourself what is best for you.

I think as someone who used to be new to this, you're looking for a one stop solution which doesn't exists. Marry the two together and you get the best of both worlds, it depends upon your work style I found.

Some people make a beat on the MPC take it to logic to expand.

Some people make a beat via Logic and then chop it via the MPC to think of different solutions.

Its just depends on the scenario

it is not necessarily the amount of features on paper that makes out how good a tool is, it is more likely to be how well you work with it.. and the amount of features tend to become less important at that point... i try to only consider the features to be important when you actually need to think about if there is a need for them.. not just for the sake of it

for me, i would not be able to do what i do if i just used a computer, it is certainly possible, but it would simply take too long to do on a computer.. the hands on, real time approach of the mpc allows me to get directly into the music as i make it, and do it very fast.. on a computer i would be more or less divided from the music itself, having to fiddle with a mouse to create emulate the grooves i can do by physically interacting with it on the mpc.. i'd say, it is in the best interest of any musician, to have hands on contact rather than going through the process of having to emulate it on a computer because that takes effort and time that could be put into creativity and musicality... where a computer can have lots of versatility, and even automatically generate patterns and envelopes, it can not as easily substitute or emulate the genuine feeling, speed and effectiveness that you can get from hands on contact... but then it might not be needed at all, especially if you work with pre recorded material, like breaks and loops, but then i'd see it as being more of a producer than a musician


but then, i also don't see why you could not just aim to get the best of both worlds

personally i combine my mpc with cubase and a keyboard, and they work very well together... mpc for anything that has drums in it, to create full tracks with great control over detail, and cubase works as having a huge rack on each channel, where i can manipulate the sound if needed, as well as it being used to record with, where i can go into even more detail if needed once i have the material as wavs on the audio lane... and easy arrangement of the recorded audio files if the arrangement i did on the mpc doesn't come out as i wanted.. i could not do that as fast on the mpc.. and i could not program drums as fast on a computer... but i don't need to, as i can combine these tools

There is literally no single answer to the question of "hardware vs DAW?".


It's whatever suits your preferences, your workflows, your style, your budget, whatever.


Pretty much totally subjective.

This thread is gay.

Too bad the question is about Logic. Otherwise I'd just say, 16 MIDI tracks out the MPC to 16 top plugins, audio tracks in the DAW set to catch the MPC's sounds..."problem" solved....

So my question is: if you are a musician and out to produce full tracks other than hip hop wouldn't you be better off using logic instead of an MPC+JJOS ?

JJOS remains the best medium for recording and editing MIDI for me, especially with the XLCD screen.

unfortunately, what i've been struggling with recently is my growing need to use REAPER as a sampler. i'm doing less and less sampling in the MPC itself and more utilization of stretch markers and elastic audio in REAPER for melodic sampling. i then bounce sections out to the MPC to use as audio tracks, but this is an interruption in my workflow.

slaving REAPER to the MPC via MTC is not an option, due to the chase time. can't have it.

something i've experimented with is having a note recorded at 1.01.00 in the MPC that triggers the PLAYSTART action in REAPER so that playstart in the MPC hard triggers playstart in REAPER. this works OK, but not perfectly.

i think the real take-away is that i'm moving from building the entire song in the MPC and then capturing it in REAPER. instead the MPC is simply building parts which are then pieced together in REAPER.

I use hardware and no DAW usually when playing, but you need more than just MPC to approach the flexibility of a DAW. Like mixer, effects, synths, compressors, ect

you can do it though and any style can be made if you work on it.

I've made movies on the MPC500. I put every scene into a Program, have the babysitter powder her palms and jerk me off and then its off to making movies.