NEED HELP MPC4000 OR MPC2000XL

Hello

I am stuck and lost on buying an MPC, mainly for "Sequencing", then secondly for that DIRTY 16BIT Warm analogue sound.

My set up:

1) MIDI- Akai S6000
2) MIDI- Novation Supernova II
3) UNITOR 8 (MIDI INTERFACE)
4) MEGGED UP APPLE MAC MACHINE Running Logic X (10)

Now, currently. I use my Akai S6000 for every sound. Using Aksys (via parallels) i send all my samples to the sampler (s6000) and sequence via Logic 10.

My dilemma is this, I want to buy an MPC. I do not even want to think about any of the newer commercial mpcs. The ONLY new MPC i want to discuss in this thread is MPC 4000...VS 2000XL.


MY QUESTIONS FOR THE PROS WHO KNOWS

1) Can I achieve the exact same 16bit analogue sound as the 2000xl(or prior) with the MPC4000..(I hate crisp sharp digital drums or sound)..?

2) If I could achieve that EXACT 16BIT Analogue Dirt sound and was to go for the MPC4000, and ran samples/sounds entirely from my AKAI S600O Rack sampler, can I edit, filter etc the sounds/samples from the other MIDI sampler (s6000) on the MPC4000 OR Will the sample need to be loaded into the MPC4000 to use the edit functions.

Or will the MPC4000 ONLY act as a master sequencer if I ran the sounds via the external S6000 sampler. I hope this is clear?


To conclude, I want to achieve my dirt 16bit analogue sound, and have the MPC run as the MASTER Midi sequencer (baring in mind I has 2 external midi devices)

Would you recommend to me a MPC2000XL OR MPC4000?

WIZEMONEY wrote: 16BIT Warm analogue sound.

Doesn't compute

MPCs are digital samplers.

Better bet would be to get rid of that S6000 or get a real sampler to go with it.
A S950 or ASR10 would be a good move if you are after sound, you could always keep the S6000 to use like a recorder for the other samplers.

The MPC 4000 is the MPC to end all MPCs and you can get whatever the hell sound you want out of it. You will not be able to edit the sounds on the s6000 via the 4000 BUT since they both use aksys, moving them back and forth wil be easy. I have the 4000 and the s6000 so I would know. Also, if you are in the US check my listing for a 4000 in the marketplace. Good luck.

MaZe wrote: you can get whatever the hell sound you want out of it.

If you put it in first, not because of the sound manipulation abilities of the 4k.

Be careful of the 4K as Akai have stopped supporting some of the parts like the rotary dial etc. Additionally, the OS never got finished and is therefore limited.
Nice sampler though.

Zukan wrote:Be careful of the 4K as Akai have stopped supporting some of the parts like the rotary dial etc. Additionally, the OS never got finished and is therefore limited.
Nice sampler though.

Thankfully MPC Stuff has recently got a batch of Jog wheel replacements. Hopefully Tutor can work out a mod to make it easier to fit.

I think the 4K OS would have benefitted from one more update, but it's fairly complete as it is. The only 'obvious' omission was a promised automatic sampling mode like the Z series had. I can live without that.

the obvious choice is the mpc 4000.
because all of your s6000 programs will load into the 4000 with no problems

I don't know about digital, in terms of these samplers, having a "DIRTY 16BIT Warm analogue sound".

Or that the MPC2000XL has a specific "16BIT Analogue Dirt sound".

I would have thought that the S6000, MPC2000XL, MPC4000, and anything newer from Akai as well, would all have a similar accurate digital Akai sound, that I might also refer to as crisp sharp digital drums.

I don't think I would recommend any of the above for a "dirt 16bit analogue sound", whatever that is, probably because I thought that the sound of samplers you mention would be pretty much all the same.

ntalec wrote:

MaZe wrote: you can get whatever the hell sound you want out of it.

If you put it in first, not because of the sound manipulation abilities of the 4k.

Yes and no. The 4K has a ton of sound manipulation abilities. It's not your regular MPC. Between the Fx, filters, resampling, downsampling, etc. you can get A LOT out of it. I'm not sure that many people who have the 4K, even those that have been using it for years, really know what the machine is capable of over 10 years after it was released. If you know, you know.

The 4000 does not have the Formants either so that the synth can extend vocals or do the sort of vocal manipulation tricks that say a roland v-synth can do. Not a big deal but the manual says it can and it doesn't.


Other than that the 4000 is powerful. One of the best additions to my music studio.
Definitely get a 4000. They sound great.

Cheers,
Ian

MaZe wrote:

ntalec wrote:

MaZe wrote: you can get whatever the hell sound you want out of it.

If you put it in first, not because of the sound manipulation abilities of the 4k.

Yes and no. The 4K has a ton of sound manipulation abilities. It's not your regular MPC. Between the Fx, filters, resampling, downsampling, etc. you can get A LOT out of it. I'm not sure that many people who have the 4K, even those that have been using it for years, really know what the machine is capable of over 10 years after it was released. If you know, you know.

You aren't going to get anything out of the 4k other than the sound of the 4k unless you put in in first.
The down sampling (or resampling as they call it) lacks the ability to ping so it still sounds like the 4k,
The filters still sound like a sound filtered throw the 4k.

Re-sampling for me on the 4k means sending a sample out through 1/2 to a device with character and sampling it back through the line inputs.
Also I prefer to use a DJ mixer instead of connecting the turntable directly to it as it gives the samples a better sound.

The 4k is not going to give you in character unless you put it in first.
You can tweak til your hearts content but it still sounds like the 4k.
Now if I sample into something else then send that to the 4k the abilities of the 4k get a thumbs up, but not for something sampled straight into the 4k.

Maybe we have totally different perspectives on sound character?


By the way I got my Blue Plus when they were new and also grabbed a loaded white so I know the 4k well.

The OP still needs to add something with character to his equation to achieve what he seems to be after sound-wise.

ntalec wrote:You aren't going to get anything out of the 4k other than the sound of the 4k unless you put in in first.
The down sampling (or resampling as they call it) lacks the ability to ping so it still sounds like the 4k,
The filters still sound like a sound filtered throw the 4k.

Re-sampling for me on the 4k means sending a sample out through 1/2 to a device with character and sampling it back through the line inputs.
Also I prefer to use a DJ mixer instead of connecting the turntable directly to it as it gives the samples a better sound.

The 4k is not going to give you in character unless you put it in first.
You can tweak til your hearts content but it still sounds like the 4k.
Now if I sample into something else then send that to the 4k the abilities of the 4k get a thumbs up, but not for something sampled straight into the 4k.

Maybe we have totally different perspectives on sound character?


By the way I got my Blue Plus when they were new and also grabbed a loaded white so I know the 4k well.

The OP still needs to add something with character to his equation to achieve what he seems to be after sound-wise.

I'm not going to get into a "sound character" argument plus I don't understand your argument. If you put a dry snare into the 4K and then add filters, efx, downsampling, etc., whatever else, it's not going to sound like that dry snare that you sampled. I guess you're argument is that it's going to sound like that dry snare that has been processed by the 4K? Um yes, it's going to sound like "that", I guess.

And although I won't get into a "sound character" argument, I will say that "sound character" is largely overblown. Make good music that sounds good. Don't stack your studio with "magic boxes" that take you nowhere. I've done it and it's not worth it ESPECIALLY early on in one's music making career. Spend the time learning how to do things and learn what you want to do first. My 2 cents.

And with all of that said, I still recommend the 4K because if you are looking for an MPC it will give you the MOST to work with. There is no arguing that.

Exactly my point the 4k doesn't have character so you need to either feed it on the front or end up just sounding like the 4k then process it in your DAW.

The problem wasn't recommending a 4k it's that the OP has a 6k and wanted to add something to give him, as he stated a more dirty sound.
The 4k simply want do that neither would the 2k.
As I said his best bet is to get rid of the 6k, get a MP and a sampler with character.
From that point he could easily get the sound he was after.

If you have a 4k there is no need to take your magic boxes with you the 4k will retain their sound with no effort.

If I want the sound of my SP I simply use samples from it sampled into the 4k and it retains the sound with no problem.
You can down sample all you want but it won't sound like a 12-bit sampler and don't try to make him think it will.

ntalec wrote:Exactly my point the 4k doesn't have character so you need to either feed it on the front or end up just sounding like the 4k then process it in your DAW.

The problem wasn't recommending a 4k it's that the OP has a 6k and wanted to add something to give him, as he stated a more dirty sound.
The 4k simply want do that neither would the 2k.
As I said his best bet is to get rid of the 6k, get a MP and a sampler with character.
From that point he could easily get the sound he was after.

If you have a 4k there is no need to take your magic boxes with you the 4k will retain their sound with no effort.

If I want the sound of my SP I simply use samples from it sampled into the 4k and it retains the sound with no problem.
You can down sample all you want but it won't sound like a 12-bit sampler and don't try to make him think it will.

No one is talking about 12 bit here. I have an s950. I know the difference.

From the OP:
1) Can I achieve the exact same 16bit analogue sound as the 2000xl(or prior) with the MPC4000..(I hate crisp sharp digital drums or sound)..?

Answer: Yes (because there is no such thing) HA!