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By sirparksalot Thu Sep 26, 2013 9:11 pm
Lampdog wrote:
sirparksalot wrote:......Most users don't seem to experience this.....

Yeah, I've never had those problems you listed. I'm sure we have different ways of working but I would think as much as I've used my 4k I should have ran into problems like that. I haven't, fortunately, knock on wood grain.

Word. It must be my machine....might be time to call VST or Forat and see if they can fix it. Maybe a logic board or whatever that's causing it to crash and hang up. I've never heard of ANYONE having these types of problems on the regular before!
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By Coz Thu Sep 26, 2013 9:29 pm
sirparksalot wrote:It must be my machine....might be time to call VST or Forat and see if they can fix it.



In the few years I've had my 4K it hasn't crashed once. I regularly throw 300MB+ worth of samples at it, go heavy on the sequencing and Q-links etc. No problems at all.
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By wavemartian Thu Oct 10, 2013 4:15 am
MPC-Tutor wrote:The style of music you make isn't really relevant you can make any style of music you wish on any MPC and any other audio gear.

IMO the 5000 is an awful MPC, so if you want one of the big powerhouse flagships, go for the 4000. Bigger learning curve though compared to the other MPCs, but can do things no other MPC can.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I still believe a 1000 running JJOSXL and the newer style pads is a pretty decent investment.


Speaking from one MPC 5000 owner that picked it up in virtually new condition for a great price. I don't consider it that awful, I have been using it solidly for 6 weeks. if you have the perspective that it does have some bugs and shortcomings then I think it may be a better choice than a 4000, simply because it is difficult to get a 4000 in good condition. The quality of sound and effects on the 5000 are very good, chopping is not too bad, however you can use recycle and save as an akp file to use in the 5000. The synth and appeg. are handy for that instant expression of ideas. The midi accessibility is great, and real-time recording of midi CC's. I wish the grid edit was like the JJOS. Moreover if you can pick one up cheap with the RAM expansion, I'd say get it.
By ntalec Fri Oct 18, 2013 3:42 pm
wavemartian wrote:Speaking from one MPC 5000 owner that picked it up in virtually new condition for a great price. I don't consider it that awful, I have been using it solidly for 6 weeks. if you have the perspective that it does have some bugs and shortcomings then I think it may be a better choice than a 4000, simply because it is difficult to get a 4000 in good condition. The quality of sound and effects on the 5000 are very good, chopping is not too bad, however you can use recycle and save as an akp file to use in the 5000. The synth and appeg. are handy for that instant expression of ideas. The midi accessibility is great, and real-time recording of midi CC's. I wish the grid edit was like the JJOS. Moreover if you can pick one up cheap with the RAM expansion, I'd say get it.


Finding clean 4ks is really easy to do, don't really know what you are basing that on?

Also just because you know or understand the 5k has bugs doesn't change anything if the problems are inherent to your workflow.

Whenever I see people say you can chop on the computer then use that in the MPC, that's akin to paying a prostitute to watch you jack off while you look at internet porn.

If you have a MP that you can't or don't chop on why use it?

What most people don't understand is we purchased 5ks and gave Akai a chance but a some point in time most of us moved on or put them in the corner.

If the 5k works for you fine but you walk a fine line recommend it to others.
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By wavemartian Fri Oct 25, 2013 8:05 am
I wouldn't say it was a warm recommendation,but merely trying to convey a balanced argument for both machines. Speaking on wear and tear you'd be better off getting an MPC 5000 as there are good possibilities to pick a great condition one up cheap. The 4000 is already is up to 10 years older, so you need to be aware of older components failing. I do chop on the 5000, but you also have the possibility of doing chopping in recycle and saving as a akp file which loads straight up in the 5000. As said before i like how the midi implementation works on the 5000 to control other equipment. Granted I understand the buyers from 2008 would have been majorly pissed off throwing all that cash at the machine, but for $700 I can accept the limitations.

"that's akin to paying a prostitute to watch you jack off while you look at internet porn." Shit I didn't think anyone knew about my kinky habits :shock:
By ntalec Fri Oct 25, 2013 1:22 pm
The only point is that the 4k at it's current age is still a more reliable performer than the 5k has ever been for overall users.
To think of what age will do with the 5k is pretty scary.
The 1k was not the best built machine neither was the 2500 but they both seem to have proven to be more stable than the 5k.
One of the real problems with the 5k and understanding it's issues is that very few of us who purchased them new kept them.
They just quietly slipped them to another sucker, I mean owner. :lol:

Like I have said in other threads my 5k never crashed but plenty of others did.
I was fortunate enough to have a balanced screen whereas others had the white bright corner.
Potential 5k owners just have to understand that the software can be buggy, the hardware is suspect and Akai bailed on it with these things being known.

With all the MPC models out there that don't have the issues the 5k brings just makes it too easy to pick a better model.

People seem to be more aware of the 5k now, here's an example.
One of the local GCs had a clean loaded 5k for a $1000, They lowered it to $999, then $899.
After a few months they sent it to another local GC store and they lowered it to $799 then $699.
The eventually lowered it to $599 but it still didn't sell, they finally got someone to bite at $550.
That about 6 months trying to sell a clean, loaded 5k at prices far below typical asking prices.

If the 5k work problem free for someone then of course there is no reason not to use it but for most it's the other type of performance form the 5k.
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By Mike Boogie Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:28 pm
seoulsampler wrote:Sorry guy's, just one last question, is this possible with the MPC 4K too?

https://vimeo.com/6914687


Thanks for checkin...

peacee...


I don't think that can be done on a 4k. That's the only thing I believe is missing.

Someone will correct me if I am wrong, but there a bit of a work around from the program menu that almost does the same effect but not as neat.
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By MPCTNT Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:52 pm
They both have their pros and cons but of the 2, I preferred the 5k. I did sell it last month and the new owner couldn't be happier. He alrdy has a 3k and has since gotten a Renn. He thinking of selling the 3k as the 5k and Renn gives him his hardware and software solutions

Find the best deal loaded and go with what U feel
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By JUKE 179r Sun Oct 27, 2013 6:56 pm
Once I figure out where the **** I'm going to be living at, I'm getting a 4000… fa real. :smoker:
By ntalec Sun Oct 27, 2013 9:11 pm
MPCTNT wrote:and the new owner couldn't be happier.


MPCTNT wrote:He thinking of selling the 3k



I guess these two statements would go together, if he was happy with the 5k he would also probably be the type who would sell a 3k and keep the 5k.
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By MPCTNT Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:32 am
ntalec wrote:
MPCTNT wrote:and the new owner couldn't be happier.


MPCTNT wrote:He thinking of selling the 3k



I guess these two statements would go together, if he was happy with the 5k he would also probably be the type who would sell a 3k and keep the 5k.


He hadnt used the 3k in yrs and found it more convenient to load and save to 5K HD and flash media, than to and from floppies. Yes there are zips drives and such, but some rather step up the technology at times. We can't knock each other for preferences. Doesnt make us wrong, makes us different.

Hasn't sold it, just commented about what he can get fr it since he hardly used it and its in mint condition as result.
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By koncepticon Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:50 am
Your issue sounds like it could be just due to some corruption on your sample disk / cf card. If you ever tried to repair it in windows or OS X (DO NOT EVER REPAIR WITH WINDOWS OR MAC) That might be the cause. It gets "wonky" to be technical about it. back up the data, format it with the mpc, then reload the data and see if she still crashes.




sirparksalot wrote:I have both the 4000 and 5000 right now, so let me tell you my experience.

I have used the 4000 everyday for almost 3 years. It is by far my favorite machine, but it DOES have problems. Not with build or workflow, but my problems have come from system crashes, sequences randomly losing all sequenced patterns after putting them into song mode and then going back to the main sequence view, and also just plain old system freezes. Most users don't seem to experience this, so I wonder if age is catching up to my 4000....it's been used pretty heavily and is pretty beat up. I do try to maintain and take care of it, though....so I'm not sure.

With that said, I would rather use the 4000 over any other MPC....and I have owned the 1000, 2000xl, 2500, and currently own the 3000, 4000, and 5000.

Now the 5000....
I actually think that it is built pretty well. It's again not the actual machine that is a problem, with the 5000 it's the OS. Chopping is slow and sluggish, going through menus is sluggish. Sometimes it freezes, but I haven't experienced it much. The synth is too much of a pain to tune and program to be too useful, but you can get some pretty good bass sounds out of it. It just seems unfinished.....almost like one more update would really make it a good MPC....but we don't have one more update, therefore I don't think it's a very good machine. Compared to the 4000, it's a no brainer. 4000 all day. The 5000 is being sold this week.
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By koncepticon Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:56 am
Your issue on the 4000 sounds like it could be just due to some corruption on your sample disk / cf card. If you ever tried to repair it in windows or OS X (DO NOT EVER REPAIR WITH WINDOWS OR MAC) That might be the cause. It gets "wonky" to be technical about it. back up the data, format it with the mpc, then reload the data and see if she still crashes.




sirparksalot wrote:I have both the 4000 and 5000 right now, so let me tell you my experience.

I have used the 4000 everyday for almost 3 years. It is by far my favorite machine, but it DOES have problems. Not with build or workflow, but my problems have come from system crashes, sequences randomly losing all sequenced patterns after putting them into song mode and then going back to the main sequence view, and also just plain old system freezes. Most users don't seem to experience this, so I wonder if age is catching up to my 4000....it's been used pretty heavily and is pretty beat up. I do try to maintain and take care of it, though....so I'm not sure.

With that said, I would rather use the 4000 over any other MPC....and I have owned the 1000, 2000xl, 2500, and currently own the 3000, 4000, and 5000.

Now the 5000....
I actually think that it is built pretty well. It's again not the actual machine that is a problem, with the 5000 it's the OS. Chopping is slow and sluggish, going through menus is sluggish. Sometimes it freezes, but I haven't experienced it much. The synth is too much of a pain to tune and program to be too useful, but you can get some pretty good bass sounds out of it. It just seems unfinished.....almost like one more update would really make it a good MPC....but we don't have one more update, therefore I don't think it's a very good machine. Compared to the 4000, it's a no brainer. 4000 all day. The 5000 is being sold this week.