MPC/ MPC Forum veterans, what are your X/ Live verdicts?

Menco wrote:

bredal187 wrote:Oh yeah, the software is horrendous. I've worked extensively with Logic, Cubase, Reason, Ableton, Studio One and Maschine software and MPC is the worst daw I've ever experienced.

I’m quite content with the MPC software. Like CharlesRandolph said; it probably need some more time to get more stable.

Me for instance can’t get used to Ableton and FruityLoops. But to each his own I guess.

Do you think there's any difference in sound between the 2500 and the SW? Probably suit you to get the Live as your used to the system now anyhow.My rig now is MPC5000 and the SW.Best of both worlds.

CharlesRandolph wrote:The lack of a FADER Qlink is something that had me scratching my head, since the MPC Touch.

Also missed those on the Studio. For the smaller MPC versions I understand the didn’t put faders on it because of space issues. But I had expecting them on the Ren and X.

Menco wrote: For me tracking out is what I also hated doing, so the MPC software really made things easier for me to finish my beats. But I still had my best sessions when focussing on a dedicated machine.

Thank you for your insights.

I've never had a issue with tracking out, because I work with live musicians. Also even with the ability to render stems, I still add live element such as strings, vocals, scratches, piano, guitar to complete the composition. There is nothing like the natural push and pull of human timing.

My main Drum Machine/Sequencer/Sampler is MPC 4000's, the LIVE/X/Software were basically used for archiving older projects made on MPC 2000, XL.

dryad-66 wrote:
Do you think there's any difference in sound between the 2500 and the SW? Probably suit you to get the Live as your used to the system now anyhow.My rig now is MPC5000 and the SW.Best of both worlds.

Me personally never noticed any difference.
Don’t know if you notice any difference between the 5000 and the Software?

Menco wrote:

dryad-66 wrote:
Do you think there's any difference in sound between the 2500 and the SW? Probably suit you to get the Live as your used to the system now anyhow.My rig now is MPC5000 and the SW.Best of both worlds.

Me personally never noticed any difference.
Don’t know if you notice any difference between the 5000 and the Software?

yeah ive done and am doing many tests atm.Overall im preferring the 5k.Gives some body to the sound.The SW you can crank high but is brittle.Cutting and nice and clear.Its very neutral.Maybe too much so and the highs are very bright.But the SW does the trick.Well.There's quite a bit more character to the 5000 tho.Not quite sure why that is.It does not seems to vary with sound cards either(SW)......Those old Numark mPC's have something that works.Maybe just a bit more grunge But i like it.

dryad-66 wrote:yeah ive done and am doing many tests atm.Overall im preferring the 5k.Gives some body to the sound.The SW you can crank high but is brittle.Cutting and nice and clear.Its very neutral.Maybe too much so and the highs are very bright.But the SW does the trick.Well.There's quite a bit more character to the 5000 tho.Not quite sure why that is.It does not seems to vary with sound cards either(SW)......Those old Numark mPC's have something that works.Maybe just a bit more grunge But i like it.

Machines overtime do change because the Age, Quality of components, Smoke, Humidity, Dust, Heat, Electric, and Type of Metals all can effect the sounds. This is why it's hard to emulate hardware, because over time that hardware sound changes. Then the question becomes, is this an emulation of new hardware or 25 year old hardware.

I remember when the 5000 came out, most people said it was too clean. Now they are calling it warm 10 years later.

the live is decent. It can take an internal solid state drive in addition to the built in storage (which is small.. 16 or maybe 32 gigs or something). You can also plug in a usb drive or memory card. The way it handles those is much easier than on older models.

You can just drag a folder of music you meant to look at for sampling and go through it on the mpc live... than jump on what ever sounds good. You can export songs to the hard drive or usb key so if you are like me and never hook it up to the computer... you can just bring the key over to the computer.

The q links work on every screen, there is usually something indicating what the knobs are set to (usually a column or row of parameters and pushing the button skips to the next row or column) it also does the start and end points with different resolutions depending on the knob... the usual stuff you would expect.

The touch screen is decent. I find that I don't often need to touch it because there seems to be dedicated buttons for most of what you would need to do. I am glad it doesn't feel like you are on a cell phone app.

The hardware quality seems decent. I have not had problems with mine........ except for the headphone jack. They didn't put a 1/4 inch jack like they did for the individual outs and ins etc... they put a cheap quality 1/8 jack that the pins wear out after plugging in headphones a couple dozen times. The jack still works, but it does not grip.. it would fall out if i turned it downward.

battery lasts a long time (we will see in 5 years) It makes it really great to use. You can take it across the room to a piece of gear and record a bit into it.... then return to the couch to work on the idea.

FX are great for a stand alone piece of hardware. Coming from the EB16, nothing to complain about. I find them probably better than the MV-8000 fx. Are they comparable to 300 dollar VST fx? Not at all. They are there though and they are usable.

it is fairly simple to use, it does things fairly well... some things you scratch your head at the logic behind how they set certain things up but it works once you figure it out.

[quote="CharlesRandolph"]

I remember when the 5000 came out, most people said it was too clean. Now they are calling it warm 10 years later[quote]

It is clean.Like the 4000 is clean.Neutral.But like the 4000 the general sound is slightly 'compromised' somewhere along the way which gives the sound some character altho not in a colorful way.Gives some weight.Which is the hallmark of a legacy (?) drum sampler imo.not just 100% playback.Its like the sound is compressed a touch.High end slightly rolled off.Seems to work.As i say tho the mix of the two seems like a great combo.2 sequencers,2 sample engines,2 ways too edit and swap sounds

dryad-66 wrote:yeah ive done and am doing many tests atm.Overall im preferring the 5k.Gives some body to the sound.The SW you can crank high but is brittle.Cutting and nice and clear.Its very neutral.Maybe too much so and the highs are very bright.But the SW does the trick.Well.There's quite a bit more character to the 5000 tho.Not quite sure why that is.It does not seems to vary with sound cards either(SW)......Those old Numark mPC's have something that works.Maybe just a bit more grunge But i like it.

Depends on your setup probably. What kind of interface of mixer you are using. I run everything through the same interface.

I remember when the 5000 came out, most people said it was too clean. Now they are calling it warm 10 years later.

Exactly this. Also the same shit when the 1000/ 2500 came out and when the 2000/ 2000XL were released.

mr_debauch wrote:the live is decent. It can take an internal solid state drive in addition to the built in storage (which is small.. 16 or maybe 32 gigs or something). You can also plug in a usb drive or memory card. The way it handles those is much easier than on older models.

You can just drag a folder of music you meant to look at for sampling and go through it on the mpc live... than jump on what ever sounds good. You can export songs to the hard drive or usb key so if you are like me and never hook it up to the computer... you can just bring the key over to the computer.

The q links work on every screen, there is usually something indicating what the knobs are set to (usually a column or row of parameters and pushing the button skips to the next row or column) it also does the start and end points with different resolutions depending on the knob... the usual stuff you would expect.

The touch screen is decent. I find that I don't often need to touch it because there seems to be dedicated buttons for most of what you would need to do. I am glad it doesn't feel like you are on a cell phone app.

The hardware quality seems decent. I have not had problems with mine........ except for the headphone jack. They didn't put a 1/4 inch jack like they did for the individual outs and ins etc... they put a cheap quality 1/8 jack that the pins wear out after plugging in headphones a couple dozen times. The jack still works, but it does not grip.. it would fall out if i turned it downward.

battery lasts a long time (we will see in 5 years) It makes it really great to use. You can take it across the room to a piece of gear and record a bit into it.... then return to the couch to work on the idea.

FX are great for a stand alone piece of hardware. Coming from the EB16, nothing to complain about. I find them probably better than the MV-8000 fx. Are they comparable to 300 dollar VST fx? Not at all. They are there though and they are usable.

it is fairly simple to use, it does things fairly well... some things you scratch your head at the logic behind how they set certain things up but it works once you figure it out.

Thank you for your input. Good to see you're still hanging around!

see below

Depends on your setup probably. What kind of interface of mixer you are using. I run everything through the same interface.

For instance-Focusfite Scarlett into motu ultralite and then recorded to ableton......
being that interfaces dont vary much and have neutral sound its pretty transparent.I do find getting a chunky mix out of the software is the exception rather than the rule.This had been a consistent problem for me.The 1/2.5 and 5k this is not an issue.Running the SW through some analog is essential depending on what your used too hardware wise. edit-so for me this is the main difference between the SW and the earlier HW.Cant really comment on the live and X tho.There's not much said about the sound.People just say its clean and transparent.

Exactly this. Also the same **** when the 1000/ 2500 came out and when the 2000/ 2000XL were released.

Before i got a 1000 i had the same thought.That was only a year ago.But its a loud and tight lil box.And just worked.

With the Live and X, I feel Akai Pro needs another year to straighten out the OS. Other than that, if you can make the good music on the previous MPC's, if you get the LIVE of X you're going to make it swing. Side note sometime we may not need the latest gear, but it's important to get them for continued education. There is just so much we can learn from videos and readings.

Physical, Real World applications is a must. We can't be stuck in our ways!

I like the convenience of the Live, it's very portable, it can perform pretty much every task I throw at it, & I DO like the effects. Given, they're not as comprehensive as perhaps they should be, but they're very usable.
It gets me away from the laptop, the same way my 2500 does. I can (and have) finish songs within the box, or if I want I can drag & drop the stems into a daw, & arrange that way. The software isn't all it could be, but only time will tell if Akai are serious about improving the software & feature set.
It's a good little box, with a lot of potential.
Peace

MaScHiNeHeAd wrote:I like the convenience of the Live, it's very portable, it can perform pretty much every task I throw at it, & I DO like the effects. Given, they're not as comprehensive as perhaps they should be, but they're very usable.
It gets me away from the laptop, the same way my 2500 does. I can (and have) finish songs within the box, or if I want I can drag & drop the stems into a daw, & arrange that way. The software isn't all it could be, but only time will tell if Akai are serious about improving the software & feature set.
It's a good little box, with a lot of potential.
Peace

If you had to pick between the 2500 and the Live for your ‘getting away from the laptop box’, which one would you choose, and why?