EnochLight wrote:BeatWilson wrote:i definitely dont want to look like that douche in the park with a portable mpc.
im not making beats on a bus, on a plane or some ****... im in the studio
when im out im usually busy doing other **** because im out and about for a reason.
Counterpoint: many don't want to be that douche who thinks being in a studio is the only time they can create. Many get struck with creativity when they are out and about, and the Live provides exactly what is needed in those instances.
Not that I'm saying you're a douche. I mean, no more than I'm a douche for buying the Live over the X, just so I could easily be portable.
AND, as the guy who brings gear to his 8-5 everyday to work on music during lunch, or brings the MPC Live to my son's tutoring session to sit in the corner and be productive himself.
Some of us HAVE to. I have a fairly nice studio setup at home, but you know what else is at home? A 4 year old who gets excited whenever I am working in the studio and wants to sing whenever she sees a microphone, and an overzealous 8 year old who sees all the buttons, and honestly has grown up around all my equipment and wants to do what Dad does.
Lunch is my most productive time by a mile, simply because I'm not distracted with stuff at home, and can focus. It isn't about creativity - its about getting it in, when you CAN. That's a huge issue (issue is wrong word, maybe mark?) with the X - its lack of portability puts it square in line with every other device/system at home I already have for beat making.
The MPC X would have to go up against Ableton + Push 2, it would have to go against my Digitakt, it would have to go against FL Studio + Fire, Reason, etc, etc. If the MPC workflow brings out the best in you - great, but from a sheer technical stand-point, the MPC falls flat compared to those (even the Digitakt from a technical stand point, but I prefer the MPC myself to my Digitakt).
That's not to poo-poo the MPC X, but the competition of the MPC X and the Live is different. The MPC X is a hub, I call it a "brain", it stands on its on, and everything else goes through it, so as mentioned it needs to be compared against everything else that falls into that category, and frankly it pretty much loses almost everyone of those battles - minus pure personal preference of the workflow and dynamics. The Live on the other hand does NOT have much competition. There are people who have modified their Digitakts to make them portable, but the only two things that can really mess with the Live away from home is an iPad and a Laptop. The iPad will need a controller for any kind of feel, and *for me* is prone to rampant glitches (noted on the Air2 and the iPad Pro & WAY worse and frequent than what happens on the Live). A Laptop will require a controller, take up more space thanks to said controller, and to match the true "no plug" nature of the Live, there are few controllers that are USB power *let alone up to snuff quality wise*.
And just to kick it a bit, I don't really trust folks, I don't bring many people to the "Bassment", if I am selling production, or working with someone, I go where they are, and the Live lets me do that with ease. When I travel back home (DMV), the Live is light work to bring to work with folks.
The whole narrative of working on music at the park is driven entirely be people saying "they could" and people making Youtube videos. Its frankly insulting to insinuate to think because your gear is stuck in a studio, there is some advantage.
- Unreall