Long: Please help a total newbie with the MPC2000xl

dunkeyman wrote:Man I am so confused. I thought the MPC couldn't really "manipulate" sounds, which is why it's not an "all-in-one-sampler".

Also someone like Muggs really did all those awesome 90s beats on an sp1200 and that's it? No other hardware?

Thanks so much for all the replies.

you don't need an all-in-one sampler...and i dont think that's what we said. we were saying the sampler in the mpc is limited. you know what though, the sampler in a sp is even MORE limited.

all those old beats were made with stuff that is so much more limited than your 2kxl. even an mpc60, which has produced countless hits, doesnt even have a filter. you dont need anything other than your own creativity to make a dope beat.

you know what they didn't have in the 90s? the internet. for real - get off the internet. get on the machine. make beats. thats all it takes. every other beatmaker in the 90s did it this way, so if thats what you are going for, do it that way.
sure they probably had cool outboard eqs and stuff and mixers etc, but thats all extra and not necessary at all.

not trying to be harsh, just trying to inspire you to just get to work! you dont need more gear, you probably don't even need more knowledge, you need time and effort, and only you can provide that.

tapedeck wrote:

dunkeyman wrote:Man I am so confused. I thought the MPC couldn't really "manipulate" sounds, which is why it's not an "all-in-one-sampler".

Also someone like Muggs really did all those awesome 90s beats on an sp1200 and that's it? No other hardware?

Thanks so much for all the replies.

you don't need an all-in-one sampler...and i dont think that's what we said. we were saying the sampler in the mpc is limited. you know what though, the sampler in a sp is even MORE limited.

all those old beats were made with stuff that is so much more limited than your 2kxl. even an mpc60, which has produced countless hits, doesnt even have a filter. you dont need anything other than your own creativity to make a dope beat.

you know what they didn't have in the 90s? the internet. for real - get off the internet. get on the machine. make beats. thats all it takes. every other beatmaker in the 90s did it this way, so if thats what you are going for, do it that way.
sure they probably had cool outboard eqs and stuff and mixers etc, but thats all extra and not necessary at all.

not trying to be harsh, just trying to inspire you to just get to work! you dont need more gear, you probably don't even need more knowledge, you need time and effort, and only you can provide that.

Thank you so much! I guess i was just jammed up because as it was mentioned, you can't EQ out the other background noises in stuff like the "Jump Around" horn, so I was just confused as to how people did that if the MPC 2000 xl can't.

dunkeyman wrote:Thank you so much! I guess i was just jammed up because as it was mentioned, you can't EQ out the other background noises in stuff like the "Jump Around" horn, so I was just confused as to how people did that if the MPC 2000 xl can't.

i mean you got to take everything that's been said, filter out the half that is total bullshit (hard to do early in the game), then put the rest together in the right way.

so to sum up - there's no foolproof way to get an instrument out of a song. you CAN use eq or other techniques to help with this. you don't NEED another piece of gear to make beats, but yes sometimes it helps. you can make dope beats on anything as long as you are creative and put in the work. the stuff you are into was done on gear less capable on paper than an mpc, but they all have their own unique quirks that make them so special (tuning on a sp1200 is very cool, for instance).

in your case, if i were going to get one extra piece of gear to help out, a dj mixer hooked up to a turntable going into the mpc would put you 90% of the way to 90's hip hop production methods, and give you a lot of options to work with.

enjoy the journey and good on you for wanting to learn

tapedeck wrote:

dunkeyman wrote:Thank you so much! I guess i was just jammed up because as it was mentioned, you can't EQ out the other background noises in stuff like the "Jump Around" horn, so I was just confused as to how people did that if the MPC 2000 xl can't.

i mean you got to take everything that's been said, filter out the half that is total **** (hard to do early in the game), then put the rest together in the right way.

so to sum up - there's no foolproof way to get an instrument out of a song. you CAN use eq or other techniques to help with this. you don't NEED another piece of gear to make beats, but yes sometimes it helps. you can make dope beats on anything as long as you are creative and put in the work. the stuff you are into was done on gear less capable on paper than an mpc, but they all have their own unique quirks that make them so special (tuning on a sp1200 is very cool, for instance).

in your case, if i were going to get one extra piece of gear to help out, a dj mixer hooked up to a turntable going into the mpc would put you 90% of the way to 90's hip hop production methods, and give you a lot of options to work with.

enjoy the journey and good on you for wanting to learn

Thank you so much my dude!

Would a cheap mixer like this be OK?

All you need is a MPC 2000XL, Speakers, Turntable/Mixer, and some records with drum breaks. Start with looping drums breaks and get that to sound good. Nothing else matter until you can do that. It's all about the DRUMS, that why we call them BEATS!

Rap Music is based off of BEATS and RHYMES aka Drums and Raps.

dunkeyman wrote:Would a cheap mixer like this be OK? ...

i was talking about a two-channel dj mixer. an old vestax or something...

Ok. Once again. You don't need a mixing board and especially not this one. Like Charles, tapedeck and I already said: You need

1. The MPC
2. Creativity
3. A pair of trained ears. Listen to the beats you like and the original samples to learn how the beatmakers used them. Switch your ears to analyze mode.
3. Samples

If you want to sample from records you'll need

4. A turntable
5. A DJ mixer to connect the turntable. Plus it gives you the ability to shape the sound of the sample to your liking with its EQ.

When you're happy with a beat, record it to the PC track by track and there you can shape your mix further with the mass of good freeware VST Plugins.

thats all.

Don't invest in noname gear you really don't need. Rather invest in records

BTW watch Damus videos. He is a MPC master. Yes he got a mixing desk but he also have videos (especially the ones when he is live at a record store or park) when he only use the stereo outs of the MPC.
In case you wonder what he is doin in the videos. He play the beat and continously arranging it by mute and unmute certain tracks.









peace

Thanks man. All this stuff is just frying my brain right now. I got a guy I kinda know in real life who is telling me the MPC2000XL isn't really a "sampler", it's a "sequencer" and I will also need something like an Ensoniq ASR-10, which is a sampler. My head is pounding! lol

This thread is a good example of what is confusing me so much: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electro ... -10-a.html

Lampdog wrote:I have an ASR10. I have a 2kxl.
As far as sampling it can do things the 2kxl WISHES it could.

But there are certain sounds/songs I could probably only make with one and not the other then?

dunkeyman wrote:

Lampdog wrote:I have an ASR10. I have a 2kxl.
As far as sampling it can do things the 2kxl WISHES it could.

But there are certain sounds/songs I could probably only make with one and not the other then?

you've got to change your mindset.... you are never gonna get 100% the exact same equipment, crew, timeframe, vibe to recreate a song exactly. you can get close in a lot of different ways though.
you can do things with an asr you can't do with an mpc...
you can do things with an mpc you can't do with an asr...
you can pretty much do ANYTHING you want with either of them if you are clever and have the love.

i realise you are learning, but you got to remember that everybody, especially on the internet, has an opinion, but thats all it is - knowledge filtered through a personal lens. you can hear 1000 different opinions and spend 1000 hours to figure out which one is right and finally figure out the perfect answer, and none of that matters til you get in there and start figuring it out on yer own. there is no wrong way - you are 100% capable right now to recreate a ton of old beats with just your mpc. add a turntable and a dj mixer if you must, and now you are 300% capable. add an asr or another 'full featured' sampler later... i mean like years later once you are certain thats what you want.

you work with what you got, and you got plenty right now. show that machine some love and it will reward you.

tapedeck wrote:you've got to change your mindset.... you are never gonna get 100% the exact same equipment, crew, timeframe, vibe to recreate a song exactly. you can get close in a lot of different ways though.
you can do things with an asr you can't do with an mpc...
you can do things with an mpc you can't do with an asr...
you can pretty much do ANYTHING you want with either of them if you are clever and have the love.

i realise you are learning, but you got to remember that everybody, especially on the internet, has an opinion, but thats all it is - knowledge filtered through a personal lens. you can hear 1000 different opinions and spend 1000 hours to figure out which one is right and finally figure out the perfect answer, and none of that matters til you get in there and start figuring it out on yer own. there is no wrong way - you are 100% capable right now to recreate a ton of old beats with just your mpc. add a turntable and a dj mixer if you must, and now you are 300% capable. add an asr or another 'full featured' sampler later... i mean like years later once you are certain thats what you want.

you work with what you got, and you got plenty right now. show that machine some love and it will reward you.

Thank you so much! This is great advice!!

dunkeyman wrote:Thank you so much! This is great advice!!

just warms my heart to hear this

yer gonna be alright

tapedeck wrote:
you've got to change your mindset.... you are never gonna get 100% the exact same equipment, crew, timeframe, vibe to recreate a song exactly. you can get close in a lot of different ways though.
you can do things with an asr you can't do with an mpc...
you can do things with an mpc you can't do with an asr...
you can pretty much do ANYTHING you want with either of them if you are clever and have the love.

i realise you are learning, but you got to remember that everybody, especially on the internet, has an opinion, but thats all it is - knowledge filtered through a personal lens. you can hear 1000 different opinions and spend 1000 hours to figure out which one is right and finally figure out the perfect answer, and none of that matters til you get in there and start figuring it out on yer own. there is no wrong way - you are 100% capable right now to recreate a ton of old beats with just your mpc. add a turntable and a dj mixer if you must, and now you are 300% capable. add an asr or another 'full featured' sampler later... i mean like years later once you are certain thats what you want.

you work with what you got, and you got plenty right now. show that machine some love and it will reward you.

+1
thats a very nice sermon! Full of truth.

peace