MPC2000 newbie

I just got my first ever MPC.. the MPC2000 with 8 outputs and v 1.72. It came with no external zip drive so I lose everything when powering down. What's my best option here.. find a cheap old zip drive like the iOmega 250, or am I way better off doing some mod to modernize it. Thanks!

yer way better off to modernise. the scsi2sd is a good affordable modern option, or even just a floppy disk drive will get you pretty far.

i would avoid zips at all cost tho - they are going to fail on you.

I used zips for many years, never got the click of death but CF card is way better anyways. with a 1GB or 2GB CF card you can create 26 partitions that can store the entire memory in each. Reserve the first partition for PC transfer to autoload correct number ordered PGM and maybe your favorite drum machine samples or something.

https://www.mpcstuff.com/scsi-sd-card-r ... 0-mpc-3000
,,, pricey but I would seriously consider this, or start researching and planning on doing the internal mod. if you've never soldered anything in your life the internal mod is not a good project to begin with. You might need to do just a little soldering anyways most used mpc2000s have blown SCSI fuses.

and if all that sounds like bullshit, I mean, it is possible to make music without saving it. cram a basic drum kit and some single cycle wavs onto a floppy and chop/edits in a coarse manner and just go ahead and finish tracks without saving, store the MIDI files and take notes about where you got the longer samples from

another thing I just wanted to point out, rarely discussed about storage mediums, I don't know how exactly people are using MPC but over the years I have shifted from using lots of sample time to using way more MIDI events and PGM settings etc. I was deliberately working this way with the idea my projects could fit on a few floppies. I don't want the ball and chain rig of zip disk I want just one box to crank out some jams.. but it just doesn't seem to work that way if you push it too far in that direction with floppy or zip its just a matter of time before one bit of information is not recognized and that whole .APS or .ALL youve been working on rendered worthless. I have never lost a project on CF card like this so you just cant beat the CF card.

^ makes a lot of good points.
there are a multitude of ways to use this machine, that's what makes it so great. i've definitely found myself relying less on audio data and more on midi / pgm manipulation as i've had more time with it.

What up playboy and welcome to the wonderful world of the MPC.

I used to use an MPC2000 so this machine is dear to my heart. Anyhow.....since you are new....and you are just starting out with the MPC2000 and probably haven't really gotten into it fully I would suggest you invest in a USB emulator. Check this one out here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/151816144067

Zip Disks and the SCSI option IMO are just outdated peripheral devices.

I had all kinds of SCSI devices and used ZIPs as well......file corruption will be your worst enemy and you will regret it when trying to be creative.

I wish the USB emulator was an option when I had my 2000.....

Enjoy....

Floppy USB emulator might drive you crazy, because you'll have to save virtual floppies on USB stick.
Each floppy holds about 1.4MB of data.
So, if have 16MB of data on your MPX2000 classic, then you have to swap floppy disks about a dozen of times for each saving and loading, virtually.
Personally I absolutely don't want to deal with it.
SCSI MO drive would be suited for MPC-2000 classics. It's like Zip drive, but much more reliable data storage. If you can find SCSI card reader that works with MPC-2000. would be better choice.