What makes the "sound"?

I was at guitar center playing with a the 3000 and it sounded much better than the 4000, but I decided to get the 4000...so im wondering what "makes" the sound.Most of the "bitcrushing" plugins dont even sound like a mpc 60 or sp-12, so, what makes the sound?converters, circuitry,outputs?I was thinking I could switch the 4000's converters wit hthe 3000's, but I was wondering how much of the converters have to do with the sound...

The factr is we don't know everything about how we perceive sound, there could be many things, but as you can see in the high end studio equipment cloning, they can't get it exactly, even when using old parts.

"I was at guitar center playing with a the 3000 and it sounded much better than the 4000, but I decided to get the 4000"

^Thats the stupidest sh*t I've read in a long time. The 3000 sounded better, so you opt'd to go with something that sounded worst!? Prime example of why Hip-Hop is whack now. People want the latest and greatest hype, and not what sounds best.

he might have gottena better price on the 4000. GC would rip you on a 3000.

Lo Pass Filter wrote:"I was at guitar center playing with a the 3000 and it sounded much better than the 4000, but I decided to get the 4000"

^Thats the stupidest sh*t I've read in a long time. The 3000 sounded better, so you opt'd to go with something that sounded worst!? Prime example of why Hip-Hop is whack now. People want the latest and greatest hype, and not what sounds best.

he also could have been interested in all the options that the 4k comes with compared to the 3k... not saying that you really need them but it just makes certain people feel more comfortable i guess..

^Precisley. All those useless options are what convince people into the sale, thats called marketing hype. The 3000 has options out the anus (useful ones at that), sounds better, looks better, feels best, and grooves better. Word to INI, "to each is own".

Elm- Come on G, don't play devils advocate with me .. Thiers a reason a machine that came out in 1994 costs as much on the resale as an MPC 4000 w/ 8 outs that came out in 2004.

For Sure Lo Pass,

Akai has had the problem of competing with their past products because they made good shyt, people consider all MPC's when they make a purchase, and the 3000 in particular was stiff competition for the XL, so they looked at the 3k when designing the 4000 and the 1000. Once you have used a upgraded 60 or a 3k, you realize how good an OS can be, and all the extra stuff of the 4000 actually gets in the way of getting stuff out quickly and keeping the flow going. At least for me.

But GC would screw you on the 3k price, better get it used from ebay.

elmacaco wrote:Once you have used a upgraded 60 or a 3k, you realize how good an OS can be, and all the extra stuff of the 4000 actually gets in the way of getting stuff out quickly and keeping the flow going. At least for me.

But GC would screw you on the 3k price, better get it used from ebay.

I agree. They put WAAAAAYYY too much on the 4k. I know a few people who bought 4k's last year and quickly sold them to get 60's, 3000's and 2000XL's.

If you look on eBay, you will see a gang of 1000's, 4000's and 2000's (XL and classic) up for sale. What you won't see is a shytload of MPC 60's cuz people seem to be catchin on to the fact that the old school Akai MPC's are indeed the s**t. I had a 1000 in the beginning, but I dumped it for 60 about 3mos after I got it. The overall sound of the machine, in my opinion, was weak. The drumz didn't hit like they do on a 60/3000, or even a 2kxl for that matter. Just my 2 pennies

peace

[quote="redgreenz
I agree. They put WAAAAAYYY too much on the 4k. I know a few people who bought 4k's last year and quickly sold them to get 60's, 3000's and 2000XL's.

If you look on eBay, you will see a gang of 1000's, 4000's and 2000's (XL and classic) up for sale. What you won't see is a shytload of MPC 60's cuz people seem to be catchin on to the fact that the old school Akai MPC's are indeed the s**t. I had a 1000 in the beginning, but I dumped it for 60 about 3mos after I got it. The overall sound of the machine, in my opinion, was weak. The drumz didn't hit like they do on a 60/3000, or even a 2kxl for that matter. Just my 2 pennies

peace[/quote]


Nah, the reason is they have sold more 2000's than 60's and 3000's put together.
Thus there are just more of them moving around.
Probably somewhere in the area of 38% of the 60 have been dogged out and stripped for parts.
Reason for 4000's is people got them and realized they still needed more so they are dumping them to get what they need.
Reason for 1000's is people think it's a small 2000 then find out it's not so they want something with the missing features.
If you use Recycle, SF, etc then the 1000 is ok, it just harder to be a stand-alone MPC.
At the GC here used 3000's was $1200.

$1200's a good price for a used 3k in good condition..thats about how much they go for on ebay..and sometimes more than that.

Well...I got the 4000 with all the ADat 8 out expansions + some sample CD's for 1500...i couldnt resist

overall it was just better to get the 4000.

The ONLY thing I can find wrong about the 4000 is the sound.If I wanted something pristine, clean, shiny , I'd use a computer.

If I decided to get the MPC 3000 I'd probably get the Z8 to make up for the lost functions, and I'd end up spending more money.

Is there any *cheap* rack module that has a simlar sound to the 3000, like I know the S950 has a similar sound to the 60...

if i were you id forget about the Z-series... just go with an S6000 or S5000, they are the best akai rack samplers...

Keep in mind:
the S-900/950 is not the same as having a MPC60
the S-3000 is not the same as having the MPC-3000
the Emax is not the same as having a SP-1200
the S-2000 is not the same as having the MPC2000/2000xl
the Z-series doesn't compensate for the MPC4000

It's more to it than the sampler engines it's the overall design and interaction of each box, that make things come out the way they do.
The ADAT interface, some CD's and $1500 wouldn't make me buy something if the unit I am comparing it to sounded better.
Just can't see that point.
You paid a great price but didn't get a good deal since your one statement proves that
"The ONLY thing I can find wrong about the 4000 is the sound."
If you don't like the sound of it all the rest just kinda voids out.

**Converters are more than a plug and play piece of hardware, most of what make a converter sound the way it does is the design of the circuit it is placed in.**

man I've missed you ntalec, welcome back. Now it's my turn to disapear!

once again, very well put.

ntalec wrote:[quote="redgreenz
I agree. They put WAAAAAYYY too much on the 4k. I know a few people who bought 4k's last year and quickly sold them to get 60's, 3000's and 2000XL's.

If you look on eBay, you will see a gang of 1000's, 4000's and 2000's (XL and classic) up for sale. What you won't see is a shytload of MPC 60's cuz people seem to be catchin on to the fact that the old school Akai MPC's are indeed the s**t. I had a 1000 in the beginning, but I dumped it for 60 about 3mos after I got it. The overall sound of the machine, in my opinion, was weak. The drumz didn't hit like they do on a 60/3000, or even a 2kxl for that matter. Just my 2 pennies

peace

Nah, the reason is they have sold more 2000's than 60's and 3000's put together.
Thus there are just more of them moving around.
Probably somewhere in the area of 38% of the 60 have been dogged out and stripped for parts.
Reason for 4000's is people got them and realized they still needed more so they are dumping them to get what they need.
Reason for 1000's is people think it's a small 2000 then find out it's not so they want something with the missing features.
If you use Recycle, SF, etc then the 1000 is ok, it just harder to be a stand-alone MPC.
At the GC here used 3000's was $1200.[/quote]

word!!