Production Hardware on a Limited Budget

I have been researchig many pieces of equipment and I am leaning heavily toward a piece in the MPC family, however, funding is an issue. I'm still in college and that is where most of my money goes.

After the summer, I may be able to spend roughly $1000. Although, I would be most comfortable spending no more than $600. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks.

wit a G you can get a 2000 or a xl used off ebay or you can get a 1000 new or used. you can geta new 1000 for less than a g. you might be able to get a used 1000 for $600 but u gonna have to dig for that.

yeah a $1000 should be enough for a 1000 or 2000 off of ebay and a turntable and some decent monitors.

Thanks for the reply.

Are you suggesting that I assemble a sort of second hand equipment package for a bout $1000?

Whenever I look on eBay 1000's are going for a grand and 2000xl's are going for about $1200. I have yet to see good deals. I heard somewhere that mpc 1000's are going for about $650.

From what I've been seeing I may end up with an mpc 60.

I don't know where to go.

this is just my personal opinion.
i wouldnt get an mpc 60 unless you just have money to burn because they are OLD. im not sayin that they are obsolete, but id rather go wit a 2000 or a 2000xl because thet have newer features. id hate to have a second hand mpc 60 and it crashes on you after a couple of months. im not sayin that a 2000 couldnt but that seems a little risky on the first try. but again thats just my opinion.

i got my xl for $900 off of ebay a couple of years ago so i kno you can cop the same deal. some sellers will sell you the mpc, a zip drive, mad sounds n shit for the same price. you just gotta b patient and keep your eyez open.

ma dude got a 1000 brand new from sam ash for $850. dont pay full price for a new 1000. im sure u can get it cheaper than $1000 new or used.

but on the real aint nuthing wrong wit second hand sh!t. but inspected wisely. and if your buying off ebay find out who's sellin it and check they stats. do a little homewerk and go for what you can afford.

Thanks for the great ideas. Where could I find an MPC outside of eBay (there's no Sam Ash in my area)? It seems like all the major retailers are still selling these machines at their list prices.

I dunno where to go.

To add to my last post, I'm still not even sure if and MPC is right for me. I'm trying to create music comepletely away from my computer. I'm still developing my own style, but I love that old boom bap.

What about keyboards like the ASR-10 or the EPS 16+

i bought my 2000 off of ebay for 600 maxed out. ebay is cool duke. you just have to make sure whoever you buying it from is respected. with 100% positive feedback and has paypal. if you get a fkked up mpc and the person doenst wanna refund your cheese file a claim with paypal and they'll take care of you.

ebay isnt as bad as people think. i bought alot of gear of ebay.

as far as the asr10 they dont make them no more. so if you are tryin to copp one, ebay is your only way to get it. dude you can stretch that G if you bought on ebay.

But what about the equipment? I don't play the keys, but I'd still like to know the pros and cons of sampling keyboards like the eps 16 or asr-10

if you lookin to make boombap the mpc would be perfect. it has better editing functions that the eps and the asr. it also has more tracks in the sequencer than the asr ant the eps. in my opinion the only thing that the asr and the eps have on the mpc is the filters and effects. personally i hate both keyboards but that has a lot to do with me workin on a mpc for years THEN findin out about the asr and the eps. the mpc isnt a bad choice if your just starting out. as far as you wantin to werk with strickly hardware its perfect. in my opinion no keyboard can match the mpc when it comes to laying down drumz. those pads are priceless along with the sequencer. by the way an mpc and and asr together is magic if you kno what your doing. but the asr by itself iz sh!t. but then again thats just my personal opinion.

Thanks for the reply.

I have heard beats made with the asr-10 and the drums can hit hard.

Beyond that I don't really like the idea of the new media cards and ram that "should" be added to the mpc 1000. I would prefer to just work with floppies or zip disks. I'm apprehenisive about getting a keyboard because I can't play.

i think if you know how to use the asr its better than the mpc IMO. just listen to nottz' shht.

and my boy uses the asr and his shht is official too.

whatever you do keep the mpc in mind, it is a very good piece of gear.

The Alchemist makes hot tracks on the asr too. There's also Illmind, but he has a lot more equipment too.

I have heard some hot stuff with the asr, but another hang up that I have is that I want to be able to sit in a corner with my portable turntable, some records, and whatever I would use to produce.

Which piece of equipment would best suit that scenario?

EMFinite wrote:i think if you know how to use the asr its better than the mpc IMO. just listen to nottz' shht.

and my boy uses the asr and his shht is official too.

whatever you do keep the mpc in mind, it is a very good piece of gear.

perfect example. nottz iz dope wit the asr. but you dont have to kno how to play the keyboard with a keyboard like that. sure it helps but unless you wanna be YANNI OF HIP HOP i wouldnt worry about that. to be honest the asr is a perfect keyboard for boom bap sh!t. all that sh!t will come as you experiment. BUT IT IS HEAVY AS PHUK!!!!! that was one of the reasons i got ride of mine. its not a small keyboard. so if thats what u lookin at you might wanna investigate the size of that corner and do some ol martha stewart sh!t.