which MPC is the right one for me?

i am planning to cop a MPC, but I don´t know which one. yes, i have used the the search option (and used it many times), but there are so many threads, so many opinions, it´s just overwhelming and confusing me...now i thought asking directly might be the best option...
well, i could buy the 1000, but i could also buy the 4000...money ain´t the problem.
- mpc 1000: a friend of mine got his some months ago, but he´s too lazy in reading the manual, so he doesn´t move on - if i bought one, i´d read the manual, of course...i also got some basic ideas about how to work with the 1k. i like the fact it has the USB device and it´s portability (so i can take it anywhere i want just in a bagpack), but i read there are some basic sampling features like time stretch etc. missing. well i´d like to chop my samples rather on my mpc than on my pc. or might it be a good idea to connect a boss sp303 to an mpc 1k because the "dr sample" has more options of working with the sample? and can i do this "low end theory" thing with an 1k, too?
- mpc 2000: i would go for the XL MCD version because of the multi card reader. also better sampling abilities/features than those of the 1k. my questions: can i load the 1000er "kits of the week" from the akai website on a multimedia card and get them into a 2k xl mcd? and what do you think about the 2k´s portability?
- mpc 4000: i think, you can get the most out of this, when you have gotten into it. but that´s the problem: i am a student at university and i don´t want to spend most of my time and a couple of months on just figuring out this machine before i can do a simple beat. of course if i got another mpc, i´d also HAVE TO take my time with it, read the manual, take a look around this forum, but i thought a 1k or 2k would be easier to approach than a 4k. and the 4k is a real big piece of equipment you cannot put into your bagpack, i suppose. "storage room" at my crib is someway limited, too.
and i would also need a midi-keyboard or maybe something like the mikro korg connected to the mpc for playing my own basslines and/or melodies. i want to do rap-music, based on samples and based on sounds created on my own or sounds i get from people who play the guitar or another instrument (maybe one plays a riff and i want to record that guitar riff into my mpc).
thank you for your replies and i hope nobody gets offended by my stupid noob questions

hi and welcome!
don't be afraid to ask stupid questions, just make sure to do that in the newbie section


ok... i think 4000 would be overkill. also you didn't mention the 60 or the 3k, but if i were you i wouldn't go that route unless you know for sure that you want an older machine. from what you described a 1k or xl would be perfect for you.

i think the choice between the 1k and the xl boils down to how comfortable you are using a computer in your setup. if you don't mind fcking about with a computer while making beats, then the 1k would suit you well. it doesn't have timestretch, but you'd need to hook it up to a computer nevertheless, so why not just use software to timestretch? also it is very small and compact, a good feature if you wish to take it along with you.

i for one hate incorporating computers into my beatmaking, and that's why i went with the xl. it's the only piece of gear that i have - besides one digital eq that i use to sample through - and i've managed just fine.

anyway you choose to go, the mpc is a great tool if you take the time to learn to use it properly.


peace

if your new to the whole mpc thing. i'd probably recommend the mpc1000.

thanks for your replies so far!

i got a notebook, but it has just a mic-in, no line-in...
so you´d say a pc is a must when working with the 1k in terms of trading with timestretch and those other lacking features (in comparison with the xl)? maybe they´ll fix that with a new os version...
one cool thing about the 1k (when i first saw and used) were the preset sounds. ok, no one goes alone with the presets, but for the first steps, it´s good to have already some sounds in your gear (i don´t know if the 2k xl mcd has some presets). at [url]akaipro.com[/url] they offer several drumkits like the Roland TR808 and so on for the 1k, i wonder if you could also use them in the 2k xl (if they were *.wav, i could transfer them onto the multimedia card and from there to the 2kxl, right?).
i wouldn´t mind working with the pc sometimes when i´ll be making beats. i mostly thought of just transferring some sounds from there to the mpc and do most of the work on the mpc, but i might also get used to do on the pc what can´t be done on the 1k...
i would be happy if anyone could also help me deciding which midi-keyboard or synthie would be a good add to the mpc, i was thinking about the microkorg or something priced equally (more $ wouldn´t be a problem, but shouldn´t be too much more); i´d like to play basslines with it, do some "g-funk" and have the possibility to manipulate the sounds...i don´t have the chance to test it in an store, as i am a FULL noob with keyboards...

Bene wrote:thanks for your replies so far!

i got notebook, but it has just a mic-in, no line-in...
so you´d say a pc is a must when working with the 1k in terms of trading with timestretch and those other lacking features (in comparison with the xl)? maybe they´ll fix that with a new os version...
one cool thing about the 1k (when i first saw and used) were the preset sounds. ok, no one goes alone with the presets, but for the first steps, it´s good to have already some sounds in your gear (i don´t know if the 2k xl mcd has some presets). at [url]akaipro.com[/url] they offer several drumkits like the Roland TR808 and so on for the 1k, i wonder if you could also use them in the 2k xl (if they were *.wav, i could transfer them onto the multimedia card and from there to the 2kxl, right?).
i wouldn´t mind working with the pc sometimes when i´ll be making beats. i mostly thought of just transferring some sounds from there to the mpc and do most of the work on the mpc, but i might also get used to do on the pc what can´t be done on the 1k...btw (hope i don´t start buggin´):can you do that "low end theory" thing on the 1000 or would i have to that on the pc, too?

i would be happy if anyone could also help me deciding which midi-keyboard or synthie would be a good add to the mpc, i was thinking about the microkorg or something priced equally (more $ wouldn´t be a problem, but shouldn´t be too much more); i´d like to play basslines with it, do some "g-funk" and have the possibility to manipulate the sounds...i don´t have the chance to test it in an store, as i am a FULL noob with keyboards...

Your going to have to go to Guitar Center and Play with each model MPC and the make the decision yourself in the end.

But the deal with the Keyboard an Excellent choice is the M-Audio / Oxygen lines of Midi Keyboard Controllers.

I use the Radium 49 myself.

Understand that a MIDI Keyboard controller is only going to allow you to "trigger" sounds. You have to have your own samples that have a "g-funk"
sound then trigger them with the MIDI Keyboard.

MIDI is NOT AUDIO. MIDI is only data , a way for software / hardware to
communicate with one another.

Sign Up 4 Free Hot Samples Email to you weekly!

Membership Free! Just sign up, Playboy.

http://www.dirtysouthbeatz.com

Hip Hop Music Production Tips, Beatz Review, Manuals, Reason Refills,
Fruity Loops Tips, Beat Making Videos and HOT GIRLZ galore!

thanks, i wil gather more informations about midi in this forum.

i guess Guitar Center is a branch of musical equipment shops in the US? i´m from Germany and here you have many different stores specialized in "DJ technology"..i went to the one next to where i come from in order to test the several MPCs, but they just had the 1k and i know that one a little bit from a friend.

would you say, the boss sp 303 would be good to accompany a mpc 1k? because the 303 has timestretch, i could stretch the sample as i want to and then send it into the 1k...so my gear might be a 1k, a sp 303 and a midi-keyboard...and i could connect it easily to a pc.

Bene wrote:...so my gear might be a 1k, a sp 303 and a midi-keyboard...and i could connect it easily to a pc.

Sounds like a good place to start to me.Remember this is all about learning a peice of gear to the fullest before movin' on.Sure you could go out and buy $5,000 worth of synths and keyboards and racks but would that really get you goin' in the right direction?A jack of all trades is a master of none.Imo the above setup would be ideal for getting a solid foundation.

Good luck,have fun and welcome.

i just ordered an 1K in an e-shop at ebay (the e-shop of "my" DJ Center mentioned before - they sell the 1k for 878 euros on their homepage, but for 838 at ebay...) and tommorrow the finances will be done, so i hope i get the mpc at the end of the week or next monday!
i only ordered the mpc because i think it´s better to learn the 1k first and then expand to other gear.

thanks for all your support!

and u might not need the sp303 at first either, id wait on that

-without so-called time stretching, you can still stretch samples the old fashioned way by pitching them up and down, like a turntable.

most of the classic tracks back in the day were made before anyone had access to 'timestretching'.


oh and i think timestretchin sounds like crap anyway unless you're deliberately trying to make one of those stutter vocal f/x.

.. and im not just saying this cause i got a mpc1k, i also dropped $400 on Ableton Live s/w which is all about timestretching, but i usually turn it off cause the sound is too digital.

thanks for the pitch-hint.

damnit, i love that machine, it´s good feeling the progress many said it before in this forum , but i repeat it: one has to read the manual...and if there are further questions just look into here, helpsalot. i can´t understand why a friend of mine who also has the 1k doesn´t even take a good look at the german manual...
when i get back home on the weekend i have to cop a cd he and another friend did, freestyling over some instrumentals...gotta take some vocal samples out of it and do a "Who´s F****ing Who"-style (you know that CMW diss to Tim Dog) beat and then hand it over to him - i hope that´ll drive him mad so he´ll put some more effort into handling his mpc...

@cashstill: i think i´m looking for something i can do my own sounds/instruments/basslines/melodies with and/or has already sounds which i could modify, but also has a keyboard, and then trigger or sample what i´ve done with the mpc. any suggestions?

EDIT: now i´m gettin´ more and more into it..it seems i definately have to cop a midi keyboard at sometime to trigger the sounds. but i could get those instrument sounds from a rack, maybe a motif or whatever. a rack because i´ll do sampling with the mpc or on my pc and sequencing also with the mpc and if i got a whole workstation, i had some functions (those already mentioned) twice (on the 1K and on the workstation), right?