Out of curiosity!! why a difference between 2500 & 1000 pads

yea, perhaps its just cuz i aint used to it.... but every 3rd or 4th note i hit doesnt play when i use my homies 1k.

id never buy one
still, nice to have a small mp,... perhaps someday ill get a 2-5 for vacations and trips

Have you used any other model mps? 1k has cheap pads, data wheel feels like its going to fly off. It has no track velocity in the main screen. Layout is cramped. step edit sucks. it has no velocity modulation. you cant nudge notes easily. sample editing is cumbersome. I do like certain things about it, being able to use multiple programs, easy to hook up to computer, good storage device. BUT those things cant make up for the user UNfriendly os. Its not really about bells and whistles, but how certaqin things are achieved with the machine. Why cant all the mpc coexist? I dont care which mpc is better or not. Im sure the 1k is many peoples first mpc, but before they came out, mpc's were famous for its 'feel', not how much ram it has or what color the pads came in.

Antonym wrote:yeah, about that - i disagree wholeheartedly

only thing entry about the mpc1000 is the price as compared to older models and the 2500.

mpc feel isn't really there? care to embellish?

fix something that's not broke? i don't think the 1k was meant to replace the 2000/2000xl etc. if that's what you're worried about, meander over to the 2500 boards...that's the 2000xl killer.

ctoon: low response...? i've never had that problem and i play my mpc1000 pads for live drums in an electrorock band[/url]

yeah i've messed around with the 2500 and 2000xl

while it does feel like the data wheel is sturdier and the pads of better quality, i don't think it's worth paying that much more for, and i don't see how it could improve your music.

track velocity is coming as well as many other features including note nudging. and actually there is velocity modulation.

i came from software to the 1000, and i'm amazed by how user friendly the os. anything friendlier and i think i'd have to get a restraining order but that's just me, maybe.

sample editingis indeed cumbersome....but wait til you can do it with q link sliders...that's gonna be sick. basically, i'd suggest trying it out again after the new os drops. i can totally see why older mpc users see the mpc1000 as a piece of shit right now, but on the other hand i see just as clearly why software people think the mpc1000 is god compared to older models.

from reading these forums daily for a year i can see that the issue is this - perspective/opinion of the 1k depends on where you're coming from (and how patient you are!)

as for ram and pad color, i agree. pad color is the goofiest thing to take issue with, hell any color is really. it's no big deal, some of these people need to stop producing and take an art class or get on some interior design type shit. not that i'm not gonna customize my paint job the second my warranty expires, but there you have it.

ram, though, is less a new big reason to buy the 1k and more kind of "keeping up with the times" issue. ram in the early 90s as compared to ram today is incredibly more expensive, etc, so really i just see it as contemporary use of technology.

as of now i'd say the 1k is not entry level but rather attention starved. akai seems to have realized what they could give their customer for a really low price considering what it does, andit's coping with that.

i see what you're saying, peezie. i guess i'm less concerned with some of those details, and i think the mpc1000's "feel" has already become to me 2nd nature. my hands flutter over its compact body like it was a naked gymnast, to the point where even if i'm wearing headphones i keep my roommate awake with the sound of buttons and wheel clicks.

**also - if any bits of my mpc1000 breaks, i know how to get it replaced for free...lil guitar center scam i thought up.

ever since i joined this board, i've been reading from time to time, that the 1k is entry level.....

FOR ALL THOSE WHO THINK THAT, i would like to know in detail why you think that. aside from the price and the size of the actual unit, the 1k by far is NOT entry level. (IMO)

i think it's called entry level because it doesn't have all the functions of the old mpcs (yet) and because some people (not pointing fingers) want to feel better for spending as much as they did when they did it

Its the lowest model mpc out. Simple enough. Yes it's powerful enough to get most jobs done, but entry level supposed to mean you cant? BMW 325 is an entry level BMW. It is superior to many other brands, even some other brands upper models. Nonetheless it's still an entry level Bimmer.

Its the lowest model mpc out

ok so essentially it's the cheapest, as dictated by the company that made it, that makes a product "entry level."

i can handle that use of the phrase. what i don't like is entry level as synonymous with easy to learn.

"Entry level" makes me think of this kid's sony boombox i used to have as a kid - on it, there were letters that said "my first sony" on it. even then, like at 5, i was like "**** this piece of shit i don't want this"

so then i circuit bent it and turned it into a mv8000

i dont think that thier cheap meaning they break easily or wear out easily. but akai tried something different(individual pads) and it didnt work. hopefully they redesign a better system of pads. but thats highly unlikely. whatever though. i use the full level then adjust. i dont mind taking the extra time.

* full level and adjust

cosign

but akai tried something different(individual pads) and it didnt work.

again, cosign.

how amazing would it be if akai released like a performace padkit or something that is built in a group like old models and kicks our collective ass?

...i'd pay 200 dollars for it. it'd be like for mpc1000 users who want to get virtually everything out of their machine for live use possible

It really blows my mind how effective marketing campaigns can be. Akai did a really good job on this one. They release an mpc that they brand as "entry level", or as somthing that is best used with the 2k or 4k. So they not only gain new customers by making it more affordable, but also by marketing to existing customers. They leave out some key features, so that people will want it and one of the more expensive models. A year later they release the 1k in black, with a new os that adds all the missing feature and market it as a basicly a brand new product.

I have a perfect 2kxl that I have had around for about 4 years, it now sits on a shelf while I play my 1k. If you get over the marketing hype, you will realize what a great machine the 1k is.

luke

this little machine outclasses my ole 2000 in every way, but damn i had an sr16,hr16, and a mmt8 in my arsenal longer than any other piece of equipment i owned and the buttons or pads never gave up on me!

I love mine.
I've been using MPC's for a long time.
The 1000 is a great box. The size, weight and build of it are great, it's not too big, not too small. And it is sturdy, my kids beat the shit out of it and it likes that.

The best thing about it is you can do a lot of different things while a sequence is playing / recording. You don't have to stop to go into sixteen levels. You don't have to stop to change the timing correct.
Plus - you have 24 programs you can use at once
Plus - no more floppies or zips

The shortcomings on it (no zoning / no track velocity on main screen) are being fixed. They're also putting in a chop samples with the sliders in the trim screen. And a delay effect.

It's a great product and I can't wait to freak it after they add all those new features.

My two
EZ
Dahkter

djobserv wrote:i use the full level then adjust.

If you're cool with this, its all good. To me though, tapping Beats with velocity sensivity is basicly what I got a MPC for in the first place.
Now I'm no "real" 1k user, as I already said, but sometimes I get to use one.
And to me, there is no reason in getting something if its main purpose has been degraded and saved on.

Sparq: Why entry level? Let me give you a brief summary what I felt when my homie left his 1k here for a weekend and I played around with it.
First of all, what I wrote above applies to this. However I didnt feel the problem that much when I had it here (It was brandnu!).
First thing I didnt like at all was the fact that all the Functions like editing, mixer, song, etc were only reachable by pressing "mode" and then a pad as you all know. I guess this is what you have to sacrifice if you make a MP that small... I know, Iknow the 2-5 is that way and it's nothing really bad when you get used to it. I just felt like this was unlike the entire MPC series. Next, I was missing a whole lot of SIMPLE features that I think even the very first MPs had. Most of these features are gonna be included in 2.0, so this wont be an issue anymore. But still, how long has this thing been out? 1,5 years? 2? And functions like editing start and end points with the fader, time strech, etc aer being included only now? I always had problems working the 1k when I was infront of one cuz so many of these features I knew from the 2k where gone.

Things that bug me and wont be fixed by 2.0:

I think someone already mentioned this, but I HATE the step editing on the 1k. Its a mess. I know you can filter out certain events etc, but the concept is just not good to me. Design: This, more than any other aspect, is a personal thing, and I know many of you love your 1ks. Now I didnt't like the layout of the functions, buttons, pads & display at all. Furthermore the OS UI is kinda confusing (again daily use would probably rid me of this drawback).

For me the main purpose of a MPC is to let me play my samples live and record them in overdub, sequence with tight quant and being able to reach all the sequencer/sampler functions in a breeze. To me the 1k compromizes the bangout factor of the drums/pads (yea, said it befo) and the breeze thing. To me all these sub-sub-sub menus are terrible. For every function I have to press a sequence of buttons.
I oringally come from the 2k xl and switched to the bigger 3k this year. I mention this, because I feel a bit prejudiced on the 1k. My 3k has dedicated buttons for a gang of features.

To summarize: I guess after the 2.0 is out things will be almost evened out. Many of the facts I mentioned as drawbacks are probably things you will adjust to in time (if you are a dedicated 1k user). If you come from an other MP you might be unhappy with these things......
What still bugs me is the crappy construction. My homies 1k is 1 year old and he had to get it repaired twice.. some pads are almost dead and there's loads of other stuff I always hear him complain about. These things WILL NOT be better after the os update and therefore, these are the main things that make me think of the 1k as an entrylevel machine.

Still, I really dig the portable style. Theres no way I'll be carryin my 3k around, I ain't no melle-man you know Perhaps the mpc 500 will be ill enough.

I'll check the 1k out again as soon as I can give my homie the os update. Perhaps I'll be back in this thread then.

peace foolios
.toon

j.m wrote:well !

today I was visiting our biggest musicshop in town.

and they had a new 2500 in the showroom - and also a 1000.

so I played around with the 2500 - nice sturdy machine.

the knobs - layout - everything - they did a good job on this one.

I had to admit (also I like my 1000) - in the direct comparison of the both machines - the 2500 wins.

the sliders - the rotary knobs - the tiltable screen - really makes it look&feel more pro. If I had the extra money, I would definitely buy it.

BUT BESIDES of all that - what I just didn't understand!!!

Why did they change the performance of the mpc 1000 PADS compared to the other mpc's!!!


I mean the size is one thing - portability, etc. (I'm sure the 2500 pads have the same look and feel as the 2000&4000 pads)

BUT WHY THE HELL DID THEY CUT CORNERS ON THE PAD QUALITY.

One of theeee cornerstones of the mpc's.

The difference couldn't be denied.

I didn't have the time, nor the possibilities to make a comparison of the velocity responsiveness - BUT just a few hits revealed that there was a totally different feel to it.

The 2500 had a distinctive feedback - when you push them - the move about 1mm - something like a "click" without a sound.

The 1000 ones don't.

WHY DID THEY CHANGE THAT - It wouldn't have made the machine 20% more expensive.

Maybe the 1000 you played with was an old floormodel. If that's the case, it makes alot of sense why the pads felt like shat. i compared the 2000 (old) to a 1000 (not as old) at my local musicstore - and the 2000's pads where all F'ed up. Impossible to hit a pad without triggering the assigned sample twice. stuff like that. People intend to bang the MPC-pads pretty hard (testing it) when it's not their own, I don't mind the 1000's pads at all, to me theyre all good.

...Have that ocurred to you?