what's the best mpc to get

Yo yo new-year greetings to you all !!!!!!!!!!
Could really use some advice, and some opinions from those of you who have similar set-ups and know what you are on about.
PC AMD 1.8GHz
120 Hard Drive
256 133 Ram
M-audio 24/96
SX
Running Reason 2 – in rewire mode
To many plug-ins to talk about
EM1 groove box
01v96 mixing desk
mo phatt rack
Tannoy actives
Neumann TLM03 mic
Focusrite Penta
Samaon Q5 headphone amp
I use this as my home system as right now.

What MCP should I add to setup and why?

thanks

i don't have any MPC, but th e MPc 4000 seems a good choice as it is quite versatile

the MPC 3000 is a reference in hip hop used by some of the best producers out there, but it is a bit old right now


just one thing, for your computer, add at least 256MB or RAM or 512 Mb if you got the money becasue 256 is not enough for nowadays computers

you don't say what you want an MPC for - drum machine, general sampler? replacing Reason?

Richard

Replacing Reason;
The 4k can replace reason but ONLY if you are a "all-in-one-hardward-unit" type person.

Drum machine; most definitely a good hands on feel..
General sampler; of course..

Pc, I'm assuming you have XP? 512mb is a good start point cause XP OS is a RAM hog.. Minimum is 256 for XP but when doing audio you need more, more tracks and effects per track and bus you need more CPU mhz and more RAM mb.. Also a strong 433-500mhz FSB motherboard would be hella nice.. FSB (front side bus) is the bus speed at which data travels to/from CPU/RAM and chipset on your PC motherboard.. Normal household PC's FSB is probably around 233-300..

Hello, MPC4000 is the way to go. There have been a lot of people complaining about the new software. It seems 1.45 is what people like. AkAI has a new update coming out at the end of this month... so they say.

I have a question regarding memory. I want to get 256mb 168pin pc133. Somebody told me it had to have chips on both sides is this true? Also where is the best place to buy them and what should I look for? Thanks!

the SDRAM memory you need for the MPC 4000 has to support CL 2 ans must have 16 chips (that is a must), which means 8 chips on each side of the memory 168-pin DIMM module (a memory module has two sides if you ever saw one)

if you use 256 MB memory module with only 8 chips (which are usually on only one side of the module), the MPC 4000 will not work

misterv wrote:
if you use 256 MB memory module with only 8 chips (which are usually on only one side of the module), the MPC 4000 will not work

Just out of curiosity (and for future reference)....How do you know this? Is this a proven fact

I tried one memory with 8 chips and it didnt work. In the Akai docs it clearly says CL2 so I'd too say go with the 16 chips.

I spoke to a friend of mind who is "The Man" when it comes to AKAI anything. He just got back in town. He says the same thing.

Is that what cl2 means? I would ask my friend but he is asleep. I'm in California.

Dark Knight wrote:Is that what cl2 means? I would ask my friend but he is asleep. I'm in California.

CL means Cas Latency, it determines the time value (in nano seconds)between each memory access,
to say it in a few word, when the CL value is low (say 2), your memory is faster

memory modules are sold with CL of 2 or 2.5 or 3 (some times even more)
for your MPC 4000, you must have CL 2 chips

misterv wrote:the SDRAM memory you need for the MPC 4000 has to support CL 2 ans must have 16 chips (that is a must), which means 8 chips on each side of the memory 168-pin DIMM module (a memory module has two sides if you ever saw one)

if you use 256 MB memory module with only 8 chips (which are usually on only one side of the module), the MPC 4000 will not work

"in fact, the basic requirement for MPc 4000 memory modules is to have 16 (or less) MB chips

so the memory modules that could work on the MPC are composed of 16 chips for a 256MB module, at least 8 chips for a 128MB module, and so on

to get more technical, the MPC memory controller can't handle memory chips with a size greater than 16MB, that is the key element of the limitations

(you memory modules has to support CL 2 too)"
this is written in the MPC 4000 pdf files you can find on Akai's sites

Thanks I'm glad we had this talk. So where is the best place to get the memory? I went to COMP USA and FRIES out here in Cali. and that was a joke! And what is the going price?

well, the price for 256 MB of good SDRAM PC 133 CL 2 memory (composed of 16 chips) might be aroung 60$.
The thing is, if you want your memory to be reliable you must buy well known brands like Samsung, Kingston, Hynix, Crucial (Micron), Winbond,...
unknown generic taiwanese or chinese brands, even if they are lower priced, generally are not very reliable and rarely support CL 2

go in any PC hardware shop in your area, and ask for 256 MB of PC 133 SDRAM CL2 integrating 16 chips (not , that's all i can say (I don't really know Cali, sorry)

Thanks!