Dumped computers & software, bought MPC!

Hi all...

I just thought I'd post up a little story about the past few years of my life, as it may serve as a lesson to anyone thinking about (or going down) the road I've been going down since about 1999.

I've been a massive fan of MPC's (ever since the original MPC60 back in 1988), and in 1998 finally managed to get my first MPC (an MPC2000). I loved it and it was everything I imagined it would be after reading about people like DJ Shadow and how he'd used an MPC to create Endtroducing. I asked my manager at the time to help me fund a Roland VS880 HD studio to go with it, and he said he wanted me to move away from hardware and get a computer. I reluctantly did and foolishly thought it was the way forward.

For the next few years, all I did was spend money on software, plugins, upgrades and so on, and just when I thought I was up-to-date, something else would come along or was needed and it never seemed to end. I added an MPC2000XL-SE2, but I'd gotten so used to working just on the computer, that (when I went back to working on the MPC), I didn't seem to know what to do with it anymore. I then switched over to a Mac, thinking things would be better and more stable, but things just seemed to get worse, as OS X had just come out and there was a massive switch-over going on and nothing worked, so I was stuck in OS 9.2.2.

Even just last year, I got the latest Mac and went on yet another round of upgrades and money spending and all the while, my musical output was dropping and dropping, because there was so much to learn and brush-up my skills on. Even with fxpansions GURU and a Korg padKONTROL, I couldn't recreate some of the things I'd done years ago on an MPC, because it just didn't have the feel or groove (no matter how long you spend with it's groove templates).

The other week, I went to my local Sound Control store and saw the MPC2500 (and the new MPC1000BK) and fell in love with the MPC all over again. A week later and I have a brand new MPC2500 v1.2 sat here (I had to sell a lot of the things I'd bought for my computer setup to get it, but I don't regret doing that for a moment, because this thing is so instant). I can't believe I've spent so much time "dumbing out" on computers when I could have had a MPC4000 a few years ago (or something like it) and actually have been getting on with making music!

I guess the lesson here is: if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it (because you'll waste years of your life for nothing).

your story is similar to mine

except I NEVER owned an MPC nor cared to. I upgraded my computer bought all this software, a sh@t load of hardware, and still wasn't able to come close to what my boy was doin with the MPC. In the end I took what I didn't need back to the store and got the 2500.

I'm not 100% satisfied with some of the things the 2500 is doing right now, but overall as far as making music goes it is a lot more enjoyable with the MPC.

i'm planning on getting a 2500 hopefully by the end of summer....now i'm using reason but my pc sucks and my options are spend the cash on a new pc or grab a mpc

SekondThought wrote:Hi all...

I just thought I'd post up a little story about the past few years of my life, as it may serve as a lesson to anyone thinking about (or going down) the road I've been going down since about 1999.

I've been a massive fan of MPC's (ever since the original MPC60 back in 1988), and in 1998 finally managed to get my first MPC (an MPC2000).

get a computer. I reluctantly did and foolishly thought it was the way forward.

For the next few years, all I did was spend money on software, plugins, upgrades and so on,

I then switched over to a Mac,

Even with fxpansions GURU and a Korg padKONTROL, I couldn't recreate some of the things I'd done years ago on an MPC, because it just didn't have the feel or groove (no matter how long you spend with it's groove templates).

The other week, I went to [EBAY] A week later and I have a brand new MPC2500

I can't believe I've spent so much time "dumbing out" on computers

I'd swear you were writing my biography from 1997 through this past week. MY story was exactly the same. Just got the 2500 this week and immediately recalled my first MPC back in 1997 andthe feel was snappy and more rhymic. After I ditched my hardwae I had been tryng to convince people the same feel could be obtained from REdrum, you just have to know how to freak it (and it's true, but the workflow isn't nearly as smooth as the MPC). After the first 5-10 minutes I had a quickly arranged piece--nothing special, but I was amazed at how quick I craked it out and how tight it was. What I put in is what I got out unlike a lot of stray notees I regularly got when sequencing on the PC. MPC almost seems to know what I want to hear and hhow I want to hear it. I've been snagged by the bugs a few times in just he past week since I got it and it's been frustrating because it remionds me of the ASR-X (black) that had tons of stability issues.

wakko1999 - That really brought a smirk to my face, to know I'm not the only person who's made a hardware comeback! The "bugs" will get solved and no matter how many it has (I've been lucky and haven't been hit by them at all yet, though no doubt I will be now because I've said that), it's better than "ERROR 198475: Your computer has decided to trash everything you've done today...why? Because it can and will always do it when you least expect it! This error message will still appear after the next software upgrde, when it will no doubt make your computer self-distruct as well".

Talking of Ensoniq, I once had the ASR-X-Pro (the red one) for a while before I got my MPC2000. It was great for it's effects but the sequencing on it was dreadful (IMHO), which was why I moved over to the MPC.

mewmp - I totally agree, the MPC is a much more enjoyable experience when it comes to making music.

can i ask why people decided to go from hardware to software the first time? i'm thinking of going soft to hard but maybe people have to good reasons why they wanted to go the software rout

Siver wrote:can i ask why people decided to go from hardware to software the first time? i'm thinking of going soft to hard but maybe people have to good reasons why they wanted to go the software rout

I originally went because I didn't have the dollars at teh time to get everything I needed to make things work the way I needed in oreder to have q nice workflow. In hindsight, it was probably more taht I didn't know waht I was doing back then. I first had the black ASR-X which had a poor sequencer, bad OS, great EFX and timestretching. I kept it and then bought an MPC2000 a few months later. The main problem I had ata that time was file management (partitions drove me nuts) and I just didn't have material to sample or the anything to get the samples in efficiently (I didn't have any DAW software at the time either). SO I was sampling off my stereo/cd changer that was not in a convenient location. I then got a Kawai KS5000s (I think that;s what it was, can't remember) additive synth to use as both a midi controller and synth. PRobelm was I didn't know Additive synthesis (now I do, some) so the synth part never got used. Then I got a Roland VS unit to do recording, but Inever got comfortable with the way it worked (wasn't hard, just a lot of butoon combos to do things, not fast). So I plodeded along with this clunky setup for awhile AND THEN....REASON hit the scene. Here it was, everything in one rack, made to work together, with a sequencer, etc... etc.. etc..., plus it was cheaper amd would work with my mid range PC with a small load. So foolishly I began dumping my hardware.... (I wish I had kept the Kawai)

Got Reason, got Logic, got Ableton (good program), got plugins, got upgrades, got patches, got errors, got frustrated, got milk?

In the long run I was spending more time and money. Now don't get me wrong, I haven't abandonded ALL my software. After all, I just got the MPC in the past week. Rather I'm reworking the wokflow away from the software as teh centerpience. I'll keep bothj Logic and Reason (Logic to track and trigger its internal instruments, and Reason as a sound module), but it's clear the the MPC should control everything. Plus now I have built up a vinyl collection for source material, have proper mixing facilities and most importantly, my own space for all this stuff...

Long story, I know, but the bottom line is I ditched the hardware intially because I was having problems (cash, knowledge, creativity) getting the workflow to be smooth enough to get out of the way of allowing me to create.

Well, I can tell you why I did...it was because software promised to offer so much more than hardware seemed to (at the time) and that's the mistake. It's a mind trap that makes you think having more features and more options open to you will make you write better music, when I've (personally) found it to be the other way around. Sometimes, the saying of "less is more", really is true. It's like when things are a little more difficult to do (or you don't have quite so many options open to you), it will make you more creative by having to find a workarounds, which will make you think of something or create something you may not have thought of before.

I guess an MPC next to a laptop and Ableton Live can seem a little basic, but maybe the one that's more basic will force you to push yourself to the limits of creativity where the software option will simply become a distraction because it can do almost anything, you waste time trying out loads of different things that you (initially) think are great ideas only to find that it's not as good as you first thought it to be. Then start to get a little lazy and almost stop trying to be fresh. Not to mention the fact that if you get stuck, you may decide to go online, write an e-mail, surf the net, start talking to someone on messenger and before you know it, your day is over (and wasted) and you've done nothing at all. You can't write e-mails on an MPC, or surf, or IM chat so it keeps you focused on what you're supposed to be doing!

Lastly, there is also the question of feel/groove/timing to take into account. This was also a major reason why I went back to the MPC.

Hope that helps!

I think there's a lot to be said for using both together.
I love my MPC, but couldn't live without my Mac running Moog Modular software, Reaktor etc. The Mac slaves to the MPC perfectly.
I think the trick of a software setup is to decide what instruments / plugs you want, then resist to temptation to constantly tinker and update (although admittedly software companies, and music tech magazines do put you under pressure..)

James.

Siver wrote:can i ask why people decided to go from hardware to software the first time? i'm thinking of going soft to hard but maybe people have to good reasons why they wanted to go the software rout

Stay hard...nobody likes a softie.

i moved from soft to hard, i think software is a lil easier to use but hardware is lots more fun

i started out with a djx keyboard,626 geimi mixer and cd player

best workflow for hardware mpc2500

best workflow for software ableton 5.2

i really want a 2500, but once i spend 2 grand on one i'll be broke...so that means that all i'll have besides the mpc is a crappy laptop with a simple midi controller...so i mean will i feel really limited with just a 2500? i want to use reason as a sound module, but that may not rund too well since my pc is crap...i know a mpc works best with other gear so do u think i'll find myself being limited if i don't have any other gear? once i get some more cash i'd get some more stuff, but for some time if i get a mpc that would be all that i would have

Siver wrote:i really want a 2500, but once i spend 2 grand on one i'll be broke...so that means that all i'll have besides the mpc is a crappy laptop with a simple midi controller...so i mean will i feel really limited with just a 2500? i want to use reason as a sound module, but that may not rund too well since my pc is ****...i know a mpc works best with other gear so do u think i'll find myself being limited if i don't have any other gear? once i get some more cash i'd get some more stuff, but for some time if i get a mpc that would be all that i would have

i think u'd e fine with an mpc, its all you really need to make beats (if your planing to sample from records)