2000XL vs. 60 MK II

I'm having a hard time making a decision between the two. Anyone who has one, or knows a lot about both machines, help me out!! I'll either be purchasing a 60 w/ maxed sampling time and upgrading the OS and SCSI later, or a fully maxed MPC2000XL.

- I know about the sound quality of the two. The 12-bit sound isn't a neccessity for me.

- Does the MPC60 have a 16 levels function? Is this possible with the limited sampling time?.

- What does the XL do better then the 60, and what does the 60 do better than the XL?

I'm more looking for an "all in one" package, but I can get the 60 at an exceptionable deal, so I'm leaning towards that. The only thing is, I'm scared I can't do basslines with a midikeyboard using the 16 levels function with the 60 like you can with the XL.
Thanks,
Noviss

I don't have an mpc-60, but i can anwser a few questions anyway.


I don't know if the mpc60 has 16 levels, but if it does, it doesn't eat 16x the memory, cause it uses 1 sample. It just changes the pitch/tuning or velocity.
A 2000xl will have 16 levels function, but as far as i know it does not work with a keyboard:(
Both machines are not that made for playing basslines, if you want to do this, you'll have to create multisampled programs. That means sampling 3 or 4 notes per octave, so that will use a lot of memory. The xl has the advantage here.
The xl does almost everything better than an mpc60. But the biggest impovements are:
Lots more memory!
4 pad banks (so 4x as many samples playable at all times)
The XL loads wav. sounds too, meaning you can edit sounds on a computer, and load them into your MPC.

That said, almost everybody agrees the mpc60 sounds a lot better. But it really depends on what sort of music you make too.

hope this helps.

Thanks. With the 16-levels thing, I was talking about sampling basses at different keys in different octaves and using that with a midi controller.

The 60 doesn't have 4 Pad banks? Hmm..

I'm just making hip-hop beats, pretty simple stuff.. nothing too complex.

If you're looking for an "all in one", I would suggest the MPC2000xl.
I got a SP1200 (which has a similar amount of sample time and quality to the MPC60) and after a while I ended up buying a MPC2000xl.
The SP and the 60 just don't have enough sampling time and editing features to be an "all in one" machine. I guess they *can* be used alone, and it has been done, but if you get a 2000xl you can almost guarantee that you won't be looking to buy another machine for a long while.

Also, the 2000xl sounds clean, but you can do different things to "dirty up" the sound (like adjusting the bit rate, etc.)
But, there's not much you can do to make the 60 sound as clean as the 2000xl.

The 60II swings a little differently than the 2000xl. Of course the 2000xl can emulate with a little tweaking. Please note this is my opinion. I'm well aware of the other argument surrounding this and this is not meant to start a flame war.

If I were you, I would try to get both if you can. The 60II has a classic sound.

defienetly get the 60 , learn it and see if u even need the xl. i have a xl but would buy a 60 over it any day , and i never even played on one. if u can get a deal do it , u can always sell and find a xl anywhere 60s are rare , and from what i know with limited sample time u will only have so many sounds so it should make u better from the jump , thats if u sample.

Go to my website in the Your Music forum and listen to the beats on the page...all those songs were sequenced and sampled entirely in the 60. If you like what you hear, you'll like the 60. The 60 and 60II are the same thing, just look different.

There is room for about 12 drums sounds or stabs of any kind and about 6 phrase samples (5-10 seconds) on a maxed out 60, more than enough for hip hop music.

I just sold my 2000XL, all the bells and whistles dont make up for the muddy sound quality. The graphic editing is dope though...i miss that.

"There is room for about 12 drums sounds or stabs of any kind and about 6 phrase samples (5-10 seconds) on a maxed out 60, more than enough for hip hop music."

Thanks, that helps a lot. I really like graphical editing.. I think I might get the 60 and see how it is. Thanks everyone!

Noviss wrote:
Thanks, that helps a lot. I really like graphical editing.. I think I might get the 60 and see how it is. Thanks everyone!

i heard your stuff and i think your style/sense of music coupled with the 60's power is gonna yield some nice crops.

if you dont like it, you can always sell it to me...i want to hook two up together.

Thanks, I usually keep it pretty simple, only thing I'm semi-worried about is doing basslines. I'll be able to figure something out, thanks for all your help.

BTW, I listened to some of the beats on your site, very impressive.