help out a new commer please...

Sample cds are a newjacks best friend. F*** THE TRITON, MOTIF, FANTOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There I said it. Your gonna have a whole lotta presets that will make you sick to your stomach when you outgrow em. And the sequencing on the MPC is SUPERIOR TO ALL KEYBOARDS. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! GET THE MPC OR I WILL BREAK YOUR LEGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. This cat is serious. Violenty serious. No really, man, he's right about the MPC. I know that, when I used outside studios, before I had gear, I liked other ish than the MPC, cus I thought it made a different signature for me. You know what? I was right, but only 50%.
That is, while what you use does effect your sound, you won't necessarily sound like other people when you use an MPC, or specific piece of gear.
The thing is, if you want to learn the theory of professional sequencing, sampling, midi, etc, an all in one unit is great. And, like we all know, the MPC is great for that. Now, I want to go against that sales dude YET AGAIN. Everykeyboard sequencer I have used pales in comparison to the MPC. COmputers are better, but sometimes, there are so many options in your grill for the midi, that it actually detracts from what you are doing. I feel keyboard sequencers suck because they attempt to incorporate this 'workstation' approach where you have to process data to record internal sequences (Roland, and ASR line) OR, they are limited in what you can do from one screen (Roland, Triton, Yamahas,).
However, if you are set on a keyboard, concentrate on it's useability, NOT IT'S SOUNDS. Sure, it has to have some good sounds to start. However, you can expand almost all of the keyboards out there, and, if you can learn the architecture of the box intuitively, then you can always edit and save to make new sounds. User friendliness is the most important thing in a computer, and these pieces of gear ARE computers with graphic user interfaces (GUIs). The MPC 2000 and 2000XL are actually not that feature-packed, compared to similar products, but it's GUI is so intuitive that you concentrate on making music, not on buttons, bells and whistles. So, while many other machines can POTENTIALLY do more, they fall by the wayside for lack of fluent access to those features.
The most important thing, I believe, is to have an impartial party to help you shop. A sales guy, no matter how nice, has a certain product to push that month, especially if he is part of a major chain store (sam ash, guitar center, etc.) It's best to get with someone who has two or three of the keyboards you desire, AND an MPC, and let them show you the strengths and weaknesses of all of them. Then, you can make an informed decision, having used the gear already. I think it is CRUCIAL that you make at least one multitrack composition on as many pieces as possible, before you spend money. If not, you may find yourself bringing equipment back to the store. And, god forbid, your cat pees in the disk drive and you get stuck with that cat-piss keyboard. Didn't happen to me. I hate cats. But seriously, make an informed decision.

kvee wrote: I don't see why people like mpcs.

Some stuff in this world is just not meant for everyone to understand.

No matter how sexual it may sound I like to BANG the pads in real-time(pc/mac can't do that ).

Everyone has different tastes.

i dont have good keyboard skills, and it would cost more money to get lessons and all that , I guess I will listen and get the mpc, by making that statement above ^^^ i was just getting people to tell me the difference I didn't mean to completely diss teh mpc. sorry, but thanks for the help everyone.

kvee wrote:i dont have good keyboard skills, and it would cost more money to get lessons and all that , I guess I will listen and get the mpc, by making that statement above ^^^ i was just getting people to tell me the difference I didn't mean to completely diss teh mpc. sorry, but thanks for the help everyone.

Its all good man. I would go try an MPC somewhere. Use your judgment. Keys are really good with an MPC. Keys alone are dope, but you will find the MPC is a damn good piece of gear. There is a learning curve as with all instruments and production. Do you have any other samplers? You might want to save some money and buy a cheaper sampler. Look into the ASR-10 sampling keyboard. It is highly accalimed here and in other forums. You might even want a Korg Electribe ES-1. Great piece of gear that will teach you the fundamentals of sampling and sequencing without costing a G. You might want to try that first. The MPC is a great piece though and once you get it you wont really need to buy another sampler, midi sequencer, or drum machine. If you have the money I would defintily invest in the MPC first and get a cheaper keyboard. There are a lot of options to this biz. I am happy wit the MPC though. I've had mine since November.

Before you even take it outta the box READ THE MANUAL. FOR WHATEVER YOU PURCHASE. You will find that almost all your questions and answers will be in there somewhere. Dont even log on to these forums until you hit the last page. You will find that is the easiest and quickest source for info about the gear. oh yeah and MIDI DOES NOT SEND AUDIO DATA!!! <---a little advice.

Listen to the man with the dutch posse.

lol, alright ill take your advice and ill stop asking stupid questions on the forum. thanks for the help, i did kinda mess around with some other drum machine just not the mpc. But yeah thanks for answerin all my questions and shit

your welcome. Its okay to ask alot of questions, just dont start dissin my MPC homes. Nah im just playin man. Just do your homework before you invest $1,500. Go out of your way to find out about the right gear for you. One mans garbarge might be anothers gold.

kvee wrote:lol, alright ill take your advice and ill stop asking stupid questions on the forum.

It's all good man, don't worry about that. At least you have a forum. When I first started I had 4 walls and a ASR10. No PC at all.

Binger and Trupro hit the nail on the head, do some homework before you make that purchase cause you will save yourself future headaches and possibly save money while your at it.

If you got friends with other equipment then play with their stuff also and see what you like and don't like about each peice of gear.

I learned on shit equipment and pushed that shit to its limits. I knew how to use that ish inside out. WHen I felt it wasnt cuttin it I upgraded. I learned all the hard stuff on a piece of ish. When i got my MPC i knew how to do everything on there like second nature. I feel that I got the hard ish outta the way on crap so doing it on professional grade equipment was a blessing. You might wanna try something small first then work your way up to an MPC. The MPC makes thing very simple compared to usin other inexpensive gear for the same tasks. My first sampler yamaha su-200 ($250)I had to loop stuff by ear. Now I can sample really fast and accuratly usin that knowledge. I learned how to program drums on a korg electribe es-1 ($300), learned about synths and MIDI with an Oxygen 8 controller ($139) and Cakewalk Express (free with Oxy) and fruityloops synths. Now when I use expensive ish, I can use it to its max. I can just walk in to guitar center and start making beats on anything I touch. I sat there and made a multitracked beat in Sonar in 10 minutes usin $1000 synths and mad expensive other gear. Started rockin a triton in 5 minutes. I never used this gear or had anyone show me how too. I just did my homework and started small and got over that and sold all that ish and my car and got better gear. Now I got a dope little setup and I know how to use it to its maxium capabilities. BEEEEYOTCH!!!!!!!!

I didnt have the internet for almost a year into my production. This forum has accelerated my knowledge and technique ten fold. I wish I did have this great resource and the vast tools and the information that the internet provides when I first started. It would have saved a lot of headaches and really helped the learning curve. I know that sounds gay, but it really is the best thing you can do to learn. I learn ish everyday on here and by searching the net. And I aint a dude who hangs out online. This place got me hooked.

Main, um pretty new to this as well. And I am quick to admit that I have accomplished allot using the mpc. Sampling is the best thing ever: You can create almost anything. You can take someone elses bass, and mic and rec your own kick etc... I ams still learning but you will find yourself getting over the learning curve with less stress using an XL. Im not sure if you are into music theory and all but trust, if you are not, you will love the mpc. It is the heart of my studio. AND DO NOT LISTEN TO SALESMEN!

They are good resources for advice, but come on, a guy on commission is trying to feed his fam. Always research and gather facts from several valid sources before making a decision that could dramatically impact your musical creativity and drain your pockets (or before making any decision).

Preach on man preach on. No PUN intended.

I agree with binger0 on a few things. The MPC is the most superior sequencer by far than all the other keyboards out there. Well I personnaly love how it samples and play with sounds. It puts fun in the music creating process. But I still love my Triton. Don't care what any one else thinks. I can tweak the sounds to do what ever I desire. The sequencer is no match for the MPC. I don't use the sampler on this board either (MPC ). The motif dosn't have a very good sequencer ( I have one in my face right now). Do not count the boards out they are good for sounds (only) if you are willing to put some work in them.