So...As of now, what are your thoughts on the MPC 500?

i have a 500, ive had it for a few months, and all i ever think about is how to get the money to get a 1000 or a 2000 or a 2500 or anything else. if you have a 2500 and have 700 bucks to drop then it would be cool to have but otherwise stay the hell away from that piece.

EMFinite wrote:i wouldnt waste my money on this..

$700? for a fraction of that you can get a SP404..

But it's still cheaper than any other machine in the MPC range, but does the same thing. All you're really missing are a few extra pads and a couple of extra outs. But with the huge bonus of being able to use it anywhere.

I'm sure the SP404 is a nice, but it's not in the same league as an MPC.

JAISTAX wrote:LMAO!.... NAW BRO I JUST WORK @ A MUSIC STORE SO I WAS ABLE 2 SELL 5 & GET 1 FREE THROUGH THIS SPECIAL RETAILER OFFER FROM AKAI!

damn bro, too bad music stores dont sell computer keyboards, seems as if yours is broken

an abolute waste of money. the sp303/404 is much better. at least there is some fun involved! once again akai supplying the demands of the mtv generation. if it was like 300 euros or less then it would make more sense to me.

panda wrote:an abolute waste of money. the sp303/404 is much better. at least there is some fun involved! once again akai supplying the demands of the mtv generation. if it was like 300 euros or less then it would make more sense to me.

thats a played out arguement...

its a known fact the mpc 500 does far more then the sp303/404

the editing and the sequener mainly....

the sequencer and editing options on the 303/404 are GARBAGE.... i've owned both.... so i do know what im talking about....

the reason i use the mpc (or mp for the cool guys ha) and dont swap out for software or any other drum machine is because the way the mpc sequences, its not about how i chop with it, its not how it sounds, yeah those are important, but the most imporant thing with a drum machine is the way it sequences, it can be a garbage ass sound but the most useful thing it has is its sequencer....

the mpc 500 is around 650 new on some sites, when it was 800 **** yeah i complained about the price, but it dropped about 150, which is a decent price for it, although if it was 500 or so then i would definately get one again.... but for right now, being in school and whatnot i dont have the money for one.....


as for the people who have the 500 know what they were getting into, they knew they wernt getting wave form edit, they knew the menus would be way more deep because of the 2 line screen, but at the same time the thing that most likely drew them into the machine was the fact that it can opperate off of batteries and the fact that it'll sample and sequence like any other mpc....

most people who complain about price are the ones who aren't fully aware of thier purchases and the reasons the price justifies its purpose.........


people get the sp1200 because they know the sound is the main thing they want over the sequencer or the editing, they pay more than 1200 for one because of what, the sound........

mpc500 is cool for new jacks that wanna get there feet wet
its a good tester if someone cant make a decent track on it
dont bother pursuing a career in production

data wrote:mpc500 is cool for new jacks that wanna get there feet wet
its a good tester if someone cant make a decent track on it
dont bother pursuing a career in production

no offense man but i could not disagree more, the 500 is probably the toughest one to figure out out of all the mpc's. it is not a great machine for a starter, nor was it designed to be.

nevermind mind the 303 or 404. the 505 goes for around 200 bucks on ebay and thats even got graphic wav edit! Although, the 505 cant compare to the 500s sequencer and pads..

stephen126 wrote:

data wrote:mpc500 is cool for new jacks that wanna get there feet wet
its a good tester if someone cant make a decent track on it
dont bother pursuing a career in production

no offense man but i could not disagree more, the 500 is probably the toughest one to figure out out of all the mpc's. it is not a great machine for a starter, nor was it designed to be.

thats cool i respect your opinion and but how do u know? did u design it?
are you telling me it doesn't have enough in it to make a decent track?
i just looked at the specs on it has more features then a mpc60 granted the sampling engine's are totally different that being said ppl been bangin on mpc60 for years
i still stand behind what i said its a good tester its cheap and usb is great for beginners to interface with computers,they are available easy to acquire and if you decide to upgrade you can easily transfer files
your complaints are based on personal preference

data wrote:

stephen126 wrote:

data wrote:mpc500 is cool for new jacks that wanna get there feet wet
its a good tester if someone cant make a decent track on it
dont bother pursuing a career in production

no offense man but i could not disagree more, the 500 is probably the toughest one to figure out out of all the mpc's. it is not a great machine for a starter, nor was it designed to be.

thats cool i respect your opinion and but how do u know? did u design it?
are you telling me it doesn't have enough in it to make a decent track?
i just looked at the specs on it has more features then a mpc60 granted the sampling engine's are totally different that being said ppl been bangin on mpc60 for years
i still stand behind what i said its a good tester its cheap and usb is great for beginners to interface with computers,they are available easy to acquire and if you decide to upgrade you can easily transfer files
your complaints are based on personal preference

good points man, i look at my 500 in a whole new light. i still think the thing is a little confusing but thats just me.

stephen126 wrote:

data wrote:

stephen126 wrote:

data wrote:mpc500 is cool for new jacks that wanna get there feet wet
its a good tester if someone cant make a decent track on it
dont bother pursuing a career in production

no offense man but i could not disagree more, the 500 is probably the toughest one to figure out out of all the mpc's. it is not a great machine for a starter, nor was it designed to be.

thats cool i respect your opinion and but how do u know? did u design it?
are you telling me it doesn't have enough in it to make a decent track?
i just looked at the specs on it has more features then a mpc60 granted the sampling engine's are totally different that being said ppl been bangin on mpc60 for years
i still stand behind what i said its a good tester its cheap and usb is great for beginners to interface with computers,they are available easy to acquire and if you decide to upgrade you can easily transfer files
your complaints are based on personal preference

good points man, i look at my 500 in a whole new light. i still think the thing is a little confusing but thats just me.

i see the small screen can be limiting
if your unhappy you should get mpc1000 i see them for $550 on craigslist
just sell your mpc500

i would most definitely have a hard time with a 2 line screen. i did while using it at guitar center.

especially since it's got that extra large crayola style font...they could have at least made it 3 line. or better yet just put a regular 240 by 60 screen in there...would have made it soooo much better IMO...so little information is being displayed.

it's good for those that just turn TC off and tap it in and edit that way (like an sp404 with a more navigatable sequencer). you'd never really have to leave the main screen if that's your technique. that's good for the classics.

but for deep step editors / grid editors...it'd be an editing nightmare. that's the primary reason i'd never consider it - you sacrifice more for the sake of portability than i'd ever be willing to sacrifice in any sampling workstation, no matter how portable. especially because it's really only slightly more portable than a 1000 and no more portable than an sp404, really.

good machine but far too overpriced. it should be about 100 more than the sp404. you're just paying for the deal akai makes with interlink electronics for FSRs.

however, that damn 2 line screen...ouch.

the 2 line screen is a huge problem, that is what really makes it hard to work with.

practice makes better homie, 2 lines, my s-50 only got one line, i dont use the monitor, so chopping without waveform is almost the same, i mean i spent about 30 minutes with it and i memorized which windows are where and what buttons i needed to press in order to get to there... its all about how much time your willing to put into learning your machine.... take your time with it, dont expect it to act like an mpc 2000 or whatever has a more GUI oriented interface...

this is comming from someone who owned on for a good month but sold it because he thought eeverything baout it was was weak....

i use a mpc 2000xl and a 1000, i think the 500 is a powerful machine, you just need to spend more time with it memorizing which buttons do what, i know thier are dudes on the mpc 60 and 3000 that know their machine inside and out and thiers nothing but what looks like a command line interface haha...

i'm sure practice would make better in the case of the 500.
however, vision was my largest problem with the sp404 as well.

i need to be able to "hear into the future." since i do a lot of alternating flam drums and in-grid layering, it really helps me stay both organized and allows for more "omnipotent" programming. it's very much a part of my style and removing that would inevitably change my beats - not necessarily for the worse by any means. being able to "see what you're doing" so to say allows me to compartmentalize what sound is where.

if i were to work on the 500, i probably would use it more like people used mpcs classically - actually RECORDING from the main screen with time correction off.

tried and true, but there's less immediate control as opposed to being in step/grid edit.