MPC 500 vs. SP404

Hi there, I'm as new to the board as I'm to MPCs.

I'm a club DJ and want to add a sampler to my equipment, mainly to add one-shot sounds to my mix like sirens, air horns and stuff. Seems like most people use the SP404 for that purpose, so I went to my local store to check it out and wasn't amazed by the whole thing. Standing next to it was the MPC500 which made a far better impression on me, looks like it was built way more solid than the 404 and since I will travel with it a lot this is of great concern to me. Also this could be my first step towards beatmaking...

So right now I'm not sure which one to go with since I've read a lot of cons about the 500. Do you think I should go with the 404 (which is half the price of the 500) and when thinking about beatmaking get a bigger MPC like the 1k or 2500?

Any comments will be gladly appreciated!!

Thx

shmok1

Hi there. I started out buying the sp-404, and found out that it lacked a lot of things: It can not pan the sound in stereo. It don't hav any decay, it cannot pitch the samples (unless you use the pitchshifter effect, and it sucks!), it can only play one track at the time, it's almost impossible to cut samples on it, it doesn't have any mixer option, and the pads arent pressure sensitive. BUT, the realtime effects on the sp-404 is super duper, and it can play samples directley from the media card (on the MPC you would need to load them into the memory first! I returned the SP-404 to the store and got the MPC-500 instead. It's a GREAT sample/music station, but it lacks also some minor things such as a good resonant filter and a bigger screen . If you need a bigger screen to see the samples you are cutting, you should get the MPC-1000. I cut my samples on my (VERRY OLD) computer in MOD-tracker. The MPC-500 supports the loop points of it!

thx for your reply fella.

I think I'm going to pick up the MPC500 anyway because I don't need those effects for my samples. I will use it in clubs most of the time and hook it up to my DJM-909.

I've read somewhere about the output signal being very low - could this maybe be an issue for live use?

shmok1 wrote:thx for your reply fella.

I think I'm going to pick up the MPC500 anyway because I don't need those effects for my samples. I will use it in clubs most of the time and hook it up to my DJM-909.

I've read somewhere about the output signal being very low - could this maybe be an issue for live use?

Output signal is lower than the headphone outs.

Yes, the output is really low. You would need to gain the signal in a mixer! It isn't an issue for mee

I will connect it to the "session in" input on my mixer which has a gain control so this shouldn't be a big deal.

thx!

I'm selling one for cheap

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1


holla!

good lookin out but I'm situated in Europe... good luck selling it tho!

i just sold my 404 and bought a mpc 500 it has a midi in and out and the 404 only has a midi out i belive. and you can sync the 500 up to your computer with a usb cable, you cant do that with a 404. these were the selling points for me. i just got my mpc today and im just learning it, but if you want to be able to have computer compatability, go with the mpc!

Upright wrote:

shmok1 wrote:thx for your reply fella.

I think I'm going to pick up the MPC500 anyway because I don't need those effects for my samples. I will use it in clubs most of the time and hook it up to my DJM-909.

I've read somewhere about the output signal being very low - could this maybe be an issue for live use?

Output signal is lower than the headphone outs.

This is the case with any device. The ouput is Line level while the headphone output is amplified and is several times hotter to drive headhones.

iono they both have their strengths and weaknesses, I've played around w/ a 500 and I own a 2500. Although I know the sp series pretty well, I'd say if you can get the 404 too it'll be a good combination.

If you haven't purchased already SP-606 or used higher model MPC is a much better buy- IMHO