mpc-1000 vs Roland mc-808 vs ?

Maybe I am on the wrong site (I presume some minor bias ), but I'll try anyway.

Seeing as it's summer and I have to work (no sunny vacation for me ) I've decided to take up a new challenge and purchase some new gear. I am an experienced musician (guitar, piano etc), but I have no experience making beats, or making songs on a single machine. Seeing all the great work I see some people put out using devices like MPCs and MC's, I've gotten quite inspired to do so myself.
Some facts:
-My budget is €1000, this has pointed me to the Akai MPC1000 and the Roland MC-808.
-I am not at all experienced with these kind of devices
-I don't mind reading manuals
-I don't like getting problems, where I should have bought a more expensive model to prevent the issues.
-I would be looking to make some hip hop and dance
I've read some negative reviews of the 808, but some people seem to love it. But I see that many professional producers use MPCs. So I am somewhat leaning towards the MPC-1000, but I need some definite convincing so to say.

Any tips/hints/suggestions?

Thanks!

(post deleted)

There is a reason most (if not all) hip hop producers use the MPC as their weapon of choice. And I'm sure everybody has their own reason and personal preference. Speaking for myself I like the following:

1. Speed. I use to make beats on the computer... never again.
2. Feel. Same as above.
3. Akai Sound. Been using Akai since 1988.
4. Famous Swing Feature. This has been debated many times.
5. Reliability. Except for the pad issue I have never had a problem with Akai.

As I said, these are only my reasons. I say dive in. You will discover for yourself why the hype is real.

Peace

if you could give some more details about what you want to do musicaly it would be alot easier to make suggestions, hiphop and dance are both broad terms and definitely not mutualy exclusive. they both are samplers and sequencers but what kind of sampling and sequencing do you want to do, and are you looking to be more into sequencing or sampling is an important question as well.
are you a computer savy person, planning to do most of your editing on a computer or are you the type that would rather not have the computer involved, want to do it all in the box, or pretty neutral in that area. these kind of things will determine what's the best route to go and while you're at it you should post your musical influences, that will let people know what kind of production/sound you're after.

Two very different machines. Also, if you don't mind second-hand, don't rule out the MC-909 (more standalone that the MC-808 with option for sound expansion card) and also the Yamaha RS7000. I owned one of the latter and it's a great machine. Sold it fully expanded in mint condition for around £500 UKP.

G4s

stale bread wrote:if you could give some more details about what you want to do musicaly it would be alot easier to make suggestions, hiphop and dance are both broad terms and definitely not mutualy exclusive. they both are samplers and sequencers but what kind of sampling and sequencing do you want to do, and are you looking to be more into sequencing or sampling is an important question as well.
are you a computer savy person, planning to do most of your editing on a computer or are you the type that would rather not have the computer involved, want to do it all in the box, or pretty neutral in that area. these kind of things will determine what's the best route to go and while you're at it you should post your musical influences, that will let people know what kind of production/sound you're after.

I have a very broad musical taste, but mostly it would be sort of Dr. Dre (man, the guys down at my conservatory would be laughing at me if they read this, but gotta admit he's got great beats) and hardcore dance music (say somewhat harder than old Prodigy). .
As for computer editing, I am rather neutral. I know the Roland mc-808 requires all the sample editing to be done on the PC, which I also consider to be it's biggest fault. But it's not a deal breaker for me.

But I am a beginner, so I might not fully realise all my needs yet. But I am highly motivated and try to be realistic.

based on the info you've given i'd say that either will get you to your objective but the mpc will do it better and feel more natural. If I were you i would demo them at the music shop and take my time, learning the basics of both before I make my decision. I'm pretty certain that an mpc is what you want, but music is one of those things that's hard to quantify. something in the 808 might just click with you but it's more than likely that alot of things in the mpc will click with you. it's very user friendly.
and just so that you know, they do make a good combination, so if you find
that you're interested in the 808 at a later time getting one will not make your mpc redundant in the least, it is a workhorse and many folks prefer to do sampling and editing on the mp than the computer, it feels differnent
and flows a little better, the mp is kind of like driving a stick and when it comes to sample work that's a good correlation.

[/quote]
I have a very broad musical taste, but mostly it would be sort of Dr. Dre and hardcore dance music (say somewhat harder than old Prodigy). .
[/quote]

I'm having a MPC1k as well as a MC-909 and IMO you should check them out both.
When you say Prodigy I would definetly fire up the 909 instead of
the 1000.
I love to work with the 1000 a lot more, because of ease of use etc.
but for (HC)dance the 909 has so much more power. Beside the
very tight sequencer it's a full blown synthesizer with lot's of buttons
to tweak the sounds in real-time. It'll bring you much faster to the
"sound" you're after.
If you want to do hip-hop on it and you don't like to edit a lot, you
must be able to play tight 'n' groovy by hand as the internal quantize
templates are directed towards dance! The 909 will honour your playing perfectly though, because of it's higher midi-resolution per quarternote.
FX on the 909 are superior. Roland simply has more experience in that
field. Sample memory, if expanded is 272 Mb.
Some equipment is better for a job or style, but at the end of the day I
wish all machines would -somewhat- work like an MPC...

Rhythm-is-tha-Music wrote:

I have a very broad musical taste, but mostly it would be sort of Dr. Dre and hardcore dance music (say somewhat harder than old Prodigy). .
[/quote]

I'm having a MPC1k as well as a MC-909 and IMO you should check them out both.
When you say Prodigy I would definetly fire up the 909 instead of
the 1000.
I love to work with the 1000 a lot more, because of ease of use etc.
but for (HC)dance the 909 has so much more power. Beside the
very tight sequencer it's a full blown synthesizer with lot's of buttons
to tweak the sounds in real-time. It'll bring you much faster to the
"sound" you're after.
If you want to do hip-hop on it and you don't like to edit a lot, you
must be able to play tight 'n' groovy by hand as the internal quantize
templates are directed towards dance! The 909 will honour your playing perfectly though, because of it's higher midi-resolution per quarternote.
FX on the 909 are superior. Roland simply has more experience in that
field. Sample memory, if expanded is 272 Mb.
Some equipment is better for a job or style, but at the end of the day I
wish all machines would -somewhat- work like an MPC...

So you wouldn't qualify the MPC-1000 as a full blown synthesizer with a lot of tweak options?
Alas the HC-909 would put me back about €1400-1500 here in my country (the Netherlands), which is somewhat above my budget. The mc-808 goes for about €800 and the MPC-1000 for about €900-1000.
So basically:
Hip hop: MPC-1000
Dance: MC-x0x
Would be somewhat accurate? This makes the choice a lot harder for me. If the 909 is really the best choice I could save up, but I do think €1500 is a bit hefty for something I just want to start out with.

@Philanthropist

In the netherland second hand MC-909s go for about euro 650..that is if you don't mind used gear.

hr0 wrote:@Philanthropist

In the netherland second hand MC-909s go for about euro 650..that is if you don't mind used gear.

That does sound good. Is the 909 that much better than the 808?

I have been checking my local stores, alas none of them stock the MPC-1000 .

Philanthropist wrote:That does sound good. Is the 909 that much better than the 808?
So you wouldn't qualify the MPC-1000 as a full blown synthesizer with a lot of tweak options?

-The 909 is much more developed as a stand-alone unit compared
to the 808.

-The MPC1k is more of a sampler with some synthesizing functionality, the
909 brings in about 900 fully synthesized sounds/patches directed
towards dance, trance, house etc. which are editable to your taste with
the many dedicated knobs and faders.
Midi-Implementation is extensive, so every sweep and edit is recordable.

If you don't have solid understanding of specs and functionality please let
someone demonstrate both units to you!

You wrote, you are an experienced musician on piano. Do you already own midi equipment, like sound modules etc.?
If not, the 909 could be a more versatile choice, otherwise I'd prefer the
1000 and hook it up to what I already had.

YES YOU CAN EDIT YOUR SAMPLES FROM YOUR 808 ON A COMPUTER
YOU DONT HAVE TO DO THIS . iTS A BIT MORE TIME CONSUMING TO EDIT SAMPLES RIGHT ON YOUR 808 BUT IT IS EASILY DONE. THE 808 IS A GREAT PRODUCTION MACHINE MUCH BETTER THAN THE 909 AND IT IS DEFINATELY UP THERE WITH THE MPC LINE IN EASE OF USE AND SOUND

SOME PROBLEMS I HAVE WITH MY 808 THAT I HAVE NEVER HAD WITH ANY AKAI MACHINE IS MY COMPUTER READING IT, MY 808 SOMETIMES HAS DIFFICULTY COMMUNICATING TO MY COMP BUT MY MPC NEVER HAS NOR HAS ANY OTHER AKIA MACHINE IVE OWNED

With that budget You should get a mpc 2000xl. they cost the same as or less as a 1000 on ebay abput $500-600. also if you want to use ur mpc with your gutar or piano you should look in to the roland vs 1680 they go for $250 normaly some times you have to wait a week to find a good one.

The mpc-1000 only supports 128MB max while the MC-808 can hold up to 516MB. That spec and the fact that the 808 can do anything 1000 does and it's a full blown workstation puts it way past the 1000.

It also boast a 16part sequencer with a note capacity of 1.3 million notes. It kicks the crap out of the 1000. The 808's sequencer resolution is a very solid 480ppqn so your complex riffs and solos don't get reduced to sh!t as they would with 1000's 96ppqn. If you favor a 4x4 layout add a pad controller.