Right for me.

I'm debating whether i should get a Roland SP-404 or an MPC500, and i wanted to see if anyone could help me here.

I'm looking for a sampler that can make hip hop minimalistic but complete beats, and that give a nice crisp sound to it.

And also i read in a review that its useless to have a 500 if you dont own any other MPC's, and since this is going to be my first buy, i dont know if the MPC500 is right for me.

And also, if i did get a MPC500, how could i transfer a beat i made on it, to my PC ?

Hi AyeEmCee,

in regard to your question I would suggest the 500 over a 404. The sequencer on any MPC is much more advanced than on the 404 and for the type of music you are looking to create an MPC is perfect. You also have the benefit of proper sized pads to play as in comparison to the 404 where it more a case of pressing buttons rather than playing pads.

In regard to what you read in the review, yes it helps if you have used other MPC's before but the learning curve is not that difficult especially if you read the manual.

About using the MPC with a computer: The usb port allows you to transfer wav audio samples from your PC/MAC to the MPC basically drag & drop so that you can load it up with whatever you like. Also don't forget it's a sampler so you can also sample any audio you like from your pc, cd player, vinyl, etc. Plus you can fully sequence other midi instruments with the 500. If you want to record audio or midi into your DAW then you will need some type of audio/midi interface.

The only place I would suggest that the 404 outshines the 500 is the effects, I hate to say it but the Akai effects aren't so hot in comparison to the Roland ones, but if you are using the 500 with a DAW such as Ableton then you get the effects elsewhere. This is only my opinion on the effects as others do tend to like the Akai effects.

Oh and don't forget that famous MPC swing!

I hope this helps!

Peace

i agree with aquarius, the only upperhand the sp404 has over the mpc500 is the effects. the sp404 also has an internal mic which is pretty cool, but how good will it sound to actually put in a song?

as for the article u read, wen comparing the mpc500 to other mpc's, the major upperhand the other ones have is a bigger screen. but the mpc500 alone is still good. i have the 500 and the 2000xl, i love the portability of the 500 compared to the 2000xl, and the 500 has more memory plus usb. the biggest complaint i had going from the 2000xl to the 500 was the screen, so i can see how magazine articles will knock it for that fact. but if u hav neither, then u cant compare it and therefore u will notice that the 500 alone is actually really good.

i had the sp303, it was cool but nothing compared to an mpc. so now the sp404 is an improved version with compact flash memory (which the mpc also has). but the sp404 saves sounds in the memory way different than the mpc500. overall the sp404 can only have 120 samples max, while the mpc500 can go to as much as the memory allows (mine has over 350 drum sounds loaded into the internal ram with 9minutes stereosound left to sample). if im right, the sp only loads sounds into pads, while the 500 loads sounds into the ram memory... then assigning it to any pad you want. so i can play a pattern on my mpc, then while its playing... i can change the sounds on any pad while its playing. -so in other words, if i got a snare playing, i can scroll through all the 100 snares in my mpc listening while it plays the pattern. then u can save as many sounds into compact flash card as i can store with the 500, while for the sp404 u can only save 96 samples max.

the mpc500 pads are velocity sensitive, so the harder u press the louder it is. the sp404 doesnt hav velocity sensitive pads. the 500 can easily layer 4 different sounds per pad, the sp404 cant.

the sp404 only has midi in, so it can be controlled by other midi devices or a computer. but it doesnt hav a midi out, so it cant control things... it can only be controlled. the mpc has a midi in & out, so it can do both.

and the sp404 only has a 3 digit screen. the mpc500 screen sucks compared to other mpc's, but compared to the sp's.... the mpc screen can have up to 32 characters (either letters or numbers) which is waaaay better!!!

the mpc has a usb port also, so u can transfer sounds in and out computers soooo easy (drag n drop).

i can go a lot longer, but as u can see.... the mpc500 is way more advanced than the sp404. 2 different classes! the mpc500 is only $200 more than the sp404 now too, so if u want power... the extra $200 is more than worth it. the article u read is comparing mpc's, check an article comparing the mpc500 to the sp404. -the mpc is a way stronger machine!!! i love my little monster!

p.s. if u wanna transfer a song from a mpc500 to pc, if u dont hav any programs for the pc like protools or cubase etc, then u can just play the whole song resampling it. so it records the song while its playing all into one sample... like sampling any other sound.... just a whole song. once u resample a song into just one sample.... u can take that one sample (the whole song) and just put it into ur computer with a usb port. just dragging and dropping from the mpc folder into any pc folder. then do whatever u want on the pc with it (listen to it, email it, burn it on cd).... very simple

MPC500 is superior. It has far more features than SP-404. However, the built quality of a unit is very poor - cheap buttons/knobs, and cheap look. A have ROLAND JUNO-D - good looking synth, HQ buttons, display, knobs... Products from KURZWEIL is very HQ. I can't understand why AKAI made such great device with such cheap look. In addition, in some cases the MPC500 is buggy - SYSTEM ERROR etc. messages. Overall it works fine, has many crazy features, if compare it to SP-404, the SP-404 is a toy. One disadvantage is a poor built quality, I think ROLAND SP-404 is superior in this aspect.