Should i upgrade to 2500?

I know Nym,
I'm still self surprised about nobody makes that comparison

the subject is subjectiv but that's the way I feel about the sound of the 1000
I wasn't fully happy with his messy sound in one year,
I jumped to the 2500 and I can ear the difference ...

making music has a good part of the feeling you've got with your machine, sounding, workflow, looks
I've owned a lot of that kind EPS16, ASR, Sequential 440, 2000XL ... so I'm pretty used to hardware (too used ? lol)

from witch source you've got this ? ... I'm interested :
the 2500/1000 uses the exact same converters, exact same sound engine

by the way, youtube is full of videos of dudes who makes cool grooves with a 1000,
so it's just a question of talent

i agree that the workflow and feeling one has with a machine does make all of the difference. that part is surely 100% subjective, ie my switch TO the 1000 to begin with from Acid/Reason. my understanding of human timing has exploded since then and continues to do so. a different machine, even a different version of the same machine, will often have a profound impact on a user's music. if i tried to make beats on the 500 odds are i'd sequence in a totally different way. similarly, listen to some of the stuff made on spXoX's - soooo different than what i'd ever do on an mpc.

this must have been where the "messy sound" comes in for your former 1000, because where subjective turns to objective is a technological matter - in that sense, these two machines have identical vocal cords. their output is no different from one another. properly loaded, they run identical software and have identical timing (os to os has different timing, compare os 1.03 of the mpc1000 to jjos2 and there will be some difference)

my source as to what is common between the 2 machines stems from a combination of eyewitness (processor, converters), earwitness (the comparison test), logic (virtually the same OS is loaded between 1000/2500, pitching algorithm is audibly identical), and most importantly access to those in the know.

definitely not trying to burst any bubble (it's way more fun when Firework is involved, but that's another story)

Hey Nym, gotta side question for you, loosely based off the fact that the 1k and 2.5k are related machines...
Do you know if JJ OS version are compatible between the 1k and 2.5k? i.e. you create a beat on a 1k with os2. Could you then load it up on a 2.5k with os2 and have it work correctly?
I couldn't find answer for this anywhere in the FAQ's or on JJ's website.

A friend of mine just purchased the 1000 A couple of weeks ago, He bought it used and wanted me to test it out for him and I must say I was impressed, I did not realize as far as Programming and all that, that it is EXACTLY the same, I will admit that I never gave the 1000 a chance because of the small pads, because I had the 2000xl back in the day and was not using it that much so I sold it to one of my employees, And when it came time to get another one, I was not willing to downsize as far as the pads, So I grabbed the 2500le, Since you already have the 1000, Unless you want the Extra Q-Links, Th extra MIDI Outs, Four more Audio Outs, The Bigger Pads, The Tilt Screen, A bigger overall Work Area, I would stick with the 1000, But if you can get a good price for your 1000, And if you can get a good deal on the 2500 and if you want/need those extras, Then go ahead and get the 2500.

kneebone: to the best of my knowledge, jjos2 project files are cross compatible
the ONLY thing i can't speak for is patterns, since the 2500 display differs from the 1000 display of patterns.

but yo i don't think jj would allow it NOT to be compatible so i'd go as far to say i'm 99% sure it'd work without a hitch.

excluding a pgm in which you had all 4 qlinks on the 2500, i imagine the 1k would just lop off the latter 2 qlinks and keep the first 2. recorded qlink realtime data would be fine, though.

If you think that the sound iz the problem,don't buy a 2500,buy an mpc3000!!! 1000 and 2500 sounds equal,differences are in the workflow(imho!!!).
When i sold my 2000xl i bought a 2500 cause bigger pads,8 out and tilt screen are features that i won't ever miss!!!!
If you search deeper bass or grimy drums,save your bucks and take an old s950 to use like a sound module!!!!

I wouldn't do either at this point. Sell your 2000 or keep it and get a laptop, the Akai midi keyboard, an audio interface and Reason 4. Believe me, you'll be a lot happier. I rarely use my 2500 anymore. I'll keep it because I'm a gear junkie, but I work a lot faster in Reason, which has a great sampler in NNXT, some MPC60 swing models in the sequencer, and working with the sequencer grid for creating tracks and songs to me works so much faster in Reason then on an MPC. I know some like hardware work flow and thats cool. But in Reason all of my song and track info is right in front of me. Create an eight bar loop and copy/paste it as many times to create the song. Then take out parts/midi notes as needed for verse/chorus differences. A snap. Plus you'll likely be able to bounce your mix and burn it to CD right on your computer. If you have a DAW like ProTools or Cubase, you can ReWire Reason in and do your mixing and record vocals and use VSTs with as many tracks as you can muster. Even with the 2500, the output options end at 8. With the MPCs certain things become limiting. With the computer, many of those limits disappear. If you don't play keys and like banging the MPC pads, don't get the midi keyboard. You can midi your MPC2000 into Reason and bang out your beats and samples in Reason using the MPC. If you want, you will even be able to midi your MPC2000 and use its sequencer to sequence the sounds from Reason. Akai added a synth engine to the 5k to try to keep up with the MV. Reason has MASSIVE synths right at your fingertips. Don't upgrade to a 2500. I think it is a really great MPC and gets a really bad wrap. But the software world will produce just as phat sounds with a lot more flexibility and fewer limitations.

The main problem I've had with the 2500 is when players come to my studio and want to play expressive keyboard patterns with the 96ppq resolution, you lose significant expression. You need the higher 960ppq res sequencer of the MPC4k/5k for real expressive stuff. For hip hop when you want your samples to fall hard on the beat, the lower res sequencer of the 2500 is great because it tightens up loose stuff. But for R&B or other stuff the sequencer falls short. Again, with software, you have flexibility to play with resolution and stuff so you can go low or high in some packages. So I only use the hardware stuff for specific things or just to do something different, because software has come so far. If you really want hardware and are thinking about something different from the 2k, the new Roger Linn drums are supposed to be coming soon. One.

if you think about it - they sold a lot more 1000's and how many of those are just used by duh-dunt-duh-dunts? prolly like 99% of them. that's something else to take into consideration.

I upgraded from a 1k to a 2500 because I caught a real good deal. $900 for a "like new" fully loaded 2500 with CD/DVD/60 gb HD/128 mb Memory and JJos 1 already installed. All I had to do was cop OS2.
I like it better than my 1k. I like the layout better, num pad, and the flip screen also.

EducatedHands wrote:sometimes i wish i still had the 1k... but the tilt screen is nice.

Why??

Menco wrote:

EducatedHands wrote:sometimes i wish i still had the 1k... but the tilt screen is nice.

Why??

i just like how its more compact. there are times when i want to maybe chill on the couch and work on stuff like drum programs or something tedious. or maybe chill outside. not really possible with a full size drum machine. the 1k is small enough it can be worth it sometimes.

Had the same thing with my 500. I miss it now I sold it and upgraded to the 1k. I travel a lot by train, and during those long trips it would be nice to spend some time composing. So sooner or later I'll buy another 500, and I also really want the 2500 for my home base. The 1k for when I'm working on bigger projects on the go, and a 500 as a kind of scrapbook. That would be perfect. A kind of a MPC wardrobe.

Menco wrote: A kind of a MPC wardrobe.

Wow...













































wow...