coming from Korg ESX-1, mpc500 or 1000 ?

Hello everyone, i just joined the forum.

I'm about to either get the 500 or the 1000. I've used a Roland sp555 (sold immediately because of the poorest sequencer ever seen in my whole life) and now i'm currently owning a Korg ESX-1.

I like it, but i can't say i love it. It's a good price/value item, but the lack of velocity sensitive pads is really no good, as well as other drawbacks that kinda stop me from being as creative as i would like, especially with loop-mangling and stuff like that. Plus the sequencer is not as good as the akai's. My goal is to be able to sample and assign slices to each pad in a way that doesnt get on my nerves. I think the ESX-1 was basically built for dancefloor-kinda stuff.

Honestly i've never tried an MPC before, so i don't even know if it's going to be better than the esx-1 or not (for my needs, of course)... but i thought i should give it a try and in case just resell it.

That said, i can't decide if i should get a 1000 or a 500. Portability is definitely a cool option, but the 1000's chopshop feature really seems to work like a treat with that waveform editing stuff.
My whole point is getting away from the computer. I've been doing music on my laptop for years now, and i just can't stand it anymore. I want a proper instrument etc. (u know what i mean)

So i would like to know from those of you here using the 500, how frustrating is the small lcd compared to the bigger 1000 ? Do you think the chop / assign workflow is a hassle on the 500 compared to the 1000?

Thanks!

MPC 1000 is more powerful/expensive. MPC 500 is more portable/affordable. It's up to you. If money and/or studio space is not a problem, get 1000. Otherwise, 500 is a better choice.

I don't know what do you mean by 'proper' instrument, by the way. IMO, it's great to be able to combine a laptop and MPC for production.

brazeca wrote:MPC 1000 is more powerful/expensive. MPC 500 is more portable/affordable. It's up to you. If money and/or studio space is not a problem, get 1000. Otherwise, 500 is a better choice.

well it's not about money/size but rather about how many clicks and knob twisting it takes to do the same slicing functions you'd do on the 1000 ... i'm really concerned about the 500's small lcd, and i need to know if it really takes a lot of wrestling to achieve what on the 1000 is an "easy task", u know what i mean? (waveform editing slicing / chopping etc)

pierlooqup wrote:

brazeca wrote:MPC 1000 is more powerful/expensive. MPC 500 is more portable/affordable. It's up to you. If money and/or studio space is not a problem, get 1000. Otherwise, 500 is a better choice.

well it's not about money/size but rather about how many clicks and knob twisting it takes to do the same slicing functions you'd do on the 1000 ... i'm really concerned about the 500's small lcd, and i need to know if it really takes a lot of wrestling to achieve what on the 1000 is an "easy task", u know what i mean? (waveform editing slicing / chopping etc)

there is no wav form editing on the 500 and all the chopping and slicing is by numbers, and ear. i personally like the number thing, it feels easier to me to hear it, then to see it. BUT if you dont like that, then the thousand would be better for such things. With the jjos you can actually have a wavform chopper.

I just ordered an mpc 1k.

Anyway, is the free JJ OS (version 3 i guess) as good as the version 4 (the 30 bux one) ?
I tried to read the comparison chart but found it pretty unreadable.

Any clue?

Keep the ESX and reread the manual.
Not to completely write the 1000 off, but the ESX buries it in sound manipulation.
Not to mention the built in keyboards and arrpegiator, the ESX is a killer.

Dj Pound wrote:Keep the ESX and reread the manual.
Not to completely write the 1000 off, but the ESX buries it in sound manipulation.
Not to mention the built in keyboards and arrpegiator, the ESX is a killer.

+1

maybe a little more patience with the 555, the sequencer is similar to the sp-1200 and honestly i didn't notice any difference between the sequencer on a 500, 1k vs the roland sp's, tons of catz making beats with them... it's all about learning how to chop using the mark button/ start & end points on the roland sp's, which is cake... but oh wells... the esx-1 is dope as well...

ESX & MPC is good combo