movin' up

Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
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movin' up

By namotu Thu Dec 11, 2008 4:50 am
i've had the 500 for almost a year now and its amazing. i love the thing, its very easy to use and i'm so used to it, so the workflow is very quick.

one of my problems is trackin beats out into a DAW. i've heard all the tricks and what not to get them to sound right.

but i was wondering, (for those of you who bought the 500 as your first mpc)...what mpc did you upgrade to (if you ever did) after the 500?

for me it would be between a 1000 and a 2000xl, so i just wanted some insight on what mpc's you guys moved up to after you bought the 500.

there are just 1 or 2 missing features on the 500 that are makin me wanna upgrade. other then that i **** love the 500
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Re: movin' up

By Menco Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:11 pm
1k.

It also reads all the 500 files, plus I fell in love with the term portability.

I also loved the 500, but the upgrade was really an improvement in my workflow.

Sell ur 500, and get a 1k.

Re: movin' up

By namotu Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:10 pm
yeah seems like the 1k is the way to go.

and if i just pop the cf card i was usin on my 500 into a 1000, everything will play the same? theres just gonna be a row of unused pads huh?

Re: movin' up

By thecatinside Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:51 pm
I'd like to have more outputs too and toyed around with an idea of switching my 500 to 1000.

Then it came into my mind that I could get myself another sampler. Old akais and emus are 'dirtcheap' obviously. Old akais with 3 stereo outputs, great filters and effects can be had for like 100€. That teamed up with 500 would be far more cheaper option than upgrading my (or your :D) mpc. Besides.. Having two is always better than settling with just one box :lol: .

Re: movin' up

By namotu Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:00 am
well i already got an SP-303 as well, but the biggest thing is the 4 assignable outs on the MPC1000. and of course all the other features, such as chop shop, bigger screen, digital I/O, and more pads.

1000 are really cheap on craigslist though. i've found a few out here in LA for around 500-600. and i figure i could sell my 500 for around 300-400, so im taking it into consideration

Re: movin' up

By bedouin Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:25 am
500 is fine. If I move up it will be to an MV-8800.

Re: movin' up

By POGphile Fri Dec 12, 2008 4:36 am
You can stack 8 500's ( 2 layers of 2x2 fashion) and that will be the size of one MPC 1000 - IT'S almost a size of a laptop.

Spent weeks deciding if I should upgrade - the 4 assignable outputs + stereo sound real nice BUT
for recording i could do track by track and live I just have to make sure i get all the levels and master compression/EQ just right

The thing I really miss is the record mute feature - here is praying that the next OS upgrade will have that included

and maybe assignable heaphone and stereo output :twisted:
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Re: movin' up

By Menco Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:49 am
namotu wrote:yeah seems like the 1k is the way to go.

and if i just pop the cf card i was usin on my 500 into a 1000, everything will play the same? theres just gonna be a row of unused pads huh?


No, B1 will become a13, b2 will become a14, etc.

For the rest, everything will be the same.

Re: movin' up

By namotu Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:35 pm
yeah that makes sense, and when your using the assignable mix outs, your usin balanced or unbalanced cables?

i figure since its only one cable that you would run a balanced 1/4in into a mono channel on your mixer, correct?
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Re: movin' up

By Ill-Green Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:33 pm
I'm the type of guy that likes to push little machines like these past its limit, so steppin' up to the other MPCs is unlikely for me. I can recommend getting a multitrack recorder. With that you can dramaticly raise the bar in your creative flow. Lets say you get an 8-track rec. Thats like having 8 MPC500s. But if I was gonna upgrade on gear, like Bedouin said I'll go for the MV8800 or the latest MV.

Re: movin' up

By namotu Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:39 pm
MV's are pretty expensive though, huh?

id have to stick with the mpc, cas i love the 500 and i switch to the 1000 wouldn't be too much different, plus it would benefit me a lot, once i really could work quickly on it.

Re: movin' up

By bedouin Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:11 pm
MV-8800 isn't really that much; it's cheaper than the 5000.

You can get used MV-8000s pretty cheaply.

Re: movin' up

By logic_user99 Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:15 pm
I'd go for a 2nd hand MPC4000 if anything...

Maaan, I miss my S3000XL. Wish I'da made the most outta that bad boy when I had it.

Re: movin' up

By roxstar Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:05 am
The XL is dope, but that's not really an upgrade from the 500. The only real benefit you would have is the extra outputs the screen and the physical size.
If you really want to upgrade, I would look at the 2500. It has more outputs over the 1000, more midi connections, tilt screen, size, and the internal cd/rw, but then again, if your used to the size of the 500, you should like the 1000..personally, it's too small for me to use on a daily basis...
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