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People who enjoyed reading this: KidQuaalude, Roshi, vveerrgg, bodo, sohcahtoa, SenorFrio, EsromCole, RRine, energygiant, Plissken, Taxis, shamann, lematt, ambergris, evilai
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we have a show coming up quick that there is a good possibility will be outdoors and i dont really trust bringing the macbook, controllers and all of that out, then if we have a good chance of bad weather, having to not play.
so we decide to go more hardware based for the show, but have some stuff we've been working up in ableton that i wanted to still use.
we had already decided to bring out the wurlizter electric piano, akai headrush looper, and my er-1. i realized maybe a hardware sampler/sequencer really would come in handy. that way im not trying to just "play" the er-1 the whole time while trent is jamming the keys. i start researching, asking here, reading user manuals, etc and decide that my choices (in my price range) are:
yamaha su 700
korg es 1
boss sp 303
su 700 - always wanted one of these, used to always almost buy one back when they were still out, then i remember what a hassle floppy disks are and how slow they are...
boss sp 303 - look around on craigslist and find none right now. dont want to do ebay, dont want to wait ...
korg es 1 - love my er 1, read the manual pdf for it thouroughly, seems cool. mk II version came out recently, online retailers have them in stock so i decide to head to guitar center.
ask guitar center employee "yeah im lookin for the korg es 1 mk II, i didnt see one on displ.." he cuts me off "yeah we have them right here" and starts walkin to the display with the emx-1 and esx-1, im like "no bro, im lookin for es 1 mk II", hes all "but have you checked these out they are really hot, tube blah blah blah". "awesome, hook me up with one for $295 + tax then" i reply. he looks at me like im crazy.
i explain that those are out of my price range. he looks up the es 1 mk II on his computer and says they dont stock them anymore, discontinued.
im over it, bummed that i may have to do ebay/wait for shit to come, when i really need to be learning a new machine and finishing up the set.
i always check out the used gear display while im there for kicks and what do i see ... mpc500 open box special, i check the price, well under $500!!11 its a little more than i wanted to spend right now, but damn an mpc for under 500 bux with tax, im there.
flashback: i owned an mpc2000 for years. loved it, gave up on the hopes of playing my stuff live, went very computer based, sold the mpc to buy a rhodes.
i wasnt too sure of the specs on the 500, i remembered it was battery operatable, obviously i wonder if the 12 pad thing would be weird (i use a trigger finger right now some), decide to get it, try it inside out, keep an open mind, i've got 30 days to take it back anyways.
mpc500 is teh hotness!!!11 turns out everything (there wasnt much) that i didnt enjoy about my mpc2000 is fixed. stuff that was probably addressed with the XL, 4000, 1000 and 2500, but i have no experience with any of those.
so here is why the 500 rocks:
128megs ram total (8 megs factory, upgradable - 2000 maxxed out at 32megs)
no floppy drive! uses cf cards instead, wife shoots photos, i have cf cards laying around. they are way faster and hold tons more, right now, im using a 512meg card. thats like 355 floppys if my math is right.
usb. wow, its implemented so well, simply plug into the computer and your cf card shows up on your desktop, drag and drop samples.
folders! 2000 was like foldwhos? this supports folders, folders are good, you all use computers and understand that. nuff said.
dedicated bank A,B,C,D buttons. on my 2000 it had a change bank button that cycled through them, way too many presses to get from A to D, etc.
super duper portable. i've been keeping it in a seperate padded area of my messenger bag with my macbook. band on the run. ha.
most importantly you can use any programs (sample assignments) you have loaded into memory on seperate tracks of the same sequence. that always bugged me that my 2000 couldn't. that way instead of being limited to 48 sounds per each sequence, you are only limited by your ram.
im loving it. sure it only has 1 midi i/o, but i never used more than 1 on the 2000. only has stereo out with no mutli-out upgrade, but i only ever used the main outs anyways.
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03/07/07
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Roshi
Nice. Glad to see a review of it from a personal standpoint...they look so tempting, but not for list price. 
03/07/07
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Roshi
Also, lol at foldwhos.
03/07/07
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ejectorset
well list is like 1299, retail is like 699. i think its in that weird area where 700 is way too expensive and < 500 is a steal.
if you decide for one, keep an eye out for open box specials. tons of people on mpc-forums got theirs that way, i think its akai's way of selling them too cheap now while they are new, to get word of mouth going about how good they are and how cheap. people on that site mention online retailers where you can make an offer for less than 500 for an open box one.
there really cant been this many open box ones around unless its a strategy.
edited: Mar 07 2007
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vveerrgg
Awesome hardware choices... I still have my QY700 and I love it to death... hardware sequencing is king!.... although now I use the MPC4000 to do the same thing you're doing. sequencing is tons of fun if you're into playing out the parts on the machine and recording them into it!
EDIT: although software is fun too....
03/07/07
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tooth
500 bucks is about 250 quid sterling, that'd get you a sp404 here in the United States of England. That's a good deal, I'd love to spend a few days with an MPC.
03/07/07
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EsromCole
Makes me want an MPC again. Never had one but they seem real nice and this just reassures that.
03/07/07
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j_chot
so your macbook can get a sunburn? I don't understand why it can't be outside...
edited: Mar 07 2007
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Taxis
Those are pretty much the same features as the mpc1000 (minus the portability and smaller screen&buttons). I love the mpc1000 (aside from the fact that it is not the black one).
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03/07/07
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ejectorset
j_chot said: "so your macbook can get a sunburn? I don't understand why it can't be outside..."
havent you seen how pale the macbooks are?
they are either like vampire white, or burnt black.
03/07/07
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lematt
i love the sound of the MPC's... there is always something more than with the computer (although i use the computer ...), especially with the drums.
it seems to be a good drumbox ! i didn't know there was a MPC 500
03/08/07
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skab
can the mpc500 downshift bitrates?
03/08/07
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ejectorset
what do you mean skab?
03/08/07
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skab
can you have your sounds play back in 12-bit instead of 16-bit? a friend of mine recently got hold of one of the newer mpcs and was disappointed to find it didn't have the crunchiness of the older ones. i suppose if the 500 loads sounds from cards then you could always crush the sounds on a computer - but maybe the mpc wouldn't play them back?
03/08/07
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skab
it's a shame it doesn't have phantom power too - it'd make a fantastic field recording device. maybe phantom power would drain the battery too much
03/08/07
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ejectorset
one of its built in effects is a bit reducer. havent tried it out yet.
if you have any 12bit smaples from an old sampler (wav format), id be happy to try to load them and see.
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