Electronic Music 411

05/01/08 + korgborglar

im looking to pick up a drum machine this summer, and im leaning towards an mpc. im looking to spend <1000$, checking ebay it looks like in my price range there is:

500's for ~$400
1000's and 2000's for ~$600
60's for $450-600
2000xl for $500-700
3000 for $850-1000
2500 for around $1000
and if im lucky, a 4000 for a grand

ive seen the wikipedia chart listing all the sample memory etc, and thats not a huge issue for me, even with the 60... you can do a lot with 13 seconds of samples, and i have an external sampler. The main thing i'm looking for is 1. sequencing power (both internally and with external gear) and 2. jammability

this video makes the 4000 look damn tempting: link , do any of the others have sequencing like that?

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05/01/08 + colin

i think your link isnt working

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05/01/08 + inteliko

For ext seq go with the one w/ most MIDI outs. Or get a 1000 w/ JJOS which will bring it close to a 2500 with change left for an Evolver !

05/01/08 + korgborglar

i used to know how to do that right, anyway heres teh link h*p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH8Z1qfQ-QU

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05/01/08 + license

wow, where are 1000s $600?? fuckin A hook me up, I'll get one next paycheck

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05/01/08 + ignatius

i'd go w/a mpc-1000. but i'd get new one or one of the reboxed ones that different places are selling. nova musik has them for $800 reboxed. the older ones have shitty pad sensors and aren't built as well apparently. you can read all about it here.

link

i guess the best models are the black ones that do not have a bare metal back where the connections are. the more recent ones are painted black on the back.

also, go for the JJOS. adds a ton of functions to the MPC 1000/2500

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05/01/08 + license

does the 500 really suck? I mean am I gonna be all sad later for not shelling out the extra 300 bucks?
it's tempting. also blue LCDs are immeasurably sexier than green ones.

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05/01/08 + infradead

mpc 1000 w/ JJ all the way..

max the memory and you're good to go

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edited: May 01 2008 + ModuLR

like others, mpc1000 + JJ OS. JJ's OS2 is absolutely lovely... ya gotta buy OS1 to be able to buy/use OS2 tho. It's worth it. Portable enough, and JJ packs in the features. If you end up with the crap pads, expect to shell out $200 for the revised pads at some point. To tell, grab any corner pad firmly with your fingers and move it from side to side. If it moves the adjacent pads, it's the revised pads. If only the pad you are touching moves, it's the crap pads. The new pads are a single shared sheet, and the old pads are individual. The painted black backing plates are newer models, but many have the crap pads (like mine...). All in all, a fun box!

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05/01/08 + korgborglar

license:
link
link
theres a bunch more if you search 'mpc 1000' in ebays completed listing category. looks like the blue ones were going for those lower prices, black ones seem to be 650+

thanks for the heads up about the pads, thats exactly the kind of thing i was looking to find out. and jjos is ridiculous, why aren't the jj programmers working for akai by now?

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05/01/08 + jarvis

i've had the 60, 2000, 2000xl, and 1000. the 1000 is by far the most versatile (tho i still miss the sound of the 60). if you want to invest a little time, you can find a 1000 for ~$550. the pads can suck but are not totally terrible, and if you want you can upgrade them yourself for $180. if you want to be frugal you can just swap the least and most used pads out as they wear down and save the shitty pads for drums where you tend to just hit at full velocity anyway. the jj os is well worth it and i personally plan on upgrading to os2 soon.

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05/02/08 + cartesia

does the 500 really suck? I mean am I gonna be all sad later for not shelling out the extra 300 bucks

I owned the 500 and sold it within a week... I can't comment on the other MPCs, but dont buy the 500.

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05/02/08 + KidQuaalude

i

my mpc1000 w/ JJ OS.

best instrument i ever bought.

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05/02/08 + skab

i got a 2kxl for $300. it's a great machine. sequencer is tight and the A/D converter is perfect for the sound I want. A friend of mine bought the 1k and is always complaining that it doesn't sound as good as his 2kxl that he has back home in the UK. certainly JJOS will add a load of features that the 2kxl will never have, plus finding memory card readers for the 2kxl is a real pain in the arse, as I've been discovering. But, I do love the sound of my mpc, and I'm a sucker for well-built boxes too.

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05/02/08 + license

cartesia said: "

does the 500 really suck? I mean am I gonna be all sad later for not shelling out the extra 300 bucks"

I owned the 500 and sold it within a week... I can't comment on the other MPCs, but dont buy the 500.

what did you dislike about it?

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