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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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03/08/07
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ambergris
so are you able to read old mpc 2000 files with this? snd, prg, seq? (were they the old extentions?) i have a bunch of my old zipdisks hanging around from when i had a 2000. and guess what? i have a spare usb zipdrive lying around... i have seriously been thinking about getting one to use my old sounds, programs and sequences...
edited: Mar 08 2007
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ejectorset
yeah programs .pgm are still sample assignments, loads wav and .snd
from the data capability part of the manual pdf available at akaipro.com:
MPC2000/2000XL - SEQ, WAV, SND, PGM (Most parameters of PGM file can be
loaded.)
the caveat: with the 12 pads instead of 16 i think you end up losing bank D's sounds. you could always re-do your programs you have that need bank D using software program makers like:
link
like i said, this thing kills the 2000. maybe it is just really knowing what i want to do now and how to do it and going back to hardware or something, i dunno, im in love.
also, no CLICK OF DEATH!! that should have been in my blog entry. you had a 2000 and zip, you know what im talkin about.
03/08/07
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license
this thing sounds awesome. I'm feeling kinda lusty for it, mostly for the ability to work on beats while riding the bus, with no real compromise in interface.
03/09/07
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kwyj
would love to hear your mpc-500 made beats.
edited: Mar 09 2007
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ejectorset
 
update: i had to return mine. i wouldnt let it discourage you if you are interested, but my outs (main and headphone) would start blowing up after about an hour of use. never even tried batteries in it, it wasn't low voltage, running of the power supply both times. it did it at practice the other night, but i had everything rigged up (rca to 1/4 adapters, etc).
so then yesterday afternoon i loaded up a beat and just let it run, at my office away from everything, no speakers that could cause interference, no inputs hooked up, monitoring (for resample) turned off, just the headphones plugged in and it did it again. since it was open box, i didnt want to wait too long and then have GC try to make me send it off to akai or anything.
they (of course, but i asked) couldnt trade me for a brand new one, i offered to let them keep the box and manual and everything, and i couldnt swing the difference in price, so i got a firebox interface and some store credit.
i already miss it so much. its funny im almost bummed about having to go back to using my macbook and monome and ableton.
edited: Mar 09 2007
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cbit
sorry to hear it didnt work out did the smaller pads bother you at all? (rectangular instead of square right?)
i demoed one very briefly in a store but they had it next to one of those akai 'darthvader flagship worstation' thingies; that made the 500 look dinky and toylike in comparison and biased me against it i think.
03/09/07
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ejectorset
not at all, that is what i thought would have made it weird. they worked fine.
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