wahhhhhhh, i want my MPC back :(

[Amberience]

fact: computers play samples like shit. dedicated samplers like an MPC have a much crisper punchier sound.

fact: It's all in your head!

no it is not. i noticed this when i had my mpc and still can hear it now with all the tracks i recorded from my mpc. the tracks hit loud.

bd sample x played from the mpc is louder and clearer than bd sample x played from kontakt or impulse.

i think it is because the audio engine in an mpc or other hard samplers is dedicated to playing that sample and doing that only. where as your computer is processing everything else plus playing that sample. it is not in my head. i have perfect hearing and can tell you they do not sound the same.



if it were in my head i would not be dropping another G on another mpc. believe me, i like the control i have over each sound when using kontakt, i can nmot get that control with an mpc. that is why i sold it, i thought kontakt gives me more of what i need. after a few months of muddy sounding drums i am over it, i want the punch back.

1. No one has perfect hearing.
2. Any effects on the MPC? No? Then what you're hearing is volume.
3. Turn up your computer.
4. Stop posting nonsense as "fact"

[b0unce]

chill out...its not nonsense
an MPC isnt another piece of software, so this dogma that samples are samples are samples and everything is equal is wrong

its been pointed out a couple of times already, the mpc has its own ad/da's - these create their own mpc-specific character, and have a profound influence on the sound

whether you like it or not is up to the user

[Amberience]

No. It is nonsense. Because he is proclaiming that the MPC plays the samples back differently, which is bollocks.

What isn't bollocks is that the ad/da stage is different to a computer. Yes, that much is true, and that can be heard.

But that has no bearing on the software side. The MPC is still doing what any sample editor does.

The dogma you mention isn't dogma at all. It is physics. The ad/da stage has no bearing on the performance of the software stage, they are seperate sections in a single entity - much like how human arms and legs are different sections.

So my point is: The MPC is playing the samples back just like Live, just like Cubase, just like Goldwave even.

The difference in sound comes AFTER that, with the ad/da like you and a few others have said. And since it is that sample playback that the OP takes issue with, that's why people are trying to straighten him out.

ps: I am chilled out, this is just the way I type.

[b0unce]

HUH ?

dango is clearly talking about the sound, everything you mention is moot - the ad/das of the mpc are an integral part of the process, no one is really debating about how the mpc OS is handling samples, who cares....the inescapable fact is the ad/das are colouring the sound - and all he has spoken about is sound differences

fact: computers play samples like shit. dedicated samplers like an MPC have a much crisper punchier sound.

meh.

[Amberience]

Ok whatever dude. He posted something as a fact, if you go read the first section again, you'll unnerstand where I'm comin from.

[3rdordertrauma]

I've owned 2 MPC's... a 4000 and a 2500. The 4000 was FULL of bugs till akai actually released a stable OS over a YEAR later. Powerful tool in many respects but its so big its more like studio furniture, not gear.

The 2500 IMO is junk! The 1000 is a more solid piece I think. The 2500 was setup in my studio for about a day till I removed it and returned it. Maybe they have fixed this problem by now... but every time I hit a pad the whole box would rattle. It sounded similar to to punching a coke can full of rocks. So distracting I didn't even have a chance to hear how good i sounded, nor would even matter if I had to listen to that all day while programming beats. I figured I could remove the back and put some padding in there to fairly easily remedy the problem, then decided at that price, its just unacceptable.

I don't regret selling them one bit. It was a relief actually. I be skeptical that they sound better. Noisier maybe... better? hmmmmmm not sure. If todays computers and sound cards are capable of producing some of the finest quality studio recordings, albums and movies we have ever seen or heard, it would be my guess they are up to the task of some lo-fi vinyl samples.

[tjwett]

when i had my 1000 i wrote about 10 complete songs on it, in just a few months. on the computer i've never really completed a track, in like 7 or 8 years. i have about 400 eight bar ideas that never get finished. i'm more productive on hardware. i def miss my MPC.

[ScholarlyGent]

hmm.. i dont miss mine yet, and its been 3+ years..

me neither... 4 years.

[lola]

I think its not in the head, even an old akai s950, s1100, emu 6400 and 4 , ensoniq asr, sound much better.(personal taste)
It has to do with the conversion what already was mentioned.
But it also has to do with the opamps of you card.
Some things in theory, it could be that the audioengine of your daw and the coding algorithms in the vst protocol have influence on the overall sound of a sample beeing played.
All i know is that hardware sounds more dynamical, and whider spetrum- wise.

[4am]

my 2 cents:

the mpc has a better ouput (you will mostly remark it live)

but

it is difficult to record it back on a computer, and integrate it in your track without loss

[minimal]

my 2 cents:

the mpc has a better ouput (you will mostly remark it live)

but

it is difficult to record it back on a computer, and integrate it in your track without loss

if you record with live, yes you will suck out the life of your sound, but if you record with other solution like I do then the loss is less, still there but less.
As for live playing, could not agree more.. that's why, despite a lot of skeptical opinions I got, I always use it to play live.

[yourmom]

yo dango. do you mind posting those side by side comparisons? i am super curious to hear what you are hearing. much obliged.

[3dot...]

emu 6400 was awesome...
SO basically everyone is arguing over a matter of taste...
this will end badly...
let's just agree do disagree...

... if the so called punchiness of samples is created by Akai's own d/a...then it has bad conversion...Which I doubt...more likely that there is compression going on right before the analog outs...

[90's child]

Yes its so true that the people on the dancefloor will stop dancing if they hear drums coming directly from Ableton.

It's a well known phenomenon that people don't dance to music that's made entirely inside the computer because it sounds "too digital".

Its nothing to do with learning how to process your sounds, using quality plugs on the master output and learning how to mix.

Yes you also need to ditch all your soft synths and buy a hardware Virus synth.

[djadonis206]

I can't say I regret selling my MPC - I've had 2 the 2000xl and the 1000


In my opinion computers sound better - or at least they sound 2007

you're probably just used to the MPC sound and you can't get over it

I can feel you there

but you know what might happen? You get the MPC again right, but some how you hit the beat yu've been looking for in the computer and next thing you know you're considering selling your MPC (again)

Kontakt and Battery can't replace an MPC - patience, talent and little hard work with the computer will