I just copped a new MPC 1000 and......

deckme(N)tal · Post by **deckme(N)tal** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:21 am

I just copped a new MPC 1000 and......it just rocks!!!

i am new to music producing (started 1 year ago after 6 years djing) and i started with software (Ableton, my first host...i played around with fruity loops some years ago too). After Trigger finger was out, i was thinking ...mmm...coool! i can mimick an MPC with this thing....and i bought it...i have struggled 6 months to try to make my drums sound tight...but the ableton midi is not so thight...so a lot of editing, quantization messed out ect...and the trigger fingers pad are ok (but just ok)....so i have tried the mpc 1000 to a my friend house, and i waited 2 months to buy it...yesterday i was taken by a compulsory gear lust and i bought this bad ass....
i have just messed a little bit with the demo samples inside....and....it is unbelievable...i can lay cool drums i a matter of minutes...(hours with soft).
So...i assume a couple of things: ableton midi timing sucks (or software midi sucks, i have not a real experience with other hosts) or mpc is from outer space...and the pads...are way better that the TF....
the note repeat function is a must have!!
Anyway i don't understand people that get rid of their mpc....i guess it can be the best hardware to associate with ableton.....
and i am happy because i have not to stare at a screen for a looooooong time anymore...
anyway i love ableton...don't take me wrong....but this midi timing has got to be solved....
Thanks

jbuonacc · Post by **jbuonacc** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:26 am

cool to hear. i had a 2000xl for a few years and ended up selling it last year with some regret. bought the new black 1000 early last month thinking that i'd get along great with it but something 'just didn't feel right'. i always feel stuck in the same rut with the MPC, doing the same old things with it for some reason. that, and i wasn't completely impressed with the build quality of the 1000. being a hardware masochist for years (mainly due to owning an ancient PC) i thought it might be time to make 'the switch' to working with software a bit. returned the MPC after about three weeks (was fortunate to get a full refund) and put the money towards Live4 and a new laptop. imagine going from a PII Celeron(?!)/333mHz/256mb (or even my little PII/366mHz/128mb laptop) to an AMD Turion 64/2.2gHz/2gb.

another world entirely as far as power, and i'm thrilled so far working with Live.

it's great to have an MPC around though. i'd like to pick up another 1000 possibly, but i sure won't pay full price for a new one again.

how are you using it in your setup?

deckme(N)tal · Post by **deckme(N)tal** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:30 am

i still have got to figure out as using it on my setup (i just bought it yesterday and i stil. have to read the manual), but i think it will be my sketchpad for beats (i mainly do hip hop/electronic) and after i will use it as master for live 5...to add the last things, loops, samples, scrateches...

Patch · Post by **Patch** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:10 am

I got a question...

You can bang out beats in a million ways. Does it sound better if you do it on an MPC 1000/2000/2500/3000???

If you use the same sounds in a software drum machine/sequencer, does it sound different?

What about if you use a triggerfinger/korgpad with live? If you use the same sounds - does the MPC sound better? By better I mean sound quality and feel. How can timings be different accross different platforms?

deckme(N)tal · Post by **deckme(N)tal** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:36 am

About sound, i am not sure, i have tried it on headphones, so i don't know, but for what i have heard, it should be better, just because it is a machine that have got his own converters and it "pumps" the sound...BUT don't take my word for this...i am not sure...but likely it could be...
About timing/sequencing IT is better....i mean, the sequencer is really thight...you hit a pad and when you reproduce your midi data...the hit is in the right place where it has got to be...
and the pads are better...in the sense that they transmit velocity in a better way...so you can have really small differences between your hits (you never hit the pad with the same strenght) and it adds to the groove of the drumbeat...
and quantizing and swing really works...it means that when you record something with quantized enabled it places the hits in the right way...
trust me...doing the same exact thing on an Trigger Finger/Ableton combo and on MPC leads to different results, and i like the MPC ones a lot better...
i don't wanna start a soft/hardware war...this is the first hardware i have ever own...i just tried it for 2 hours...i have used TF for 6 months...i can do better things (drums) with MPC...

subSonik · Post by **subSonik** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 11:07 am

well--
triggerfinger is doo doo

eisnein · Post by **eisnein** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 12:51 pm

ive wanted an mpc for some long time now but have always found away to get what i want using a computer.

the dope thing IMHO about mpc's is the filters and envelopes that you can add to each sample- however- Battery give you just as many option with filters and envelopes too. in terms of "pumping" sound out- there is a compressor and saturation in Battery to make the wave as big and pumping as you can. i have been using Impulse more and more for drums and finding that equally powerful drums can be created too.

in terms of quantization- you can set Live's record quantization so when you play it is in the "right place". while the MPC has its own specific swing/groove features, there are plenty of templates that can mimic this, or it can be done through simple editing.

not trying to knock the MPC, as id love to have me one or two! just wanted to explain that for those of us with computers and Live but without mpc's we can recreate a similar feel.

i dont have a trigger finger and ive heard mixed reviews but, if you already have a computer and Live- buying a $199 piece of gear is way easier than dropping another $799-$2000 for an mpc.

plus the dudes who used to use the OG 2000s/3000s/60s the 1000 pads feel like doodoo so its all about perspective and feel i guess.

marky · Post by **marky** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 1:38 pm

But beats are all about the timing though.. and that's really where an MPC kicks Live's ass.

deckme(N)tal · Post by **deckme(N)tal** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 1:42 pm

you can get MPC-like results on TF/Live...but with this time schedule:
MPC:5 minutes
TF/Live: 25 minutes, after that, you are bored and you don't want to hear that drum loop anymore....at least for me....
and yes with live you can use templates...but you can't bang drums away and have the right time on spot....but i am not dissing live at all...only its timing is...bad...

i would have liked to not spend 1000 euros, and be happy with my previous combo...but is did not happened...

mercyplease · Post by **mercyplease** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:24 pm

Patch wrote:I got a question...

You can bang out beats in a million ways. Does it sound better if you do it on an MPC 1000/2000/2500/3000???

If you use the same sounds in a software drum machine/sequencer, does it sound different?

What about if you use a triggerfinger/korgpad with live? If you use the same sounds - does the MPC sound better? By better I mean sound quality and feel. How can timings be different accross different platforms?

The same sounds will sound different from hardware. You may like the sound better you may not it depends on the hardwares convertors.
Programming beats in to an MPC is still hard to beat. I know there are Akai pads but your dependent on your software and the feel isnt as good as triggering internal MPC sounds.

I want to buy a hardware beat box when I can raise the cash. The one I have decided on is the Roland MPV. I played about with this machine and found it highly inspirational and responsive.

HD1 · Post by **HD1** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:25 pm

so, say you make a nice groove with your mpc......can/do you spit the midi to live and will live record it exactly right, or will live's """"not-as-tight-as-mpc"""" midi timing taint the midi ?

why would you want to take the groove out of the mpc and into live?, well so you can use it with vstis....

marky · Post by **marky** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:29 pm

Right that's where it gets tricky. Probably makes sense to get the beats in as audio, ideally through an s/pdif interface or similar digital interface to avoid the extra conversion.

metaforensics · Post by **metaforensics** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:32 pm

Live rocks and so does the mpc1k..I use both together and find it a nice combinbation...I make beats using a ASR 10, and MPC1k..Then mixdown in Acid Pro 5...I then use live to perform live (no pun intended)..I'll render out loop and whole intrumentals to be used in live, and the same thing for my mpc...I also own a kaos pad mixer which I use as a dj, then I run the mpc through one channel and my laptop on the other, and mix back and forth..With maybe the belody looped in ableton while performing live drums, and then looping them on the mpc...Then back to ableton start mixing in another song with dj like fader in ableton..Its fun plus you can use the mpc like a triger finger if you felt like, and also use to trigger scenes, and clips..Enjoi the mpc it kicks ass....Sorry for the rant just wanted to give you somewhat of an idea if you ever wanted to still do the dj thing, but with your own music..

HD1 · Post by **HD1** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:42 pm

so whats the skinny on taking the nice-n-tight midi from mpc and using it in live ? You got to save the grooves as midi on the mpc, and transfer them as data to your computer I assume.......that is if live's midi timing is as bad as people say, but I dont know if thats the case...i think its probably the mpc's quantize & groove stuff thats really tight, and whatever you spit at live via midi should be recorded identicaly to what's sent.......true ? false ?

deckme(N)tal · Post by **deckme(N)tal** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:53 pm

i only used fruity loops midi...and it better than live one...in terms of timing strictly
i dunno about pro tools, reason or logic...