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The MPC SUCKS DONKEY!

Sun_FortuneSun_Fortune 1,374 Posts
edited April 2016 in Music Talk
I've been working with this thing since like '98 and Im finally fed up with it. Fed the fuck up. Ive been convincing myself thats it such a great machine, that it makes you make music in constructive and novel ways. But the veil has been drawn. It takes ninety seconds to trim a sound. I have to use a jaz disk. you can only work with 64 pads at a time. you're limited in sample time. the sound quality is shit. you can only make destructive edits. you can never see all your sounds. you can only tweak your sounds in basic ways. clicks appear out of nowhere. you have to keep a book filed with pages just to understand what you have. this is all not a practical way to make music. Im done with hardware samplers. just too much busy work that you have to spend all your time on.
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  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    If you are more efficient using software, then maybe the MPC might not be for you. Whatever facilitates your way of making music is the "best" shit. I will say that I got into my MPC2000XL faster than I got into any software and that the MPC is widely used not only because it's a great combination of a sequencer and sampler but because of its ease of use. Good thing about MPCs is that resale value is usually good. Just curious but what MPC are you working with?
  • kennykenny 1,024 Posts
    sound quality is shit ? really ??
  • Sun_FortuneSun_Fortune 1,374 Posts
    If you are more efficient using software, then maybe the MPC might not be for you. I will say that I got into my MPC2000XL faster than I got into any software and that the MPC is widely used not only because it's a great combination of a sequencer and sampler but because of its ease of use.

    Oh, I've never used software. Ive loved the mpc, but I think its just not for me anymore. Perhaps Im trying to get it do things its not built ot do. im trying to get way too complicated. for straight up hip hop, its great. but for song length compositions, its just getting far too complicated. Ive got two going together, and Im ready to pull my hair out. No wait, i am.

    im using two mpc2000s btw.
  • PEKPEK 735 Posts
    According to the esteemed (in some quarters) Ahmir Thompson, Dilla was primarily using a computer, Garage Band, and a portable Vestax turntable before he passed away - 'Donuts' is largely constructed from that setup along w/ the requisite 45s for samples... It's up to you...
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    If you are more efficient using software, then maybe the MPC might not be for you. I will say that I got into my MPC2000XL faster than I got into any software and that the MPC is widely used not only because it's a great combination of a sequencer and sampler but because of its ease of use.

    Oh, I've never used software. Ive loved the mpc, but I think its just not for me anymore. Perhaps Im trying to get it do things its not built ot do. im trying to get way too complicated. for straight up hip hop, its great. but for song length compositions, its just getting far too complicated. Ive got two going together, and Im ready to pull my hair out. No wait, i am.

    im using two mpc2000s btw.
    Have you ever been to the MPC forums? You could ask some questions on some difficulties you've been having. Just getting a different perspective on things might improve things for you. I know in this day and age saving to a zip disk is a pain in the ass and as far as the sound quality goes, you will probably have to at least use something outboard cos the effects on the MPC are just not the greatest.
  • dayday 9,611 Posts
    I fucking LOVE my MPC.

    It's enough for me.


    What exactly are you trying to do?

    I have yet to find a sampler/sequencer with the power of that machine.
  • silvertonesilvertone 765 Posts
    the 4000 is a perfectly sculpted for songs and very quick to work with (once you get the hang of it..). I have used Kontakt and most of the other softsamplers, and really feel that it is the best (although for MPC style stuff, you might wanna try battery as well). No soft sampler came to the sound of these converters, they are really upfront, and are 24 bit, head and shoulders over the other MPCs. That being said, a lot of the stuff that I was trying to do on my last record (working on an MPC2000xl) took hours.... especially the editing of live tracks... but you know... the MPC sounds like an MPC, nothing else can come close to it, imnsho.
  • drewnicedrewnice 5,465 Posts
    Let me get at your MPC.
  • Mr_Lee_PHDMr_Lee_PHD 2,042 Posts
    Any strutters who were softwaer based before moving to MPC and prefer the MPC in comparison ?

    If so, why?

    Curious Lee.
  • mrpekmrpek 627 Posts
    Any strutters who were softwaer based before moving to MPC and prefer the MPC in comparison ?

    If so, why?

    Curious Lee.

    I didn't start making beats on software but I used software like Drum Station and cool edit and some other programs for about a year before I ever messed with an MPC. WHen I used the MPC that was it. I like being able to use the pads...I just never really liked the software thing and still can't do it. It isn't even really about the MPC I think I would rather mess with some gear than software. I just don't like to make music behind a computer but I know some heads that make dope stuff using only software...to each his own
  • RaystarRaystar 1,106 Posts
    im using two mpc2000s btw.

    That could be the problem... most people dont like the 2000... I have two 60II's I currently am enjoying the inside of them...
  • meshmesh 925 Posts
    yeah, maybe try some of the other models out there. i do not like the 2000 personally. i prefer my xl. i wanna try out the 2500. the 3000 was nice when i had it, but if i had to be on a deserted island with one power outlet, i would take the xl with me. (wait, guess i would need a couple more power outlets for the turntable and mixer, but you know what i mean...)

    go try some demos of software, maybe that will be your thing. i have been pretty much ONLY using the mpc for rap productions lately. noodling around with a mouse just doesnt do it for me. i took the mp from the studio and now its back to the basics. wax and the mp. couldnt be happier. when i want to record them, i just take it back up to the studio and i am good to go.
  • KaushikKaushik 320 Posts
    Out of curiosity, anyone here used the MPC USB controller (or something similar like the M-Audio Trigger Finger) to program beats, trigger samples etc?

    I just realized my current way of programming beats is too linear and not very conducive to making stuff up on the fly... I'd like to be able to create beats by performing them real-time, like the MPC allows you to.

    I just saw a video of Jeremy Ellis doing the 'freestyle' thing where he was recording beats on the fly in the MPC in loop mode, I'd like to try that out usig an MPC controller device, interested in y'alls thoughts.



  • meshmesh 925 Posts


    used to have this. sold it for 150 right before the price dropped down to 150( for the buyer)

    if anything is sucking donkey balls, its this turd. dont waste your money on these pads. they blow.
  • drewnicedrewnice 5,465 Posts
    if anything is sucking donkey balls, its this turd. dont waste your money on these pads. they blow.

    Agreed. They felt nothing like real MPC pads.
  • crossingscrossings 946 Posts
    i'm guessing you haven't tried making beats on an sp-303... now theres a hard to work with, simple-in-concept but way-too-limited piece of hip-hop beat making gear... funny thing is people SWEAR BY THEM nowadays... but that's just because of madlib... and because these people obviously havnt tried throwing beats together in seconds on a computer. MPCs are a HUGE step above what a lotta people out there are using.
  • KaushikKaushik 320 Posts
    I hear what you guys are saying, and I've heard the same before... I'm not seeing the controller pad (whether the Akai MPD or M-Audio trigger finger) as a *substitute* for the real MPC, whatver the model... I know the feel of the pads is going to be different. And I'm not even thinking in terms of sound quality, since the MPCs have a sound all their own and that's why some folks are hardcore MPC believers. The controller pads themselves don't have audio converters so you can't compare them to the actual MPC.

    Let me ask the question another way, has anyone found these controllers useful for programming beats when hooked up to whatever MIDI sequencer, sampling software etc. you are using? Like, any issues with latency? Are the pads themselves sensitive enough to velocity/aftertouch?

    is the reponse i'm expecting, and that's cool
  • meshmesh 925 Posts
    man, if i was you i would cop one of those oxygen8s or something similar. at least you will have keys to play some notes in a natural chromatic way. those pads are just total crap. might as well not even be velocity sensitive.
  • crossingscrossings 946 Posts
    man, if i was you i would cop one of those oxygen8s or something similar. at least you will have keys to play some notes in a natural chromatic way. those pads are just total crap. might as well not even be velocity sensitive.

    dude... dont get an oxygen8... get something else... i had one and it broke the DAY I BOUGHT IT! they are built like gumball-machine gear, cheapass hollow plastic that you cant even put inside a backpack without damaging the insides... MIDI controllers are great, but get a step above a plastic trinket... the knobs on this thing change values on their own now, and it has 2 broken keys... i'm not even kidding.

    *EDIT: if i may recommend the mini-korg instead... small midi controller with pads as well as everything else.
  • meshmesh 925 Posts
    man, if i was you i would cop one of those oxygen8s or something similar. at least you will have keys to play some notes in a natural chromatic way. those pads are just total crap. might as well not even be velocity sensitive.

    dude... dont get an oxygen8... get something else... i had one and it broke the DAY I BOUGHT IT! they are built like gumball-machine gear, cheapass hollow plastic that you cant even put inside a backpack without damaging the insides... MIDI controllers are great, but get a step above a plastic trinket... the knobs on this thing change values on their own now, and it has 2 broken keys... i'm not even kidding.

    *EDIT: if i may recommend the mini-korg instead... small midi controller with pads as well as everything else.

    alright, my bad. dont have any experience with the oxygen8, but the idea is better than those pads, in my opinion.
  • LuminLumin 807 Posts
    i use an mpc 60 I. i am actually enjoying the music process once again. for the past 6 years i have been using software.
    i started makin beats on a 2000 but went the software route because i thought it was the way to go... point and click beat making sucks. it was aight for a while but i severely suffered from lack of inspiration
    i like using my hands to make music and those mpc pads hooked up to the computer wasnt the way to go for me either

    sound quality sucks on a 2000. get a 60 or a 3000. roger linn editions aint no joke
    peace
  • crossingscrossings 946 Posts

    KORG microKONTROL

    i called it the "mini korg"... my bad... but this is probably a better bet as far as desktop sized midi controllers. has it all... and cant go wrong with Korg.
  • KaushikKaushik 320 Posts
    seen the microkontrol around a lot and it looks just right for me... can you use the square pads on the left to program beats? are they assignable to sounds etc in your software so you can knock out a beat via midi?
  • crossingscrossings 946 Posts
    seen the microkontrol around a lot and it looks just right for me... can you use the square pads on the left to program beats? are they assignable to sounds etc in your software so you can knock out a beat via midi?

    that depends on your software.. but yes... you can pretty much assign anything to them. i would mostly use the pads for starting/stopping loops in ableton. i'd love to get a program for sequencing drum hits with them... but Reason just isnt my thing as far as drums... moments like this, i wish i had my old PC and not a mac (only because of software... so much more stuff on pc... but mac is way more stable, so i had to switch).
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    There are a whole lot of opinions being thrown around on here which is all very respectable. Here's a little science you can either take, leave or believe.

    Two reasons the Mpc 60, 60II, and 3000 will always shit on any of the other wannabes Akai made later: Roger Lynn. The game is in the name and in the rights he held to the sequencing templates. When Roger left, so did the magic, and everything Akai made afterwords were CHEAP toys designed for hip hop producers. I hate to say it, but if you open one up and look at the piece of shit pcb boards they used and the converter chipsets, it's obvious they were cutting corners and costs.
    Is that why they swing better? NO.
    Here is the real problem: as time goes on, processor speeds get faster and faster and the companies that make these samplers utilize the latest, cheapest and most readily made processors. Herein lies the problem; the samplers, or more specificaly the playback sequencers, are getting more "perfect" as the processors get faster, which means the beats are hitting more on beat every time they swing around the sequence, and thus, in essence, sounding less funky. Every compare the SP1200 16th note triplet to any newer sequencer? that shi* is hip hop. And the reason is because the processor in that thing is the equivalent of a thimble and a casio watch. It is far funkier than the Mpc 60 and 3000, and by funky i mean loose, natural sounding (and technicaly fuc*ed up). Aside from the that the characteristic sound on the SP comes less from its bit and sample rate (as commonly believed) than from it's multiplexing across the AD converter at the rate that thimble of a processor can handle. And if you wanna get even funkier dig up a Lynndrumm.
    Moral of the story, in my opinion, you should use any of these older machines to trigger your sounds, even if they are on a computer, so that you don't lose the natural entropy of a slow processor sequencer.

    On a side note Iomega and zip drives can go to hell. I almost lost my whole album because of them.
  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    moments like this, i wish i had my old PC and not a mac (only because of software... so much more stuff on pc...

    Gimme some examples of music software that's made for the pc but no the mac. And you say Fruity Loops, I will personally have you banned.
  • LuminLumin 807 Posts
    There are a whole lot of opinions being thrown around on here which is all very respectable. Here's a little science you can either take, leave or believe.

    Two reasons the Mpc 60, 60II, and 3000 will always shit on any of the other wannabes Akai made later: Roger Lynn. The game is in the name and in the rights he held to the sequencing templates. When Roger left, so did the magic, and everything Akai made afterwords were CHEAP toys designed for hip hop producers. I hate to say it, but if you open one up and look at the piece of shit pcb boards they used and the converter chipsets, it's obvious they were cutting corners and costs.
    Is that why they swing better? NO.
    Here is the real problem: as time goes on, processor speeds get faster and faster and the companies that make these samplers utilize the latest, cheapest and most readily made processors. Herein lies the problem; the samplers, or more specificaly the playback sequencers, are getting more "perfect" as the processors get faster, which means the beats are hitting more on beat every time they swing around the sequence, and thus, in essence, sounding less funky. Every compare the SP1200 16th note triplet to any newer sequencer? that shi* is hip hop. And the reason is because the processor in that thing is the equivalent of a thimble and a casio watch. It is far funkier than the Mpc 60 and 3000, and by funky i mean loose, natural sounding (and technicaly fuc*ed up). Aside from the that the characteristic sound on the SP comes less from its bit and sample rate (as commonly believed) than from it's multiplexing across the AD converter at the rate that thimble of a processor can handle. And if you wanna get even funkier dig up a Lynndrumm.
    Moral of the story, in my opinion, you should use any of these older machines to trigger your sounds, even if they are on a computer, so that you don't lose the natural entropy of a slow processor sequencer.

    On a side note Iomega and zip drives can go to hell. I almost lost my whole album because of them.


    i was going to drop this science as well. glad someone did
    only reason i didnt cop a 1200 is that i really have no experience with it... plus 10 seconds of sampling time... ouch
    thes what you using? 60? 3000?
    you looked into getting a compact flash card reader? i hear those things are a lot faster and more reliable than zips... no click of death either
    i still got to get that scsi upgrade for my 60 before i can move to the card reader
  • TheGoochTheGooch 541 Posts
    Honestly I wouldnt say id be dead in the water without both but I really cant have one without the other. Meaning both Hardware and software". Having an MPC 3000Le together with recycle, and a hell of a program called MPC editor really saves time and I can get more into the creative process. I usually sample directly into my computer. If its a lengthy sample I chop it up in recycle. Convert wav to .snd using a free program called Wav2Snd. then create my mpc program with MPC EDITOR. I can also format mpc 3000 zip disks with it and also has a zip disk repair tool. Seems like a process but it all takes me a few minutes. And with the 8 outs I dump everything back into protools. I think it comes to experimenting. I dabbled with Reason, Garage band, and I just couldnt get into the shit. I find the combo of both to work best for me. Though I may be partial to the 3000. I did mess with the mpc2500 at sam ash and it just didnt "feel" right. Though the smart media card is a good look.

    Oh and I have an m-audio trigger finger sitting on my desk for a few months now. If anyone wants to trade some records for it, please hit me up.
  • crossingscrossings 946 Posts
    moments like this, i wish i had my old PC and not a mac (only because of software... so much more stuff on pc...

    Gimme some examples of music software that's made for the pc but no the mac. And you say Fruity Loops, I will personally have you banned.

    well... i'm not gonna say fruityloops... but something you'll probably find even worse if you cant stand fruity. i'm a fan of TRACKERS... anyone who was making music back in the DOS days on a PC knows what im talking about. everyone else THINKS they know what trackers are, but are wrong. i'm talking like text-based, complex, hexadecimal step-by-step programming... impulse tracker & modplug tracker are the bomb!... and i dont care what anyone has to say... modplug is my shit, and it will never exist on mac.

    the interface is rather intimidating.

    but aside from trackers... PC just has so many more low-key apps, beat randomizers, plugins, virtual synths... anything you can think of... there will always be more on PC... of course you're risking having these small made-at-home apps crash and losing your project on a PC (which is the main reason i switched aside from viruses)... i love macs, but theres only so much i can do with ableton live & reason... mac needs more "beat toys" as far as software... just programs to dick around with. but like i said, these homemade beta programs usually dont offer the kind of stability an OSX application does.
































    oh... and by the way... FRUITY LOOPS!
  • crossingscrossings 946 Posts
    According to the esteemed (in some quarters) Ahmir Thompson, Dilla was primarily using a computer, Garage Band, and a portable Vestax turntable before he passed away - 'Donuts' is largely constructed from that setup along w/ the requisite 45s for samples... It's up to you...

    he was also a big MPC head... don't forget that. but what i'm wondering is how he got his samples from vinyl to sound a lil cleaner using just that setup... i mean they're not CRYSTAL-CLEAR, but they don't have as much static as that turntable tends to pick up on. both the big portables right now [vestax handytrax and numark PT-01] have kinda cheap needles and arms that amplify the sound of static... it can be a brand new record and noise will still get in the way of sampling... yet you dont hear that as much in dilla's beats [or madlibs for that matter].. yeah you will occasionally, but i swear everything i sample off vinyl these days sounds grimy as fuck... and not in a good way.
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