1000 or 2000xl

[N.Y.S.O.M.]

alrite so i bought the 1000 and i love it already. i just have to read the manual now

if u have any trouble i can lend a hand

 

[kanaris]

thanks everybody. so i updated my os to jj os 3.08 and so far its working well, im waiting for a bit for the other version because i just bought my ram and cf card. my question is now tho, how do i hook mpc up to reason for a sound module. i tried following the video on youtube and itculd hear the sounds but they wuldnt record on mpc. how many midi cables do i need and how do i hook up keyboard with mpc. i tried the midi out from mpc and midi out on keyboard but like i said noting

 

[LDB]

thanks everybody. so i updated my os to jj os 3.08 and so far its working well, im waiting for a bit for the other version because i just bought my ram and cf card. my question is now tho, how do i hook mpc up to reason for a sound module. i tried following the video on youtube and itculd hear the sounds but they wuldnt record on mpc. how many midi cables do i need and how do i hook up keyboard with mpc. i tried the midi out from mpc and midi out on keyboard but like i said noting

I have an MPC2K but I'm sure the process is similar.

1) You can use the sound modules from Reason but what you'll be recording is "midi" on your MPC tracks. The midi will trigger the sounds of which ever sound module you use in Reason.

(I used a total of 3 midi cables)

2) The connection should be: Midi OUT of your MPC to the IN of your midi interface

3) Midi OUT of your interface to midi IN of your keyboard, Midi OUT of your keyboard to midi IN of your MPC.

3) Set the "track" on your MPC to midi 1A

4) Change the track on your MPC from Drum to MIDI 1A

5) Go to into the midi section of your MPC and turn Soft thru ON

6) Go to midi/sync on your MPC and set the sync out to "midi clock" and turn Send MMC to ON.

I assume that you know how to set up Reason to be slaved to the MPC. If not holla back!

 

[kanaris]

alrite respect drama.. im gonna try it tomoror wen i get home from work..im hyped

 

[Ominous]

Is there an advantage to using an MPC over a PC?

I had a 500 and it just seemed like it took a longer time to do things than it did using my computer so I took it back to the store. As far as chopping and arranging a beat goes.

 

[Relic]

Probably did, its the diff between painting on a canvas or googling images "cloud" , "mountain" "sea" and then photo shopping it all together.Not that its not art, its just less traditional..

Hey thats a good concept!

 

[Ominous]

Probably did, its the diff between painting on a canvas or googling images "cloud" , "mountain" "sea" and then photo shopping it all together.Not that its not art, its just less traditional..

Hey thats a good concept!

So would you say people with an mpc have an advantage over pc users?

I guess I am wondering because I have seen plenty if production videos that show guys like Black Milk or Boon Doc bust a beat out of a loop like it is automatic on an MPC. They make it seem like there is an edge to doing it on a sampler. The main advantage I see is the whole time stretch function. Seems like there isn't any software out that does that on the fly like the mpc does.

 

[Lazy Eyes]

Omnious, which MPC does that on the fly? I don't know one mpc that does that.. I had an MPC 500 and an MPC 2000XL. Both of em didn't have that function.

Ableton live is a pretty good timestretcher. But i use Beatquantizer for my timestretching it's hella nice! Then i import it into the FL slicer with the markers set in Beatquantizer and Rewire that in Ableton Live... And kick it.

Real nice setup!

 

[Relic]

So would you say people with an mpc have an advantage over pc users?

I guess I am wondering because I have seen plenty if production videos that show guys like Black Milk or Boon Doc bust a beat out of a loop like it is automatic on an MPC. They make it seem like there is an edge to doing it on a sampler. The main advantage I see is the whole time stretch function. Seems like there isn't any software out that does that on the fly like the mpc does.

I would NOT say that mpc owners have an advantage(beyond the ability to actually beat on something.... lol J/K folks)..
If anything its the other way around. But again, as I said, traditional art vs digital art .

The reason why Black Milk and them breeze through timestretching is because they are used to their gear.
I settled on a 2500 and I dont give a crap what comes out next thats what Im using, a 2500.

And Lazy the 2500 and 1000 can do it on the fly...if you know what your doing...

 

[LDB]

So would you say people with an mpc have an advantage over pc users?

I guess I am wondering because I have seen plenty if production videos that show guys like Black Milk or Boon Doc bust a beat out of a loop like it is automatic on an MPC. They make it seem like there is an edge to doing it on a sampler. The main advantage I see is the whole time stretch function. Seems like there isn't any software out that does that on the fly like the mpc does.

Some dudes just like the feel of the MPC because that's what they started out putting tracks together with. Especially if you started out strictly sample based as most of us did. A lot of keyboard controllers are just now catching up to putting pads on the board. Nothing, and i mean nothing can fuck with beating your drums out on those pads. And for those famous snare and drum rolls "note repeat" is a beast. That's what I had missed the most when I put my MPC down for years. Just got it back up and in my arsenal and I realize now how much I missed it! IMO it just puts you in a better "drummer" state of mind when your laying down the drum pattern. My Axiom was my controller but now my old faithful MPC2k is. I soft thru the keyboard controller so I can get down with the keys plus I have 8 drum pads on it which I always assign my snares to. I use the first 16 pads on my MPC for kicks...shits working out lovely and has actually increased my work flow. Pads just feel better than keys when your triggering samples or drums imo.


P.S. I played with many many time stretching software products.... NOTHING beats Ableton Lives WARP time stretching if you really study how to use it. And song arrangement is effort less and laid out the way it should be for all software and hardware imo. Shits amazing!

 

[Lazy Eyes]

Oh shit relic, never knew that.. I'm more used to the older machines.. anyway my best beats come from software.. I like the way my beats come together that way. Need to put more effort in my mpc workflow.

 

[Relic]

Nah man...I don't know any MPC that does time stretching. Some dudes just like the feel of the MPC because that's what they started out putting tracks together with. Especially if you started out strictly sample based as most of us did. A lot of keyboard controllers are just now catching up to putting pads on the board. Nothing, and i mean nothing can fuck with beating your drums out on those pads. And for those famous snare and drum rolls "note repeat" is a beast. That's what I had missed the most when I put my MPC down for years. Just got it back up and in my arsenal and I realize now how much I missed it! IMO it just puts you in a better "drummer" state of mind when your laying down the drum pattern. My Axiom was my controller but now my old faithful MPC2k is. I soft thru the keyboard controller so I can get down with the keys plus I have 8 drum pads on it which I always assign my snares to. I use the first 16 pads on my MPC for kicks...shits working out lovely and has actually increased my work flow. Pads just feel better than keys when your triggering samples or drums imo.


P.S. I played with many many time stretching software products.... NOTHING beats Ableton Lives WARP time stretching if you really study how to use it. And song arrangement is effort less and laid out the way it should be for all software and hardware imo. Shits amazing!

Uhh my cuzin from a dozen muvins.. The 2500 without a doubt has time stretching on it..
Im pretty sure software does timestretch better especially if its a program designed for it.

 

[LDB]

Uhh my cuzin from a dozen muvins.. The 2500 without a doubt has time stretching on it..
Im pretty sure software does timestretch better especially if its a program designed for it.

Word.....cool. I got other prgs that do that so I guess I don't miss it...plus my MPC is just a controller in my set up!

Ok...just investigated this...lol....time stetching was implemented starting with the 2000xl....see...I'm out dated on the MPC front.....DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

 

[Ominous]

Thanks for answering my questions fellas. I swear, iLLmuzik is the only forum you can get questions answered.

The reason why I keep getting back to this is because of my experiences or lack there off with hardware vs software.

I had some basic drum machines and samplers when I first started but then I discovered Reason. And then I was like "fuck hardware". But then I saw some videos of people getting busy with their mpc's and I thought, maybe because you don't visually edit things on a screen like you do with software, you have an advantage with an MPC because you use your ears more then anything else.

I saw a clip where someone sampled something and then sliced it eight times and auto assigned them to their pads and they made a sick ass beat in like 2 minutes because they already had their personal drum pads assigned. AND THEN INSTEAD OF ASSIGNING A TEMPO, THEY PLAYED IT DIRECTLY INTO THE MPC and the mpc learned the tempo and they were off and running. So it seems like if you have a FEEL for the music, the MPC is the way to go.

When I bought the 500, it didn't have that auto slice and automap feature. SO I took it back.

Right now, I can sample something, cut it up in Recycle and take it right into the Dr Rex and I wonder, is this really any different from an MPC? I have an Axiom and a PadKontrol so I got the pads to bang on. I am thinking, this is pretty much an MPC.

That's where the time stretch thing comes in. On the Heatmakerz page, Arab says he time stretches in his MPC and that's why he wont use anything else. So I wonder, does he think speeding up a sample is time stretching? Cuz he, and Kanye and a bunch of other people do that.

The Time Stretching I am talking about is taking a 4 bar loop and changing it from a 3 second loop and turning it into a 6 second loop without a change in pitch. In Reaon, the NN-19 or all the samplers in the program for that matter change pitch but none of them time stretch.

Logic has an awesome time stretch function. Instead of explain it, I guess I will show it to you guys in a video clip.

Longer story shorter... I am trying not to be a gear whore and turn into one of these I got an MPC and a COMPUTER cats but I can't help but feel like I am missing out on some sort of advantage with the MPC.

 

[LDB]

Longer story shorter... I am trying not to be a gear whore and turn into one of these I got an MPC and a COMPUTER cats but I can't help but feel like I am missing out on some sort of advantage with the MPC.

The "advantage" doesn't come from what you have...it comes from knowing all the ins and outs of what you have and what it can do "totally". So to make a long story short the advantage is "knowledge" of your gear...software or hardware! Throwing an MPC into your work flow can set you back if you're not proficient with it!

 

[Ominous]

The "advantage" doesn't come from what you have...it comes from knowing all the ins and outs of what you have and what it can do "totally". So to make a long story short the advantage is "knowledge" of your gear...software or hardware! Throwing an MPC into your work flow can set you back if you're not proficient with it!

I keep coming to that realization but I guess I just need to hear it from someone else.

I understand computers and I like being able to archive things and save file names in a way that you can't on an MPC so I always convince myself that I don't need it but every now and then, I get the itch to get one.

 

[Relic]

LDB is right , and you basically have a good set up , sounds like if you have all that and know it , I wouldnt switch out.

"The Time Stretching I am talking about is taking a 4 bar loop and changing it from a 3 second loop and turning it into a 6 second loop without a change in pitch. In Reaon, the NN-19 or all the samplers in the program for that matter change pitch but none of them time stretch."

That sounds like patch phrasing in the 2500.In fact thats exactly what that is.

You can save file names on the 2500, and you can save projects and you can dump them all onto your pc as well.
You can also grab .wav files off the pc and put them on your mpc and save them.

 

[Ominous]

That sounds like patch phrasing in the 2500.In fact thats exactly what that is.

You can save file names on the 2500, and you can save projects and you can dump them all onto your pc as well.
You can also grab .wav files off the pc and put them on your mpc and save them.

Yeah... see that's why I bought the 500. Because of the portability of it and the phrase patching but then I read the whole manual and it didn't have it so I was pissed.

I guess the reality of it is, the MPC doesn't do anything a computer can't do.

We all make beats so I guess I was wondering if the processes themselves have advantages. When I first started making beats, I had this problem, and still do, where I forget the beat in my head because I have to translate it into my computer. My buddy says it is because creativity is a right brain activity and using a computer is a left brain thing. So when you sit down to a computer to make a beat, your mind switches modes and you have a hard time retaining the creativity. So then I was thinking maybe that is the advantage of an MPC because it's process it faster as far as helping you get your idea out. Like Relic says about the canvas thing. You wanna draw, you just grab a pen and a pad and off you go, but you get a computer and then you have to boot it up and then you have to get a wacom tablet to mimic what you get naturally with a pencil.

Seems like an MPC is a pencil and a computer is just that, a computer and you try to make it mimic an mpc.

Also, from what I remember about the 500 was, you can only use a certain number of characters when you name your files which I can see as being limiting. I name my files on my computer so I know who the sample is like "AjijiaMyrayebe-Cohet_01.aif"

 

[Relic]

Yeah... see that's why I bought the 500. Because of the portability of it and the phrase patching but then I read the whole manual and it didn't have it so I was pissed.

I guess the reality of it is, the MPC doesn't do anything a computer can't do.

We all make beats so I guess I was wondering if the processes themselves have advantages. When I first started making beats, I had this problem, and still do, where I forget the beat in my head because I have to translate it into my computer. My buddy says it is because creativity is a right brain activity and using a computer is a left brain thing. So when you sit down to a computer to make a beat, your mind switches modes and you have a hard time retaining the creativity. So then I was thinking maybe that is the advantage of an MPC because it's process it faster as far as helping you get your idea out. Like Relic says about the canvas thing. You wanna draw, you just grab a pen and a pad and off you go, but you get a computer and then you have to boot it up and then you have to get a wacom tablet to mimic what you get naturally with a pencil.

Seems like an MPC is a pencil and a computer is just that, a computer and you try to make it mimic an mpc.

Also, from what I remember about the 500 was, you can only use a certain number of characters when you name your files which I can see as being limiting. I name my files on my computer so I know who the sample is like "AjijiaMyrayebe-Cohet_01.aif"

No no no no..lol...
The mpc is like a pallet where you pick your paint aka the sample sounds and drum sounds etc you are gonna use and THEN you PAINT them on the canvas of the mind..
A pencil and pad is so is sooo missing color and life lol
Not to mention comparing a pencil to a computer is insulting..lol
Like calling an mpc a round rock and a computer a wheel with blingin rims and low pros

 

[Ominous]

No no no no..lol...
The mpc is like a pallet where you pick your paint aka the sample sounds and drum sounds etc you are gonna use and THEN you PAINT them on the canvas of the mind..
A pencil and pad is so is sooo missing color and life lol
Not to mention comparing a pencil to a computer is insulting..lol
Like calling an mpc a round rock and a computer a wheel with blingin rims and low pros

Hahahahaha! Naw mang. I wasn't trying to knock the mpc. Funny.

I still might end up getting one just to have the best of both worlds. But why is the 2000 so cheap and the 1000 cost almost as much if not more? I thought the models got better as the number increased.