thedreampolice
A backwards poet writes inverse.
Now that I have a 2kxl back in the lab (I was an avid MPC2kxl user but sold mine about 4 years ago) I figured I would give a quick compare. I have added the MMC reader and maxed out the ram of the MP
First off, if this was a desert island thing it would be Maschine hands down. But as you know the MP has its own charm. I was kind of fun to revisit. So I figured I would break it down since so many people are wondering what to get. Also remember that for my last job I needed to know every DAW out there as well as the MV, MPC5k etc. So I know most products pretty in depth.
Maschine Pro's
#1 Sampling chopping! Best way to chop samples PERIOD, nothing on the market comes close.
#2 Vintage mode, you can get really close to the SP or MPC60 sound with this guy
#3 Timing is nice and tight
#4 use a nice big screen if you want
#5 PLugins, oh yea
#6 NI will be adding features and updating for a long time.
EDIT #7 Machine has a fantastic sound library with it, now of course a good producer should come up with there own sounds, but this is still a very nice starting point
Maschine Con's
#1 it is so clean, sometimes you have to dirty things up to get that "classic" sound
#2 Some people complain about the lack of time stretch, this is a feature I don't use at all so I don't care. But I am sure it will be added to ver 1.7
#3 would be cool to be a stand alone box but also impossible.
#4 If your computer sucks, so does Maschine. Of course if you are a producer and your computer sucks then I think there are other issues here.
MPC2kxl Pro's
#1 Man drums on this thing cut through a mix and sound huge with very little effort. I have to work a bit harder in both Reason and Maschine to get that.
#2 It feels super cool to just be you an MP and a turntable vs the world. No computer, no distractions. Just music.
#3 The MPC just feels soulful, kinda like my favorite bass (I have been a bass player for over 15 years and am very emotionally attached to my first bass) Even though the MPC may not be spec wise up there with other units, you emotionally connect with it. This is one of those abstract things that Apple for example does really well.
#4 Timing, and I mean not the swing (Reason 4 got me the MPC swing in spades) just how it feels from brain to idea. If the samples are loaded its very fast
MPC2kxl Con's
#1 Loading samples takes freakin forever and is a huge pain in the ass.
#2 Chopping takes FOREVER on a TINY screen, just poke me in the eye with a screw driver. It also gets physically exhausting, spinning that wheel forever.....
#3 Remember on old cell phones with no qwerty keyboard how texting sucked? Yea thats how you have to name things in the MP.
#4 32mb of ram MAX, really? WOW
#5 it is really hard to stay organized.
Well thats all I can think of for now, I will add more as I think of them. But I will say this, I am very happy to have both in the studio and would not get rid of either one. Both Maschine and the MP will have a prominent place in my productions. I am thinking about building like 1000 drum loops on the MP and rexing them up for use in Reason, because at the end of the day software is faster, more powerful.
First off, if this was a desert island thing it would be Maschine hands down. But as you know the MP has its own charm. I was kind of fun to revisit. So I figured I would break it down since so many people are wondering what to get. Also remember that for my last job I needed to know every DAW out there as well as the MV, MPC5k etc. So I know most products pretty in depth.
Maschine Pro's
#1 Sampling chopping! Best way to chop samples PERIOD, nothing on the market comes close.
#2 Vintage mode, you can get really close to the SP or MPC60 sound with this guy
#3 Timing is nice and tight
#4 use a nice big screen if you want
#5 PLugins, oh yea
#6 NI will be adding features and updating for a long time.
EDIT #7 Machine has a fantastic sound library with it, now of course a good producer should come up with there own sounds, but this is still a very nice starting point
Maschine Con's
#1 it is so clean, sometimes you have to dirty things up to get that "classic" sound
#2 Some people complain about the lack of time stretch, this is a feature I don't use at all so I don't care. But I am sure it will be added to ver 1.7
#3 would be cool to be a stand alone box but also impossible.
#4 If your computer sucks, so does Maschine. Of course if you are a producer and your computer sucks then I think there are other issues here.
MPC2kxl Pro's
#1 Man drums on this thing cut through a mix and sound huge with very little effort. I have to work a bit harder in both Reason and Maschine to get that.
#2 It feels super cool to just be you an MP and a turntable vs the world. No computer, no distractions. Just music.
#3 The MPC just feels soulful, kinda like my favorite bass (I have been a bass player for over 15 years and am very emotionally attached to my first bass) Even though the MPC may not be spec wise up there with other units, you emotionally connect with it. This is one of those abstract things that Apple for example does really well.
#4 Timing, and I mean not the swing (Reason 4 got me the MPC swing in spades) just how it feels from brain to idea. If the samples are loaded its very fast
MPC2kxl Con's
#1 Loading samples takes freakin forever and is a huge pain in the ass.
#2 Chopping takes FOREVER on a TINY screen, just poke me in the eye with a screw driver. It also gets physically exhausting, spinning that wheel forever.....
#3 Remember on old cell phones with no qwerty keyboard how texting sucked? Yea thats how you have to name things in the MP.
#4 32mb of ram MAX, really? WOW
#5 it is really hard to stay organized.
Well thats all I can think of for now, I will add more as I think of them. But I will say this, I am very happy to have both in the studio and would not get rid of either one. Both Maschine and the MP will have a prominent place in my productions. I am thinking about building like 1000 drum loops on the MP and rexing them up for use in Reason, because at the end of the day software is faster, more powerful.
