Vintage MPCs

[V.J. Retro]

Sup Ill Fam and Happy New Year.

I've been thinking about getting a vintage MPC to add to my studio. The main purpose is using it for recording and chopping samples and uploading what I've created into my computer. If the vintage MPCs can work as MIDI controllers, that will be awesome but not necessary. Now I already have the MPC One but I really want to follow the old school way of making beats especially boom bap and I want to have an MPC that I can keep in my studio rather than taking the MPC One out for practices and gigs. I have 3 MPCs in mind: the black 1000, 2000XL and the 2500. If anybody is rocking with those gears, what is the experience like or do you recommend another vintage MPC? TY

 

[OGBama]

The @V.J. Retro 1000 is portable, for the 2000 see

 

[Fade]

I was the same way - I had Maschine for years and it was great but then I wanted to get something older that wouldn't die on me because everything is so cheaply made today. So I decided on an old MPC.

There's been a ton of great beats done with the 2000xl so you can do a lot with that alone but it's slow compared to the 1000 and 2500. I think the 2000xl max ram is 32mb and the 1000 and 2500 it's 128mb.

I had the 1000 for a bit and it was good but I always liked the layout of the 2500. It has a tilt screen (the 2000xl too) and the pads are full size compared to the 1000 where the pads are just slightly smaller.

As far as functionality, if you go with the 1000 or 2500 you can buy the JJOS software (or it might come with it) which turns it into a much more modern setup than the original Akai OS.

They all have MIDI so you can easily use the pads to trigger sounds in your DAW. The start/stop buttons also work in the DAW. If your DAW has a MIDI Learn function then you can try assigning some other buttons and knobs but I don't know which ones would work.

The 2000xl has a floppy (unless the seller already has a floppy emulator in it), but the 1000 and 2500 have hard drives, compact flash card and USB 1.0 (slow, but it works). The 2500 has a DVD drive but nobody cares about that anymore lol.

Overall the thing to remember is the workflow. With Maschine it was super fast but with the MPC it's much slower to get things done, BUT I got used to it real fast. Now I use the MPC much more quickly because I know where everything is. You'll get used to it.

 

[Leopard Cohen]

Ricky Tinez had a bit on the pros and cons of buying older MPCs

 

[K-waz]

I like the MPC 2000XL with the Zip Disk Drive. I go to my boy studio and use his from time to time. It sounds 100% better than the new MPCs. The workflow is slower but when your beat is in the 2000XL the finish product is dope and classic. Personally I like the 2000XL, 60II, 1000 and the 3000 (JDilla & Dr Dre) which I plan on getting all of them

 

[Fade]

I like the MPC 2000XL with the Zip Disk Drive. I go to my boy studio and use his from time to time. It sounds 100% better than the new MPCs. The workflow is slower but when your beat is in the 2000XL the finish product is dope and classic. Personally I like the 2000XL, 60II, 1000 and the 3000 (JDilla & Dr Dre) which I plan on getting all of them

Check out this guy's channel, he's got most of the models and samplers too:

 

[BiggChev]

I started using the Maschine MK1 in December of 2011.

In summer 2018 I went for the Mikro Mk3. Fall 2022 I bought an MPC 1000.

The 1K is an incredible piece of kit considering it's 20 years old. The thing I like the most is the MIDI. With all these manufacturers going to MIDI over USB, getting a full rig with external gear setup in a DAW can be a royal pain in the ass. Whereas older gear, MIDI in, MIDI out, select your channel.

Mainly, I found the MPC made me slow down just a bit to really listen to what musical choices I was making. Also, with what is now considered an archaic display, I found I was moving through the song writing process more confidently. No dwelling on minute, insignificant, details. I was flowing nicely from one pattern to the other and coming up with not just B sections, but sometimes 3-5 different variations. Surprisingly, this is something I struggle with the most in song writing....getting stuck in the loop.

Moreover, it's fun to take music making principles from the DAW world and see what carries over into the DAW-less world, and vice versa. I just picked up the Maschine Plus a few days ago, and for me it's the perfect middle ground of those two creative environments.

The one thing it has over the MPC 1K is the ease of chopping. Chopping, naming, organizing, and laying out programs in the MPC can be a very tedious process.

 

[Fade]

I started using the Maschine MK1 in December of 2011.

In summer 2018 I went for the Mikro Mk3. Fall 2022 I bought an MPC 1000.

The 1K is an incredible piece of kit considering it's 20 years old. The thing I like the most is the MIDI. With all these manufacturers going to MIDI over USB, getting a full rig with external gear setup in a DAW can be a royal pain in the ass. Whereas older gear, MIDI in, MIDI out, select your channel.

Mainly, I found the MPC made me slow down just a bit to really listen to what musical choices I was making. Also, with what is now considered an archaic display, I found I was moving through the song writing process more confidently. No dwelling on minute, insignificant, details. I was flowing nicely from one pattern to the other and coming up with not just B sections, but sometimes 3-5 different variations. Surprisingly, this is something I struggle with the most in song writing....getting stuck in the loop.

Moreover, it's fun to take music making principles from the DAW world and see what carries over into the DAW-less world, and vice versa. I just picked up the Maschine Plus a few days ago, and for me it's the perfect middle ground of those two creative environments.

The one thing it has over the MPC 1K is the ease of chopping. Chopping, naming, organizing, and laying out programs in the MPC can be a very tedious process.

I feel the same way. The 1000/2500 made me slow down and take my time and really work on getting the right chops. Maschine is a great in-between for hardware and software but I just find the MPC with JJOS is basically taking an older machine and making it more modern. It's really powerful.

 

[DiFKiNCHi]

If it’s just the sound you’re looking for, I’d go with the og 60, 60 II, or 3000. Anything after just doesn’t have the same punch. That’s from my limited experience. I learned on the 60, got an XL and was immediately disappointed with the sound. The XL is still a great unit but it just doesn’t hit like the aforementioned Mpcs imo. I have an XL I barely use now. Been using it to sequence the SP404.

 

[BiggChev]

I feel the same way. The 1000/2500 made me slow down and take my time and really work on getting the right chops. Maschine is a great in-between for hardware and software but I just find the MPC with JJOS is basically taking an older machine and making it more modern. It's really powerful.

I was seriously considering the JJOS upgrade, but I thought I would get more longevity out of Maschine.

Maybe some time down the line I'll still go for it. The big thing lacking in Maschine+ is the I/O. Compared to the 1000 it really falls short.