MPC

william · Post by **william** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:02 pm

not sure if this should go in the recording or gear forum.

anyone have/had an akai MPC? if so, what were your experiences?

alot of bands use samplers these days, and not just hip hop, like panda bear/animal collective, for example.

also, they seem like alot of fun to use, and look realy versatile. users of them say they are super intuitive, once you learn them. Boards of canada has cited them as their go to device for spontaneous creativity.

also, im pretty sure kevin shields used one to make alot of the weird sounds on loveless.

also, this guy rocks my face.

[youtube][/youtube]

check out the 2nd half, with the dj shadow style "i can/ break it/ down." part. looks almost fake, but im sure its not.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:20 pm

i've got one. all your above comments are true.

if you get one make sure it has fully expanded memory and the effects board. the 8 outs are preferable too (but mine doesn't have them

).

in these days of laptop sequencing the screen is a bit small, but you get used to it. at first it's a bit like learning a foreign language, but it gets easier quickly and with a bit of patience. sequencing MIDI gear like synths or using it to change effects units is really easy though, once you've grasped the basics of knocking a program together.

as far as my experience goes, the XL version is a bit better than the first generation (i've used both) as it has a built in zip drive (more reliable than the iomega SCSI ones, which i don't think they make any more) and you can angle the screen. however, programs aren't transferrable from the older version to the XL, as they use a different operating system. you can transfer samples, obviously, just not MIDI data.

william · Post by **william** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:31 pm

im thinking about one of these.

it is more compact, has compact flash support, hard drive (SATA) bay, USB connectivity, 2 midi in, 2 midi out, stereo outs and assignable 6 channel out. the blue ones had crummy pads but the black ones are FIXD. plus, it is compatible with JJ OS, which is supposed to be way better than stock akai OS, and not buggy.

i am a little scared of the pad bank button placement. the guy above uses them a lot, and they are right under his fingertips on that 2000. the 1000 they are like way over there with all those other buttons.

haven't heard anyone complaining about them yet, tho.

i figure if i can touch type really fast (which i can) i can find my way around one of these in a similar fashion. notice the relicing on his pads!

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:39 pm

yeah, i'd probably opt for one of those if i was in the market for that kind of thing. when the blue one came out i remember turning my nose up at the flash memory, but i suppose it makes sense. zip discs are a bit old hat now.

i can't believe how cheap the old akai samplers are now, you can pick up an s2000 or 3000 for buttons. they're still perfectly good machines, but i suppose again, laptops are making them more and more redundant. they do have a certain 'sound' though, i knew someone that hunted down an old s900 specifically for the colour it added to samples. he was a bit of a strange one though, he used to make compositions from recordings done of traffic in tunnels, and stockhausen once asked if he could come and stay at his house.

william · Post by **william** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:55 pm

stewart wrote:yeah, i'd probably opt for one of those if i was in the market for that kind of thing. when the blue one came out i remember turning my nose up at the flash memory, but i suppose it makes sense. zip discs are a bit old hat now.

i can't believe how cheap the old akai samplers are now, you can pick up an s2000 or 3000 for buttons. they're still perfectly good machines, but i suppose again, laptops are making them more and more redundant. they do have a certain 'sound' though, i knew someone that hunted down an old s900 specifically for the colour it added to samples. he was a bit of a strange one though, he used to make compositions from recordings done of traffic in tunnels, and stockhausen once asked if he could come and stay at his house.

yeah, im going to make strange music with the 1000 and the zoom h2. seems like a great setup.

zips wont be around for long. you can also just keep your samples on teh PC and sync em over. i think you can even file em in banks on there, before they make it to the MPC. saves some time that way.

ideally, i will pick one, and it will be nice in the studio, but also i will learn it like an instrument, so its like a standalone thing. and probably ill never be able to use another model.

i like the usual indie rock represented on the boards, and im currently working on a shoegaze/noise pop/shitgaze band, but im also a closet electro/dance geek. i think this piece will be useful across the board.

i also have always had a hard time programming beats with a 16 step sequencer, and i think ill have a better time with the 4x4 layout and tactile feedback.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:12 am

i think they're capable of giving results that are that bit more idiosyncratic than software sequencing. i know it depends on the user, but there's lots of electronic music that's clearly been programmed in 10 minutes in reason or something similar, and you can tell that very little thought has gone into it (i generalise, of course). there's just ways of putting things together with the pads that you stumble across, and think "there's no way i'd ever have done that with a mouse and a monitor".

you can have so much fun with an mpc and a couple of synths, it's programmed but tactile at the same time. plus live performance has the potential to be that bit more interesting. the pads can cope with drumsticks too (just be careful not to smash the screen!).

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:35 am

Wayne Static of STATIC-X uses an mpc to write songs. i thought that was an interesting TIDBIT.

william · Post by **william** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:37 am

stewart wrote:i think they're capable of giving results that are that bit more idiosyncratic than software sequencing. i know it depends on the user, but there's lots of electronic music that's clearly been programmed in 10 minutes in reason or something similar, and you can tell that very little thought has gone into it (i generalise, of course). there's just ways of putting things together with the pads that you stumble across, and think "there's no way i'd ever have done that with a mouse and a monitor".

you can have so much fun with an mpc and a couple of synths, it's programmed but tactile at the same time. plus live performance has the potential to be that bit more interesting. the pads can cope with drumsticks too (just be careful not to smash the screen!).

well put. reason is of course the WORST about this. i can't imagine using reason, and presenting what ive made on it as "check out my new song!" with a straight face. you cant even record into it! only softsynths, and even then, only the ones it comes with! wtf!

reaktor is pretty badassed, and live. seems like an MPC and Live would be a good combo, along with maybe a MoPho or little phatty, some stomp boxes, and a good keyboard controller.

when i was programming with a mouse and monitor, it felt like i was somehow TOO in control, like, no happy accidents. maybe if i were just really fucking good, but thats just not how i work. my art has always been about happy accidents.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:50 am

me too, everything i do is intuitive, sometimes it works, sometimes not, but it's always a fun process. there's a lot of fairly popular electronic 'artists' who just aren't creative i'm sorry to say, and it shows. they'd be better off as bricklayers, at least then they'd be doing something practical instead of wasting peoples' time.

(bit of a rant, but i've been fucked over in the past by those same sorts of idiots).

william · Post by **william** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:56 am

stewart wrote:me too, everything i do is intuitive, sometimes it works, sometimes not, but it's always a fun process. there's a lot of fairly popular electronic 'artists' who just aren't creative i'm sorry to say, and it shows. they'd be better off as bricklayers, at least then they'd be doing something practical instead of wasting peoples' time.

(bit of a rant, but i've been fucked over in the past by those same sorts of idiots).

i feel this way about richie hawtin. that guy is so creamed over yet he is so boring, like you said, an aural bricklayer. ricardo villalobos should have obsolesced him years ago yet he still puts out records.

sometimes, im sorry to say, squarepusher gives me this vibe, too. he uses too many recognizable breaks, almost like hes trying to be retro, yet kid606 pulls this off so much better that SP might as well hang it up. plus, he plays slappy bass.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:17 pm

haha, i quite like squarepusher's older stuff, but i haven't listened to anything he's done since about 1998. if ever i hear anything from hard normal daddy it immediately makes me think of sitting at my mate's house playing mario kart on the N64.

william · Post by **william** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:04 pm

stewart wrote:haha, i quite like squarepusher's older stuff, but i haven't listened to anything he's done since about 1998. if ever i hear anything from hard normal daddy it immediately makes me think of sitting at my mate's house playing mario kart on the N64.

he's had his moments. its funny how certain records can attach themselves to videogames in your brain, a more embarrassing example is how moby's "play" takes me back to 8th grade and suikoden for ps1. great game, awful record...

less_cunning · Post by **less_cunning** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:01 pm

most of those indie-rock bands are more likely to have one of those than an MPC or an Akai S Series.

i've been wanting/hoping/waiting to get an MPC 2000XL for around $400-$450 or a Roland MV-8000 for $600-700. if i can get one either one at those prices i would be happy.

i passed on an AKAI S2800 @ a pawn shop last fall for around $128. that particular pawn shop is always over-priced though.

if you can get an MPC for a good deal & you want it i say GO FOR IT!!!

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:22 pm

can't say i'd enjoy programming on one of those. i've used an MC303 before and it was rubbish.

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:05 pm

I was once going to get an SP-404. They are good bits of kit.

william · Post by **william** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:54 am

yeah, panda bear uses an SP303. so does madlib, incidentally. im not a big fan of the sp series. mpc's are much nicer, albiet higher priced. still, id get a similarly priced mpc500 over an sp404 any day. those rubbery feeling buttons on the sps just arent the same as the tight pads of the mpc.

im thinking now that ill jsut save up til i can afford an mpc2500. im not sure i wanna cut my teeth on the 1000, since it has shrunken pads.

less_cunning · Post by **less_cunning** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:40 am

yeah GOD Madlib is surgical w/ his. i still have a hard time believing he uses that.

i think someday soon people will tire of software.

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:37 pm

This demo of the sp-404 is really good:

The FX on there are really nice, especially for use DJ stuff..

william · Post by **william** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:00 am

yeah, the sp 404 is good for arranging/sequencing/triggering, but not so good for performance. its OK but just not as flexible, and doesnt have the history of the mpc.

although madlib and panda bear's use of it help alot.

still, ...endtroducing was made with just

+

j dilla used a 2000xl i think. and zomby uses an mpc2000, atari, and awesome old dance records to make kickass tracks.

dont know when ill ever be able to get one

less_cunning · Post by **less_cunning** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:09 am

[youtube][/youtube]

apparently Dilla gave Waajeed his Akai MPC 2000. but yeah he obviously at one time used the 2000.