Akai MPC-2000

I'm using v1.72 right now. Its pretty good. This thing is super simple to use. Plug away at it for a week and you should have it mastered. After all, it is just a sampler. Manual is easy to read but it sucks. The cool thing about this machine is that it is almost plug and play. Load in a kit, get your bassline and whatever else you want to use and your ready to sequence.

This machine is ideal for someone producing Hip-Hop, some simple House or Techno. Getting into things like Jungle where you're layering a lot of sounds the thing will start to act funny. Panning sounds, cutting them out and then there is the digital hiccup when you're using longer samples. I got this thing packed with ram and I'm still wanting more time. It is a good machine considering it's doing 3 jobs. Just keep that in mind when you want to make really complex and trippy music. I don't have the effects unit. Sucks anyways. But it is cool the options there. They should have included some simple effect features like delay.

Sound you put in is the sound you get.

This machine is pretty dependable and live, it would be fun to use. That's it!!

They suck. They're a bunch of clueless monkeys on crack!!!

If you can get this machine cheap....buy it. Otherwise go with the E-mu sampleers. Much better. More bang for the Buck!!

Currently using v 1.72. I found the MPC pretty easy to use. It took a while at first to figure but I've had it for a year now and I find it pretty straight forward. Editing samples on the little screen is a bit hard, although you can cancel one pad with another though which is great for getting tight sounds. The manual is fine, just very long but you would expect that with this machine. You can get a pdf of the manual from the full compass site, which I read before i bought it.

To get the most out of it you need the expanded ram (32Mb with sims) and an external scsi drive (I have an iomega zip 250 which has been fine). I have used it to to midi sequence with an external synth, which was fine, although I mostly sequence samples I create myself.

I use the MPC in an experimental band and I dont actually use it as a drum machine as such. I sample all kinds of crap on it ie. piano loops, noises, whatever. The MPC is part of our line up with drums, bass and vocals and we midi sync the MPC to a drum machine which plays a click through headphones to our drummer. The MPC seems to be traditonally a hip hop/ dance machine, but works really well in a rock band if you're prepared to work with it.

Others on the site have complained it crashes a lot. I've only had it crash once in a year, and it was just a matter of switching off and reloading. I've used it live a bit and it's fine. It would have to be better than a laptop at least.

The akai site has downloadable sounds which are usually pretty good. Have not dealt with the support team directly.

It's definitetly worth it I feel. The main reasons I bought are that it's much more portable than a PC set up and it's a sampler/sequencer in a neat package. If it were lost or stolen I would most likely buy another one. I only really looked at the ensoniq ASR as another option, and the Roland SP808, which doesn't compare (dont be fooled by the D-beam). More ram capabilty would make it brilliant, but I'm really happy with it.

i'm currently using v.172. as awhole the thing is very easy to use. i've had it a few months now and i'm really fast on it.editig on the mpc isn'nt bad, the screen is small but you can zoom in on the waveform and make precise changes.the manual is pretty intimadating but on the whole easy to use.

the drum pads are totally wicked, pressure sensitive.they feel great and are very controllable.the filter isnt too great(the resonance sucks!)but it has full attack and decay also the drum pads can be turned into a 2 octave keyboard(kind of).the 64 track sequencer is o.k but not exactly mind blowing. there's no time stretcing and the effects board is expensive and shit.the output board(upgrade) is two small also.overall though you get a lot for your money, good sampler too.

i find the mpc very easy and fun to play. its extremly inviting and easy to use. i personly use it for techno and it works well. it would be shit for drum n bass though.

the mpc is a good machine in general but it is very unreliable. its crashed on me at least once a month since i bought it.

never dealt with akai but i've heard their unsupportive.you can free downloads from the akai web page though(sound disks and software updates)

its a wicked drum machine(the best) a decent sampler, not bad as a sequencer bad as an effects unit and diabolical reliablity wise.although it has some shortcomings(the os is a joke)the pros outway the cons.but it has a sound to die for.

ONLY BUY THIS IF U R SERIOUS BOUT MAKIN BEATS
This thing has a pretty tough learning curve. If you understand how media software works, you'll have a head start. To make an actual song or beat you'll have many separate files; you'll have the actual sound files or samples, you'll have a PROGRAM file that controls how the sounds mix.FX and note assignment for your controller, and the MIDI file that remembers your sequence. And there's more... It would be nice if they could condense it a little more.

Once that's under your belt things get easier. Moving around is slow at first, but once you get used to it, its not too bad. The most common places you'll go use a "SHIFT+BUTTON", which is counter-intuitive. The display screen works pretty well, despite its small size its pretty ez to edit on. Everything is there, the manuals will help you out, but they don't work any miracles

Sounds great. I load samples from CD's, or Records. There are a few ways to tweak out sounds (doubling, filters, and pitch shifting) without FX that work cool. The pitch shifter sounds pretty good, you can adjust notes up and down probably about 5 or 6 steps before there is any digital mucking up. Sampling converters are pretty good too.

Depends on the media your storing your stuff on. ZIP disk are probably the best way. I've had a few corrupted files, but nothing disasterous.

Upgrades are pretty EZ, you just pop in a floppy. It loads the "operating system" into its brain everytime you start up, so to upgrade the OS you use a new floppy with the new version. Haven't dealt with AKAI yet.

This is uncomparable to anything else out there, a one of a kind. Normally, it would take at least three pieces of gear, costing way more, to do what the MPC does. I don't know much about the MPC 3000 but I'm sure its the sh*t. There are better samplers out there, a PC with some MIDI software offers more flexible sequencing, and a drum pad setup is more natural to play on, but try getting it all in one box and it all working together seemlessly. I will say that this is the only drum machine you'll EVER NEED. Even though it doesn't boast a load of RAM (32 MAX), I have yet to even fill up half the memory even with songs that use samples for a majority of the music.

This is a producers dream, especially hip-hop, or r&b. You set your beat, add your loops, sync it with a digital recorder, put your vocals, live intruments. Need some obscure percussion or REAL strings? load up a sample CD. Edit and tune your samples, double them, tweak them. DJ Premier is a good example of a producer who uses the MPC to its potential, and created a unique style around what the MPC allows him to do. This is more than a piece of gear, its really an instrument.

right now I am using version 1.72. This has got to be the easiest piece of equipment to use.. I strongly suggest if your just starting out, buy this piece. It is'nt very intimidating like a computer. The manual though very big to cover everything this beast does, is very informitive. This piece can be used by all levels of producers alike.

I give it an eight on the features because of the sampler. It could use an upgrade here. The sequencer on the mpc is awesome. I control my whole studio right from my mpc. The only thing I use my computer for is recording.

You can load any sound you want in this hoss. So create sounds to your hearts content. This machine will do nothing but perform.

Don't leave it for extended periods of time. (i.e. 4-6hours) It gets a bit grumpy and starts to drop sequences or even drop sounds. so save quite frequently when working on big projects.

Never had any problems with them

overall,this machine is a midi monster. Any midi application you can think of can be applied. Don't buy it for sampler though. I'm afraid you will be dissapointed. Buy it as a sequencer first. Drum machine second, and sampler last.

I am using OS v1.72. The presets suck but who cares. If you want presets buy a keyboard workstation! Sampling is what the mpc is for and it does a great job. The thing is soo easy to use. A lot of people complain it is too complex, they must be dumb. I can lay down a track to amaze layman it 30 seconds, though a professional sounding sequence does take more effort in the various editing features. But that is what perfection is all about. If you can't get professional results from the MP, then the problem is with your talent: not the MPC.

There is nothing that I ever wanted to do (except time stretching) that the MPC, along with my yamaha CS1-x, could not do. period. Effects can be handeled my my synth during sampling. Sound crazy? to sample with effects and to get really good sample quality, use the shortest cords possible with gold plating.

If you sample correctly, the sounds will sound EXACTLY the same out as they came in. Just be a perfectionist. Sometimes I make tracks (hip-hop is my game)and record an mp3 accapallo over it and tell my friends that it is a new remix. they are folled every time and they are very picky about beats-production quality.

I've had it lock up during saving once or twice and some times it refuses to trim samples. Also sometimes the RAM I added does not register. The ram was new and I installed it correctly(I am a computer tech)but still.

Never delt with akai.

You just cant get all these features for the price. It really helps, though, to have a synth to sample from. The after market sound disks all suck. period. they all sound low-fi and hissy. If it was stolen I would crap my pants then go on a mission. The Asr series is crappy. Just look at the thing, it looks like one of those Roland grove box things. The screen don't tell you s#*t! who cares if it comes with sounds. everyone who uses it for the preset sounds, there tracks will sound the same.

I am using version 1.72. The MPC is definitely not the easiest piece of gear to learn. I lost my manual and have never bothered to get another one. Piece by piece I have picked up new tricks, and not having manual actually helped me to learn the MPC better. Not the easiest to learn, but once you do it really grows on you.

The MPC is a vital part of my setup. The features are definitely not up there with some of the rack mount samplers, but like all gear you must find the strenghts and characteristics that it has. Trust me, I found that the MPC has plenty and is definitely vital to my live setup. One main feature I would like is timestetching, but I do that on my computer and transfer it to the MPC anyways.

The expresiveness of the MPC is something that has not really amazed me, but at the same time has never dissapointed me. The pads are okay, sometimes it is hard to play certain patterns, but there are ways around that.

The MPC has done some weird stuff sometimes, but for the most part it is very dependable. With electronic gear, you can never depend 100% on anything.

If it were lost or stolen, I think I would realize how important the MPC was to my setup. I have had it for two and a half years, and it grows on me more everyday. I can really start to jam with it now that I have two and half years of work saved up on it. Classic piece of gear.

The mpc 2000 kicks ass. It is so easy to use, and no machine to date even begins to compare to it.
How do the presets sound? Who cares? If you use the presets you are lazy, and do not deserve to own a sampler.
Editing is easy, and the setup is very user friendly.

It has enough features to kill you if you if not taken in small doses!

You can do anything with this sampler. The sounds that come out of this machine sound just as good as what went in.

It has some glitches but for the most part it is very dependable.

dont know

I am buying another as soon as possible(for live performances). I compared it to just about every sampler on the market, old and new, it is the ultimate.

I use v1.7 and it adds a lot of neat features, like muting tracks from the pads. the presets are crap. you have to get into this box. the manual is too thick and i don't read them. I used to do eveything on an Ensoniq eps 16+, but it took a nasty fall and i had to learn to make the 2000 work. I'd say two days of working with it and you'll know it basically front and back. (and this is coming off of an ensoniq o.s. which was extremely different

the sampler is great i can snatch your drums 80% of the time. if there's noise on the front or back you can clip it without clipping what u want it has a built in filter that works for basslines but not much else. i would definately recommend blowing it out to 32 meg so you can play around more. the sequencer is very 'music friendly' with all the sequences you can make alot of subtle changes and just switchc seq's. I wouldn't but the filters or the effects cuz they are crap

no internal sounds and the disks it came with are again...crap. you can get good third party samples though. if you turn off the 'full level' and play vel sens the pads really feel and sound good. I love laying drums through a whole song

crashes. not all the time but it will. luckily i don't play out so when i'm in the studio i just have to reboot, not run out crying. save often. especially if you only have 2 megs

never dealt with akai

if it were stolen i would call the police and be heartbroken. once you get over the learning curve it's a very friendly machine... it just wants you to prove your loyalty by going through 'initiation'. I can get up at 3am and as soon as my amp is ready to rock so is the MPC just hit record... oh it's got tap tempo too so you can get that groove in your head down by syncing the clicks to your brain not your brain to the clicks

I'm using OS version 1.72. I didn't get any preset sounds, for I bought it used. I found the thing to be good in some areas (such as the song mode and starting the thing up) and the rest of the setup on it was just plain dumb. Many necessary options that one uses often are found under a button called "open window" that you end up pressing all the time, but the giant display screen does not remind one of this. Sampling is sometimes difficult due to the gain and threshold settings and the fact that one has to adjust the time limit each time. The sequencer is ok in step mode, but in real-time it's a pain. It's only got 1/8 through 1/32 note quantization features (or off) and if you press solo and play something by itself, it won't stay on the same track if one moves to a track off-screen. That's a real bugger if your playing your sequences live and you wanna break it down to one track and then bring up another. And ya can't unmute two tracks at once.

32 note polyphony is decent. I've got the stripped down model with no extras such as effects. And I hear the effects are weak anyway. The machine is a "drum sampler/midi sequencer" so the midi section is decent when you can get it to work without crashing. I do feel, though, that it quantizes a little funny in real time, mostly in the 1/32 note, but others do like it. But don't ever try to use it as a phrase sampler unless you intend to build your tune around the sample. There's no timestretch option what-so-ever (the mpc 2000xl has it) and ya can't play piano or keyboard samples through a midi sequencer unless you make all twelve different notes worth, and that's only one octave worth. It does have a waveform display of your samples. This is nice if you record them at the right level, so one can see them. You can turn them up a minute bit, but not a whole tracks worth. I've inputed all my samples into the sequencer with "full level" button on, which places them all at 100. Even though you can turn up any track to 200, it doesn't do anything. The mixer is real confusing to use too (at least I found it to be). You don't turn up (I mean down. One can't turn them up unless they're already down, which is a real pain if just one sample is too soft.) individual tracks with it, yet you adjust the levels of the samples, according to their pads. Now, that's just weird.

The might work well for what it says it does. (Right below the MPC2000 label on the top.) As a drum sampler/midi sequencer. It's clearly made for (by the features) this and only this. Don't even attempt to sample anything, but drums with it, or you will fail. Sounds? Only what you put into it and save to disk, cuz it looses all onboard memory when you turn off. (Not a big deal or uncommon.)

It crashes. Use backup.

Never dealt with.

If it got lost or stolen I'd be pissed cuz I paid a grand for it, and I would not buy a new one. I wanted a box that I could do all my sampling and sequencing with, but this is not it. I use more synth and keyboard samples than drums, so it's not what I need. I was worried about getting it, but the guy at the store said I got thirty days to return it, which I will. I've only had it for a week or so, but I've worked (or tried to work) with it a lot. I hope to get an ASR-X PRO with the money I get from this. That thing looks much better for what I need it for. This is frustrating and a giant pain to use, but when it doen't crash it's ok. But it's always gonna have a worthless sampler. It's only get for it's sequencer.