Akai Mpc 1000

[Hollowcell]

Been looking into buying one of these little machines, and was just wondering if any of you guys have had any experience with the 1000, 2500, 4000, or even the 5000.

I won't be getting rid of the E-mu or the Akai in the rack, but I just wanted something that I gives me the option to fuck around with drums away from the DAW.

Any opinions?

[LivePsy]

My take is that it is fun and easy to work with. Just the right features you need when you need them. Something you feel rather than tinker with the interface. And then there's the bad side...

Stupid sampling engine nothing like Akai's of old. Near impossible to use waveform editing whose display tells lies. Soft attack on anything especially previewing before loading. Akai OS vs. JJ OS hell where you always think you should be using the other OS. Bugs in both OS's including a beauty in Akai OS which corrupted files and has only recently been fixed after years. The little green display is not the best unless you put some light on the LCD panel.

But sometimes you want to be stupid and spend less time editing parameters and just hit pads. At that, the MPC (2500 in my case) is brilliant. It gives a great dirty sound to drum samples and ignore the hiphop fools, its instant techno 909 kick drums from 1995 through to massive kicks from Electro. And don't forget the midi sequencing for external gear - its as capable and faster than any other hardware sequencer.

I am totally correct on all points and you all must not disagree with me
B

[Hollowcell]

Thanks for the quick response!

Are you using the JJOS on your 2500?
I have read up regarding the latest Akai OS vs the JJOS, and there are some very good points to the JJ when it comes to chop-shop (true stereo support for one), but as I will probably use Bluebox and recycle to get samples into the Akai, I doubt I will use the onboard chopping.
The proper ADSRs with the JJ is cool though. As far as the OSs go, I have read people who think the latest Akai one isn't bad (2.12 I think), but then there are others that swear by the JJs. May have to try both...

The main reason I want one is to be able to play around away from the DAW and have some fun with rythms without having to power up everything. The sequencer is very cool and it just looks plain fun.

I am currently looking into the BK-N availabilty, as I don't wanna get one with the old pads. I will do a bit more reading and we'll see. Any other opinions are welcome guys.

[LivePsy]

Sorry, no experience with the 1000, but concerning the 2500 -

I'm back on Akai OS 1.24, especially with bad bugs fixed recently. The display is pretty muddy once the display warms up on JJ OS, but its clearer on Akai OS - there's bigger lettering on Akai OS and the end result is less black pixels. The display really isn't good enough for the price.

I bought JJ OS 1, but balked at buying OS 2 all over again. Stuff it, he's had enough of my money.

I suggest you hit the pads on both the 2500 and 1000 and see if you like the 1000.

If you get a hard drive and a stack of nicely trimmed samples, you won't really want to use anything else. So it is a good change from a DAW. It definitely is fun.

B

[Hollowcell]

Yeah the displays aren't the best at all really, and that's one of the main reasons I wanna use a software editor for samples. The sequencer reminds me of the Rolands, but with even less need to be hunched over the screen. So the screen isn't too much of an issue. At under $1000 I don't expect much.

Yep, I am not overly keen on spending the cash for the JJos straight off, so I will see how I get on with the latest from Akai first.

The pads are an issue for me, as the newst pads on the 1000s are more like the older MPCs (which I like), but making sure you get one with the new pads already installed isn't easy, and has a bit of chance involved. One good thing here in Japan though, is that if you order the newest model, you get one with fully expanded memory straight off.

I guess I am just looking forward to sitting in the garden, connected with an extension cord, listening on phones, and drinking a few beers while I bash out some sequences. Should be fun!

[LivePsy]

Well for really portable I am tempted to get a 500. I think I can tell myself that wouldn't be too much along side a 2500

b