Why does everyone use the MPC series?

[vitaminman]

Hey,

Why exactly is it that all hip hop producers feel the need to use the MPC series sampling sequencers? There are tons of options out there that are significantly cheaper and more powerful.

Take care,

Nick

 

[Briellz]

The sequencer is awsome, the machine is powerful, many options & features...umm...thats all I can really think off.

Basically you can do anything with the machine man...why do you think soooo many hits were made off the damn thing?

Hawla if you have questions!

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

I'll have to play with one to see what the charm is. I couldn't imagine ever using one in a studio environment where you have access to a mouse, keyboard and 19" monitor, you absolutely cannot beat the power of a computer and software.

What I can imagine doing with such a machine is going out and gigging with it live, I'm sure it's a lot more stable than a computer as it was designed in theory from the ground up to be rock solid. I'm sure also that it's MIDI timing is rock solid, you don't have to compete with conflicting drivers and hardware issues that you have with computers.

It just seems so limiting to be forced to have immediate access to only 16 notes instead of a proper keyboard that has the ability to transmit a high resolution of velocity and aftertouch, and it's not intuitive for playing musical notes. Also, it only has a simple LCD that looks no bigger than the displays on modern calculators! Waveform editing must be a LOT of fun with that screen...

What would appeal more to power users (I think) would be getting one of the newer Z series samplers (the blue and silver ones) and the 16-pad controller in tandem with a computer and MIDI sequencer like Cubase (or Sonar, Logic, etc.), although you wouldn't be able to bring it on an airplane or record the engine sounds from your new car from it... : )

I think that so many hits were written on it because it was the gear that the producers had at the time, they could have easily written those tracks using a computer, sampler and keyboard...hits are made with producers and talent, not with hardware!

The MPC doesn't have anything in it sonically better than their S series samplers module brothers. However, the physical properties of the device may have lent to the development of different genres of music, hip hop and early techno being two of them. Now techno music is very elaborate and complex, it would be difficult to sequence a modern track using only an MPC, yet it sounds like modern hip hop still relies on them exclusively.

A friend of mine is planning on getting the MPC2000xl or 4000 (if he can afford it), I can't wait to play with it!

Nick

 

[Briellz]

That wasn't just the only sampler back then. They also had the SP 1200 which is awsome too!

I played with the new MPC 4000 and geez it has a lot of stuff on that bad boy!

the LCD on the 2000XL is ok for me....you can zoom in on your snd files so....

Really its your personal prefrence!

What do you have now?

 

[Barock]

I have a MPC200xl, and I prefer to use it instead of the computer... I used to do beats with the PC, but I don't like, it, I need something between my hands (as an addition to my dick!). And I love to sequence with the MPC, it's awesome! Plus, I run all my MIDI stuff trough it...

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

The SP 1200 was made by EMU (the guys who brought you the Emulator, the world's first affordable sampler after the Fairlight was released in the late 70's), it was a 12 bit samper with a step-time sequencer much like the MPC2000, its production ran from '87 until '97, you can get details about it at:

http://www.emulatorarchive.com/DrumMachines/SP1200Overview/sp1200overview.html

Only 10 seconds of storage? 12 bits? 26khz? That thing must have sounded like ass compared to today's super samplers that work with a gig of RAM, 24 bit float and 96khz...


Here's another popular sequencer of the day:

http://www.mmt8.com/


Cool drum machine for the hip hoppers?

http://www.tr808.8m.com/cgi-bin/i/TR-808_Color.jpg

Nick

 

[Briellz]

Hell Nooooo! The SP 1200 is dope!!!!

It makes your drums dirty! I like my drums to sound dirty sometimes....

Im thinkin about buyin a SP off of Ebay!

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

Can't you resample your samples internally in the MPC2000 as 8 bit 22.025khz files? That will sound even DIRTIER than the 1200.

Nick

 

[Briellz]

To make my drums sound a little dirty on the MPC I bring the freq. down a little bit. To be honest with you...I just tweak shit in the params. I tweak it until it sound right with the track I build.

What part of phoenix are you from? I use to live down there. I was on the west side 90th & McDowell & Thomas

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

Turning down the low-pass filter will have the same effect as resampling it at a lower sample rate, if you get rid of some of the bits it will add noise to it, the same kind of noise that the 12-bit convertors on the 1200 add to their sounds.

Man, you lived WAY out there, I'm in the middle of Tempe.

Nick

 

[Briellz]

Yo Vit...you really know your shit dude!

Are you workin with anything now...or are you just planing to get stuff?

Oh and VIT...I'll be down in AZ in January! We should hit up a studio and lay some tracks!

Hawla acha boy!

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

Here's my studio, I don't have any photos yet:

Roland JP-8000
Roland JV-2080 w/ 2 exp.
Roland MKS-50 x2 w/ PG300
Roland XV-5050
Emu Proteus 2000 w/ 2 exp.
Yamaha FS1R
Kawai K5000s

Cubase 5.0 VST32
Cool Edit Pro 2.0
Reaktor 3.05
Sound Diver 3.0

PIII 866mhz
256mb RAM

Yamaha DSP Factory
M-Audio Delta 1010
Midiman Midisport 8x8

Mackie 1402VLZ
Samson S-Patch plus
M-Audio SP-5B x2
M-Audio SP-8S

Oktava 319
Oktava M12

Plus a buttload of cables, a drum kit I don't use and an alto sax.

Let me know closer to the time when you come out and we'll hook up.

Nick

 

[Briellz]

Is the proteus good bro? what kind of sounds does it kick out?

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

I got mine off ebay for $500, including the Holy Grail and Techno cards...the guy nust have not known what he was selling!

It's got great sounds, especially the drums. Most of the time I rip cd's and chop up my beats in Cool Edit, but for deep bassy kicks and weird percussive sounds it is great, there are somthing like 32+ kits with the techno card.

Like most newer synths it allows you to browse for sounds by category

One if its strengths is that you can program the hell out of it to make your own cool sounds. It follows the same structure of all PCM synths where you start with a basic waveform, which you can layer and run through all the usual things like amps, filters, envelopes, lfo's, etc, but what makes this synth really cool is that you can route the output of virtually ANYTHING into the input of virtually ANYTHING using these virtual patch cords.

Example: if I want to take a simple sine wave and make its pitch wobble up and down, I attach the output of an LFO to the input of the Pitch.

However, if I want to make the speed of the LFO increase and decrease over time (and therefore change the speed of the sine wave's pitch wobble), I simply route the output of a second LFO into the frequency input of the first LFO with the patch cable...that is just so f-ing COOL!

You can do this with other synths and samplers I'm sure, I just haven't seen one that makes it this easy.

The LCD on it is a joke, it's really small for a synth this big. I recommend getting a computer editor for it like Sound Diver or MidiQuest to fully take control of its reins.

And it's got quirky key mapping for the drums that don't follow any sort of standard that I'm used to. And it doesn't use all the newer 'standard' controllers for things like cutoff, it seems to like their own standards.

Great synth, great value.

Nick

 

[Briellz]

Thats cool...Im gonna have to check out at a music store up here....

 

[Prophet]

MPC serie sampler was good. Now it is here because people are used to it.

I rather have laptop with oxygen keyboard and sequencer, editor and sampler software or software synthesiser.

 

[Briellz]

This the Oxygen 8 even any good?

 

[Prophet]

when in transit it is compact and useful on train or airplane. For actual studio it is not good, weighted key controller are better for obvious reasons.

 

[Briellz]

It looks like a Damn TOY!

 

[Prophet]

Yes, and a computer looks like a grey box.

Oxygen is functional and compact when you are on train or airplane.