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Akai MPC2000 XL

doseone from cloud dead and subtle ive read uses it. ive also read a few good reviews about this machine but they did also seem to be a bit of a 'plug'. is it good?

what is some other good equipment other then this for giging?

$1500 is the start of the expensive zone for me. however if something is worth it, il save for it.

some of the bands im into are yasayer, aphex twin, animal collective if that helps in terms off where im coming from.

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it all depends .... what are you presently working with? mpc's are good mainly for the velocity pads and many ppl think the quantize/swing are something special. there are several models of the mpc... all of them comparable ... i've seen ppl tear it up with them live playing the pads in realtime; and i've seen ppl just running sequences on them... there are all kinds of other samplers/drum machines/synths/sequencers out there. roland and korg as well as yamaha and other companies have them... personally (as a guy who has a few pieces of hardware) i would spend my money on a laptop and a midi controller... it's a cheap, powerful, versital, and lightweight(!) alternative to dedicated hardware. hell get a desktop pc even... i carry mine with me sometimes when i play out... and it's easier to carry than my turntable and records... anyway... thats my 2 cents werf

shakey_hands
Akai MPC2000 XL

doseone from cloud dead and subtle ive read uses it. ive also read a few good reviews about this machine but they did also seem to be a bit of a 'plug'. is it good?

what is some other good equipment other then this for giging?

$1500 is the start of the expensive zone for me. however if something is worth it, il save for it.

some of the bands im into are yasayer, aphex twin, animal collective if that helps in terms off where im coming from.

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hi,

I used to have an S2000 from Akai and I'm not very enthousiastic about it. It had a very small 2 line LCD screen and it was very difficult to manage files on this sampler... the partitions on the disk were limited in size and once you deleted a file you had to save files into the freed slot again, so it became a bit of a mess later on. the MPC has a bit of mythical status .. but personally I can't see myself messing with sequences on a small LCD screen.

if you want pads I would look into getting a simple pad controller from Korg or M-Audio and get some software for your computer. You could then invest in extra live performance tools as you learn.

just my 2 cents..

a decent laptop with an evolution mixer and maybe an m-audio mpc drum pad controller and an oxygen are great and cheap, MUCH cheeper than an MPC which I use to want - the same with an Elektron Machinedrum which is THE DRUM MACHINE for anything glitchy or hardcore. But alot of people don't have 2000 for just one machine. Richard david james used alot of Older MIDI controlled stuff back in the day and I remember this one old old kind of drum simulator he had it was basically like uhm hmmm a "drum" machine which you set eh velocity and resonance and stuff, really wicked shit. But yeah you can set alot of vst parameters to an evolution mixer and use an oxygen for keys and vsti's and the drumppad for quick beatmaking and manipulation. Which is basically what an Akai MPC does. It boils down to a hardware or software preference. Ahem...... or your budget : ) And bschiett I have actually replaced the LCD screen in an MPC for my friend, they go dead rather quickly if your bangin em around or always on the go it seems like, but the was the older MPC 2000 not the XL. And remember that trackers were all they had back in the day : ) But that's just my opinion.... And yes stickman a desktop with a good GPU like a SLi with a decent processor can completely shred live. and boast 2 monitors at the same time. *Cough and have 5 HD bays for all your stuff.......* Yah I love the Desktops : ) But laptops have built in Wi-Fi, yippee.