MPC Comparisons.. Best Value?

[Dunewar]

I have the MPC-1000 with the alternative JJ OS, and I love it. I put a secondhand 40gig laptop harddrive in, and it has the full 128 mb memory. The pads are allright, but I do detect a slight inconsistency in the reaction to velocity. But since the sensitivity of each pad is separately adjustable, that really doesn't matter much.

If you worry about the pads of the 1000, try checking out the 2500. The 2500 has bigger and better pads that are similar to the 4000. It also has a tilted screen. Just as with the 1000, there's an alternative OS made by a japanese collective called JJ. Check it out at http://www.mpc-forums.com. For the 1000, the JJ os gives it most of the software features of the 2500 though, so don't rely on the standard akai features. That OS is rock solid an dead cheap, and gives you lots of extra features.

That being said, I never had a problem with the pads on my 1000, and it has gone on the road with me many times. It once took a nasty fall bouncing to the middle of the room after someone accidently pulled a cable, and not a scratch in sight!

[JUGEL]

I've seen the 3000 go for really cheap sometimes. like $800. It's just that douchebags sell that black LE unit for $1,599 that only rich people would buy as furniture.

It's basically a better 60. And like someone said... if you really want that 60 sound you can get a 900 to use with it. I personally just sample into my S612 and resample if I want that sound ... because I find the S612 much more punchy than the s900 or MPC60.

But man ... even though I don't really own a computer .. having USB on the new MPC's is pretty tits.

[megawatt]

+1000 on the MPC 1000. It was the backbone of my studio for a long time as a sequencer and drum machine.

Don't worry about the pads if you buy new and don't let that stop you from buying one.

I'll admit to having problems with my pads previously but have heard that newer versions are better and I guess I banged on them pretty hard. It never stopped me from getting the most of the instrument and still loving it. Plus any repair on it has been done by myself (i'm a noob too) which made me appreciate the 1000 even more. I felt like chewie fixing the hyperdrive.

But like any instrument - regular cleaning and maintenance extends lives.

[amidst]

I decided I'm just going to roll with the 1000 after all. It'll make my life a lot easier when it comes to connecting with my computer. I think it was the JJ OS that sold me most of all though. After I realized how much more I could get for the money, I scratched the 60 and the 3000 off permenantly. Besides, I think the extra punch/warmth/magic/whatever can be obtained by other means. I'll just remember to treat my pads with care

[ThinkTanx]

So I played on a brand new MPC 1000 at GC the other day. The pads felt great, they had some give to them, really comfortable, not stiff at all. Then, I get on the net and start reading everyone saying that the 1000 has poor, stiff pads.

Is it possible the pads on the unit I played were a bit softer because it was a demo unit that had been played a lot? Anyone know anything about this? Do pads generally soften up over time?

[amidst]

I was wondering about that too. Next time I go to GC I'll ask the guy in that department if he knows from experience.

I've also heard that Akai was planning to upgrade the pads on the 1000 eventually. I don't know when or if it was even true. I think I saw it on a forum somewhere so it may not even be credible.

Does anyone know if there are any differences between the black and blue versions? I'm about to buy the blue version from my friend so hopefully it's just as good, but if anyone knows for sure what the deal is with the pads, I'd definitely like to know what's up before I drop my 600 bucks