how much $$$ you got? just to give a final note to think about:
the mpc is great and all, but it's not a one time purchase thing. after buying it i have sunk another bill in it to get the hd. next i have to buy the new pad replacement kit(2 bills), cuz wakai screwed me off the top.

sp-404 i use it at least seven hours a week for over a year and it has had NO problems. mpc1000 i use less than an hour a week for just over a year and only ONE out of sixteen pads still respond correctly and one is completely dead. oh and if you want a proper operating OS there's another $30(soon to be $60).

just a little off topic; why the hell is the mpd 16 cheaper than the rplacement pads for the mpc1k.

to achieve maximum financial gain.

wtf! when you hear it like that (re:JBL's post) that's outrageous


if sequencing is the best part of the MPC, and worst of the SPs, you can use the MIDI In port on the back of the SP to attach an external MIDI sequencer. they can be bought cheaply on eBay, try the Yamaha QY range. I use the QY-70: http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/qy70/index.html
you can edit step by step and use diff quantize/swings settings etc AFTER you've put in the drums, stitch patterns/loops/songs together a bit easier etc

then you have the strength and immediacy of the SP, with a little extra 'brain' to connect when you need more complex sequencing and editing. best of both worlds

√.Yep.

also the 404 with the mpd 16 is a deadly combo!THe mpd 16makes the sequencing on the 404 a 100 times better!

404 + padKontrol Double Plus Good =)

i don't get it how could an external pad controller (like the MPD or the padKontrol) improve the sequencing capabilities of the 404??

word, best combo ever

Hot Sauce - a pk or mpd won't improve sequencing capabilities. i was talking about the QY-70, a portable MIDI sequencer. it has very similar functions to the MPC for making patterns, layering them together, making arrangements, using different time signatures, swing ratios, shuffle amount etc

but if you link the QY-70, the 404 and the padKontrol you get a sort of modular mpc


___

i had a jam session this weekend with two mates, one who bought his MPC 1000 along. so i had a good long tinker with it yesterday. i gotta say the pads are pretty bad. are they shorter, fatter and more rectangular than the regular MPC pads? seems like there's an actual button underneath them too, made it hard to record some fast drum hits. i'm not saying the 404's pads are brilliant, but when i got to the velocity sensitive mpc pads i was expecting a bit more responsiveness. could just be a matter of getting used to it though, 'cos i've adapted to the SP's pads which i first found a little clunky too and now love 'em

another observation about the MPC - it took forever to get started using it. whereas on the 404 we were sampling from a turntable and sequencing chops and drums in seconds. the sp seems lots more hands on and instant, really lets you plunge in

in the end we MIDI synced the MPC1k and the 404; sequenced chops on 404 and drums on the MPC. we played bass and piano on a yamaha keyboard, sampling a pattern into the 404 then sequencing it along with the chops...
it was great fun, nothing like a blunted sunday beat session ; )

word, nothing beats the workflow of the SP. compared to the other MPCs I have used, the 1000 workflow is bad.

The 1000 is a poor MPC, for sure (better than a 500, but not by much ).

Crappy pads, slow workflow, convoluted menus etc. And that JJ os, what a joke ...MPC fanboy says: "oh but it gives you all these extra functions!"; then you check MPC forums and it's page after page of bug and error reports. That makes me chuckle MPC fanboy says: "oh but Roland don't do OS updates" - that's becuase they get it right THE FIRST TIME einstein...

The 2500 is a sick box though, I must say. I wish I could afford one

the 1k is far from the perfect machine but it got crazy features like listening to samples while sequence is playing, resampling outputs, good fx, internal mastering, usb, extra 1/4 in jacks, ect. but that jj OS shit seems way OD.

What's the USB for on the 1000? Is it for full computer integration or just file transfer?

file transfer.

you know the JJOS is actually whats reelin me back in; that and some new pads. they are 3/4 size(height wise) but they aren't really small by any means. yeah, the 404 is more dependable and you can pretty much start at go but, my mp1k will eventually be able to work like a true midi command center(save i can truly beat this midi thing ) ).

yup, the 2500 is a great machine. It's pretty much a mpc2000 from the sound and all. Just a bunch of new features, a flash card drive and new look.