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 Post subject: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 10:30 pm 
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What’s up. I’m new to this forum and had a question for all of y’all. I want to get into making sample based beats, which do you guys recommend the SP 404 or MPC 1000. I have a family, wife and kids, I want to get into this as a hobby. I have time to dedicate for learning the hardware but the less time the better, you know what I mean? I have dabbled with ableton but I prefer to stay away from the computer, I work with a computer all day and would like an escape from it when making beats. I’ve recently started collecting vinyl and I’m hooked. I’m living in Japan and theses thrift stores out here are dope, the variety is crazy. I grew up on wu-tang and underground hip hop, that 90s type boom bap stuff. I would like to produce beats similar to that and that lofi style. So that’s where I’m at, I want some sort of hardware but can’t really decide between the MPC or SP. I’ve been doing a lot of research, looking on YouTube, google and I decided to get on this forum to get some advice from those who actually use the gear. I appreciate your help, thanks


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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:48 pm 
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IMO the best way to start is the MPC because it works as a standalone which is good if you don't want to deal with a DAW, you can chop & program your sequence on the fly & train your drumskills with the cool pads. Also the MPC 2000XL sounds dirty & cold because of its 12Bits sampling capability

On the other side SP samplers give more space for fun exploration with the effects & punch-in MFXs, but sucks as a standalone(IMO), because it lacks screen & midi possibilities But somehow it has that unexplainable groove that everyone crave for these days.

You can still grab a fun fx sampler once you have mastered your MPC :D

And if you have a lot of money to spend on a sampler, go for the E-Mu SP1200 its tha best one for lo-fi stuff.

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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:29 pm 
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best thing to do is look at YouTube videos .

personally , I've owned SP404 . it is a lot of fun . honestly .the MPC will give you better results.. the sequencer is solid .

with the SP though . you can make looser feeling music


.
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I make beats on SP505 now . the sequencer makes it easier to achieve the results I want . maybe consider the SP505 or 606 . similar wave editing to MPC

404 is very inner minds eye creativity . as vast as your thoughts will allow . plus has pattern sequencer . I'm not a fan of the trickery it requires . but another option

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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 2:26 pm 
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How you doing!
WOW, that's going to be a hard question for someone to answer for you, it's really about how you work best.
staying away from the computer altogether will be hard, you'll have to record the beats to something.

Now your trying to chose between an MPC and a 404.

let me ask. Do you have a DJ mixer with H/M/L filtering? If not, you'll need one with an MPC..

Most mpc's have no real effects of their own (not true with the newest standalone models) so sampling things can get muddy pretty quick unless you have a way to make all the samples sit in their own sonic space. Thats why so many mpc owners also own a sp.

SP's have excellent efx but come up short in just about every other category against an mpc.

That being said SP's are much simpler to make beats on and they require you to get “creative” when you bump up against their limitations, this may be important to you as you said you need “time with the family”.

Also remember that the 404 is not the only sp (as THEGREAT said.), people love it the most because it's mobile as far as I can tell.

I use a combo of the 505 and 606 and I couldn't be happier, the 555 is a 404 with 16 pads, velocity sensitivity and a loop pedal built into it, so you have some choices but no matter which,.. SP's are easer to make music with.

They are also very frustrating, not being able to sample a pattern and having no speed based pitching plagues this line of samplers cause just about every other brand of sampler allows you to do these two things (only the 555 and 808's allow you to bounce a pattern, only the 202 has real pitching.) but like I said you learn to use the efx to get around these limitations.(or get a 2ed sp to bounce to.)

It's good that you have great vinyl around you that will help. And being in japan means you'll have access to all these machines used for a good price.

I like sp's cause they force me to write the beats simply, I have a tendency to over do it.

While with an mpc you can do anything you want, which can be good but for me it's bad.

just to let you know, guys my age are really thrown off by the term "90's boom bap". boom bap was pretty much dead by the 90's, with only acts like KRS-One and Freddy Foxx still doing it in the 90's, boom bap was just a description of the hard drum patterns of 80's hip-hop which was pretty much just all low end (bass and drum pattern) but the 90's samplers where really clear (comparatively) and you could start chopping melodies on your patterns easily.


what tribe, flavor unit, hit squad, nas, primo, dilla was doing was thought of as "new school" and was a rejection of "boom bap". don't mean to be weird about it but it does erk me that the new guy these days throw everything that happened in the 80's + 90's in one bag and call it "boom bap". the "new jack swing" wasn't boom bap, the west coast style wasn't boom bap or new school, neither was the miami bass or dirty south sound.

Arrg off topic … sorry.

It's really what you want, total control vs simplistic ease. it's really the difference between these two camps.

If your a control freak an sp might not be for you, if you don't like getting bogged down with details and keeping track of a million moving parts an mpc might harsh your mello.

Good luck with your choice,


MrThraz.

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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:14 pm 
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Have an MPC 1000, haven't used it in years.

I have an SP-303, SP-404 and a SP-555. I use at least one them every single day.

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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 4:49 pm 
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I like the SPs far better than MPC.
This is, after all, an SP forum, right?
But, yeah, I much prefer Roland over an Akai product.
As far as a learning curve, you'll be able to jump onto an SP machine and start sampling, chopping, and punching together loops alot easier than an MPC.
Sounds like you're an "older" guy, like me (I'm 35). So, I understand the forget the computer mentality.
I always hated the looking at a screen while making music. Audio is from the ear, not eyes.
I don't need a screen when bumping music. Heck, I don't want any blinking lights or even an LED meter either. Matter of fact, stuff sounds better when it's in the red anyhow.
For me, you get more into a vibe when you're punching pads and twisting knobs

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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:00 pm 
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What are you sampling from? You a record hoarder?
You gonna record? To what?

I use a Zoom SampleTrak to chop vinyl records off a Gemini PT-1000 turntable and record into a Fostex 4 track cassette.

I got all my gear cheap.
The turntable I bought for 100
Sampler was like 70
And the 4 track for 60

Thrift shops and yard sales

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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:20 pm 
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People say vinyl is expensive.
But it's not, if you buy from right sources, and a bit of luck from sample Gods.
I hardly ever buy vinyl off internet. When you do, you're gambling on condition, the postal workers throw it around and leave it in the rain, plus you pay a premium.

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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:54 pm 
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Tried the MPC 500 then settled into a 404SX, both great pieces of gear. I’ve said it multiple times where one lacks the other excels. The MPC was a complete solution but had (at least for me) a big learning curve, wanted to love it but took to much time away from playing (I too have limited time with work and family). The 404 out of the box played like an instrument, sample, jam, resample. But no real easy way to make a complete song. Probably can’t go wrong either way though.

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 Post subject: Re: Getting into sample based music: SP 404 or MPC 1000??
PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 12:35 am 
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I appreciate all the responses, it's been super helpful. If I had the funds I would definitely get both. But right now I want to start off with one. I like how there are so many tutorials and guides online for the mpc1000. I haven't really found too many tutorials or guides on the sp 404 though. I have seen how fun and creative the sp 404 can be. I have heard alot of good beats made with it. I am going to a few thrifts stores here in Japan to see what they have. Thanks for all the help


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