MPC 500 vs akai xr-20

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soundtrak00

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I'm looking for a battery powered portable drum machine so I can work on music wherever I'm at. I wanted to know which would be better to go with, an MPC 500 or an akai xr-20. Any suggestions? I write hip hop n r&b tracks. Thanks in advance.
 
are you looking for just a drum machine or do you want sampling and all that. if it's solely a drum machine, the xr-20 (which is a repackage alesis sr-18) is a good choice and lil cheaper then the mpc500. if you want some expandability, like the ability to sequence external instruments, then the mpc is a better choice. i was on akai's site and i didn't see anything about the xr sequencing external instruments, but i may have just overlooked that part. have you visited both manufacturer's websites to see all the features and stuff? i'd do that first instead of just taking our word for it.
LevLove
 
I did look at the 500 and I love its funtionality and expandability but can u upgrade the os to have features like the 1000 and the jjos? As far as the xr-20, can u load ur own samples or are u stuck with what is on it?

Thanks for the help lev

forgot to add that I looking for something more towards a sampling machine. Does the 500 come with time stretching and if also change of notes when loading for example a bass guitar?
 
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I don't like the fact that your stuck with the sounds on the xr-20. Looks like i'll just save a couple hundred and get the mpc500. Thanks for the help.
 
Glad you pointed out the sp-404. Now i'm debating between the mpc 500 and sp-404. Any suggestions on which one I should pick?
 
I own the sp-404 as well, in any event DO NOT buy the MPC 500, waste of money might as well go with a used MPC 1000. sp-404 is great, but if you can save a bit more I'd say go with the MPC 1000.
 
Nick-nw said:
you can only use the preset sounds in the xr20, you can't sample or add your own. looks like a joke.
Click to expand...
i wouldn't really call it a joke, i'd call it a drum machine, which is what it is. the mpc and sp are samplers, so they fit the bill more so if you're looking for a sampler, rather then a drum machine.
LevLove
 
The SP-404 can be your sketch pad when you go OT and when you come back you can just dump it in Pro Tools or whatever
 
Alot people just use the sp for everything. I use a cassette 8-track, tt/mixer, an gettin my sp soon. check out sp-forums, they got alot of useful information.
 
Thanks for all the help. I still haven't decided which one to get though. I'm sure I'll make up my mind eventually. So many choices. I'd love to get the 1000 but I don't want to keep plugging it in everywhere. I am really looking for something that run's off batteries.
 
I'd say play around with them. There is a lot of rhetoric about how bad the mpc-500 is and honestly I find a lot of it completely invalid.

I have yet to have any issue with mine (noise / lock-ups / crashes / data failures / etc) and am still running the original OS.

Compared to other samplers that i have or have used (mirage / tx16w / etc) the device is a dream to work with.

My initial reaction was much like when i first picked up my ASR-x in that the learning curve is relatively short and integrating into the studio was simple. Was basically up and running in about 2 hours with a pretty firm grasp on how to do what I needed to. Sampling / Sequencing / Sound + Program editing.

The SP-404 seems like a cool sketch pad and I may pick one up to play around with at some point (the easy-mode BPM sync stuff sounds appealing) but the 12 voice polyphony (as opposed to 32 on the 500) seemed inadequate for what I wanted to do with the device.

For just drums + perc it could be fine but, start throwing in synth samples or more dynamic soundscapes and 12 voices can get eaten up pretty quickly.

Just my $0.02 but take the anti-mpc-500 talk with several grains of salt as I have a hunch that a lot of it is people more-or-less parroting back what they have read on various forums.

I try to give folks the benefit of the doubt but have read enough "MPC-500 R teh suxx0rz!!" posts to believe folks just blowing air instead of sharing experience.

cheers
 
Yeah, I'e heard a lot of the mpc 500 bashing and nobody seems to have any experience playing with it, nor do they own one. So I figure most people's opinions are useless. Its been hard to find info on the 500 that isn't bashing on the product. Besides its portability and that it can run off batteries, does it have time stretch, chopping up of samples with the OS? What other features does it have? Can it perform near the same things of a 1000 or close to it?
 
soundtrak00 said:
Besides its portability and that it can run off batteries, does it have time stretch, chopping up of samples with the OS?

What other features does it have?

Can it perform near the same things of a 1000 or close to it?
Click to expand...

It is definitly not a 1000 to be certainbut, this isn'ta big deal as if i wanted the missing elements i would have bought a 1000.

No time stretch.
Samples can only be "chopped" manually (by ear & numerical trimming)

It is a pretty bare bones device (which I like) that allows for:

  • Sampling
  • Basic sample editing (Start / End / trim / looping)
  • Arrangement of samples into programs (with editing of level / tuning / envelopes / filtering for each pad)
  • Limited but useful effects (2 active simultaneously)
  • Sequencing (Real-time / step etc) 32-tracks (great for controling off board gear in an integrated studio)
  • Sequence playback with track mutes (great for live performance)

All in all it's a pretty basic sampling / sequencer. The power/utility of the device ultimately comes from source material and a user willing to spend time with the device to get out of it what they can.

It does not have many "easy-mode" features (auto BPM sync / time-stretch / auto-chopping + looping etc) and if this sort of functionality is a requirement then it may not be a good device for you.

Then again a lot of the sample editing features that it lacks can be done much easier in a software world if they are a requirement.

It is rock solid in what it does do from my experience but, I approach technology from a "what can it do" instead of a "what it can't do" perspective. So I go looking for benefits first and let issues present themselves... none have yet.

This all rolls into the issue a lot of folks seem to have that it "isn't a 1000" and that the only utility it offers is portability.

I have not yet played with a 1000 (more whisltes and bells than I needed) and my limited experience with the 404 left me unimpressed (of course the polyphony issue sort of had me convinced to not be too interested in it in the first place) but, I work with my 500 near daily and have no regrets in the purchase.

The more I use it the more I enjoy it.

I would definitly try to play around with both devices and see what fits for you an what you what out of the device. Dollars to donuts I have yet to see a compelling argument that the 404 is a superior device for what I was looking to accomplish.
 
You pretty much summed up what I want out of the machine. Thanks ehcsztein for clarifying the pro's of the 500. I'm the same of looking at what it can do rather than what it can't. Its fine that it doesn't have time stretch. I can always go back to my pc and edit the sample when I get back on my pc. I'm going to pick one up real soon. You think there is an OS upgrade like the 1000 for the 500? Thanks for all the help folks.

P.S. - I did play around with the 500 before and it was easy for me to figure it out. I laid out a beat in just a few minutes. I'm sure there's more to it the more a track progresses but the work flow wasn't too bad. The 404 seemed fairly easy too but I don't think its what I'm looking for nor do I like the way the pads feel.
 
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Um, YES time stretch! It's in trim mode. Not only that, but there are 20 something presets you can choose to optimise your stretching for different kinds of sounds. The only thing the 404 has on the 500 is the hands-on effects section, and the price tag. Here's a list things that make the MPC 500 better than the SP-404:

* You can't even change the pitch of a sample on the 404!! That was a deal-breaker for me.
* The 404 only has a one track sequencer.
* You can resample sounds on the 404, but not while the sequencer is playing (of course you can do this on the 500. This also means that you can finish a song, resample it as one long audio file and transfer it to your computer via USB).
* The pads. Just look at them. The MPC has big, soft, playable pads, while the SP has crappy little buttons (can't remember if they're velocity sensitive or not... I think they are).
* The 500 can do two effects simultaneuosly, plus one compressor/EQ "master effect".
* The SP-404 can't sequence external gear.
* For portablity, I find the 404 a bit bulky. The 500 is slimmer and better shaped for carrying around in a bag.
* The 500 will take up to a 2 gb CF card, whereas the 404 is stuck with 1 gig.
* Flashing lights? C'mon.
* Press "12 Levels" on the MPC and you can pitch a single sample over a whole octave and play a melody with it accross the pads.
* The 500 has much greater depth in sample editing, with things like envelopes that can modulate differnt parameters.
* You can stack up to 4 samples on each pad on the 500, with velocity switching.

There's probably more, but I should get back to work. In short, I bought the SP-404 based almost soley on the fact that it ran on batteries, to replace my aging Yamaha SU-10. When the MPC 500 was announced, I got one as soon as I could and sold my 404, and it was the happiest day of my life.
 
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