Hey everyone. I’m wondering what your thoughts are on adding an MPC Live to a setup that already has a Digitakt and Octatrack Mk1. I really don’t want to keep all three and in the next week I’ll have to make that choice. The Live wasn’t even on my radar since I got the Digitakt last month, but it has intrigued me since it’s release and I got a trade offer randomly today that I accepted (MPC for TR8s and MS-20 Mini).
Clip launching and polyphonic sampling are the main things that interest me about it, but I could always do that in Beatmaker 3 and sample the poly parts into the OT.
Does anyone feel strongly about performing live on the OT vs Live? I love the OT but I hit a wall at having the desire to learn more that would help me in live situations such as arranging and building a project with the intent of filling it, for a live set. I was actually about to sell my OT Mk1 for OT Mk2 so the last bits of learning it are easier and so I could feel more comfortable if I got a chance to gig with it.
I have a MPC boxed up. You need a midi controller to get good control over the envelops and such. For this elektron is much more inmediate. I also like to continue shaping sounds and MPC is little fittly. Besides this does do lineair sequencing and much better for creating longer sequences.
i perform a daily theatre show these days with a rig that contains a mpc 1000 with jjos clocking an octatrack which provides stems and all it’s other magic in sonic safari while also controling a modor digital synth and an analog dreadbox nyx…creaming that all with an eventide space stomp box and an oto bisquit…
and this combo could’nt be more versatile and solid…
in order of the show, i’m forced to play prefixed arrangements and as much i love the ot, even after years, i’m still not a big fan of it’s arranger…so the mpc has to keep it all together…and i’m pretty free in sticking to an order or being able to let loose and fool around to impro whenever i like…
in the studio i also use the takt…for it’s good and raw sound and the nice groove and control all at once tricks it can provide…but it’s the ot concept i’d never gonna retrade…for sure…
so if u sell something of ur gear, i’d also go for the takt…but the mpc live is still not that much of an good old mpc…well, right, fingerdrumming is hot, but even that is only half the fun on these new mpc’s…at least they got back to produce an instrument of it’s own again instead of just selling another fancy tabledisco controler that always needs a computer attached…
if u can, check for an old one with jjos…way cheaper, way more versatile…and defenitly a killer combo in pretty different sampler and sequencer concepts hand in hand with an ot…
ah, and one more thing…better forget about this tr8 deal…get’s only real flesh with lot’s of treatment afterwards…same with this ms 20 clone, i’m afraid…pretty sharp shit when it’s all pure only…
at least, don’t expect them to sound good right out of the box…elektron gear is way different here…always sounds more fine tuned mixed up and ready to go already…while the mpc always sounds exactly like the stuff u feed it with…
Thanks for the detailed response @reeloy. I already made the trade last night, knowing I wanted to move on from the TR8s and MS-20 anyways. In what ways is the MPC 1000 with JJOS more versatile than the MPC Live?