yo! i need some opinions and direction on where to go gear-wise for a sampler/drum machine/sequencer.
i’m a hip-hop head through and through, nothing but drums and samples from records and doing sound design on individual hits to get the right tone from kicks and snares. i’ve been on the hunt for a good balance of workflow, sound and size for the longest time and i’ve hit a roadblock on where to go!
here’s what i’ve used so far:
MPC1000 - absolutely loved it to death, but the actual sound of it was/is okayish. after a while it really started to show its weaknesses once my music-making skills got better (particularly in shaping drums, the transients and pitching and filters are not the best). if it had the sound of a 2000 or a 3000 i wouldn’t look anywhere else, it’s my heart and soul. bought and sold it maybe four times MPC2000 Classic - the sound was really ill, but working with it was frustrating (especially without the 8-outs or the effects card). MPC2000XL - same as above, but it had the 8-outs so it was a lot more fun and usable w/ a mixer. Akai S3000XL - the first rack sampler i’ve used. got it after hearing it was a cheaper option compared to getting an MPC3000 (only to find out it’s the non-XL version, go figure). the sounds on drums were really unique and punchy, same with pitched-up-then-dropped-down longer samples, lotta aliasing and character. but working with it was beyond a pain, i just wasn’t used to the keygroups and menu-diving the workflow was based around. Isla Instruments S2400 - most everything sounded good, but holy hell was i miserable working with it. for being a SP1200 and a MPC3000 in one box, i wished that the sequencing was better. Elektron Digitakt (OG) - what i have right now. the drums on this thing kick serious butt. main thing that’s holding me back is the limited amount of tracks, no proper sampler chopping/copying of longer samples to shrink down into sections (even though p-locking is pretty fun, it tends to get tedious, especially coming from my 1000) and the small form factor. Roland SP404 MKII - it sounds bad, but i just couldn’t gel with this box at all. the sequencer and the sound of it just don’t inspire me to make jams the way i wished it did. i gave it a fair shot and really tried to dig into it, but ultimately it just wasn’t for me.
essentially, all i’m looking for is a sampler that sounds rough and rugged, is fun to work with, and isn’t super small. literally any direction helps, my budget isn’t unlimited (i.e. i cannot afford a Rossum SP ) but i’m not looking for inexpensive solutions either. gimme what you got!
i’ve heard good things about it, haven’t seen too many vids that show how it works or the way it sounds. somebody called it an Ensoniq in a box one time and that caught my eye lol. is it something you’ve used before?
Maschine Plus (b-stock and used) are pretty cheap nowadays.
I’m really enjoing the KO2 EP 133. Obviously more limited than other samplers but oh so fun and lovely sounding. More for punching in sounds though via the pads than step sequencing. No resampling though which is a bummer.
I have one. It sounds great, the analog filter is full of character. The workflow is straightforward and fun. It lacks some of the bells and whistles of samplers like the digitakt, but it more than makes up for that in its ease of use.
In all seriousness I’d stick with the original digitakt or get an mpc live. with dt I bounce stuff to an sp202 and back then slice it, I go through the pc and drop into transfer though so it stays the way I’m hearing it in the sp202. It’s labored but sounds good.
With MPC live you just do it all in the box, although step sequencing is… convoluted.
You don’t mention the newer MPCs, which is interesting because they sound like a potential solution. The sampling is clean, but you have a wide range of processing and FX to muddy things up. They have the traditional MPC workflow, with bells on if you need them. You do have to use the touchscreen in places, but in most cases it makes things easier - editing samples and envelopes is very quick. The piano roll can be a pain to use, but you can ignore it and just take the traditional routes. Chopping and copying is a breeze.
They get a lot of grumpy “DAW in a box” press, but they don’t have to be - if you never touched the synths and the piano roll, you’d still have the MPC workflow, and 90% of the time you can muscle memory your way around with ease. I/O is limited on the lower models, but being able to act as a USB host means you can expand things that way.
Ah, I see it’s been mentioned since I started posting, but I think the points are still valid - don’t be put off by the DAW in a box issue. It doesn’t have to be.
I know a guy who just sold his old trusty 2000XL because he hasn’t used it much ever since he got the One. Yes, modern MPC models are packed to the brim with features, but you don’t have to use what you don’t need.
It’s pretty capable but the UI sucks and the sounds are dated. I think a lot of shit you can get great results out of but I just don’t have the patience for all of it. I’ve sequenced my 202 from digitakt with decent results but short hits can be super choppy so I find it better for resampling loops after you make something on another box.
my main sources of concern is longevity and sound when it comes to the newer MPCs. i can’t speak on em since i’ve never used any of them, but i wanna make sure whatever i get doesn’t distract me like Ableton used to do and that it has the same lasting power as my old 1000. whatever i get, i wanna be using way way down the line!
that’s a fair point. i guess part of the appeal of something like the digitakt or the older MPCs is that they’re computers but they’re self-contained, only really reliant on the internet for firmware updates and stuff like that.
Sure, I don’t think they’re going to be as easy to fix as a 2000XL when they start breaking down, but this will be a concern with just about every modern alternative. I’d say a 2KXL is probably your ideal solution if you’re not in the market for a 3K, but you say it was frustrating to work with - you might find that the modern MPCs fix those frustrations. If you’ve had general good results with older MPC models, the One at least seems like something you should try if possible, if only to confirm that it’s not for you. And it is self-contained - in fact, if you go for the first model One, it won’t be connecting to the outside world at all unless you plug in an ethernet cable.
he said he already had it in the original post, I was pretty interested in that one for a while, but I don’t know if I could get used to the workflow. Sounds super awesome either way.
) but i’m not looking for inexpensive solutions either. gimme what you got!