Similar to me… I feel like I was switching to the Force up until MPC 2.10 came out and it’s just made me gravitate to the Live 2.
Also, through projects I’ve been working on recently, I’ve got a lot deeper into sampling and really liking it, so the MPC has been a no brainier.
I think I will probably dive back into the Force again soon…esp when there’s an update.
I know! You can still pick them up but they ain’t getting cheaper, and likely to be in poorer nick s they get older. Maybe I should sell something more easily replaced.
Maybe I don’t need a second MPC!
But man, those new ones do everything I want - MIDI, drums, fx, vocal processing, synth/s, sequencing, export tracks/stems - plus the rechargeable battery is a massive plus for me. OS update history is good too, more additions to come probably. There’s one going near me with a case and SSD upgrade for a very reasonable price…
I sold my OT after getting an MPC One and I thought the OT was going to be a piece of gear I kept forever. I definitely miss some of the more experimentation in terms of generative sound design sort of stuff but, at the end of the day, I have finished so much more music with an MPC than I ever did before. Plus the money I had left over funded some eurorack modules 
Sold my MPC 1000 to buy a Live. JJOSXL is more flexible but the overall user experience for me is better on the Live for the load times and better hardware alone. Sampling and sample chopping is also good with the touchscreen (I usually don‘t like touchscreens on my gear but in this case it works), and the Q-Links are also better than the two faders on the MPC1000. Then there’s also the internal synth plugins on the Live if you use that.
That said, the piano roll on the MPC Live sucks in my book (really awkward editing that could have been solved much better with the hardware at hand) and there’s a little less of that “I’m using hardware” feeling with the MPC Live than with an MPC1000/2500.
Overall though I’m happy I made the switch. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
Is there a difference in terms of sampling on the force and MPC? the Sampling / edit route and the chopping? I’m using it mostly for sampling; still have to dive into the arrangement stuff. Sampling is so much fun.
It is pretty bad even for minor edits. I just undo and record again. Keeps the frustration down.
Hey, XO is like $108 right now, soooo… which one was better do you think? XO? Atlas? Pieces of both probably?
I sold my beloved 1k to get a Live about two years ago and have had zero regrets. The modern MPCs are just so much nicer to use I wouldn’t ever go back.
Curious to know what makes jjos more flexible?
Also agree, grid edit is bad because of needing to select tools for each function. The step sequencer can use some improvements as well.
I don’t know if flexible is the word but JJOS had some really funky little features in regards to sequencing that made it unique. Stuff like being able to edit the velocity of every other note or every third note or whatever for a pad. Pattern to pad etc. JJOS makes a really fun clean little midi sequencer, partially down to its simplicity and old school feel but incorporating some small features I’ve not found anywhere else. Think I’m spoiled by iPad too, the grid edit absolutely does the job but it feels like utter shit compared to an iPads grid edit generally. Hopefully it’s just because I spent so much time on 1000/iPad. The MPC one has unrivalled power compared to 1k but power isn’t everything. Like the iPad has more power than the MPC but I wouldn’t want it to be my only gear.
Tl;dr JJOS is simple, effective and has some fun features. Midi sequencing is its strongest part imo
I’m going to stick with Atlas since I own it, and Matt is full steam on updates with it now that 2.0 is out the door. It also sounds like he’s thinking about a port to iPadOS in the near term…so it makes sense for me to keep it all the same.
You can’t beat being able to set up an 8x8 grid of samples in Atlas…so far it’s working great with the MPC and Bitwig and Ableton. Find my sounds and drag+drop the 4x4 or 8x8 into their respective drum kits.
fwiw, I also read that Matt was one of the lead devs on Serato…so there’s also that to be inspired by 
Would kill for this concept on iPad that’s great news
Awesomee, thanks for the insight! I’ll try both too, but I’m in a similar boat with Ableton, MPC, Elektron, and iOS… that last one may seal the deal though.
so nobody’s feeling sononym?
Looked at it but the UI didn’t move me or inspire me much.
16 Pads are better than 8 Pads 
@hausland @StuMiller thanks for the posts. I see the live as something I would produce tracks on, the OT less so - maybe OT feeds MPC with its happy accident sample & loop manipulation.
How do you find the Hype synths and any other sound generation/fx that are not on JJOS?
exactly what I do on 2500! MPC is made for playing and not grid recording/editing for me.
I don’t think Akai have really made the most of the Force, though of course the MPCs come with a lot of history behind them, and I guess it’s a difficult sell in a lot of ways. I’d say Force is much better as an all-in-one device - tons of RAM plus 64 pads is a great combo, and the extra pads are well used in all the other modes too. I’ll never get tired of enthusing over the Macros mode, and I think the clip features integrate really well with the traditional MPC style sequences. Throw in the encoders, OLEDs and fader and it’s a bargain package. The MPC has the larger pads and a few quality of life bonuses, but if everything exploded tomorrow I’d be replacing the Force first. They just need to release that update.
hopefully they are gonna release it with an updated sleeker form factor
