I think it in most cases of people showcasing gear impressively it’s down to the user and not just the gear
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not scientific by any means, but more often than not as an MC myself I’ve found in my experiences that producers who rapped seem to be more open in regards to instrumentation… like the cats in my circle who refuse to use anything else besides one instrument don’t rap… and the ones that do have been more open to experimentation. Like I know people who wouldn’t use a digitakt even if they liked it 
because it’s not that ‘thing’ that they use and they won’t use anything else.
i could never do that but I’ve always found it fascinating and have respect for people who dedicate themselves to a single discipline, instrument, or sound to such a degree.
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There’s a quote from Theo Parrish about the MPC 2kxl along the lines of that you shouldn’t move on to another tool until you’ve squeezed every last drop out of the one you have. I think about that every time I add new stuff to my setup. But nah, I like options, different ways of doing things.
Couldn’t find the quote but I did find this video that I hadn’t seen before while looking, covers a lot of ground:
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I have both versions of the 1k (currently only the Black one w the fixed pads) & the 2500. All 3 sound the same. The JJOS for the 1k has some EQ type features so you get to more different but that about it.
I think it comes down to 3 things why some say something sounds better.
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Buyer’s Pride/Hype: It’s difficult to not feel a positive bias for a great piece of gear that you’ve had for a while & used in many of “you’re” best musical sessions. Hell yeah my baby sounds the best & especially better than some new kid on da block.
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Not understand that the new MPCs have a higher bit depth which allows them to play 128 track of audio/samples. This means that they can play 1 track/sample way louder without clipping than the lower bit depth MPCs. Also, the default settings on the new MPCs & Force cut 18db & most of the time the person doing these sound test doesn’t address that. The best they’ll said is, “I matched the levels the best I could” wtf does that mean???
The new MPCs are more transparent because the parts are more modern with better made tech & with all the built-in sound shaping tools & this clean sound is more versatile vs the sound of an SP12/1200, which some people may prefer, but it’s not as versatile since some of the higher frequencies aren’t being captured accurately a sample rate around 27/26 kHz.
- I seen & hear this many times where some will associate the older sampler as sounding more darker or having warmer bass, but this is mainly because if a sampler can’t capture the high-end as well it make the bass more prominent & they will call the sampler that’s better at recording the full frequency range more brighter without realizing that that same darker/warmer bass is still there but you’ll need to use a LP-filter cut off the extra high-end & maybe add a bit of resonance & now we have all these FX add our own spice to make “our” sound vs a factory made to go sound character.
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Best thing posted in this thread in ages (no offense to anyone else). Thanks for sharing this. What an inspiration Theo is!
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Theo always reminds me of the alchemist, they talk a like, just one slower than the other and they kinda look alike too
I think tribalism/traditionalist type of people feel a certain way for the MPC of their day & this play a major role in what they want to be the best. It doesn’t help that MPCs were more money back than, which helped to keep out many non serious/wack beat-makers. So hearing a little ass 1k/One sound better for less cash is too much of an ego blow to some people, esp if the average YTer is OK at best making beats from an era their not from. That sh*it gotta hurt, but still…
I also think the now vintage devices that have their unique sound made many older dudes lazy in the sound shaping area. You didn’t have to have an skills to get that SP12 sound. You just needed to be able to afford it or steal/rob someone - you see the city I’m from & you know what time it was during the late 80s (protect ya neck era). Now, with these clean samplers with many more tools, some of don’t like having to make a unique sound. They just want that beloved factory sound right from the box that everyone had to feel part of the tribe or whatever.
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and I understand where they’re coming from too, it’s just not my path… I can’t be concerned with anything more than if the sampler is in reaching distance or not when it’s time to make music…
but we weren’t the first and won’t be the last
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This & the Boredom video I just posted makes for a nice creative combo. They both told us to block any bs distractions. I like Jon’s drawings & Thoe’s cussin’!
Nice reflection on the 1k and JJ.
My friend had the 2000, I had the 2000XL, also the 1000 many years later with JJOS, a paid version. I think they all sounded how you wanted them to sound.
I do know a producer who had the 3000 - I think his stuff always had a characteristic sound that was more from the machine then himself… like muddy but only like 3% muddy but all in a good way… he made a double cd with different rappers and every song had the same type of sound… so it must have been his machine…
Here is one of his beats, btw it says 7 years old but this LP was made over 20-25 years ago if not even more…
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No doubt the MPC’s have different sounds, but I don’t think any of them sound bad like some claim. Do you if your friend mixed his beats? Even a simple analog mix can give you’re over mix more of what ever freq you want. This track sounds like it had post work done on it.
This is a jam I made on the 1k (I was rusty as hell) with no extra nothing:
The 1k can sound clean like the techno video in the above post or dirty like this beat.
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It’s Thursday. Something might go down:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSLA0Yao1arMgA_ZBEL0Lgw/community?lb=UgkxE_toKCXInFyQ3Pf9ENMhTIbZUDdR2rL2
Desktop version being released finally
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Sounds great to me - I guess probably I was wrong in that people do talk about the 1k sound, but just not in the way I was thinking of. Like all MPCs fundamentally put out what you put in to them with a little bit of seasoning, none of them sound bad. I suppose what I was saying is that to my ears that generation has the most distinctive sound across the entire range - I find it way easier to pick out than e.g. a 60 or 3000. But maybe that’s because I had one and know what to listen for. Anyway, they all have their thing so just gotta lean all the way in to that for whichever one is right for the moment.
Really, really hoping that the 3.0 desktop software is keeping support for 2.x firmware. Realistically, I doubt that it will. Not the end of the world if it goes that way, but a downside of not going with the new direction.
Re Theo - guy could easily have done standup if he wasn’t doing what he’s doing.
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I hope so, open beta 
Talking about the 1000, I remember when I first got one and was on MPC forums, and gearspace and remember people talking about the sound didn’t have personality at all. It was pretty universal thought. Still gutted as I also remember having the opportunity to buy a sp1200 for relatively cheap, but decided not too because of size and was more in love with the MPC.
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I just downloaded 3.5, is that new or did it come out before? Is there anything new? It seems to be all the same but I could be missing things…
So I started my X today, and a pop up said there was a new update. So I updated to 3.5.0 just now. Is this now officially released? I only heard about a release for the Force, or is it for the other boxes as well?
Got a little nervous afterwards, because I didnt read about and just pushed the button.