Who else does NOT like the MPC Live?

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

So the title says it all. I’ve had the MPC Live for 48 hours now and quite honestly I really don’t like it. The touch screen reliance is mad annoying, and coming from Maschine the workflow is strange.

It seems nice as a “DAW in a box”, and it would be a great hardware sequencer, but coming from the Maschine MK3 the workflow is just a nightmare. I guess I much prefer dedicated buttons/shift commands over a touch screen. The piano roll editing was ESPECIALLY annoying to me.

And I just want to say I don’t think it’s bad, it’s definitely a premium product, but damn I just can’t get with this thing.

3 Likes
#2

Update it, they added pad shortcuts in the last updates, so shift+pad takes you through different pages. Give it some more time and try not to think of it like maschine, it’s a different workflow

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#3

I updated it to 2.3, but I did not know that the pad shift commands we’re in this update. Will give it a try!

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#4

Tried it and didnt gel with the touch screen but apart from that I think its an amazing box. I would even rather go keyboard and mouse, touch screens are not accurate nor tactile to me. If they re-released one of the old school MPC’s but with modern features id pick one up.

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#5

I feel that. I’d love a rehash of the 1000 without the touch screen.

#6

I thought you could plug a mouse and keyboard into it? Or was that Sega Dreamcast?

11 Likes
#7

The first week I had my Octatrack, I was very mindful of the return window. I was so perplexed by it in so many ways I wanted to make sure there would be time to return it if things didn’t work out. But after learning a trick here and another there, I started loving it more for what it is, rather than what I wanted it to be initially.

All that to say, after a couple weeks you may find some great ways to work with your MPC. I nearly chose the MPC X over the Octatrack. Labored over the decision for months. Both would be like learning a new language for me.

Look forward to progress reports!

5 Likes
#8

I’m not sure about the mouse but you can plug keyboards in. The touch screen does have a qwerty keyboard on it which is very nice, I must admit.

#9

Yeah I’ve got a 30 day return window but I was only going to give it a week or so to keep it in the best condition possible. I was in between getting a DT again or the Live, and since I hadn’t tried it yet I went for the live. I definitely had more fun right out of the box with the DT though.

#10

I started with the Digitakt and am very glad I did. Such a seemingly simple, fun little box. Still some of my favorite YouTube videos are of people doing crazy, next level stuff on DT’s.
Every time I try to talk myself into getting an MPC, I think about WHY I would want one. My conclusion has always been the same so far. I have a laptop. I just don’t want to use it to make music at this time. Maybe I’ll think differently in time. They seem pretty awesome for a bunch of reasons

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#11

Silly thread :crazy_face:

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#12

This is why I got the studio black. I am mostly at home on my laptop. Everything about it feels like my 2000xl except I’ve got more sampling ram to work with. I get the mpc 4000 live swing abilities included too.

Touch screen MPCs aren’t my thing either

3 Likes
#13

Yeah i feel like I would like this more if I was going for a mostly Dawless set up, but I have Push and Maschine so I’m definitely not going Dawless any time soon. If this doesn’t work out I think I’m gonna go back to DT and SP404 combo.

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#14

Yeah once I got over the pure hardware phase and started using a hybrid setup with my laptop something like an MPC starts to feel less important to me. The main reason I would get one is for nostalgia and to start a collection of some sort.

DT and OT feel more like instruments rather than production centers so I feel they would fit a hybrid setup better than an MPC would. I still would not replace a DAW with a OT either though.

5 Likes
#15

This is really interesting to see you peeps hating the touch screens. I’m pretty vocal about my disdain for them and oftentimes I feel like I’m in the minority, yet the MPC Live seems interesting to me. It sounds like I need to try one in person before I make a purchase.

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#16

Yeah definitely try it out. I have sweaty sausage fingers and it is so aggravating because some of the icons are incredibly small.

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#17

For me its a feedback thing, gotta have a button, click or something that tells me that the machine has registered my command, I feel that applying muscle memory to a touch screen is not as effective for me. I guess I compare it to playing games on a pc or console as opposed to playing the same games on an Ipad. There are certain functions like the effects sweep (like the kaoss pad) which I think work well though.

If I didnt have a DAW id 100% go for a Mpc live as my brain though.

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#18

I agree. Buttons are a big thing for me when it comes to gaining muscle memory. With touch screens it’s so easy to miss a command or icon without looking at it.

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#19

Im not a fan of this kind of post.
The title of your post says one thing and your post says something else, perhaps a more fitting title would be “after 2 days with MPC live im frustrated over the workflow coming from maschine”.

With your logic this forum would be full of similer posts with “insert any name of a Elektron product”, but no we understand it takes a little time to understand the workflow of hardware with a lot of menu diving.

Get back on the horse, read the manual, ask questions, check MPC forums and be patient…48 hours is nothing :kissing_heart:

5 Likes
#20

I see what you mean. I definitely wasn’t trying to be misleading by any means. Sure I’m frustrated coming from Maschine, but that’s not the only reason I don’t like it. I can still make the same beats with it as I can on maschine.

I kinda had a feeling I wasn’t going to gel with it too well, but I always need to try something first. I didn’t think I would like the DT and loved it, same with the Electribe 2s and SP404. This one though is weird. It feels like a real heavy iPad with an MPD232 on it with tons of I/O.

I will give it this though, the I/O is fantastic. So many options. If I still had all that hardware I feel like I would like it a lot more. That’s where I can see it being very, very appealing. Again, it is by no means bad what so ever. It’s great for a certain type of person. I just wanted to see if anyone else didn’t like it and why/why not.