Question about Akai Pro MPC 2000 XL?

[DreamStarEnt]

I'm looking into buying the MPC 2000 XL but also looking to see if there's any lower priced ones around. Currently the MPC 2000 has a blue colored paint job but the ones I see on Ebay are Grey colored. What are the differences between the two? All I care about is if the technology is the same, if there's software updates or advantages from the blue colored. If they're both the same, then I assume I found a winner. Thanks for your help! I appreciate your incoming comments.

[web01169]

hey dream...i read your other post and i replied to it.....how much are you willing to spend on your studio....you should realize that the mpc is a sequencer and beat machine.....you will need a sound source....also....you will need a midi keyboard for the actuall music. as i said b4 in the other post, the mpc is a great unit for beats..but it has limits and you will need other gear. imho youd be better off with a keyboard workstation as it will let you make beats and create the music along with it. but if you're set on a mpc be prepared to spend alot more on other sound sources.

[mellow]

hey Dream and Web...i read the other post too...i'll respond here seens this is the MPC thread...Of course you dont HAVE TO have an MPC to program HipHop beats, thats perhaps an overstatement on my part... i dont mean to pump up the MPC...there are no rules, and beats can be created on any machine...people have different asthetics by nature, give thanks!...so i'll just speak from my own experience...i started making beats in NY about 12yrs ago and i now make beats in Oakland so the East Coast West Coast style thing has come into play, and after all this time some fads and the gear that goes along with the fads have come and gone and yet the MPC has remained a mainstay in HipHop all across the globe because the feel and swing of the MPC is synonymous with HipHop...You can load sounds from any source including the latest synths and modules into the MPC and then program them having that feel that we know so well. This has been a hotly debated subject, the feel and the swing of the differnt machines, but in my humble opinion after using many other machines there is good reason that the MPC has become the most common HipHop machine of choice...it feels great to work with apart from the feel of the beats and it works great for ME...the sequencer is also solid and is widely used as the main sequecer by many... If you were not setting up A HipHop studio iN particular then i would'nt even comment...the scope of beat machines would be wide open, but in HipHop the MPC is as common as Turntables and a microphone...you have to ask yourself why...but you also realize it's not the only choice...some hot producers do indeed use other machines.
By the way...i have the older grey MPC 2000XL and i dont know the difference between that and the new blue ones...I'm curious too and will be looking out although i have no desire at this point to part with my exsisting machine... Of course it all comes down to what works for YOU, So as Web advised, check out and try out all the options...you my be one of the fewer HipHop heads who prefer another tool. Good luck with getting that studio together!
Mellow

[DreamStarEnt]

IF you are ever interested in customizing your MPC's, Roland's, Korgs...etc..., check out www.forat.com and check their gallery out. A bit pricey though but seems worth the money.