My review on the Akai MPC5000

[MIDIchlorian]

Short review of the Mpc5000

To sum up the MPC 5000.
It has all the features I loved on the MPC2500 (direct recording ,auto chop etc)
But it is a step above every other Mpc I have used.

Reason is the TC. (Quantize feel)
I was told by a Akai beta tester the the TC uses the Timing Clock of the Mpc3000.
Originally the Mpc5000 was even named the Mpc3500 due to this fact.
I love the feel of the TC and the added 64th notes TC id another bonus,also the TC strength option is great.

The synth is quite good and combined with the effects is a real force.
My fav feature is the arpeggiator.
It works really well and I have made some real cool sounding things so far using it..

I have not yet used the hard disk recording ( for what I do direct recording will work even better)
But the HD recording is a great option..
The massive Hard drive is great to have too..

Another one of my fav things to do is control filters/cut offs with the q link,that combined with the arpeggiator is great and takes my synth parts to another level..

I love the HUGE screen and with rumors of it soon being able to be upgraded to touch screen,that will really rock.

(Yes Akai had originally designed touch screen for the MPC5000,it was made by a tech I know ,but in the end Akai didn`t use the feature)
More news on that as it comes to me..

----

Now for the bad.
The one thing I was really hoping to be improved over the MPC2500 was not.
The chop shop auto shop is no different then the mpc2500`s at all.
I was hoping not non destructive editing,or a more recycler type system.
Chop shop did not need to be called 2.0 on the MPC5000 since nothing is different then the old chop shops auto chop on the MPC2500.

Some of what Just Blaze talks about in his review bashing the MPC5000 is fixed in the new os (mpc importing from older mpc etc)
JB does have a point about how you load the synth patches (with no preview option) and the ability to tune a entire program is not there.


The real thing that makes the mpc5000 worth getting is the feel of the quantize and the many many options of TC you have..
It feels like my old mpc3000`s sequencer and that I love.
But I might just say that ,no I will say I like the quantize feel even better then the mpc3000 due to the quantize strength option..
Like any Akai mpc made after the mpc3000 we should just come to expect bugs in the os,same as we come to expect Windows OS bugs.
You just got to take the good with the bad I guess..


I can get past the no entire program tuning function.
There is a way around that like anything else.
You just go to trim hit window & tune the sample BEFORE you chop (see Just that was easy right)or pitch shift your sample b4 chopping
I always get my samples right before I chop anyways( timestreatch ,pitch etc)


Akai needs to make a preview on the synth patches thats no doubt and improve the chop shop.
Then I will be happy..


Also the tempo detect feature still can`t get the bpm right (same problem as the MPC2500 and MPC1000) .
This confuses me since the MPC2000xl tempo detection is money.
Having no auto tempo detect feature is a pain when you patch phase a sample since you need the exact tempo to patch phrase a sample right.
I still have to manually detect the tempo if samples on the main screen..



In conclusion,I always thought the MPC2500 was the best Mpc ever made.
Having a onboard synth makes the MPC5000 (with a midi keyboard) a powerfull self contained project studio
The MPC5000 has improved on the MPC2500 in many ways and takes it place as the new
KING OF THE Akai MPC`S..



Update after 2.0 2011

The Akai Mpc5000 is hands down the best MPC I have ever used.
Not only due to it's huge amount of features,but due to it's super fast workflow.
The OS 2.0 brought the Mpc5000 many shortcuts to improve workflow and many new features as well.*The 5000 at it's core is similar to a Mpc2500 at it's core ,but on steroids!
Let's first start with the features NO other MPC to date has ever had.

The 5000 has a onboard Synth and a*Arpeggiator.
The three-oscillator virtual analog synth engine is a great audition and you can really create some great custom synth sounds tweaking around with LFOs and such. The*Arpeggiator can be used on the both the Synth and sounds loaded to pads. Every useful to say the least.*

The Mpc5000 is also the only MPC that has the ability to load entire folders without MPC programs. It loads the entire folder no matter how many sounds it contains and assigns them to pads & programs automatically. *

The Mpc5000 also has a 8 track Hard Disk recorder. Great for doing remixes,or tracking vocals or love instruments over your song. Even bouncing down all your tracks or your song to a Wav file to burn to CD (24 and 16 bit)

Now everyone has heard or the MPCs legendary swing and feel.
The MPC5000 goes a step beyond any other MPC with a*Timing Correct strength
option. Now you have complete control of just how much Quantize you want applied.
Also in the Timing Correct department you have the ability to add swing on Triplets.
No other MPC gave you a swing option for triplets.*

Also 2 new layer playback modes unique to the MPC5000 where added.
"Cycle" and "Random" pad layer playback. Where you can Cycle through 2-4 layers of sounds on a pad in order or in a random order. Great for doing a Round Robbins.

Also another feature added*Continuous Sample Track. With that if you have a long sample in the sequencer It will not have to loop around to retrigger if you stop and start the sequencer at different points in the sequence or song.

Turntable phono inputs with RIAA pre-amp,no DJ mixer needed with the Mpc5000 to sample direct from your turntable.

All the above is exclusive to the Mpc5000. It also has many features that made the Mpc2500 a beast like,Direct Recording,Auto and Manual Chopping (up to 64 regions)
Patch phrase,the*Ability to use note repeat without sequencer running ( great for live performances)

The MPC5000s hardware includes. Huge Display: 240 x 128 dot graphic LCD w/back light*Memory Card Slot: *Compact Flash.*12 Q-link controllers for internal automation, external MIDI control and quick parameter editing,*USB 2.0 port for computer connectivity.*10 built-in analog outputs, plus 8 ADAT-optical outputs and stereo S/PDIF IO, Huge 60GB internal hard drive.

MPC5000 Specs are
Sampling rate: 44.1kHz
Memory : 64MB standard, expandable to 192MB
Recording time: 12m 48sec. (64MB, MONO), 38m24sec. (192MB, MONO)
Memory expansion slot: 1 x for optional EXM-E3
Data format: 16-bit linear
Polyphony: 64
Dynamic filtering: 1 State Variable Filter per voice (up to 8 pole, depending on type)
Filter types: LOW PASS, BAND PASS, HIGH PASS, BAND BOOST, BAND STOP, ANALOG MODELING, VOCAL FORMANT
Number of programs: 128

Mpc5000 VS Mpc4000
In conclusion I believe Akai has brought us the best MPC to date with the MPC5000
I have owned and mastered them all. In all fairness there are features missing that the Mpc4000 had including [24 bit sampling,6 pad banks,Upgradeable to 512 MB,Program Multis*Portamento,Crossfade looping,Q- link on sequence,USB drive storage,SMPTE Sync,MTC,MMC,System Clocking at 96.0KHz,48.0KHz,and 41.1KHz,Sequence Transpose and*Auto Normalize option in record]*

But I feel all the features the Mpc5000 has that the MPC4000 didn't have including*
[Patch phrase,Loading entire folder,Auto chop,Qlink on pad (attack decay),Hd recording*TC strength,Direct recording,12 q links,Onboard Synth,Arpeggiator,Cycle and random pad layer playback,Swing on Triplets,More 16 level Params (Attack,Decay)
Tuning in trim while sequence plays.,Ability to use note repeat without sequencer running
Continuous Sample Track] more then make up for it.

It's a close battle but for me the extra sample editing features ,TC options and effects put the Mpc5000 over the top with the Mpc4000 in second place.
The fact that the Mpc5000 is still a supported Akai product is a big factor.
Also the Mpc5000 is absent the HUGE learning curve associated with the MPC4000.
If you want the king of MPCs with the fastest workflow and most sample editing and quantize features of any MPC. The MPC500 is the way to go.

Reviewed by MIDIchlorian of
www.akaimpc.com (The only place to get instructional DVD tutorials for all Akai MPCs)

[Mege]

Nice review.

Is there anyone on gearslutz with experience with both the the MPC4000 and MPC5000 that can chime in on the differences in working with on the 2 machines?

[Daniel75]

Hi,
I am new to the MPC world and I have purchased the MPC5000 just recently.
Previously I used Reason 3 and I notice that beats in the MPC somehow sound snappier and more punchy using the same (wave) samples.

But as I come from digital, I found it Really hard to understand how this machine works, and I've noticed that there is not yet one Tutorial available for the 5000.
So I have been studying the Manual really hard but I am really stuck on the following 2 issues:

1) Multiple track bounce?
How do I render/bounce separate tracks so that I can import them into my DAW, or is this even possible? Should I solo tracks seperately and bounce? I know you can mix in the MPC aswell but I want to use my favorite plugins.

2) ADAT setting?
When I connect the MPC to my Audio Interface (I use RME's Fireface 800) via ADAT, only the right main out comes through. Why is this, what settings should I use?
(Read the manual but can't figure it out)

Hope anyone can help.

Daniel.

Update 15 may 2011:

I understand now how this beast works.
And it is possible to bounce each sound separately by assigning each sound to a track.
Then mute all tracks, except the one you need to bounce.
Repeat this until all tracks are done.
See how to track out beats in this vid I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkdQzRDsH5Y