Is it worth the money it costs to purchase an MPC or would it be better just to use that money to purchase a DAW. I am divided between either purchasing Reason 6 or an Akai MPC 500. I really don't know how to use an MPC anyway but I do have some experience with Reason 6.

Any comments or help would be appreciated. Thanks.

if you have experience with reason and are happ with it then why not just stick with it until you feel you "need" additional stuff.
reason is a very capable piece of kit

mpcs are nice too btw, i use both soft and harware in my productions, im only suggesting the software route as its where your experience lies

I don't own Reason although I was wondering whether it may be better to purchase Reason or an MPC. Thanks for Replying.

This is largely a philosophical question that comes down to the preference of the individual user. There is no "best", but obviously software is going to be a lot more powerful and flexible and give you much more bang for your buck. Unless you have some sort of specific aversion making music on a computer, then definitely go with a computer based DAW over an MPC. If later you find that you want something more hands-on that can get you away from the computer, then you can look at adding an mpc to your setup.

There is really no avoiding a computer somewhere in the recording chain these days. Even if you produce everything in the MPC, you still have to record, mix, and master it somehow. So definitely start with a computer based DAW.

I don't think you can compare an MPC500 with Reason. The workflow, and programming are so different. Reason is an "all in the box" solution, while the MPC will require you to find it's sounds from elsewhere (sampling). I think it also depends what kind of music you're producing. I use a DAW (Live) and a groovebox (SP505), depending on what is needed, and often swap files from one setup to the other.

So I'd say ... get both

Pretty much what Vurt and the others said.

Without knowing exactly what type of music you want to produce or whether or not your already a musician (ie play an instrument already???) it's not that easy to offer the best advice. For example, if your a musician or maybe a singer then having a physical instrument infront of you to touch/play/hit or whatever might be important to you. If your just looking to produce beats for a band or mc then the MPC might suit more but as a means to produce a whole song with, Reason is by far the better option imo.

While i love MPC's and know that they have been used to make probably hundreds of tunes I've purchased, I do feel their time has has passed. When a lot of the people who made those boxes the legend it become purchased their MPC's, there wasn't a great deal of other choices. It was probably an Atari running a sequencer and a sampler or you combined the two and had the MPC with the added bonus of pads to hit - Once you made a f**k load of money off your tunes, are you gonna change your setup? I wouldn't.....

If the choices to make back then included Reason, I doubt AKAI would have done so well as they did. The soft sampler pretty much killed them off and now they are making it easier to integrate their latest offerings into a computer based setup. Hopefully they will do the same again and make something revolutionary, but the MPC's aren't the best option anymore if your looking to get into production.

Just MHO.

Akai's forthcoming MPC Renaissance and MPC Studio will provide you the intuitive, inspiring interface of an MPC with the convenience and power of a DAW. Native Instruments' Maschine gives you all that and takes it way further.

Whatever you decide - if you go hardware - then go hardware.
If you go software, likewise.

What do I mean?
Simply this.

If you want an MPC (which is hardware) buy a HARDWARE mpc. Do not buy the Renaissance. The whole point of MPC's are that they are hardware. If you buy a software MPC, then you are defeating the object of the exercise. MPC's are not special. Any Hardware Drum Machine will give you a special timing that a computer just does not have. It is funny. You can measure it. The computer doesn't really go out of time, it might phase slightly, but it is always there, but never at the same rate as the hardware. MPC's made their name by having a funky inbuilt groove quantize to their sequencing, that's all. They are still rock solid. A PC Computer ((c)Die Antwoord) does not run a real time OS so it is quite easy to see why there is a difference. People will moan and say there is no difference, but they don't have the hardware to compare it.
I am 100 percent software, btw ;-}


This isn't really a good/bad thing unless you involve politics in the equation.



Reason is software - it will always be software. An MPC-1000 (should you be able to find one) or one of it's derivatives (except for Renaissance) is hardware - it will always be hardware. Never the twain shall meet!

One is funky. The other is funky in a super-funky kind of way!


Whether you want 'funky' or 'super-funky' is down to you and your music.


Edit:
If you have the kind of money for a serious MPC, then I would suggest buying Cubase and a controller. It still won't give you 'rock-solid' timing, but you can buy an Alesis SR-20 for that for 100 quid. You can then 'sync' them up and see what all the fuss is about

Edit 2:
Ok, let me stick my neck out here (not like I don't anyway).
You talk about the dichotomy of buying a hardware/software(daw) solution.

Why not have both?
For 150 quid I just bought an Akai/Ableton APC-20. It is hardware and the software you get is amazing. Ok, 8 Audio tracks - more than enough. 8 Midi tracks - more than enough. 4 external VST plugins - more than enough. 4 external FX tracks - you get the picture? 20 scenes - good god man, you are not U2 are you. I can set the world on fire with this setup. Can't you? For 150 quid a controller and top-notch sequencing software. Of course yo can upgrade later.


If you buy hardware, yes it will give you a 'feel' that software does not have, but NOBODY will notice - it is the music you make. If you have a fetish for Akai MPC's - go for it - your fetish might make your music stronger.


Me? I just bought the cheapest controller I could find. It happens to be made by Akai (which everyone knows makes their stuff stronger than a Tank) and the software by Ableton (which everyone knows lead the field in software development - that's right - they lead the field - no other company is further ahead).


I will shut up now

Great post, and good advice. I use a Launchpad (which is even cheaper) and comes with a perfectly useable free version of Live 8. There are now some amazing scripts out there for the Launchpad that can turn it into a brilliant step sequencer (amongst other things). Launchpad + Live 8 =

Curious what makes you suggest this.

Personally, I like the MPC for its interface. It inspires different kinds of ideas and it's fun to work with. The part I don't like about the MPC is the sample management and editing, hence why the MPC Renaissance and Studio appeal to me more than hardware MPC's do.


Atari. Anyway, the OP never mentioned timing as a consideration.


Sure, you could certainly make a case for that. As much as I love Cubase, I don't consider it nearly as bleeding edge, it just does everything I need and sounds better to me than Ableton does.
Last edited by Uncle E on Sat Mar 24, 2012 11:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

Komplete integration, plug-in support, plug-in control, plug-in automation, loads as a plug-in itself, better handling of scenes, better handling of pitched pads, better sample editing, etc etc. It even loads iMaschine files, which probably a small percentage of people care about but is something that has me being a lot more productive.

thanks for the reply on this.

I don't know what to do about beats...don't like using a mouse, and using small snippets of someone else drumming feels lame, one finger synth kits get repetitive even with some knob twiddling for variation, too much learning for an electronic kit and sticks.
Suppose I am lazy and looking for something easy, but easy is likely to not be much good.

I had exactly the same problem until I got a Tempest, never had so much fun playing and programming my own drums.
It's not cheap but worth every penny imo.

Use a step sequencer, which is another Maschine has that the MPC lacks.