Hardware Sequencers

[thawkins]

 

There's also a Roland MC 808 on sale where I live, how does that compare to MPC1000 and can it do all the nifty things?

 

I have a MC-505 - was a great starter groovebox/sequencer - but i never really used it as a master to control external synths - just used the internal patches and made songs 'inside' - however it is very capable to be a master for external gear - only problem (with the 505 anyway) is theres quite a bit of menu diving and setting up, and i'm not quite sure if you can save settings so that when you turn it off and on they stick - could be different with the MC808 tho!

 

The 505 is rather rigid when it comes to playback - you usually just have to start the sequence fresh - not much launching clips like in ableton, you would either have to have a number of loops on separate channels which you can mute and un-mute (or fade in/out) - or you could pain painstakingly build the song bit by bit so it just plays back the same way every time

 

I recently got a MPC 2500 but havn't had the time to properly dig into it - i'm hoping to use it instead of ableton for live stuff, most people i've talked to who own one or use it in a similar live set-up swears by them - so i'd say you'd be safer going down the MPC route (having said that, I dont really know much about the 1000, it may or may not be as capable as it's bigger brothers when it comes to live stuff, does it support JJOS?)

 

Have you considered the Beatsteps? I've never used one but they seem to be pretty good for live gear improv stuff and if you're starting small with less gear it might be all you need - seems very immediate and quick to get ideas flowing

 

Thanks for the information. I think I will first try out building a MPC sort of workflow in Live using the launchpad and the 16-knob Doepfer Pocket Control thing I soldered together (I've set up a USB-numpad to change presets on the Pocket Control). The idea is then to toss the laptop to the side and not stare at the screen tweaking with a mouse but use it as a midi sequencer and occasional sampler / effects unit. And later when I'm done with jamming, I can edit, record and render the thing.

With regard to the Beatsteps, I've read some posts on this forum saying that the software there is glitchy (even the Pro) and Arturia probably won't release bugfixes. I might look into them later on though, as they seem good bang for the buck.

Elektron gear seems really enticing but it goes for 3x the price I am willing to pay.

[TubularCorporation]

 

 

There's also a Roland MC 808 on sale where I live, how does that compare to MPC1000 and can it do all the nifty things?

 

I have a MC-505 - was a great starter groovebox/sequencer - but i never really used it as a master to control external synths - just used the internal patches and made songs 'inside' - however it is very capable to be a master for external gear - only problem (with the 505 anyway) is theres quite a bit of menu diving and setting up, and i'm not quite sure if you can save settings so that when you turn it off and on they stick - could be different with the MC808 tho!

 

The 505 is rather rigid when it comes to playback - you usually just have to start the sequence fresh - not much launching clips like in ableton, you would either have to have a number of loops on separate channels which you can mute and un-mute (or fade in/out) - or you could pain painstakingly build the song bit by bit so it just plays back the same way every time

 

I recently got a MPC 2500 but havn't had the time to properly dig into it - i'm hoping to use it instead of ableton for live stuff, most people i've talked to who own one or use it in a similar live set-up swears by them - so i'd say you'd be safer going down the MPC route (having said that, I dont really know much about the 1000, it may or may not be as capable as it's bigger brothers when it comes to live stuff, does it support JJOS?)

 

Have you considered the Beatsteps? I've never used one but they seem to be pretty good for live gear improv stuff and if you're starting small with less gear it might be all you need - seems very immediate and quick to get ideas flowing

 

Thanks for the information. I think I will first try out building a MPC sort of workflow in Live using the launchpad and the 16-knob Doepfer Pocket Control thing I soldered together (I've set up a USB-numpad to change presets on the Pocket Control). The idea is then to toss the laptop to the side and not stare at the screen tweaking with a mouse but use it as a midi sequencer and occasional sampler / effects unit. And later when I'm done with jamming, I can edit, record and render the thing.

With regard to the Beatsteps, I've read some posts on this forum saying that the software there is glitchy (even the Pro) and Arturia probably won't release bugfixes. I might look into them later on though, as they seem good bang for the buck.

Elektron gear seems really enticing but it goes for 3x the price I am willing to pay.

 

 

For what it's worth, I had endless trouble with my Beatstep Pro, sold it to someone I know to control a small modular system he just built, and he hasn't had a bit of trouble with it, so I suspect the problems I had might be setup dependent (I did measure the voltages coming out of the BSP to make sure it was the problem in my setup and it was).  Ergonomically I liked the thing.

[thawkins]

 

 

 

There's also a Roland MC 808 on sale where I live, how does that compare to MPC1000 and can it do all the nifty things?

 

I have a MC-505 - was a great starter groovebox/sequencer - but i never really used it as a master to control external synths - just used the internal patches and made songs 'inside' - however it is very capable to be a master for external gear - only problem (with the 505 anyway) is theres quite a bit of menu diving and setting up, and i'm not quite sure if you can save settings so that when you turn it off and on they stick - could be different with the MC808 tho!

 

The 505 is rather rigid when it comes to playback - you usually just have to start the sequence fresh - not much launching clips like in ableton, you would either have to have a number of loops on separate channels which you can mute and un-mute (or fade in/out) - or you could pain painstakingly build the song bit by bit so it just plays back the same way every time

 

I recently got a MPC 2500 but havn't had the time to properly dig into it - i'm hoping to use it instead of ableton for live stuff, most people i've talked to who own one or use it in a similar live set-up swears by them - so i'd say you'd be safer going down the MPC route (having said that, I dont really know much about the 1000, it may or may not be as capable as it's bigger brothers when it comes to live stuff, does it support JJOS?)

 

Have you considered the Beatsteps? I've never used one but they seem to be pretty good for live gear improv stuff and if you're starting small with less gear it might be all you need - seems very immediate and quick to get ideas flowing

 

Thanks for the information. I think I will first try out building a MPC sort of workflow in Live using the launchpad and the 16-knob Doepfer Pocket Control thing I soldered together (I've set up a USB-numpad to change presets on the Pocket Control). The idea is then to toss the laptop to the side and not stare at the screen tweaking with a mouse but use it as a midi sequencer and occasional sampler / effects unit. And later when I'm done with jamming, I can edit, record and render the thing.

With regard to the Beatsteps, I've read some posts on this forum saying that the software there is glitchy (even the Pro) and Arturia probably won't release bugfixes. I might look into them later on though, as they seem good bang for the buck.

Elektron gear seems really enticing but it goes for 3x the price I am willing to pay.

 

 

For what it's worth, I had endless trouble with my Beatstep Pro, sold it to someone I know to control a small modular system he just built, and he hasn't had a bit of trouble with it, so I suspect the problems I had might be setup dependent (I did measure the voltages coming out of the BSP to make sure it was the problem in my setup and it was).  Ergonomically I liked the thing.

 

The Beatstep Pro does seem really nice, however looking at the official specs it seems to only support step sequencing (i.e. no realtime recording) and only two looping melodic sequences. At current day and age I would expect at least 8 or 16 tracks, I mean if you've programmed the machine to handle 2 already...

I suppose buying two and chaining them together would probably be enough for all my jamming needs, but still I have to keep the computer in the loop to record all realtime twiddling (i.e. wicked progressive solos).

[wahrk]

Just realized that it might be somewhat relevant to inform this thread that I now own an first gen Octatrack, and it is quite excellent.