Introduction
OK – let’s get two confessions out of the way before we get started. Firstly, I’m an MPC virgin. Secondly, I’m not really much of hip-hop production maestro. Whether these points mean I can bring any kind of fresh perspective to this review remains to be seen. But, I’ll try anything once.
With home computing power having recently taken a significant leap forward with the arrival of dual core processors, the kind of functions a hardware sampler and sequencer provide can seem trivial in comparison to a fully fledged DAW running 100+ instances of convolution reverb plugins. The home project studio has never been more affordable, and the wide range of freeware and commercial software mean that you have almost limitless power at your fingertips. But speaking from personal experience, none of this can really help you with the basic thrust of creativity, and you are just as likely to be overwhelmed and distracted than productive and interested.
It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when you didn’t have these limitless choices and options – and we could even go so far to say that great music was still produced regardless (!). We’ll not get into the relative pros and cons of software vs. hardware, but suffice to say that there is still enough room for everyone and their personal way of working.
The MPC sampling workstation family is synonymous with hip-hop production culture and started in the late 1980’s with the Akai MPC-60, which was produced in collaboration with Roger Linn. This was followed in the mid 1990’s with the MPC-3000, and Akai later independently released the MPC-2000 and expanded XL version. In more recent times, the range has been updated to provide an MPC for every price bracket and purpose, and to also bring in more modern storage, memory and transfer capabilities.
The MPC-500 is the baby of the bunch, and it focuses on portability to allow fresh beats to be knocked up wherever you might find yourself (providing you keep enough AA batteries for your trip).
Main Interface + Feature Basics
For those totally unfamiliar to the MPC concept, it’s worth covering some of the basics of the unit. It revolves around a set of pressure sensitive pads that can be used to record MIDI data, which in turn can trigger samples. In reality it feels more like the sounds are coming straight from the pads when you tap / hit / play them, but it’s worth keeping in mind that there really is some MIDI business happening underneath all of that.
One of the strengths of the MPC-500 is that it has a reasonably gentle and rewarding learning curve. In conjunction with the included quick-start guide, you can be tapping out new beats within minutes – yet with a bit of reading and probing you can uncover plenty more depth with the more substantial user manual. Those people with ‘manual phobia’ may be able to soldier on independently for a while, but the MPC-500 is complex enough that you will have to dust off your reading glasses and dip in eventually. Luckily, the manual is well written, if a little dry, and doesn’t feel impenetrable for the lay person – with a logical layout and the odd tip here and there.
The whole unit is only around the size of a hardback book, and is just the right size for sitting on your lap. The two most obvious sacrifices made for the portability are a missing bank of pads (the MPC-500 has 12 pads vs. the usual 16), and the small 2 row LCD screen. I can’t comment on how the pads ‘feel’ in comparison to other MPCs – but they are sturdy and responsive, though I was surprised at how hard you need to hit them to get up near the top end of the velocity scale. Different velocity curve settings are available to allow different styles of playing, but none gave me quite the light touch I was after (weak hands and too much time on touch sensitive cd players I guess).
The MPC-500 contains the bare necessities of I/O for the traveling beat monkey. There are ¼” sockets for your headphones, master output and a mic/line switchable recording input, plus MIDI I/O for acting as a MIDI master / slave or using it as a stand-alone sequencer. The USB port allows the MPC-500 to appear as a mass storage device for transferring samples to / from the included 128mb compact flash memory card and your computer – though the transfer speed seemed a little slow, so I am assuming it is done via USB1.1.
Data, Memory & Samples
The MPC-500 has a default 16mb of system RAM installed, which can be upgraded to 128mb. Although 16mb sounds fairly pitiful by modern standards, you don’t really need too much working memory for holding a decent amount of drum hits and associated one shot kind of samples. You may run out of space if using lots of longer sampled phrases or loops, but otherwise it’s plenty to be getting on with.
The unit has a compact flash card slot and comes with a 128mb card containing a hefty 110mb or so of various percussion kits, basses, keys, loops, strings and even the obligatory simple scratchy noises. The hardcore diggers may balk at the thought of using a factory sound bank, but there are some decent bread and butter sounds included which are great for those of us who don’t already have perfectly organized libraries of samples at the ready. All samples you want to work with need to be loaded into the system memory from the compact flash card, but you can set up a personal small set of autoloaded samples as your default starting point.
Sequencing & Editing
The ethos of the MPC family really revolves around real-time playing, looping and overdubbing of samples to get the groove going, though there are facilities for subsequent static sequence manipulation and editing. The basic idea revolves around chaining ‘sequences’ to make ‘songs’ – with each sequence able to hold up to 48 tracks. So you can have various sections such as intros, verses and choruses etc. all as separate sequences, and then put them in any order you wish to make a full song.
This is where the obvious connection of production style and structure of most hip-hop relates well to the MPC way of working. It’s a great way of getting things going very quickly, but those people wanting to do very complex editing and audio manipulation are going to struggle – especially with the small non-graphical screen of the MPC-500. Complex is not always best, and there is something very nice about the restraints and happy accidents you have whilst tapping away on the MPC-500. I certainly came up with more ‘interesting’ beats than I have ever done with a PC based drum sampler and sequencer. One thing to note though – don’t expect to be a pad playing expert from day one.
My timing and playing ability was almost tragic, but with a bit of practice things got better pretty quickly. There is a built-in quantize function with adjustable amounts of swing, so that the MPC-500 can help put your poor timing back where it should be (quantize), but still keeping a bit of the human factor (swing).
Effects
The MPC-500 comes with a pair of stereo effects processors, plus a separate master output effects section which includes EQ and compression. The master EQ has high and low shelving style eq and 2 parametric mid-points. The compressor comes with standard threshold, ratio, attack, release and gain controls. Needless to say, adjustment of these parameters in turn via the small screen is functional but a bit of a pain. They sound fine but it’s very easy to make the output clip, and an absence of any kind of level metering makes me a little anxious!
Interestingly, the master output eq and compression appeared to be on by default – which may go a little way to getting that MPC sound that many reminisce about.
The stereo effects processors contain a wider set of effects that also include a bit grunger, phase shifter, tremolo, autopan, reverb, delay, chorus and flanger. You can actually chain the first effects processor into the second, with the only restriction being that the delay, chorus and flanger can only be used on the second effects processor. The assignment of which sounds pass through the effects section is really easy – you just select which pads you want to go where and that’s that. The type and choice of effects are pretty standard, but are a very useful tool in sound manipulation and getting things that are fairly dry to take on another form. You can save your current effects settings into ‘effects sets’ which you can then recall whenever you wish (so a kind of global effects preset).
Q-Link
Another feature that adds a bit more expression and real-time tweaking fun is the Q-Link slider. It allows you to alter the level, tuning or low-pass filter cut-off frequency of a pad whilst you are using it. The tuning is a bit crude and will destroy loops, but works neatly for short one hit style samples. The slider doesn’t quite compare to the faders most of us are used to, but gives enough scope for a decent range of adjustment and tactile control.
Which MPC is for me?
Although the MPC-500 is the cheapest of the MPC family, I don’t think it is too useful to think of it in terms of being the entry level unit for those looking to get their first MPC. The emphasis is on portability, so if that isn’t a necessity then my suspicion is that people will get more out of a MPC-1000 and the extra power and flexibility it affords. I found the small display of the MPC-500 a bit of a struggle, and it seems like it might be a unit more suited to those familiar with the MPC way of working but who demand a portable smaller footprint unit for whatever reason.
Final Thoughts
I can’t give an accurate comparison with the rest of the MPC family, or really get into the nitty gritty with regards to workflow or feature stumbling blocks. Even after the few weeks I’ve had the unit, I have only really scratched the surface. Needless to say, to get the most out of an MPC you will have to invest a significant amount of time learning the unit and getting used to playing pads – but this is equally true of any production orientated software or hardware. Also, although the MPC-500 has the pre-requisite facilities for stand-alone operation such as sample recording, editing and manipulation, I’d probably still do any real donkey work on my PC because of the limitation of working on such a small screen.
Depending on your style of production and sound you are after, the MPC-500 may well be the intuitive way of working you are looking for. There are restrictions, but sometimes this is just what you need to frame your workflow and get creative.
Ratings
Build Quality - 9/10
Solid casing and tough pads
Sound Quality - 8/10
Usable set of effects and a nice set of samples to start off with
Features and implementation - 8/10
The trade off for portability is the sometimes frustrating small screen
Value for money - 9/10
A good price point and likely to keep a good resale value if you change your mind further down the line
The Bottom Line
Hardware isn’t dead yet, and although you pay a slight premium for it – it may be the best route for many wishing for a more interactive music making experience.
Thanks to Julian at Akai for the loan of the unit.
