Just gotta say, your comparison methods blow all other comparison videos out of the water! So thorough and scientific. You should be awarded the comparison science award my good sir! ;)
Instantly noticed the difference. The 2000 clearly has a warmer, perfectly saturated sound. The MPC Live is very clean and unrefined. Excellent comparison! Salute!
Well... Sorry mates for going against the current here but I do definitly hear a difference in the sampled sounds. The new one has smiley curve to it and a bit more punchy. The 2000 is a bit more pre-mixed and flat. Cheers!
The 2000 sounded a bit more gritty and retro sounding, the bass on the 2000 also seemed to be a little more present than the live however the lives instruments were more clear and precise. So it really depends on the type of sound you want to go for
@@dragonfly_bry People like the MPC 60's because it's expensive and gives them bragging rights of owning a Rodger Linn. Your 2000 can convert the bit rate to 8 or 12 bits and sound just the same. The only MPC worth its salt is the 4000 because it has everything and even the kitchen sink.
First of all I love that beat. Second of all, I was surprised how similar they were at first, but when the hook kicks in I noticed the MPC2000 was a tad smoother and more put-together, while the Live had some highs poking out (which would be easily tucked in using a compressor).
NM sound E here......the only person that is truely able to tell the difference is the person that made the video and is there...by the time sound is recorded through his mic system...uploaded through youtube's automatic compression system...travel through a second compression system so that its playable on your device, there is no actual sonic clarity.
agreed, but I believe the 2K is the sound you want if you are searching for that authentic boom/bap. The Live still isn't it, even though it's of a higher quality.
MPC 2000 sounds better to me. It just sounds more glued. I feel that way about all of the older generation gear. There is something to be said about the older technology when it comes to sound.
I liked the 2000 better. The live sounded more live and more spacey, but the 2000 was more crisp and everything sounded tighter which I think is important for hip hop beats.
Uhmmm so from the description in your introduction you recorded these samples on computer then loaded them into the Mpc’s? With this method you will only be hearing the Dacs and not hearing both Dacs and Adcs. In order for this to be effective you have to record each sound in each mpc via 1/4” inputs. Right now all your hearing is your computers adc
The 2000 has a boost in the low mids. We are talking about .5dB. Will the mastering engineer hear it? Yes. Will your vocalist catch it ? Nope. Will your listener catch it ? Nope.
I never stopped using my 2000xl but definitely it’s how u record ya drums into the mpc that keeps that snap an crunch other then that chop samples in the 2000xl then complete it in the box simple the live is just another tool to learn
Hey man you earned a sub. Can you please answer this question. I've had a 2000xl forever. Kind of stuck in my ways. Tried to do a daw even bought an elektron digitakt just to do something different. I can't get away from the overall workflow of the mpc. Question is how hard is it to go from a 2000 to the live? It looks kind of intimidating. I'm old and get turned off by too much tech but willing to learn if it's approachable.
I can’t say its real easy since the new MPC’s are basically a computer but its not hard after you see the connections, like making a beat is exactly the same and the quantize is also but its new menus and choices that were not available previously. I go over a lot of this in my music production course at Mikromix.com - holla if you are interested bro.
They are very close but I think the Live is a bit more crisp and open and hi fi. Personally, I prefer the Live. It would be interesting to hear this done again but with the 2000 emulation activated on the Live. BTW, I liked the beat a lot! Thanks for making this video.
sounded more distorted on the MPC live. The 2000 had a cleaner almost less reverberating sound. There's not too much difference but you would need some spectral analysis to look in depth. I would lean more for the 2000 if i was doing something professional
Question: Is there a difference between using an MPC to play/record your samples/beats and just using a DAW like ProTools or Logic directly and slicing it all up with just a computer, all inside your DAW?
Short answer is YES, but that's subjective to what you are looking for. I'll take certain hardware machines over a DAW any day. For some other jobs its DAW only.... Thanks for watching!
Great comparison! I own a 2500 and a Live but I never compared them like this. Before I listened on my headphones I heard the sound through my phone and for some reason the difference was a lot more noticable that way. The 2000 sounded a bit thinner which was not so apparent listening through headphones. With headphones I found the 2000 a bit more neutral. I also noticed the bass sounding louder and a little bit distorted on the Live. They both sounded great to me with a slight preference towards the 2000.
Thanks for this- The live has a more open top end, that makes it sound brighter. If you rolled the highs out the live, the difference would be largely unnoticeable. Id rather have the Live. Which I do! (and a 3000 which sounds WAY different to both of these).
I have the mpcx with MOTU M4 audio converter interface. I also have the EMU e6400 ultra sampler rack. Mpcx is indeed clear, bright and you can it all. It's fat. The EMU is not so clear butttt it's weighty.
Unlike some others here, I'm not hearing a big difference in more high end openess of the Live but I do feel like a detect a little more distortion in the bass on the Live. The 2000 seems to have a smoother saturation in the lower registers. Maybe that's the "warmth" others are noting. IDK though. The differences are very very subtle to me. I've had this 2500 sitting over here for a bit. I need to get off my lazy butt and finally dig deep on it. Great video, dude. Very interesting.
Thanks my bro!!!! Yea, it's subtle to say the least. Not enough difference to keep both mpc's on the table. I still got my T.E. stuff to play with lol!!! The live is at my right hand at all times in the lab. Super useful box.
I noticed the same thing. The bass on the Live is more distorted. I actually like that so surprisingly I prefer the Live over the 2000. My first MPC was the 2000 but I hardly used it and didn't really get the hang of it. I recently took my MPC500 out of storage where it has languished for 14 years and learned to use it. I was thinking of getting the 2000 and learning it properly too but I may get a Live or a One if the sound from this video is anything to go by.
gotta think akai has a standerd when it comes to the companies sound cards, just like roland, they have a quality of sound deliverance thats unmatched...it will always come out nice an dynamically perfect every time..
I hear a very subtle difference, so much that I questioned whether it was just a "psychoacoustic" kind of thing. I think I like the sound of the 2000 better.
I could be wrong, but the warmth and body of the 2000 kind of muddied up the low end to my ears, live had some more sonic clarity down low. I want to know about the work flow comparison? I’m a fan of the classics, and we’re comparing rib eye with new york steak rt here. Both delicious, just depends on what you have a taste for. Thank you for putting this out there and helping us understand. Peace - Ryno
Chopping on the 2000 feels prehistoric tbh. The live is up to date on that for sure. 2k can only use one bank of sounds at a time and no keys 🎹 at all internally. It’s a no brainer for overall workflow but for drum programming only it’s close. I kinda like the 2000 sonically in certain situations. For midi sequencing and drums 2k is still a valid option.
live has a more club sound, is more sterile, has more volume with subtle distortion, MCP2000 is cruder and more creamy, sounds lower but much better and more compact, with more space in the dynamic range for powerful and clean bass, great for boombap, house, techno.
Fidelity on the mpc2000 wasn’t as bright as the mpc live. As we know the sampling resolution and rate can be higher on the live. If both were set to the standard 16bitz 444100 resolution then I would say it comes down to the circuitry of the converters on outputs.
Nice video! And did you make the vinyl samples in the mpc's? If yes, I am kinda shocked)) I used to think that main difference is in the way old mpc's compressed sound. Maybe there is no difference at all (if RU-vid gives the exact sound)
I felt like the Live was a little brighter. Do I think it matters THAT much? Not really. Good beats are good beats. I also wonder whether you might see a greater difference if you recorded from vinyl into each machine separately. Could be that some of the "character" of the machines has to do with how they record the samples (rather than just how they play them back).
..sounded the same to me, other than with the sample when the vocals played, the live sounded louder where as the 2000 seems to need eq/compression to reach same effect
The live is definitely beefier - but the crispy magic of the 2K is what gives it that bap - of the boom/bap style. You can hear it in the high hats. The lack of low end on the 2K makes the sample pop, and the snares sit, while the highats cut through. the Live is clear, and fuller, but sounds less like the OG boom/bap. My thoughts. I have used both. I use a 2K.
on the live you can turn on mpc 60 or 3000 emulation in the preferences "other" tab which gives that same resampling and soft clipping that others are nothing as "warmth" or "smoothness"
that's for sure - I like 60 mode the most. I had planned it in this vid but I left it off and said next time smh...I like the real 60II sound for drums the most I think. So gritty.
Nope. It’s direct with nothing on the master channel. I actually had the mp60 mode ready so I could add that as a third but I forgot while grooving to the beat 😂 thanks Dave!!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽
That was pretty dope MPC live definitely sounds more higher on the top end both of them sounds good And also pretty cool are you match them up your real nice with your stuff... wish you could show me some a few things on the live
i think the real difference in the older vs newer machines is the way the older machines handle pitching down samples. when i pitch samples down on my 2000xl to -100 i really start to hear that ring
How would i connect my audio interface to this i cant figure out the routing..... I want to go Audio Interface~MPC 2000~Sp404~Audio interface Can u explain that routing and ve very specific about which outputs and inputs go where and what cables im using for each device??
I do video calls where I can go into great detail on your setup and all the options available. I ask a few questions about your workflow to see what will work best and I send over drawings so you can see all the connections. You can schedule it at Mikromix.com if interested. Thanks for watching 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
The 2000XL tones resonate longer so it sounds more seamless and as if the rearranged tones were meant to be configured the way you play it on the 2000XL. It’s less choppy and just sounds more organic. Love that nostalgic 2000XL.
I like both, but the Live sounds cleaner to me. More clarity in the top end. Personally I would probably prefer the Live due to its more modern workflow (touchscreen and all).
I do the hear the very slightly brighter thing on the Live. Biggest difference to my ears is how the pitching on the sample chop sounds. Live is more modern and natural, while 2k has that retro flavor that can really fatten up the right sample.
Great comparison! Finally someone who can match the levels correctly lol. and it’s dope that you recreated the exact same beat so you could really hear the difference.
Live seemed punchier than the 2k, especially on the high end, which could just be due to age. The 2k was... i don't know if mellower is the right word because it still had punch. I think someone else described it as groove. The punch to groove ratio was weighted more heavily towards groove on the 2k. The live still had groove, but the punch was much higher. I bet that could be toned down with a plugin or possibly eq'd to bring the sound even closer. Also, YT audio compression is in play, so frankly i don't even know if i could tell anyway. Still, this was an excellent comparison.
You should put the decays to match eachother and try it again I could here a slight difference in timing between the two but I believe it was due to the different decay levels between the 2.
Live has an audible distortion when the first kick hits, the 2k doesn't have that. Other than that both sounds extremely similar, with the tinniest addition of a master comp or eq the differences are non existent
I now own a mpc x and I have a mpc 2000 never done a comparison but listening here i can hear the live has a more crisp sound while the 2000 was much warmer especially when the vocals came in, the live still has a warm low end but Krispier hi end
The MPC Live gain staging mixed wrong the bass distorsion is quite apparent you pushed the DAC to hard and it can happened to MPC2k too! On a mixing page there is global volume option! It should be 0 or -6 db to avoid this. I refurbished my MPC 2K. It could be more better with better new electronic components!
The old sampler had a more cohesive sound overall, the kick and bass blend better than with the newer one. I think the old Akais tend to compress the sound a little when the full mix is going thru a single output in a very pleasant way. (Edit: could also be that in the newer one the kick just sounds loudder) Could you do a comparission between timestreching between the two?? Like some more subtle, and some other more extreme timestretch so we can hear the difference between the two machines? Like with a Drumloop.
Yeah! I want a time strech video from u. Bc u are making beats in our genre of music & sound. Real hiphop. But yeah we need a time stretch video and more comparisons videos!!!!!!!! Im thinking about getting the MPC 2000XL . So this is helping me decide
Could I transfer tracks from the Live or 2000 to my Apple Music or somewhere where I’ll be able to burn onto a CD for mixtape(SD Card/USB)? I know I need software to better mix the song, but before I get anything else I’d like to see if it’ll work. Thanks
Mikromix Studio, DMV on the 2K do you need any software for the computer or can the tracks be uploaded onto any file through mp3/wav with just the correct wiring? Thanks
@@adriannunez8868 You have to track the 2000 like older synths, plug it to a recorder and bounce the tracks to a mixed file. You will need some type of computer software to record it to computers. The right interface would allow you to record it to your phone or tablet. If you are interested in learning more about studio recording and music production, I have an online course at mikromix.com that get you going quick and easy. Thanks Adrian!!!
@@Roomer645 i doubt they are gearheads. Come on man these machines are 20+ years old you really think theyre gonna sound identical lol i'll give you the mpc 2500 and onwards will sound similar but anything before that has its own unique little bump
Too little of a difference for 2019. nice to have in a studio for production, but it would be crazy to perform live with this. my duo plays live with a MPC1K and to be sincere it's totally unstable, we've had so many problems already. don't ask my why, but sometimes in a club environment (heat, smoke, umidity.. you name it) these machines get a little crazy, specially these old ones. right now you'd be better having a MPC Live + an external sound processor (like analog heat or elysia karacter) for general and live use IMHO. But the MPC 2K is fucking cool nonetheless.
the most notorious difference is the decay. in the kick of the 2k you can hear a click. it’s kind of a bug. if your sound doesn’t have a few samples of silence in the end (or the decay mode set to END and the value more than 1 or 2) it sounds like chopped. I have many samplers and none of them do that, only the 2k. even in the whole sequence you can hear some difference with all the samples playing together. the mpc live sound just fine. nice low end and a bit stronger in volume. the 2k sounds more flat (in a good way). nice video!
Both sound awesome you can hear the difference slightly if you have trained ears 👂 such as mine but that’s just my opinion but to anyone just listening nah you can’t most likely love the video bro thanks for making it word up 💯
