My Struggle with the MPC 60 II - An Old 12 bit Sampler Workflow 

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For all the people that is ordering the newer SP-1200 here is a fun fact maybe some of you even know this . James Yancey last musical breakthrough came from the tool he was using . Fantastic volume 2 is when he switch from the SP-1200 hundred to the MPC 3000. These two machines have been work horses for many hip-hop producers. We all like one or the other. There is a big difference between these two machines the only James Yancey seem to understood. On the SP 1200 has a swing function meaning you can make it make the rhythm even or you can make it uneven till certain degree. When you swing a rhythm everything swings the Hi hat swings ,the kick swings , snare swings etc. It would pretty much sound like a new Jack swing song everything just Swung. On the MPC 3000 Roger Lynn built it and he told me this that he didn’t even think of the repercussions of this but you can swing each element individually. You can nail the kick to the grid but you can swing the hit hat a bit you can swing the snare a little bit more and you can shift the timing of things by a few tics. What James Yancey start to do on fantastic volume two is the Rushed snare that’s why you hear it a lot on the songs of fantastic volume two - Dan Charnas The dilla time book is almost here order it here www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0374139946?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

Amazing DJ Shadow made Entroducing album on the mpc60.. he even sampled each half of stereo samples and linked them back up in the sequencer to have stereo on the thing

The MPC 60 is such a great machine, a big part of the golden age of hiphop. It continues to influence machines to this day, 16 pads, swing and the transport control are staples even in 2022.

The 60 is legendary...Groundbreaking....Pioneering...changed the landscape of music...and still very usable today. All I'll say is walk freely into the 60's world to have the most fun with it...instead of the other way around. Peace.

I am what they call an old head MPC user Bra in one phrase I been thru all this back in the day seen it all evolve into what it is today and I can honestly say i don’t want to go back I guess it’s different for you younger guys you seem to have a hunger to experience what you missed and different for older Guys cuz some of us can appreciate what it is today becuz of going thru it and some of us never let it go I started with my 3000 a year after it came out I skipped the 4000 but every MPC after that I bought and worked with and I regret not starting with the first mpc-60 but that thing was expensive back then for a bedroom producer like I was but I do appreciate big time you and your videos keep up the good work and never lose that passion you have.✌️

I got a MPC 60 II I need to pull it out But I love my MPC 3000 lol

It's a great master brain for MIDI so you can have your synths, samplers and other drum machines controlled by the 60 to play in the parts you want on different MIDI channels then on to different outputs to the tape/DAW. Once they are recorded then effects and other processing happens in the mix.

I first started producing on the MPC 60 ll. Only used the 8 Outs when dumping the track to reel, otherwise it was stereo outs and headphones for me. Back then it was a great machine for it’s time, a bit big and still a beast. Then the 3000 came out and I had to move on. Wish I still had it though. Great video Marlow. Definitely brought back some awesome memories.

Jazzcat does an analogue filter modification for the 60, it's worth checking.

That’s a dope ass studio 🔥

"It becomes too much, very very quickly" - the best description for MPC 60.

Very cool. I love seeing what this old gear can do. I play around with the sp1200 and Air Lo Fi effects on my live 2 alot to get that old sound on my tracks but I always wanted to try a vintage MPC as well. I does seem like a lot more work with far more limitations though but that always breeds creativity.

“And that’s the thing I learned with the MPC 60, is that it doesn’t want a bunch of samples, it just wants the right samples” Exactly.

Props to you! I would have been quit bro! FR!!! LOL I am an FL guy, and I just began working with a new MPC One+ and I was getting frustrated with the workflow but I stuck with it. I can't imagine trying to do that on a 60. Wow! Can't wait to hear your beat tape.

Peace to Premier and Dj Hitek

The Mpc 60 ii Dre n Chris The Glove used this on the Chronic n Doggystyle

thanks for your honesty

Very interesting. Never knew the ins and outs of the MPC 60-II. Something about those old MPCs that just can't be captured by new devices. Excellent video as usual!!

I've used a 60 a fair bit, but own a 3000 as my master sequencer. it still surprises me how much was built into it. The Midi sequencing is amazing, it's transpose function is insane, layering midi channels on each track, there's so much in these machines when there was nothing before them. Amazing.

I have 60 mk 2 and 3000le, love the limitations of both machines but the 3000 just takes it for me great upload as always Marlow.

Great overview of the 60. I've always wanted one for nostalgic reasons and to capture that vintage sound that I love. I started on the 2000 and now own the X and the Live 2. I know the limitations of the 60 will drive me nuts but I still want one lol

SO producrs really got this techniqe from the equipment makers. If you look at equipment like the emu phatt, all of the samples stored in there are actually sped up. This saved an immense amount of space

.......oh and the midi rock solid timing especially with the 950 the midi on the mpc 60 2 is what sold me that's what not too many people mention is the midi

"It belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones

Nice video. I used to have a MPC 60 MK1. The best thing about the 60 is it’s unique groove IMO. It has something which can be best described as a „loose feel“ to it none other MPC has. I also used to have a 2000XL and was able to work on a 3000 as well which are nice too but sound a lot tighter compared to the groove of the 60.

DJ Shadow made Entroducing on an MPC60 and thats a classic album.

intro flip is nice! something i would flip as well.

Nice one, using Fostex 4-track as input mixer for sampler. Check your manual if you need chrome cassettes for it. It's really cool if it has vari-speed like my Fostex XR-28, you can record anything and pitch it up, then sample and pitch down in the sampler. I'm using JVC MI-2000 to feed my samplers, it has phono in, good preamps and bunch of outputs and transformers.

The good thing about machines like this and their limitations is that you have to think more about your next steps and it challenges you to develop techniques to achieve a specific result. Mastering these machines can be rewarded like DJ Shadow with a great album (Endtroducing) which he recorded with Akai Mpc 60 Mk2, two Alesis Adat, a mixer and two Technics 1200. This album is the first where only samples were used. DJ Shadow a true pioneer.

The 2.12 OS is REALLY fun! LOL!

All my favourite producers lost their mojo once they 'upgraded' their tech and ditched their old gear

The ‘60II is for certain types of sounds & beats! It has its pluses and drawbacks but, I still rock with it! Learn the machine back & front. It does get much easier once you get into the swing of things

I used this sampler with the 2.12 OS and stock memory for a long time. It limited you to 5 seconds per pad and no cutoff notes, and every time you sampled you lost your sequences. Very limiting. I HATED the ringing noise you got when you pitched the sample down too much. I used it with an S950, so that helped get around some limitations (filtering, etc.). Despite that, its dead easy to use and always gets the groove right. I do have to disagree when you say the 60 sounds "lo fi". It's sounds pretty clean until you start to pitch the samples. If you listen to certain DJ Quik, Battlecat, Daz, and Dr. Dre records from the early to mid 90's, they sound very clean. They were using MPC 60's for their drums. (At least until the 3000 superseded it). It's also very important to push the level when you sample. It's ok to peak with these old samplers, they take being in the "red" a little bit better than new samplers do. Pushing the level on the 60 really accentuates the low mids of your sample. EQ'ing before you sample also helps. Glad to see folks still using the 60, look forward to seeing what you do with yours.

I still got my 60 2 it's very limited but the sound it's incredible it always inspires me to make beats drums from vinyl on here are crazy it's not a visual machine it's an audio meaning you feel the music instead of depending on a screen it's all done with number increments for me it's the sound it really cuts thru a mix

The 60 is so beautiful and so disappointing at the same time. No filters is such a loss. That and the limited storage. But rhe interface, the feel, the swing, the sound, it's an amazing machine.

My current workflow is an AKAI MPC 3000 midi to my AKAI S3000XL for triggering samples.

Hi There, I own a 60ii too. You should get a s900/950 (or severeal) and hook it up via midi... to expand your sampling time & have way more control about your sound (the filter form the sSeries is super phatt). I Think your workflow with a additional 404 or something is quite fast as well... but u cant do any wrong with a 12 Bit Racksampler ;)

Great content as always, thanks for posting this Marlow. Looking forward to that MPC 60 album. 🔥

Wow is that a Fostex 4 track in the background, that was my first multi track recorder in the early 90s

Never been on a 60… But I do have a 2000xl and I track from my headphone out on it. The headphone out just knocks bro 😂😂😂😂. I thought it was an odd thing to do until I came across this video. sub earned.

After watching your video and seeing the frustrations / limitations of the MPC60, it makes me even more amazed that DJ Shadow made Endtroducing on the MPC60. I had an MPC200XL that I bought in 2001, but I didn't know how advanced it was compared to the 60. By the way @Marlow Digs - any chance you could make a video on your early influences that got you into sampling? For me, Endtroducing changed my entire life. It made me put down the guitar and save up for my first AKAI sampler back in the 90's. From there I got deep into MoWax, DJ Krush, DJ Cam and many others. Would love to know about your journey and early influences. And hear your thoughts on Endtroducing too, because I'm guessing it was a big influence on you too :)

I would love to sit in from of this machine cause IMO it's a beauty :) But I guess no filter would frustrating me a lot. I own the 2000 classic and I like the sequencer but sample editing on old samplers (I also got the 950, TX16W and Casio FZ1) annoys me at the moment (well this 'moment' is now 2 years :) ). I think I would love the Sp12/1200 workflow although it's even more limitated than the 60 but the truncating with faders, the limited sampletime (so you have to use onlyTHE best samples), tuning only in semitones (so you have to finetune the samples before sampling) would help me keep the focus. At the moment I use tracker software most of the time and I found a workflow similar to the SP12/1200. Only 8 channels, use short samples (no longer than 2.5 sec). I created a template that emulate a signal flow similar to a SP in a studio recorded to tape. the 8 channels have the same filter curve than the SP on the different outs from there they run thru a channelstrip VST, then thru a tape emulation and then thru a master EQ, master compressor/limiter and master tape emu. :) Patterns have 24 ppq, close the eyes when truncating samples und use the ear only. I like it but real time recording is a bit off and I often need to correct the recorded notes after that. And of course the 'hand on pads and faders'-feeling is missing. have fun with the 60. I know you'll create some dope stuff on it cause you got the ears and the knowledge how to make 'vibin' beats'

I just got a great deal on a Roland MV8000 right before Xmas, u can drop it down too 12bit, the sound is better than the vintage mode on my MPC One, dope effects too

You gonna love the mpc 3000

when I was using it and I wanted that REALLy punchy sound, I would record my samples on a cassette multitrack with the pitch control a quarter ways slower, then put it back on regular pitch when sampling into the MPC 60 MK2. the sounds of the drums is unreal. recap 1. Record vinyl into multitrack 2. Make sure pitch is at 3 clock 3.put Pitch back at 12 noon before sampling into MPC 60 mk 2 4. pitch your samples back down to the desired level you want. Sp1200 is dope but the Akai MPC 60 mk 2 is nothing to sleep on either.

Ufff. That intro beat!!!!!!! Those drums goes hard!!!!

I love the MPC60. Sometimes less is more. I want to concentrate more on the music so it fits my workflow. All I need is a mixer, some samples and an audio editor.

didn t know that the 60 is missing the filter... kind of a let down. i prefer the 2000 xl to work with, even though the 60 has that special sound and boom.

Hello memory lane, had one of these beasts in the early 90s, still regret getting rid of it to go PC as my master controller, but I thought i needed digital recording more than my 60... you live and learn

Thanks Marlow! Peace

full of gems 👍🏾

DJ Shadow made his album Endtroducing using an MPC60. Blows my mind.

Tremendous! So dope how you've patched it all together. I had my mpc60ii shipped over from Australia and it arrived the same week as my mk2 so getting those two to talk to each other has def been a thing. It's cheating but I chop, esp drums, on the mk2 first then put sample them into the 60ii. There's legit magic in that 40kHz 12-bit sound + how the recording starts/end (like setting drums to 0.2 or 0.3 length.) - it's punch city! I gotta use a big voltage converter to up the voltage from 110v to Germany's 230v, got me a nasty hum on the output I think coz of that but nothing a ground lift on a DI can't eradicate. You're right about it bringing out the minimalist in your layering, it's a great thing....less in more (more or less...).

Turn it up

premier smoked everyone in the game with that bad boy

I decided to order the reissue of the SP-1200 and it should be here soon but it’s the only vintage sampler I’ve ever wanted. I think they really allow you to get creative with your music and now it’s got 20 seconds so that’ll help. I just need to get a mixer now to connect my turntable just don’t know which one to get.

i bought one from mylo johnson from massive attack's brother dj bunjy, used it for a few projects, had a 4000 aswell, both amazing pieces of kit but they take up so much space, love the pitching on the 60. got an s900 for the same 12-bit sound but takes up less space + filters. sold it for what i paid for it, just about after doing loads of work on it. sold the 4000 aswell, i only record multitrack personally so for me the 8 outputs is what sold it for me and also multittrack my s900 when that's set up. s2400 is my new baby though, not doing much sampling though. using it as a midi controller... (which it excels at) love the videos man. keep up the good work.

needed this, I just bought an mpc 3000 and its been tough learning it, but I love it!

Peace, Good Stuff Marlow! Maybe the previous owner had some work done on it. There is a 8 output boost mod that gets done to it. Because the 8 outs on my 60II, and 3000 were lower when I got them originally. Keep up the good work...!

Get a cheap old mix board with at least 8 inputs, and use your other samplers like the 404 and the SampleTrak as real time FX boxes. Send everything that needs reverb to the 404, for example, and set up a return from the 404 to the mixer. You can also use cheap joyo guitar pedals or old alesis FX boxes for this too. It's a really fun way to work. The mixer's eq can be used as a substitute for the filter in many cases as well

It looks like a cash register...dam i want an mpc ...

Great video Marlow! I’ve never worked on a 60 but I know that the drums always slap and it has a better low end than the XL

I use slicing software and have an analog mixer. The lack of features dont bother me ...

Love this machine. Has taken so much damage over the years. Need to get it refurbished so I can incorporate it into new gear. Makes you super creative trying to get the most out of that 26 seconds.... Lol

The Akai mpc 60 is a very capable machine there is no struggle in using this only choice.

the 60 was mostly used for drum sampling or triggering sounds but actually doing beats on the 60 hard pass lol

Compose the idea on the live, resample to the 60 ii, finish it off there!

I have a mk1 version. Never selling mine but I gree on the workflow. I also use it with another sampler to make sampling and chopping a bit easier. There was a program that I used early 2000ish where you could covert samples, save them to a floppy on the pc and then just load them with the 60... I guess there is a reason why so many used an akai s950 with the mpc60 and sp-1200. My go to MPC is the 4000 like you have the 404 here. Also, JazzCat in the UK sells a filter add-on for the 60...

I have the mk1 and don't use it much sadly.. it take awhile to make a finished product then save it.. for me at least

To me a minute to chop a sample without the visual. You do get used to it and I think it adds to a song.

This is a 60 with the 3.10 upgrade.

had bought the 60 and the 60ii both from a guy for $1700 a few years ago in mint condiition with the 3.10 ver. with scsi installed on both. dope units. So it turn them into the 3000 with functions, way different from my 2000 /2000xl /1000 with the jjosxl 3.64 /4000 and the 500. the way I do the samples inside these units is way less of a headache I have it Plugged into a Realistic stereo Parametric Eq from Radio shack with a Efx board made for a guitar .so the way I do this is find my sounds. EQ it 1st then use Efx if needed then Sample it. This way I get the EQ part and the Efx if needed. the sound is unreal. or the depending on the project I will run all samples through My ASR10 for the EFX and Eq.then sample it in. less wires less space being used. Djay Ez$Money Da Illest Komposa aka Remix King hope it helps

Nice one! My biggest issue with the MPC60 (I had the older version in the early 90s), was how it would wipe the sequence memory everytime you sampled something. Another thing I found was that if I sampled something on the 60, and then loaded that sample in the MPC3000 which I had a few years later, it would sound better than how samples from each of the two sounded on their own machine.. if that makes sense.

Amazing 😍😍

It looks like a cash register, and you make it ring like new money 😂 Also does the mpclive 2 vintage effect sound anything like the original mpc60?

They need to make an MPC X MKll the size of this, full of features and processing power.

Yo! Is that first sample from the band Afterhours?

You really have to put some good samples in it to get the best results I use the stereo outs and solo everything into Logic

If you don't want it anymore....Let a homie know!! Haha. I got a 3000 but I dream of having a 60 MK2. It's my next purchase. Thanks for putting me on to the zoom st224. That thing bangs! You have some of the best content on this platform. I appreciate the work you put in. I found if you have a turntable with a built in preamp or find another way to amplify the sample before it gets to the sampler, you are able get a louder, cleaner sound with less noise in it later. I use a numark ttusb to sample because of the built in pre amp it has. It was a trick I learned from watching DJ Rock Cee.

just get your self a s950 and save your self the expense

PEOPLE!That is the ONE Premier used/uses.....Thats the one SHOWBIZ showed him how to work.Most of his hits came off that..Not 3000 not 2000 the OG one The MPC 60 (2).Like the look of your videos too man!(Blackmagic,wih color correction?Nice lense).Peace.*Pete Rock and Large Professor used the Sp 1200...Muggs too....DRE used the 60 early on as did Bombsquad....

Thanks Marlow for educating us on how your using the 60. Super awesome Man! P.S. those flannels you are wearing are super tight. Where could I find some of those ✌️

Great video MD, nice to see a bit more of your workflow with the 60. I noticed the digitone is getting a signal from the 60 when you hit a pad. Are you using this for effects too, like the mkii? Peace & Love.

is it like the s900/s950 where you can overdrive the inputs a little though? I find you can add another layer of crunch if you do it just a little bit.

Nice

Old and expensive to fix if it breaks down. What is the name of the power connection? I have a old amp with that connection and I cant find a cable to fit it.

Background song that started at 8:11 WHAT IS THAT SONG !!!!!!!!??????

They way you use the 60 and the 404 is how I use the 1000 and the 404sx

Mpc 3000 time

im a weirdo i know, im not a big fan of it. id really like to see you on a 3K sometime. any other general tips for getting rid of that hi fi sound, everything i do lately seems so damn sparkly.

u need an akai s950

3 stacks >

I always made music but just recently started (really) getting into sampling… However, i was always wondering: Isn‘t sampling it a copyright violation? How do you make sure not to get sued?

I have a 2-4K budget for a drum machine. I do hip hop everything from boom bap and trap to live mysic but looking for the best drum Maschine found sound quality. Is the mpc60 the best?

broooo please make a video about how you made those drums on the intro. if you already have one can you link me to it

mpc60 upgrade 3.15 b5

Sell the 60 2 me. I want they back :)

where did you buy it?