The Akai Music Production Center (MPC 1000)
Category: Lab
I picked up an MPC 1000 from a local used gear store with the intent of adding some versatility to my production setup. My intent is to also use the device in part as storage for my hundreds and hundreds of samples from various sources.
For more information about the MPC, go somewhere else.
The MPC 1000 and all of the other units the MPC 60, 500, 2000, 2000XL, 2500, 3000, and 4000 are simply laptop computers, with embedded software, and midi, velocity sensitive control pads and sliders for manipulating sequences and sound. The devices are also great at sampling sound from just about any source. In the past the systems were mainly separated by output options, portability, storage capacity, and recording/sampling rate; with the updates to the hardware specs, even the MPC 1000 still holds its own. With the release of the 2500, users were satisfied to have expansion options, and a better OS.
But the MPC 1000 has been revitalized with the release of a non-official OS for the device, it is named JJ OS.
Installing JJ OS is a breeze, just make sure you pay the guy and that you are knowledgeable of the time differences between where you are and where Japan is. I waited for about 8 hours while the folks in Japan slept to get my registration code after putting up the 30 bucks.
I will write more about the JJ OS when I dig into actual production.
What I really like about the MPC 1000 is that there is a Compact Flash slot that can be used to save samples, drumkits/programs, and songs . The CF platform doesn't really hold enough to do what I want to do, but the good guys at Akai made the MPC 1000 with a hard drive slot. So I am installing a 120 gb hard drive into the machine as well as additional ram. Akai sells 1st party ram to increase sample time, and general speed throughout the interface, the problem is that the ram is expensive, about $149.99, To solved that here is what is suggested all over the web.
Buy 256mb PC - 133mhz CL 3 notebook ram, it works in the MPC 1000.
So although I do have my MPC 1000, it will be a few days before it is all tricked out like I would like. The following is my plan for my MPC 1000.
Add hard drive
Add ram
Change/Refresh drum pads and sensors
Add skin to alter color and appearance of the unit
then - make music.
Expect much more from The Daily Priapism and even the Daily Priapism Podcast on the MPC and the future upgrades to it.