an absolutely spellbinding machine

(disclaimer: this review is from the perspective of someone who does not use jjos because she keeps forgetting to try it and is way too used to the most recent version of the akai os because it does its job. i still think the akai os is amazing but know that my review deals primarily with that experience rather than the souped-up jjos experience).

ok. i've been using this thing for a little under a year in the context of glitched-out raw beats and other compositions. i bought a unit off of reverb with the entirety of my first two paychecks out of a fascination with the sampler world and a need for something to sequence all my other midi equipment at once, and i could not have been more excited about it when it showed up in late july. i had come from owning a sp-404a for a few months and working in a computer daw and a hardware recorder for years beforehand, but trust me, this is a different beast from any of that. at any rate, everything about it was in working order, the blue-and-red case was alluring as hell, and with time, it proved to be the endless world of possibility i thought it was going to be when i placed that order. it did take a while to learn: my first few months with the machine understandably resulted in a lot of ooo-shiny moments where i couldn't see the simple beauty of the mpc1000, but soon enough, it started to shine through. what's beautiful about this machine, you might ask? it's raw. it puts you in direct, uninterrupted contact with the audio you record into it. from the get-go, there is almost nothing abstracting your editing experience. you sample something off your record player or synth, take it to the trim menu, move the sliders around, and cut up what you've recorded however you like. it makes chopping far more flexible than an auto-timestretched, tempo-synced format and allows for timings and loops far beyond the ordinary framework of the "chop" that you might associate with the mpc workflow. this machine is far, far more than it's made out to be in that regard; if you open yourself up to ideas like this, the trim and program features can take you just about anywhere you want to go. i've used creative trimming along with the programmable filters, envelopes, and lfos to create everything from novel melodies of colliding snippets of records i've collected to single-cycle oscillating digital tones that i can treat like tunable, malleable synths inside of the unit. all this time, i never have to worry about running out of memory even though i work mostly with stereo samples; 128mb is surprisingly spacious and lets you take your mind off of the technical side of things and almost forget that you're working with a machine to begin with. what about the sequencer, you may ask? equally amazing in its elegance and form. the midi/drum/whatever track system allows for complex, gradual variations in all sorts of sequence data and coexists beautifully with other live performance techniques, as the track-mute and next-sequence screens are only a single button-press away at all times. quantization also works like a charm, and the classic mpc variable swing combined with the sheer variety of options for time correction (or lack thereof!) is an excellent touch that allows for nuanced relationships between tracks and elements inside and outside the machine, with smooth looping that allows for like, an entire song with a complete progression within a single multitracked 8- or 16-bar loop (adding and subtracting elements via track mute), and thus also a whole live set within a few of those loops, readily accessible through the next-sequence menu. this brings us back to the idea of being in direct contact with your data: there are no abstractions here, only immediately accessible sequence events at 96ppq. beautiful, isn't it? i challenge you to find the same rawness and directness in a newer sampler.

overall, while i wouldn't say this machine (or any other given machine, for that matter) is for everyone, i would recommend it to just about any experimentalist musician who loves working with samples, is willing to commit to learning a new instrument (because that's what this is, a whole instrument!), and values raw functionality and capability. people like to discuss how "limitations breed creativity" when they work on this machine, but really, it's quite the opposite: the mpc1000 lays out previously unimaginable possibilities before your eyes, and it's up to you to discover them. god, what a wonderful instrument.

Preferred Settings + Usage:

Timeless piece

Crashed on this after exploring so many different samplers. The capability of the MPC1000, even by today's standards, is amazing. Lots of modern-day groove boxes don't allow for Phrase-sampling i.e. longer samples that stretch across multiple bars, however this is right up the MPC's alley. It's clunky, and it's specs don't compare to the newer MPC Lives etc, however the 1000's limitations are what make it great. The dusty sound has it's own character, and ranges from quite transparent to very colourful, depending on how you process the master output. JJOS upgrade and memory increase are essential for enhanced capability. Pad upgrade is also important depending on which line of MPC1000s you get. I have them, but as an electronic artist that triggers mutes and unmutes of tracks with the pads, rather than plays the pads live (i.e. hip hop), it's not a huge deal.

I bought it, it bought me

My first sampler was an Akai S2000 which was a budget rack sample player. It didn't impressed me enough since my E-MU 1212m with the Reason NN-XT did the job far-far better. This was around 2004. Then I bought an MPC 1000 in 2011 and the JJOS2XL actual version to replace the annoying Akai OS. So you think, Kontakt or any other software sampler handling things better and more efficient? I bet you will change your mind when you spent a few hour with the MPC1K under JJOS2XL. Far the best and easiest hardware sampler I seen until nowadays. My enthusiasm rooted one hand because the excellent sound engine and another hand because the JJOS2XL operation system. These together makes this beast as a real warrior. It can drive 2 gears outside, and the MPC1K didn't get the terrible MIDI timing problem like the MPC5K, so it can be as precise like any other pro MIDI gear. I tried it in many ways, in the bed at evening, connected my phone's out to the input and sampled some favourite phrase from a science interview with Michio Kaku. On the stage controlling my DAW on the notebook and release some long sample. On my vacation in the hotel room creating the first impressions after an inspirative day. This gear can fit near any situation if you able to plug it. You can expand the memory to 128 MB and add a simple IDE 2.5 HDD. The CF card slot is default. If you don't use the special JJOS2XL format, the basic PGM files can be read by MPC 2500/5000 models. The sequences are compatible except the effects section. For some bad points, it has a terrible workout in physical. If you buy one as second hand, you better to look around for pad set replacement kit, and check the faders if you can!

Quick and Easy

Nothing i've used so far is as quick and easy for laying down rhythms and quick melodies. JJ OS2XL - turns it into a pretty powerful sequencer for all my synthesizers as well. I find it more efficient and tactile than using Ableton with less hassle. More fun for live performances as well. Studio in a box. Down side is the learning curve and getting around the fact that it's really 1980s tech... but using what works is what counts, not how fancy your gear is.

Regret that I sold it..

This was my first hardware device for music production and I completely regret selling it. I’ll probably end up getting another one in the future as it’s a perfect package when it comes to an MPC. Very versatile, very fun, can generate immmediate musical results.

MPC 1000

Great machine. RAM is a bit small, so you will probably need to upgrade it if you plan on doing some heavy duty production. Just as good as the MPC 2500 in my opinion, only more compact.

Not as good as the 2500, cheap pads and buttons.

Sold the 1000, the 2500 is a lot better and feels built to last longer. My 1000 has multiple issues after light use with the buttons not working.

Full featured and portable

I've only had the unit for about a month, but I'm loving it. The amount of power packed into this thing is incredible. Like just about everyone, I've upgraded the Operating System to JJOS2XL. Wouldn't trade it for anything. This is a piece that will stay in my studio until the end of time. Guaranteed.

Great workhorse

This is my workhorse during my live performances. I use the JJOS2xl on it. Very stable midi in and out. Solid as a rock.

I use this for sequencing the hardware of my setup

updated to jjos2 and 128mb RAM It's the heart of my production chain, specially for his midi features!