The Akai Professional MPC2000XL MIDI Production Center combines a 64-Track MIDI Sequencer and a 32-voice Stereo Digital Sampler, with 16 velocity and pressure sensitive rubber pads, providing rock solid sequencing and drum programming combined wit...
In this video Kanye West is seen at 1:22 with a MPC 2000XL in the studio, while making "Through the Wire".
moreIn Lil Uzi Vert's "You Was Right" music video Metro Boomin is seen using MPC 2000xl. It is best seen 0.56 into this video
moreA custom 2000XL was used for sequencing the synths on *A Color Map of the Sun*, as stated by Pretty Lights in [this July 1, 2013 *Electronic Musician* interview](https://www.emusician.com/misc/pretty-lights-breaks-down-a-color-map-of-the-sun-sessions). > “I used a custom-made [Akai] MPC 2000XL to sequence my modular synth, but for cutting up my vinyl to sample and arrange it, I simply used the ‘Arrangement View’ in [Ableton] Live or Drum Rack; I love Drum Rack! I use other stuff now, like Sampler and all the NI [Native Instruments] stuff and UAD-2 [plug-ins], but for the album I just used good-old-fashioned slicing and warp pins straight in Arrangement mode.”
moreArchie Marshall (aka. King Krule) uses the Akai MPC 2000xl when recoding and programming beats. He uses it a lot on the 'A New Place 2 Drown' album.
moreIn this Vine, RJD2's MPC can be seen when the camera pans to the right. Two years later, Ramble was interviewed by [Reverb.com](https://reverb.com/news/reverb-interview-rjd2-on-his-favorite-gear-and-artists-hed-kill-to-work-with). He had this to say about what gear he used in the recording process: "Pretty much everything was recorded in Pro Tools. There was an assortment of mics. For the most part, the signal path would be either microphone, preamp right into the machine, and then the MPC somewhat extensively, the MPC2000XL, the Akai."
more"...Yeah, well with equipment it was just one machine — which was an Akon MPC 2000 XL — and I’ve had that machine since I was 19, well over 10 years..."
more> Contrary to No ID, Kanye likes to use all the equipment in the room — stomp boxes, classic samplers, and so on. He mainly uses the [Ensoniq] ASR10 and sequences that with an [Akai] MPC 2000XL. When he's done with a track, he sends it to us as an MP3, and I upload these onto two tracks in Pro Tools. In this case Jay wanted Rihanna's vocals to be edited down, so I asked for them separately, and worked with two tracks of music, two tracks of Rihanna, and then Jay cut his vocals to that. The song was originally intended to feature just Jay and Rihanna, but he also wanted Kanye on it, because he felt that it would fit the texture of the song. So one day when Kanye was in New York, he came in at 10am and in two takes he was done. Young Guru, Sound on Sound interview, 2009.
more"After that, I actually bought a sampler, an Akai MPC-2000. I've been using that ever since. I put all the songs together on that and sample the keyboard lines. I can make demos on it, sample guitar riffs and things like that. So that's my main tool for putting songs together, and it's pretty old school technology! It's very intuitive for me and I don't have to think about it. People are always like, Why don't you upgrade in ProTools? I'm like, I don't know. I'm trying to make a record here. When I'm writing songs, I'm just trying to get my ideas down as fast as I can without having technology get in the way."
more"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."
moreJessy Lanza: “I bought that because I wanted to make music that sounded like DJ Rashad [laughs]. I found out that they primarily use an MPC to make their tracks and it kind of appealed to me. I talked to Spinn about making tracks, and they would make them in a night or a few hours. The MPC is cool because you can just load the samples up and work really fast. It has a really great sequencer on it and the effects are cool. It sounds really good, so I wanted to try it. The song it was used on primarily is Oh No.”
moreCan be seen left to his laptop and explicitely mentioned at the end of the video...
moreIn [this interview](http://gc.guitarcenter.com/interview/freddurst/), Fred Durst says, "I use a lot of Neve pre-amps and Neumann U47 microphones. Gibson Les Pauls and Legend acoustic guitars. Akai MPC 2000 XLs. I use the Korg Triton and Roland 5080."
moreIn an AMA on r/indieheads, a fan asked what Clarence uses to sequence his drums. He responsed, "used to be an mpc, last couple of years its just ableton"
moreAt 5:33 you can see a sealed Akai MPC2000XL that joey is donating to his former school
moreIn this episode of Rhythm Roulette, Marco Polo runs his samples through Akai MPC 2000XL. The MPC can be seen at 2:40 into this video.
moreIt has been used by Cirrus, Todd Terry, Underworld, Roni Size, A Guy Called Gerald, Freddy Fresh, Linkin Park, DJ Premier, Primo, Kanye West, DJ Shadow, Dr. Dre and Apollo 440.
more"There's an [Akai] MPC [2000XL] beat in that which was added to it,” says Fleming, "but the drums were pretty much one take. I think the ride is overdubbed or something. We were all in the control room listening to it and Lexxx just went, 'Yeah, come through.' And it was done.”
moreThe MPC is clearly shown throughout the video. Around the six minute mark he tells us how he made the track Castles (tHE SKY IS OURS) on the 2000XL.
moreFJ: In terms of time efficiency, I feel software is better. Well, faster anyway. Analog instruments definitely have characteristic sounds, a punchiness, and a warmness, which I feel software is very difficult in duplicating. I used to own a few samplers, mainly an MPC 2000xl, but never really utilized it because I found recording and editing on it was too slow for me. Sometimes working that slow can produce a great sound. Ultimately, I learned software was the best choice for the types of music I wanted to create.
moreAt the end of this interview Fizzy Womack says, "I need my 2000 XL. I need my Levis, preferably black and I need my kicks - Nikes.
more"We also used an Akai MPC2000XL sampler to incorporate a ‘Speak and Spell'' toy in the pre-choruses and made use of a Korg microKorg synthesizer vocoder in the outro of the song to give the song a Led Zeppelin ‘Immigrant Song''-meets-Deliverance-banjo sound.” - Pat Spurgeon (Rogue Wave)
moreYou can see the 2000XL inbetween the two MacBook Pro's at 0:48 and out.
moreThe Akai Professional MPC2000XL MIDI Production Center combines a 64-Track MIDI Sequencer and a 32-voice Stereo Digital Sampler, with 16 velocity and pressure sensitive rubber pads, providing rock solid sequencing and drum programming combined with powerful sampling facilities in one convenient and portable desktop unit.
The MPC2000XL inherits many of the major features of the original MPC such as the legendary "feel" and "groove" so that you can be sure that your beats and sequences just swing. It also features the original MPC60's intuitive transport and locate controls, the unique NOTE REPEAT function, plus new additions such as four bank keys to effectively provide 64 pads, multi-program playback, multi-track recording, simultaneous playback of a second sequence, Next Sequence key, Track Mute key, TimeStretch, Slice Sound, Resampling, plus folder file management. Add to these an improved friendly and intuitive user interface thanks to the graphic LCD, two MIDI ins and 32 MIDI channels via the two MIDI outputs, and options for multiple audio outputs, multi-effects, SMPTE Time Code and even Flash Rom memory, and you have a dependable "switch on and work" solution to computer sequencer headaches.
The 2KXL is really an amazing piece of gear on which you can work very quickly once you get the hang of it. The pads are some of the best I've ever tried. I have an external scsi drive to make up for the only downside of this machine to me: the use of floppy disks.
Oldie but a goodie give me the fundamentals of sampling from gear and making music without a computer in this day and age it's nice to get away from the screen and press the buttons
But there is easier sampler to use ... I'm using it for loading the samples I made with VSTs. It's also good for loading battery patches.
I bought a MPC2000XL because so many of my favorite producers have used it at one point or another in their career (many of which are still using one). The limitations imposed by this hardware pulls something out of you. When you have to find creative ways to get around its limitations, you start to come up with ideas that you wouldn't have come up with in a DAW. I use it to generate a skeleton idea and then flesh that idea out in a DAW, but I'm almost always happy with what comes out of this classic machine. It's rare to find a studio piece that teaches you how to be a better producer, but the MPC2000XL is definitely a piece that has pushed me to become a better producer. Hardware limitation does NOT mean creative limitations. I will NEVER sell mine. Never.
technical limitations are a great spur to new heights of creativity
I've got nothing new to say but I've gotta preach my love for this instrument. It was so influential in my life & in so many of my friends/inspirational peoples. Can't be underated. 2000XL. Fuckin' wicked.
mpc2000xl is one of our first sampler that we got back in the times
looks like a sexy old till
I've actually owned a few 2000XLs yet the 2000 will always be my favorite joint. The 2000 made you create!
This machine is great if you're just getting into hardware samplers. The control interface is a little strange but you get used to it after a while. Try to get the upgraded or modded version because it adds more storage for sound and increases the load time for samples.
always wanted a mpc but i thought it was too expensive, had a lot of other samplers and drum machines but now that i also have a 2000xl everything changed. i also like it`s made by akai, not nAKAI :D
Had two of these through the years, and had to sell them both at some point, back when i was a student and strapped for cash :p Now that i actually have the money, they're totally impossible to find. Really would love to get a 2000XL again at some point, its a lovely machine and it just sounds amazing like no other.
Only drawback is having to track the beats into the computer one by one.
This is my studio midpoint together with the 3000. You can do anything sample-based on this machine, whether it's an easy loop or a full-blown triphop track. I dig this machine 100%. All my tracks start out from this machine - I sequence the entire thing - and then track it all into Ableton for mixing.. 10/10
If you want to get into sampling and making hiphop / house / breakbeat - whatever fits your style, I would suggest starting with this machine. You'll be learning a lot just by trialing and erroring this machine for a month. If you can make a great track on limited equipment, think about what you can do with a DAW.
Best goddamn piece of recording equipment every created. Goes without saying; but it needed to be said.
MPC AKAI The Stonious Monk
Just Blaze, Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Dilla, Alchemist, Swizz Beatz, Young Guru, ect....
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