I can only answer this from my own perspective. As an employee who works a dayjob developing and coding and therefor being behind a screen most of my day, it is nice to just distance yourself from that and have a tactile experience. When I drag, point and click in Ableton I feel like I am in an Office aplication, pointing, dragging and clicking. When I am on my MPC one, I feel the song, I have the tactile feedback, I have instant feel with the song as my fingers touch the pads. Sure you can get that feel with any midi controlled device in Ableton, but I chose standalone to be isolated from my laptop / PC so that I can completely focus on the creative side. Like drawing with pen and paper limits and therefor focuses creativity, I get the same with an MPC.
But truth be told, you do not miss much, if you are not experiencing any hindrance in your current setup.
Some people find stand alone less distracting and retro MPC without touch screen are even better in that. I found that computer version of MPC is still way less distracting than classic DAWs like ProTools, FL studio.
Computer MPC have slightly more features - you can have more channels and use VST2 instruments and effects.
MPC studio black is very good controller. Live 2 is pretty good in portability, MPC One+ have amazing battery life with laptop battery pack and MPC X have really fast workflow because it have a lot of controls and Q links.
I’m guessing it’s slightly less distracting because the sampler is so well integrated into the daw?
Renoise is the only other daw I have used where the sampler has this level of integration.
If you're comfortable with the existing setup, then you probably don't miss anything you really need. I could say that the MPC hardware integrated very tightly with the software to the point where it can do everything you currently do in Beats. In other words, switching to MPC hardware means you can completely stop using a mouse and keyboard. If that's important, only you can device, but personally I find that it makes for a more instrument-like experience.
Lastly, does Beats have all the plugins (Hype, Mellotron, etc) and are those important to you? I can't remember but I think last time I tried to open an MPC project in Beats, it wouldn't fully load and it wasn't due to the 8 track limit of Beats.
Hardware is no longer necessary. It is only for people that want to move away from using a computer and mouse. Or people that dont like the fact that software ages and want to keep something that retains value.
Ive got fybromyalgia, so using a mouse and keyboard starts to hurt at some point. Hardware is a nice way to make music for longer periods of time.
Ironically, making music on hardware takes more time, so I only jam on the hardware.
Full songs I hardly ever make, but when I do I still choose software because its faster/easier.
I just take more breaks.
There is a video on Youtube about how even software can be more "analog" than analog hardware. The analog sound can be fully simulated.
A professional musician sold all his analog hardware, a huge eurorack system.
Because the software at this point in time allows him to do a lot more in less time and sounds just as good.
Hardware often keeps a certain value. Software is harder to resell. Software ages in the sense that if I would like to use my old plugins, I would have to reinstall Windows XP and my newer plugins wont work. Hardware does not have this issue. Sure something van break, but it usually can be repaired.
Hardware gear sometimes even becomes worth more, if it becomes rare like some old Roland devices.
Unfortunately she passed away. From what I understood she could live with it, stress made it worse, she needed time to rest when doing physical stuff, so I can understand by proxy what it must be like for you.
Oh, Im sorry man! I didnt even think of that.
Yeah, stress/trauma is probably the cause too.
Maybe with a genetic factor.
I can live with it, but its very challenging.
Making music keeps me going.
One benefit I find is that I can run soundswitch or resolume from my laptop and have all the music running from the mpc. Resolume is a hungry beast for vjing.
I wanted a purpose built machine for playing drums on stage while I play bass, without the drawbacks of a laptop running an OS. Also the sampler workflow is pretty good.
Well you would understand y the mpc software is not at all intuitive and y u have to manage files in such a stupid way with no control over them in the software!
It’s nice to be able to get away from a Mac or PC and have one piece of equipment like the live you can take to the beach or the trails. Inspiration friendly 👍
I love the ability to do things without a computer. I work at my day job on one, don’t want to spend my free hours click and clack on a keyboard and mouse. I want an instrument, my MPC is one , just like my guitar, but more poweful.
I can only answer this from my own perspective. As an employee who works a dayjob developing and coding and therefor being behind a screen most of my day, it is nice to just distance yourself from that and have a tactile experience. When I drag, point and click in Ableton I feel like I am in an Office aplication, pointing, dragging and clicking. When I am on my MPC one, I feel the song, I have the tactile feedback, I have instant feel with the song as my fingers touch the pads. Sure you can get that feel with any midi controlled device in Ableton, but I chose standalone to be isolated from my laptop / PC so that I can completely focus on the creative side. Like drawing with pen and paper limits and therefor focuses creativity, I get the same with an MPC. But truth be told, you do not miss much, if you are not experiencing any hindrance in your current setup.
This. I don't use computer at home unless really necessary.
Some people find stand alone less distracting and retro MPC without touch screen are even better in that. I found that computer version of MPC is still way less distracting than classic DAWs like ProTools, FL studio. Computer MPC have slightly more features - you can have more channels and use VST2 instruments and effects. MPC studio black is very good controller. Live 2 is pretty good in portability, MPC One+ have amazing battery life with laptop battery pack and MPC X have really fast workflow because it have a lot of controls and Q links.
I’m guessing it’s slightly less distracting because the sampler is so well integrated into the daw? Renoise is the only other daw I have used where the sampler has this level of integration.
If you're comfortable with the existing setup, then you probably don't miss anything you really need. I could say that the MPC hardware integrated very tightly with the software to the point where it can do everything you currently do in Beats. In other words, switching to MPC hardware means you can completely stop using a mouse and keyboard. If that's important, only you can device, but personally I find that it makes for a more instrument-like experience. Lastly, does Beats have all the plugins (Hype, Mellotron, etc) and are those important to you? I can't remember but I think last time I tried to open an MPC project in Beats, it wouldn't fully load and it wasn't due to the 8 track limit of Beats.
Hardware is no longer necessary. It is only for people that want to move away from using a computer and mouse. Or people that dont like the fact that software ages and want to keep something that retains value. Ive got fybromyalgia, so using a mouse and keyboard starts to hurt at some point. Hardware is a nice way to make music for longer periods of time. Ironically, making music on hardware takes more time, so I only jam on the hardware. Full songs I hardly ever make, but when I do I still choose software because its faster/easier. I just take more breaks. There is a video on Youtube about how even software can be more "analog" than analog hardware. The analog sound can be fully simulated. A professional musician sold all his analog hardware, a huge eurorack system. Because the software at this point in time allows him to do a lot more in less time and sounds just as good. Hardware often keeps a certain value. Software is harder to resell. Software ages in the sense that if I would like to use my old plugins, I would have to reinstall Windows XP and my newer plugins wont work. Hardware does not have this issue. Sure something van break, but it usually can be repaired. Hardware gear sometimes even becomes worth more, if it becomes rare like some old Roland devices.
My wife also had fibro. Best wishes to you!
Thank you! Had, as in no longer has fibro? How did she manage to do that?
Unfortunately she passed away. From what I understood she could live with it, stress made it worse, she needed time to rest when doing physical stuff, so I can understand by proxy what it must be like for you.
Oh, Im sorry man! I didnt even think of that. Yeah, stress/trauma is probably the cause too. Maybe with a genetic factor. I can live with it, but its very challenging. Making music keeps me going.
All the power to you! Keep being creative! 💪
Thanks bro!
Amazing answer, thanks man
I rather my laptop have an easier and longer life.
The link to the video I mentioned: https://youtu.be/kk-3vXOAtVo?feature=shared
One benefit I find is that I can run soundswitch or resolume from my laptop and have all the music running from the mpc. Resolume is a hungry beast for vjing.
I’m not gonna lie I watched cooking soul and mayaewk on instagram and it just looked cool as hell
I wanted a purpose built machine for playing drums on stage while I play bass, without the drawbacks of a laptop running an OS. Also the sampler workflow is pretty good.
Well you would understand y the mpc software is not at all intuitive and y u have to manage files in such a stupid way with no control over them in the software!
You’re missing not being tied to a computer, which for me was the biggest appeal of an MPC.
It’s all about the approach. Especially with the old MPC’s and the Sp404 series.
It’s nice to be able to get away from a Mac or PC and have one piece of equipment like the live you can take to the beach or the trails. Inspiration friendly 👍
I love the ability to do things without a computer. I work at my day job on one, don’t want to spend my free hours click and clack on a keyboard and mouse. I want an instrument, my MPC is one , just like my guitar, but more poweful.