I've been a fan of Akai's MPC drum machines/sequencers since I bought the very first MPC unit they released in the '80s. That MPC-50 lasted me right through into the 21st Century, albeit with a slowly increasing number of faults due to age and constant use. It eventually broke down beyond sensible repair a few years back and I replaced it with a second-hand MPC 2500, bought from eBay, which I've used ever since. Akai had stopped making stand alone drum machines and instead went down the computer software route, making hardware 'controllers' to operate software drum sequencing and sounds stored on a computer or laptop.
Not being a fan of making music this way, this system didn't suit me, hence having to buy a second-hand MPC 2500, which was one of the last 'stand alone' drum machines they'd made.
Unfortunately, as my eyesight has deteriorated so much recently, I'm finding it very hard to use the machine's onboard LCD screen which is quite small. Programming drum patterns is proving more and more difficult due to the small screen and text size. However, in recent months Akai have gone back to the stand-alone concept and introduced the MPC-X, an outrageously powerful drum machine, sampler and sequencer with probably more bells and whistles than I'll ever need. It has a large 10" colour screen to monitor what you're doing with it. It's also very expensive.
I've been sorely tempted to buy one but have hesitated due to the financial outlay required but, yesterday I got so fed up with trying to programme the MPC 2500 whilst holding a magnifying glass up to its small dim monochrome screen that I decided to bite the bullet and order an MPC-X from the Gear4Music store. Delivery is scheduled for tomorrow and I'm excited about getting some new sounds to work with and a screen that will hopefully improve programming.
Trouble is, once I get my head around the inevitable learning curve, I'll be wanting to record even more new stuff with it....
