Akai Professional MPC4000

The MPC 4000 was released in 2002 by Akai and was intended to be the leader of the hardware samplers. Its notable features are:

16 velocity and pressure sensitive pads
2 MIDI inputs, 4 MIDI outputs
96 kHz 24bit sampling
16 MB sampling memory, upgradeable to 512 MB
IDE bays for installation of internal hard disk drive and CD-ROM drive.
Optional plug-in boards: Effects board, ADAT board, S/P-DIF & wordclock board, 8 analogue outputs board
SCSI interface



UTILIZATION

The MPC 4000 is similiar to most of the other MPC's in the way that it is sequenced. A manual comes with the MPC 4000 but in my opinion, it is the type of tool that should be explored on its own. Everything is very straight forward on the 4000, and it boots up quickly everytime. One of my favorite features of the MPC 4000 is how fast you can load, save, discard, truncate, and manipulate samples of any kind.

SOUNDS

The MPC 4000 doesn't come with any stock samples because it is a sampler. And unlike other MPC's, this is a 24-bit machine so you aren't going to get that gritty, lofi, 12-bit sound of older samplers. This MPC prides itself on sound quality and it does have a great sound! It is still punchy, but clarity always stays in the sounds.

The effects are fairly usable. It comes with bread-and-butter effects such as EQ, Compression, Filters, Gate, and other basic effects. The pads are very sturdy too and it feels great playing drums out on them.

OVERALL OPINION

My overall opinion is that the MPC 4000 is the best of all the MPC's. It is stable, easy to use, and provides the most features of any MPC besides the 5000. I have tried multiple MPC's but this one was my favorite for these reasons. I have let go of my MPC 4000 and bought a Maschine, but there are lots of days I wish I had never made that move!

I overall give the 4000 a 9/10 stars.

The MPC 4000 is one of the most advanced MPC on the market that AKAI makes. The differences between this unit and some of the other units by Akai (1000, 2000 is that it has a much nicer feel to it. The pads especially have a much softer feel to them. It just feels like they are made out of better material. The MPC 4000’s design kind of stepped out of the box from the ordinary MPC line. Its def. a different color than the other MPC’s. It also has a built in synth module so you can start to work on creating some synth lines or base lines right on the machine and have no need for another unit to create those.


UTILIZATION

The manual is key to understanding this unit, its hard for anyone jus to sit down and understand it. Even if you are coming from other MPC models. This one is tough, they put all the bells and whistles into the MPC 4000.


SOUNDS

The sounds on the MPC 4000 arent much different than the most of the stock sounds that come on all of the mpc models. You will need to change you kits to your own once you purchase the MPC 4000! As far as the built in synth module. I am not a fan of it, it really doesn’t do that much for me. I would rather just use my Phantom for synths and baselines. Akai tried to create a unit that could do a little bit of everything . But I feel like they fell short because unless you are into sound creation you wont want to go through the process of creating these sounds. Most of us like using keyboard presets and tweaking them to our liking. Akai really doesn’t give you many presets (if any) to work with.


OVERALL OPINION

Overall, it’s a very powerful unit. All of the MPC’s are! But this on is very expensive, you can a good keyboard workstation that you can sample on and do almost everything the MPC 4000 can. But die hard MPC users love the MPC and wouldn’t trade it for anything. But in my opinion you can go with the cheaper MPC models and get a keyboard or rack for under the price of this 1 unit. Its worth it if you have all the money sitting around, but you can get way more for your money!

The MPC 4000 is a great machine, Akai has provided us with the MPC line for many years and I don’t feel like it will ever stop no matter how digital the music industry gets. The only thing I hated was that the manual made you dumb! After the first few pages after the contents, it seemed impossible to put what it said into action. Akai over complicated the manual! I love my mpc, but they may as well sell you a helmet or first class tickets on a short bus with this manual!



UTILIZATION

The MPC continues in the tradition of being easy to use once you learn the machine and its method of speak. I had a history with the 2000XL so I sequenced almost right out of the box. Despite having several sequences I am still learning to maximize all of the machines applications. The manual is straight forward. I've had my unit since May '02 and, honestly I haven't read the whole thing--every time I refer to it I have no further issues and the manual ends back up on the shelf.


SOUNDS

The sound quality is clear and honest--what you put in is what you get out(unless you start throwing sliders, twisting knobs, re sampling, etc. I primarily use this machine for several of the most danceable and club-friendly genres. But I plan on taking advantage of this powerhouse as a multi sampler for the orchestral sounds i need for film scoring. Yes this thing sounds that good. The effects are more than adequate but purists and/or gear heads will always prefer stand alone effects modules to those included in a sampler/synth.


OVERALL OPINION

Overall, great machine especially if you are into hip hop you can really bang out your beats with the mpc 4000. Its built to last and looks great as well as sounds amazing. It definitely gives you that gritty 90’s feel of music when you create with it. I recommend getting this and loading up your own drums, stay away from the stock kits.

The Akai MPC 4000 is a powerful sampler, much like all of Akai’s sampling machines they have come out with over the years. If you are into hip hop and rap music, then having an MPC is what you need to get. They are priced high but its well worth the money. The Akia MPC 4000 has a great sample right and still keeps that gritty sound of hip hop that we all love.

UTILIZATION

The MPC 4000 isnt easy to use when you first start using it, it will look like a space ship if you are new to using the MPC brands. But once you get the hang of it and know where all of the menu’s buttons and how to get your workflow together on it you will be on your way to being a great producers.

SOUNDS

Sounds are great, but not the stock sounds that come with the MPC. You will definitely need to load up your own kits, because all of the stock drums are very boring, kind of like when you purchase a software music program and they come with the basic drums and sounds. They aren’t very good so have your own ready to go.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall you cant beat going with the MPC, you can have all of your kits loaded onto the memory card and have them load up automatically right away as soon as you turn the mpc on. Downside of the MPC 4000 is that the screen is small. So if you are coming from a software program like cubase or fl studio you are use to editing midi notes on a big screen. You will have to do this on a little screen with this machine, it can be a pain. But you can always sync it up with your software and do it all on the computer anyways!