ilovefuzz.com

So I'm a fan of Maschine and the workflow it entails - love the 4x4 grid and chopping/sampling/etc. I also have an Octatrack but use it more for live looping/remixing/drums (former 808 owner) and don't find it as intuitive for sampling/producing. At home this isn't a big deal - I can do what I need in Maschine, use the Octa after, blah blah. I've been considering something self-contained, however, to keep "offsite," something to mess around with and work within the limitations it has. I've been looking very hard at an MPC 2000xl and have a few questions:

1 - Will an MPC 2000xl be familiar enough? I like chopping on Maschine, especially looking at the wave form (although it's not essential). Will I be able to autochop to each pad then adjust the length or is it much more primitive?

2 - Will I be able to integrate it into my MIDI-centric setup if desired?

npfrs wrote:
2 - Will I be able to integrate it into my MIDI-centric setup if desired?

I'm pretty sure MPC stands for "Midi Production Center" so..... maybe

Yes, yes. I've seen them go for less than $350 which is nutty for what one can do. Depends on the options...
Just look into getting one that hasn't been beat on, no pun intended.
The pad sensors are known for wearing out but they can be replaced for relatively low cost...the important thing is the disk drive or storage interface. If you can find one that's already been upgraded to a card reader then you're golden. Otherwise be prepared to mess with, care for, rely on zip drives or floppy disks...which aren't known for their reliability. But if you take care of your stuff (and have some luck) they can last for years.

As far as intuitive goes...IMO those 90s MPCs are as good as it gets. As with anything-gear there's a learning curve, but based on your current background with Maschine I suspect you'll be able to hit the ground running with little issue navigating the menus and options. Youtube is full of video demos and how-tos, to help.