Akai is now known for their range of samplers which still have major
part in most production studios around the globe. And it is no surprise
that it was them that produced the world's first sampler and sequencer
integrated rhythm machine with such a flexiblity in sampling.
It was back in later '80s that Akai produced the first Midi Production Centre
MPC60 in collaboration with Roger Linn, One of the originators of what
is now called Drum machines with his expertise of producing Linn Drum series
(You've surely heard the famous electric tom-toms haven't you?)

 Combination of  sequencers and keyboards, and sound modules were
becoming popular at the time as the MIDI standard was coming of age,
but there was no way to benefit from the sampling technology especially
in live performances due to the sheer size and the cost the system required,
unless you've already had more than enough money to spare.
(it was more than a price of a house you know?)

 MPC was designed to give us musicians the technology in one neat box
that doesn't need qualified electricians around it to just keep on working.
Surely he was popular along producers and studio technicians whose
main concern is practicality.
His name also become a mode in many hip hop producers and there are
still many people coming into studio with just 2 turn tables and a MPC.

 MPC60 was then followed by MPC60mk2 which incorporated a SCSI port
and more memory, and It was superseded by the MPC3000 of which
design was based on the 16 bit sampler S3000, which was already
becoming popular at the time. (But there are still many people using MPC60s
for the 'lo-fi' sound quality coming out of its 12 bit sampling engine.
and surely the MPC sequencer was already such an advanced system.)
 
 However, the MPC3000 was surely a great machine, but its cost (it was
probably the most expensive rhythm machine at the time, though much
cheaper than other sampler co-operated systems) prohibited the use of
those who are not making music commercially.
 At the same time, Akai's normal sampler (?) division was finishing the
designs of S-XL range  and the S2000 which in simple terms had higher
specification with a modest price tag, which rang the bell of their
MPC division. In fact MPC2000 has almost the same sound engine
as that of S2000.

Anyway, what we got now is the MPC2000, the third generation of MPC series that anyone
serious about music could reach and have enough money to eat left in their wallet.

MPC2000 specifications (with my personal comments)
Sampler section:

Sequencer section Effector section (optional) Other options:  

External Devices (Some really are necessity in some cases)

ZIP drive
 I believe the first thing an MPC owner need other than a pair of headphones
would be a Larger storage device. If you got anything more than 2MB, you really
can't not have this. (a Floppy disk can only store 1.44MB of data in case you don't know)
 Most MPC owners I know (including myself) choose Zip drive as it's one of the
cheapist options. Although I an NOT happy with the reliability of the drive
(maybe it's just mine that's faulty. But I can't get any support 'cos I bought
it overseas. It started acting weird after 2 months of purchase and it wasn't a second hand)

 There are ones sold differently for Mac, PC SCSI/Parallel, but as long as
it says 'SCSI' on the box, there should be no problems using that on MPC2000
(Drives are the same for both). But watch out for PC-Parallel ones. It does not
work at all. Zip plus drives has been out for a while now, and I've heard
people saying that it works fine with MPC2000.

 Strictly speaking, the Zip drive needs to have firmware (that's the software
inside a zip drive) of version D.09 or higher, but this shouldn't be a problem
now unless you buy it second hand. (mine was ver. D.13 when I bought it in summer '97)
By the way, there isn't much point in buying Zip Plus unless you are
using it with a computer. MPC2000's SCSI port (or the operating system)
is not very fast, so the SCSI transfer speed would be the same whatever you connect.
The speed of SCSI transfer is dramatically improved in OS version 1.50.
If you haven't got the latest version, goto Akai web site and update as soon as you can.
You are not getting what you deserve for what you've paid with old versions of the OS!

 But be warned, if you put a Zip disk you are using with MPC2000 into a
Windows machine, You can be pretty sure that something bad happens.
The worst of all is that if you've devided a disk into partitions when
formatted on MPC2000, everything stored on the disk except those in the
first partition WILL BE LOST as soon as you do anything to the disk on Windows.

Now I decided not to devide a zip disk into partitions and use it
with windows machine only when transfering samples.

(I know disk management on MPC2000 OS is not very good at all.
If you agree with me, then please take a look at this
list of requests to Akai organised by Sascha Balkau and let him or
I know how you think of it.)

By the way, MPC2000's SCSI ID is set to 6 permanently, make sure
you set Zip drive's ID switch at the back to ID5 or it won't work.
 

Other SCSI devices
 On Akai samplers, HD larger than 500 MB can not be used efficiently.
and considering the fact you can only store 512 files in a partition,
I really don't think it's worth buying a HD just to use with MPC2000
unless you wanna burn your own CD-ROM for MPC or something.

For CD-ROM drives, I really can't be sure simply because I haven't
used one with MPC2000. But it shouldn't matter too much which make
it is etc etc. But Toshiba drives are known for its wide compatibility
and NEC ones are the opposite. Useful tip to remember is to ask
a shop if it is possible to return the drive after you test it, or bring in
your MPC2000 and test it there.

Many music shops also have information
on usable drives and even sell them. Asking for those people who
are in the business is always a good idea.
 

EB-16, 8 output expander, Memories etc.
 They could all be fitted easily by a user, and how to open up the
machine is at the back of the manual. So there shouldn't be much
problem doing that even though the manual tells you to go to
Akai authorised technicians.
 But as always, you will be responsible for whatever happens
if you decide to do it yourself. No-one else cares for it.
(including myself that is. Don't blame me if anything goes wrong!)

 However, once they are fit into place, there is a minimum chance
of it going wrong afterwards. And I don't think it affects the gurantee either.

If you haven't already got the machine, it might be a good idea to buy
the options with the machine and ask the shop to fit it for you.

There is a slight confusion but the 8 output board is NOT compatible with
other Akai samplers. So they are not likely to be cheaper in the future,
unlike other electrical things. if you are planning to use MPC2000 for a
long term, then plan carefully and think 10 years ahead.

now people are already having difficulities trying to find expansion boards
for old samplers such as S50, s1000 etc.
if you miss it now then you won't get it in 10 years time when it's most needed.
 

EB-16 and RAMs are easier to fit as all you gotta do is simply
pluging them into the sockets inside MPC2000.
and 8 output is not too difficult either. it's actually finding a space
to put the card as there are lots of cables in where it's meant to be placed.
 

(but I couldn't put the screw to hold EB-16 as the metal frame was
 actually slightly bent so the holes was about hald an inch away from
 where it should be. It is cheap and assembled in China after all.)