emusonacid! legacy

I am a hip hop producer and currently use an mpc 2000xl as a sampler. I am looking in to using an emulator 4 for all my sampling and sequencing. Why don't more people use emulators for hip hop? Where can I hear some hip hop made with emulators? Thanks

I would hang onto the MPC for your drums. Most people find the MPC sequencer easier to use for beats (and some suggest the timing is better - I won't get drawn into that argument). But get an emulator for everything else. I f you can afford, it's worth paying the extra for the Ultra series.

wigworld wrote:I would hang onto the MPC for your drums. Most people find the MPC sequencer easier to use for beats (and some suggest the timing is better - I won't get drawn into that argument). But get an emulator for everything else. I f you can afford, it's worth paying the extra for the Ultra series.

Seconded. I use MPC2000XL for drums and sequencing, and a e6400 Ultra for all other sampling duties. Mind you, I don't produce hip hop.

I think that beyond the SP's, EMU never caught on in Hip Hop because of two main reasons, learning curve, and expense. I just got my E64 in the mail tonight, so technically I've never used an Emulator 4 series sampler to make hip hop, but I do have an EMAX I that I use with my MPC-1000.

I think you're right. If you think about it, the emulator IV can do everything the mpcs can with way more power and way more features. I think most cats just bought mpcs because thats what j-dilla, premiere and pete rock use. those guys probably started using mpcs because they were much cheaper than emulators but now you can buy an emulator IV used for about the same as an mpc. Just some thoughts.

Is the sequencer on an emulator IV keyboard really that much harder to use than the mpcs?

Not quite 'everything.' The MPCs have pads (of course), the MPC sequencer is has lots more features, and the MPCs are much more user friendly.

I've never used the sequencer, and I don't think I will either. Looks pretty simple on paper. But its not nearly as powerful as the MPC sequencer.

On secondhand cost: I paid $107 including shipping for my E64: try and get an MPC for that price...

tommyj56304 wrote:I think you're right. If you think about it, the emulator IV can do everything the mpcs can with way more power and way more features. I think most cats just bought mpcs because thats what j-dilla, premiere and pete rock use. those guys probably started using mpcs because they were much cheaper than emulators but now you can buy an emulator IV used for about the same as an mpc. Just some thoughts.

Is the sequencer on an emulator IV keyboard really that much harder to use than the mpcs?

The sequencer in the e4 Ultra is crap when compared to the MPC.

How is it worse? the timing, the ease of use? I'm confused.

tommyj56304 wrote:How is it worse? the timing, the ease of use? I'm confused.

Editing, song mode, timing, and swing features for a start.

I Will agree with what have been said here.. save your mpc,and if you can, by the emu in addition... you can use the emu for drums.. and it will probably do it better in may way.. but keep the sequencing on the mpc.

btw.. i find the bit converter tool to do a great job creating warm gritty feel when converting down to 12 bit. it does a better job then other bit converting tools!. (well in my opinion).

You wanna know why there isn't much hip-hop made on EMU's?-it's an advertising phenomenon, it's branding. If you ask a person who's thinking about getting into hip-hop production what type of gear they were thinking about getting, they'd say an MPC. Most people in the US haven't even heard of EMU's but even non-producers know that beats are made on MPC's. I've even heard people just talk straight up shit about EMU's because they're associated with dance music and somehow MPC's are what the hip-hop purists use. Somehow you're a wuss if you use an EMU because it's linked to trance and house but not hip-hop. Also, but I'm not positive, I'm pretty sure that somehow DJ Premier popularized the MPC. I seem to remember an ad campaign with him and the MPC's. And you hear about MPC's in rhymes all the time. Also, MPC's are advertised in hip-hop magazines. I think it has very little to do with the functions or overall quality of the units but their associations with genres and artists. Like Ibanez guitars are for metal and Fender Strats are for the blues. Another big fact that contributes to this phenomenon is that EMU's simply aren't made anymore and there are more bedroom producers than ever before. It's pretty silly shit but I really do think that about sums it up- advertising, word of mouth, availability.

I dunno about the MPC, it certainly is pretty cool with its pads and even though I always stay far away from Akai products because I don't like them, I can understand that some people find it nice. I don't like built-in sequencers in general and prefer computer sequencing... This being said, I've used an E-mu sampler for years for making rnb and hop-hop and I know the sound is real fat. Plus you can certainly use one of these pad-only MPC style controlers.

you bring up some valid points, and Prem definitely played his part (did you know he also uses the Akai S950 rack sampler - in fact he doesn't even sample on his MPC, he uses it as a sequencer), but there were/are plenty before and after him on the Akai bandwagon. I agree there is a positive association between hip hop and Akai's MPC series. But the same association exists between DnB and MPC.

Between Akai, EMU, and Ensoniq, I could name at least five top hip hop producers that swear by each brand. Notables who use Emu and Ensoniq samplers below.

EMU: Pete Rock, Beatminerz
Ensoniq: Alchemist, Kanye

Don't forget, EMU essentially created the sampling workstation product niche with the SP series. They had a good 2-3 year head start on Akai's first MPC. And you can only discount EMU's influence in hip hop if you disregard those machines. The SP-1200 enjoyed one of the longest production runs in the electronic music industry.

So to me, it all goes back to ease of use and cost. If you're an outsider, yeah its easy to say 'go get an MPC to be authentic' but from within, don't make the mistake of thinking that we don't understand the capabilities and weaknesses of the MPC, and use other machines like the EMUs (and Yamaha's A-series) in a complementary or even main role. A great deal of us use our MPCs mainly as sequencers, and use other rack or keyboard samplers to actually carry out the sampling portion of our work. I've been producing hip hop for over 12 years now, and my first experience was with an SP-12 Turbo. I got my first MPC 3 years ago.

And last point, I've never, not once, heard any hip hop producer say something along the lines of 'ugh EMUs are for trance'. I don't know where you got that tidbit from because I'm always networking with hip hop producers. And I've encountered several that use EMU rack samplers. And EMU is an American company, there is plenty of brand awareness within American hip hop of EMU. Plenty. I agree that there is a positive association of Akai and hip hop, but I totally disagree when you say that there is some sort of negative association happening within hip hop toward EMU samplers. There is however a negative association with making beats on the computer, although the computer based camp is gaining strength.

Hip hop tradition is built on repurposing technology. Prime example is the turntable. So even if no positive association is there, don't think for a second that they aren't being used.

Bottom line: the sequencer on the E-MU is an afterthought. The MPCs purpose is sequencing.