MATRIXSYNTH: MPC Music Percussion Computer


Friday, February 23, 2007

MPC Music Percussion Computer

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Details:
"Here's the original MPC (not that trendy, flash-in-the pan Akai thingy), the all English, all analog Music Percussion Computer! First, you should know that it is brown. But that's okay because brown is the new black. 1983-ish British answer to the Roland TR-808. Look at all those knobs! They all work! And those pads, all eight of them work too! The pads are beige which just POPS against the brown, don't you think?

I've never seen another US model MPC in person or on the web, so I think I can say this MPC is genuinely rare.

Seriously though, all the knobs and pads really do work. However I'm 90% sure the sequencer does NOT work. I followed the instructions and nothing happens. The 10% is in case it's an easy fix like an internal battery or something. You should assume the sequencer doesn't work. Fortunately, you can still use the keypad to pretend you're Jack Bauer disarming a nuke without fear of harming the MPC or the city of Los Angeles.

I built a trigger-in box which works if you're not into whacking the pads in real time. The triggers work fine using the audio outs of a Roland TR-727 or a Machinedrum, so I would guess most drum machine or synth audio outs will do the trick if you don't have some sort of trigger sequencer. I guess it's also possible to have the MPC modded to work with Kenton's KADI-MIDI box based on some pictures of an MPC in the Netherlands I found here:
http://www.mijnalbum.nl/Album=QESYMYG4

It's built into it's own flight case (also brown!) and weighs in at 25 lbs. People know you're serious about your drum machine when it comes in over 20 lbs and is brown. On the bottom of the case is a threaded mount so you can put your MPC on it's own mic stand. Your mic stand better be damn sturdy though.

This particular MPC is wired for US voltage and has an internal power supply so no wallwart hassles.

If you look around the web you'll find the MPC described as having an interface for a Timex/Sinclair computer that expanded its sequencer capabilities. This one has a Commodore 64 interface. I've never found anyone that even knows about the C64 interface, let alone the instructions for it's use. It's a factory interface though because C64 is part of the serial number of this unit as you can see in the pics. I don't have a C64 so I don't know if it works or not.

Company background
Manual and Schems"

via Robert. Images without the watermarks and samples coming after the auction is over.

1 comment:

  1. I dug my MPC out over the weekend and spent a happy time sampling the sounds for later use. Thinking of finally flogging it if anyone's interested (UK)!

    ReplyDelete

To reduce spam, comments for posts older than one week are not displayed until approved, usually same day. Do not insult people. For items for sale, do not ask if it is still available. Check the auction link and search for the item. Auctions are from various sellers and expire over time. Posts remain for the pics and historical purposes. This site is meant to be a daily snapshot of some of what was out there in the world of synths.

PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE HOME


Patch n Tweak
Switched On Make Synthesizer Evolution Vintage Synthesizers Creating Sound Fundlementals of Synthesizer Programming Kraftwerk

© Matrixsynth - All posts are presented here for informative, historical and educative purposes as applicable within fair use.
MATRIXSYNTH is supported by affiliate links that use cookies to track clickthroughs and sales. See the privacy policy for details.
MATRIXSYNTH - EVERYTHING SYNTH