I had the MPC One and sold it. Bought myself a live 2 and have no regrets. My MPC One was looking like an intensive care unit with hubs, dongles, power cables etc. Pros for the One are the buttons and size factor but that’s it. No Bluetooth, No Wifi, no USB 3.0, No internal drive, No battery, No speaker and a shitty little headphone Jack and as you say a tiny volume knob conveniently situated on the back. The Live 2 is just lacking those plastic buttons and a few dedicated ones like Program edit but that’s it. It heavier because it has a battery the One would be the same. The live 2 has bigger pads. I can charge my phone using the USB ports. It has Bluetooth so I can use wireless midi on my phone to play all those great iOS synths. It has wifi so I can jam in time with my mate on his laptop and connect to splice. I have a 1 TB internal hardrive so no sd cards poking out but there is a sd port on the back of I needed one. The buttons have illuminated letters which is handy for dark environments so I can see what they are. The layout means I can use it flat - yes flat! With no tilt stand. As the screen is easier to see and use because it’s closer. It has more outputs You can plug in a turntable The battery lasts for around 4 hours of continual use which is pretty good. There’s nothing better than just grabbing it and sitting outside or on the couch and just jamming. The speaker is actually quite good, especially if you want to edit and program and don’t want headphones on. It has a volume knob on the front Works really well with the pc software and reads the internal drive, so it’s dead easy to move files around. The only thing I really don’t like about the live 2 which isn’t in your video is that tacky rubber finish on both the buttons and the main body. A real dust and finger print magnet.
I have the MPC One, Live II and the X. They all serve a different purpose in form factor to me. I would've chosen the Live II. The One has the Live II over button layout and tactileness. However I can't add points to the One because it takes a power bank or hub when the Live II does the same. If you hold menu on the live the menu is in rows of 4 for all 16 pads. It's almost the same as holding shift except it's menu then hit the corresponding pad it shows on screen. I got the Live II because I was doing the whole powerbank thing with the One. I have the Omnicharge, ChargeTech, and Sherpa they all take AC and will work fine. But for me I rather lay out less on a table in any outing unless I'm going to be there for a long time. I must have all of my stuff in a semi/hardshell case too. I hate scratches, dust and lint lol. So if I can bear without bringing headphones for a trip will save me a good amount of space. I can go without a mini 25 key keyboard. The live II is all I really need to get going. You can just put on a table and get on with it. Just make sure you have it charged and don't forget the power adapter. If you are real loose with your stuff have a deck saver on and the adapter in your jacket...MPC by itself in fabric bag. The speaker is a good "option". The other day I brought my SP404-MKII out the house got to where I needed to go and realized I had no headphones....I just left it in the car and called it quits lol. If it was the Live II it would've been different. I like the MPC One and I refuse to sell it because it's just as capable to make music as long as you don't treat it like your main studio hub. All the newer MPC's have different I/O, but same ram and processor. I don't think anyone uses the internal storage unless they haven't heard that it's not recommended. I have the X more for workflow reasons it's much quicker and also my routings can stay the same with other hardware signals. Everything is routed to my Audio interface rack and some chosen things go straight to the MPC X. The other MPC's allow me to still go off into MPC world elsewhere without going crazy unhooking to rehook later completely loosing the drive to make anything because I lost time troubleshooting signal.
I ended up getting a live 2 because i didnt want to lug around any other gear at all, also i wanted something that could work without a pc. The mpc one is a beast though and if i had just a dedicated home studio and i knew it was never gonna move from there. The mpc one likely would have been my choice. Super happy i went with the live 2, it really is fun to just have a sampler/boombox at the ready.
I own a One. With an external hard drive, a usb stick and a 256gb sd card i have all the storage i need and still very portable. The volume knob is the only real problem i have with this beast. Best purchase ever for me, considering the price its crazy!! Its litterrally a portable DAW
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE Yeah! I'm hoping to really leverage the VSTs. I did just try a song with the max 8 instruments at once and it choked. Once the CPU hits 40%, I started to see errors. I found keeping it at 20% seemed safe.
Went with the One because of the button layout. I wanted the Live II’s speakers, Wifi, and Bluetooth. Got a BT dongle for audio and WIDI master dongle for BT MIDI. I connect to what speaker or AVR that is in the room I’m working in at the time. Still want the Live II but it’s not likely to happen. Even if it did, I probably still use the One more. We need a One II if they figure out how to pack more into it.
I have the One but considering upgrading (or downgrading? 😂) to the Live 2 mainly because of the battery. I never take my MPC outside of my house, so portability for me just means being able to bring it out to the patio, the couch, or back into the home studio without having to always bring power bricks, cables and headphones with me. I do wish the Live didn't have the rubberized dust magnet coating though, and I'm sure I'll miss the Program Edit button, but hopefully I'll get used to it.
You will find other reasons to like the live2 once you get it but the button layout on the one is far better for a quick workflow. I believe the retro Live 2 has a different coating but it hasn’t got the illuminated words on the buttons like the standard live 2. The printed words may rub off over time. I’ve got a deck saver cover for mine so it doesn’t really get that dusty. Holding menu and then pressing a pad will shortcut to all the functions you need but it does take a while to get used to and I’m not a fan of using two hands to get to stuff that should have a dedicated button. The new update later in June will offer customisation of the menu layout but if I’m honest I would have preferred the + and - buttons being custom assignable to maybe program edit and sampler for example. They really are a waste of button real estate. There are also some other touch screen shortcuts in that update which may (or may not) speed up the workflow on the live 2. I don’t take mine into the wild but it’s great for popping round to friends, sitting on the couch to program and sometimes sitting in the garden when the weathers good without having all the cables running everywhere. Yeah, I know you can get a battery pack to work on the one but it’s so much better having the battery charging all built in and showing in the software.
@@Marco-ek8wu I share all of your thoughts here. For me, the Live 2 still wins on paper because I really don't like to bring that power cable with me all the time, it makes me not start it up sometimes when I could have. That said, the + and - buttons are such obvious candidates for customization, I can't believe they haven't done it already. I mean, who uses them?
@@sinewaymusic not me! Such a weird choice of button use. Let’s face it, it’s only a midi controller so they could easily sort that out. Have to wait for the live 3 or the MPC One XL with battery I guess. It’s been said that the Live 2 is really geared up for live performance hence the button choices and the name.
With having both the Live 2 and the One. I always end up on the One, the layout is just the shit, I wish they would just add speakers and a battery to this layout and call it the Live 3. If there was a battery that was made to screw into the bottom of the One, Would you buy it and how much would you spend...
I started with an MPC 1000 that I added a battery to (internally). It took no time to transition to my Live II (controls felt the same). I don’t own a backpack the Live II won’t fit in. I put the same set of legs on my Live II that you did (put them on my 1000 and my SP555 which I also put an internal battery in). My experience and opinion landed me at the Live II. YMMV.
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE I do. It’s fully functional and has an internal IDE SSD. The memory is maxed out, it has a brand new blue/black LCD screen, upgraded pads, new textured aluminum gain and volume knobs, USB-C power supply, and new black case. It has a whole new lease on life. When it got to me it was broken (had been dropped on the back right corner. It’s beautiful…
The One is the goldilock of MPCs. It’s perfect and you can make it portable with battery pack and Velcro and even with speakers and the right cable and design tricks. You can make it as simple or complicated as you need it to be. It’s perfect.
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE I use the MPK Mini MK3 with it. They both look so good together. A match made in heaven. If you add an ipad with whatever programs and auv3s and the right cables for midi audio in out....you can do everything including a live performance. Only limit is the imagination.
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE I got the XTPower bank from amazon it does 19v which is perfect for the mpc one. Details below cheers XTPower® XT-20000QC3 Power Bank - modern DC/USB QC3 battery with 20100mAh - USB, QC 3.0 and DC connection of 12V, 15V, 16.5V, 19V, 20V and 24V 65W max.
Great video. Newboe question: Since the One, or now, the One +, has more buttons than the Live II, do you still have to use the touch screen? Thank you.
Yes and yes, I still use the touchscreen when needed, but the overall speed and navigation on the one is faster to me because of how the buttons are all laid out around the center knob for your right hand
thank you for this video! it helps!!!! BTW: How does the MPC integrate with a DAW? ie,if i wanted to use the MPC to sequence,trigger some plugins and also trigger/sequence hardware synths during the same session? thank you!!
MPC can run as a plug-in inside the daw, you can then drag your audio and midi directly into the daw. For sequencing Hardware, are you looking to in MPC stand alone ?
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE yes. That's what I meant as a standalone. Could I drag midi files from my DAW onto the MPC? And use a MPC plugin to play the midi files? And is it possible to install 3 rd party vsts onto the MPC?
You can only run VSTs when you have the MPC in controller mode connected to the computer. But the machine workflow is identical, it just allows you to use the plus on your computer. With MIDI, it’s a bit of a pain. When you drag in a midi file it creates a new sequence. You can to then copy and paste the notes into your current sequence. Sort of a bug
The only technical specs difference is that the new MPC key has four gigs of RAM and 32 gigs of RAM which will help when you’re using the new software instruments
I had the MPC One and sold it. Bought myself a live 2 and have no regrets.
My MPC One was looking like an intensive care unit with hubs, dongles, power cables etc.
Pros for the One are the buttons and size factor but that’s it.
No Bluetooth, No Wifi, no USB 3.0, No internal drive, No battery, No speaker and a shitty little headphone Jack and as you say a tiny volume knob conveniently situated on the back.
The Live 2 is just lacking those plastic buttons and a few dedicated ones like Program edit but that’s it.
It heavier because it has a battery the One would be the same.
The live 2 has bigger pads.
I can charge my phone using the USB ports.
It has Bluetooth so I can use wireless midi on my phone to play all those great iOS synths.
It has wifi so I can jam in time with my mate on his laptop and connect to splice.
I have a 1 TB internal hardrive so no sd cards poking out but there is a sd port on the back of I needed one.
The buttons have illuminated letters which is handy for dark environments so I can see what they are.
The layout means I can use it flat - yes flat! With no tilt stand. As the screen is easier to see and use because it’s closer.
It has more outputs
You can plug in a turntable
The battery lasts for around 4 hours of continual use which is pretty good. There’s nothing better than just grabbing it and sitting outside or on the couch and just jamming.
The speaker is actually quite good, especially if you want to edit and program and don’t want headphones on.
It has a volume knob on the front
Works really well with the pc software and reads the internal drive, so it’s dead easy to move files around.
The only thing I really don’t like about the live 2 which isn’t in your video is that tacky rubber finish on both the buttons and the main body. A real dust and finger print magnet.
HA!!! now I look at my One a different way.
Well Said that’s why I Say the Live II is the Best of the 3 ONE X Live II
I really hate that rubber finish! Can’t understand what the designers of the live 2 were thinking
I have the MPC One, Live II and the X. They all serve a different purpose in form factor to me. I would've chosen the Live II. The One has the Live II over button layout and tactileness. However I can't add points to the One because it takes a power bank or hub when the Live II does the same.
If you hold menu on the live the menu is in rows of 4 for all 16 pads. It's almost the same as holding shift except it's menu then hit the corresponding pad it shows on screen. I got the Live II because I was doing the whole powerbank thing with the One. I have the Omnicharge, ChargeTech, and Sherpa they all take AC and will work fine. But for me I rather lay out less on a table in any outing unless I'm going to be there for a long time.
I must have all of my stuff in a semi/hardshell case too. I hate scratches, dust and lint lol. So if I can bear without bringing headphones for a trip will save me a good amount of space. I can go without a mini 25 key keyboard. The live II is all I really need to get going. You can just put on a table and get on with it. Just make sure you have it charged and don't forget the power adapter. If you are real loose with your stuff have a deck saver on and the adapter in your jacket...MPC by itself in fabric bag. The speaker is a good "option". The other day I brought my SP404-MKII out the house got to where I needed to go and realized I had no headphones....I just left it in the car and called it quits lol. If it was the Live II it would've been different.
I like the MPC One and I refuse to sell it because it's just as capable to make music as long as you don't treat it like your main studio hub. All the newer MPC's have different I/O, but same ram and processor. I don't think anyone uses the internal storage unless they haven't heard that it's not recommended. I have the X more for workflow reasons it's much quicker and also my routings can stay the same with other hardware signals. Everything is routed to my Audio interface rack and some chosen things go straight to the MPC X. The other MPC's allow me to still go off into MPC world elsewhere without going crazy unhooking to rehook later completely loosing the drive to make anything because I lost time troubleshooting signal.
I used to have the One sequencing the Roland Integra. It was awesome.
If you've got the budget for it, MPC Live 2. It's not even a competition.
I still love how small the one is for travel.
I ended up getting a live 2 because i didnt want to lug around any other gear at all, also i wanted something that could work without a pc. The mpc one is a beast though and if i had just a dedicated home studio and i knew it was never gonna move from there. The mpc one likely would have been my choice. Super happy i went with the live 2, it really is fun to just have a sampler/boombox at the ready.
Ya! I was really surprised with how good the speaker sounds. Wish they had a Bluetooth mode. you could just connect your phone and boom!
I own a One. With an external hard drive, a usb stick and a 256gb sd card i have all the storage i need and still very portable. The volume knob is the only real problem i have with this beast. Best purchase ever for me, considering the price its crazy!! Its litterrally a portable DAW
YUP! and now with the new instruments, its amazing.
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE Yeah! I'm hoping to really leverage the VSTs. I did just try a song with the max 8 instruments at once and it choked. Once the CPU hits 40%, I started to see errors. I found keeping it at 20% seemed safe.
Thanks for helping my never-ending search for the ultimate tool!
I will always be your ultimate tool.
I love the MPC One! Pairing it with an Eventide H9000 (as a deceptive class compliant USB interface) is a match made in heaven.
Amazing! thats a great idea.
Good comparison. I just got the Live 2 and love it.
Awesome and congrats. Would a video on connecting external midi gear help?
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE Sure! 👍
I had the touch and hated the rubber buttons. Clicky buttons are way better for muscle memory
Fully agreed. The one is nearly perfect
Went with the One because of the button layout. I wanted the Live II’s speakers, Wifi, and Bluetooth. Got a BT dongle for audio and WIDI master dongle for BT MIDI. I connect to what speaker or AVR that is in the room I’m working in at the time. Still want the Live II but it’s not likely to happen. Even if it did, I probably still use the One more. We need a One II if they figure out how to pack more into it.
They should take the speakers from the live 2, split them in a left and right and slap them on the sides of the ONE
I have the One but considering upgrading (or downgrading? 😂) to the Live 2 mainly because of the battery. I never take my MPC outside of my house, so portability for me just means being able to bring it out to the patio, the couch, or back into the home studio without having to always bring power bricks, cables and headphones with me. I do wish the Live didn't have the rubberized dust magnet coating though, and I'm sure I'll miss the Program Edit button, but hopefully I'll get used to it.
You will find other reasons to like the live2 once you get it but the button layout on the one is far better for a quick workflow. I believe the retro Live 2 has a different coating but it hasn’t got the illuminated words on the buttons like the standard live 2. The printed words may rub off over time. I’ve got a deck saver cover for mine so it doesn’t really get that dusty.
Holding menu and then pressing a pad will shortcut to all the functions you need but it does take a while to get used to and I’m not a fan of using two hands to get to stuff that should have a dedicated button. The new update later in June will offer customisation of the menu layout but if I’m honest I would have preferred the + and - buttons being custom assignable to maybe program edit and sampler for example. They really are a waste of button real estate. There are also some other touch screen shortcuts in that update which may (or may not) speed up the workflow on the live 2.
I don’t take mine into the wild but it’s great for popping round to friends, sitting on the couch to program and sometimes sitting in the garden when the weathers good without having all the cables running everywhere. Yeah, I know you can get a battery pack to work on the one but it’s so much better having the battery charging all built in and showing in the software.
@@Marco-ek8wu I share all of your thoughts here. For me, the Live 2 still wins on paper because I really don't like to bring that power cable with me all the time, it makes me not start it up sometimes when I could have. That said, the + and - buttons are such obvious candidates for customization, I can't believe they haven't done it already. I mean, who uses them?
@@sinewaymusic not me! Such a weird choice of button use. Let’s face it, it’s only a midi controller so they could easily sort that out. Have to wait for the live 3 or the MPC One XL with battery I guess.
It’s been said that the Live 2 is really geared up for live performance hence the button choices and the name.
With having both the Live 2 and the One. I always end up on the One, the layout is just the shit, I wish they would just add speakers and a battery to this layout and call it the Live 3.
If there was a battery that was made to screw into the bottom of the One, Would you buy it and how much would you spend...
I started with an MPC 1000 that I added a battery to (internally). It took no time to transition to my Live II (controls felt the same). I don’t own a backpack the Live II won’t fit in. I put the same set of legs on my Live II that you did (put them on my 1000 and my SP555 which I also put an internal battery in). My experience and opinion landed me at the Live II. YMMV.
Do you still have the MPC1000, thats a classic!
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE I do. It’s fully functional and has an internal IDE SSD. The memory is maxed out, it has a brand new blue/black LCD screen, upgraded pads, new textured aluminum gain and volume knobs, USB-C power supply, and new black case. It has a whole new lease on life. When it got to me it was broken (had been dropped on the back right corner. It’s beautiful…
Internal harddrive is the deciding factor for me. Sd cards short out sometimes. Happenned in my 2500.
Agreed. I ended up sticking an small ssd external under my One
The One is the goldilock of MPCs. It’s perfect and you can make it portable with battery pack and Velcro and even with speakers and the right cable and design tricks. You can make it as simple or complicated as you need it to be. It’s perfect.
I’m working on a video to see how to connect a keyboard and midi map to make a MPC one/ keys
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE I use the MPK Mini MK3 with it. They both look so good together. A match made in heaven. If you add an ipad with whatever programs and auv3s and the right cables for midi audio in out....you can do everything including a live performance. Only limit is the imagination.
What is the battery pack? Does it take USB power?
Got the mpc one with battery bank fits in my laptop bag with the akai mpk25 and all cables. Music making on the go
Thats awesome!! What battery pack did you get?
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE
I got the XTPower bank from amazon it does 19v which is perfect for the mpc one.
Details below cheers
XTPower® XT-20000QC3 Power Bank - modern DC/USB QC3 battery with 20100mAh - USB, QC 3.0 and DC connection of 12V, 15V, 16.5V, 19V, 20V and 24V 65W max.
I have the MPC One and I chose it because of its shape and layout.
Still like it or wish you got the live?
@@ampecsu I still like it :)
thank you for this - amazing!
My pleasure, love your channel!!
Great video. Newboe question: Since the One, or now, the One +, has more buttons than the Live II, do you still have to use the touch screen? Thank you.
Yes and yes, I still use the touchscreen when needed, but the overall speed and navigation on the one is faster to me because of how the buttons are all laid out around the center knob for your right hand
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE Thank you
Love this!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
Love you...
I have both of them
Which do you use the most??
Hello - CAD Designer here with MPC one in my house and 3d printer also :).
Waiting to hear from You.
What’s your Instagram? Let’s chat there, have some ideas
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE Hello :)
Don't have one - can You give me Your e-mail? :)
Info@createeducateinspire.com
Great video content. Have you got a link to the stick on tilt legs you have on the Live II?
Sorry for the delay. I love these one
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08N1BXV2K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They all do the same thing. But I love the MPC one
SAME!! I sold my X cause it was just too damn big
thank you for this video! it helps!!!! BTW: How does the MPC integrate with a DAW? ie,if i wanted to use the MPC to sequence,trigger some plugins and also trigger/sequence hardware synths during the same session? thank you!!
MPC can run as a plug-in inside the daw, you can then drag your audio and midi directly into the daw. For sequencing Hardware, are you looking to in MPC stand alone ?
@@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE yes. That's what I meant as a standalone. Could I drag midi files from my DAW onto the MPC? And use a MPC plugin to play the midi files? And is it possible to install 3 rd party vsts onto the MPC?
You can only run VSTs when you have the MPC in controller mode connected to the computer. But the machine workflow is identical, it just allows you to use the plus on your computer. With MIDI, it’s a bit of a pain. When you drag in a midi file it creates a new sequence. You can to then copy and paste the notes into your current sequence. Sort of a bug
aside from the physical differences in the two, everything you can do in the live II you can also do in the one? inside they're the same?
The only technical specs difference is that the new MPC key has four gigs of RAM and 32 gigs of RAM which will help when you’re using the new software instruments
Where are the new tutorial videos?
Coming soon. I had to spend a week on a big upcoming project that im excited to share with everyone here. Just re-directing time back to tutorials.
What's the battery brother? Need for my one
ua-cam.com/video/GDb1pHYryNI/v-deo.html&ab_channel=SoundsAndGear