Can someone tell me if the 3000 ever jams it's buttons or crashes because the 2000 and the xl are a piece of shit!!! Every mpc 2000 stlye I've owned broke down in studio sessions and I even got a free one from akai that still broke...bought a new one and it crashed I think I'll be going to 3000 to live safe,HELP!!!
dontaew@juno.com

The 3000 is definitely a better machine. There seems to be a logical reason as to why, after all this time, the 3000 still holds its value and 2000s are appearing in used ads everywhere. The 2000 does look better on paper, and probably suits many just fine, but I could not deal with the crashing, etc. My 3000 has not crashed at all, and they CAN be upgraded to 32 megs. I think there is also a difference in sonic quality...But I shall stop here, as I do not want to incite a riot. Hope this helps...good luck.!

I knew it!Have your buttons ever frozen...meaning you push load and nothing happens.On the down side is it true that the screen is very complex and you have to push a value # then enter for everthing you do.
ps.if it's a tank like they say I'm switching

I have had no problems with the buttons freezing...the only thing I compain about is the fact that the pads need to be struck hard at times (depending on the quality of the sample) to get a really audible hit worth keeping, so I often find myself switching it to the full level and adjusting the velocity manually. And there are numbers assigned to most of the functions, but I find this process to be extremely intuitive. ANd, one last thing - built f***ing tough...one BIG difference between the two. Put it this way - you would not be dissappointed with the switch...Maybe except for the fact that the 3000 cannot read wav files. But this is not much of a problem if you use many of your own samples and you are a MAC user. Even if you use PC, I find that converting the files is not that much of a pain. Sorry for going on and on, I just live this damn machine.

Thank you...No,go on.Lastly, when I switch I will have to resample all of my 2000xl sounds because 3000 probably will not read them even though they are both akai machines.(pc user).

Yes, you would have to. Unfortunately, there has not been an OS for the 3000 developed that can read 2000 files (3.11 is shipped with it, and you can download 3.12 from Linn's website). But there is a program called Awave Studio, a shareware program, that lets you convert virtually anything to anything else. It is the only program that I really know that can convert to MPC 3000 .snd format (there is also a link to that on Linn's website - rlinndesign.com). I hope this helps and good luck with your choice! By the way, how well does the time stretching on the 2000 work? Just curious...thanks.

Time stretching...a joke!
N ot worth using probably more accurately done in a computer.