I currently have a MPC 1000 and mainly use it for hip hop/down
tempo/experimental music. Can the 40h with supported software compliment
or replace the MPC in terms of producing? Does the 40h support Velocity
on its key pads? Can switch quantizing on and off? Can it do one shot
and note on? Is the 40h supported as a midi controller in Reason or Pro
Tools?

honestly, based on what you asked, i dont think it is what you are 
looking for.  it isnt velocity sensitive.  also, it isnt an instrument 
really, its more of a controller only.  you can send midi to host with 
it, using internal midi connnections like Midi Yoke on Windows, or the 
built-in midi connections on OSX.

peter (portable sunsets) is working on a mpc-monome patch presently. he 
claims it will do everything the mpc does, but better?

It would be awesome if i could get the 40H to sync with the MPC using 
the midi clock. Anyway to do this?

matt, as i said, the 40h is just a controller, it is NOT a sound 
generating instrument.  that said, you CAN sync most apps to the mpc, 
like Ableton Live, all of my Reaktor ensembles, and mlr (i believe the 
upcoming mlr 3 will have even more stable midi sync as well).

brian, that sounds awsome (peters mpc project), ive been on and off 
trying to do something like that but always put it aside.  of course, 
not having velocity might be rough for the app being 'better' than an 
mpc, but id take the 2-way control of the 40h over velocity pads anyday. 
actually, i prefer the lack of velocity, it more suits my needs.

matt, after thinking some more, id say:  even though i dont think it can 
be a dropin replacement to an mpc, if you are willing to use both it IS 
a great device to buy.  you said you do experimental music, which is 
what it is great at.  basically, id look into mlr, watch some youtube 
videos, etc, and see if you like what you see.

btw, mlr is more for chopping up loop samples, than sequencing one-shot 
samples.

also, do you use ableton?  while you can use with Reason and Protools, 
to get good results you really need some custom patching software.  i 
ask about abelton because there are already some sweet patches for using 
the 40h in a 2-way manner with ableton (2-way meaning using buttons and 
the led's lighting up, having the led's work when using in protools and 
Reason is probably not gonna happen easily).

you know that the40h is no longer in production, right?  there may be 
some kits left, to build your own.  also, the 16x16 is coming out in a 
month or so, with the 16x8 and new 8x8 about 6 weeks behind the 16x16 (i 
think that is the newest timeline).

if you're unsure, i'd go for the mpc. it's a packaged experience, you 
know what you're getting, and it's time-tested.

if you get tired of the mpc, the 128 and 64 will be out by then!


daniel you're completely correct about velocity pads being the mpc's 
strong point. and again you're correct that they're only useful if 
that's your musical style?

the mpc is a great machine, no doubt.

> the mpc is a great machine, no doubt.

agreed.  i think Ableton is becoming the new software MPC, in that it is 
a sequencing and sampling package that actually becomes more than a 
music-production enviornment.  they both are, in my opinion at least, 
real musical instruments.

peter (portable sunsets) is working on a mpc-monome patch presently. he
claims it will do everything the mpc does, but better?


really really REALLY interested in this!

will he be releasing it to the public on the forum?
is it near completion at all?

as being a mpc head and monome fanboy, i'd be really interested to see 
what peter has in the works. his other patches have been top notch.