It comes with a shit ton of software. Oh, and it comes with its own audio interface.

The MPC Ren is $699, the MPC Studio costs $399, and both come with a ton of software.

Maschine MK2 is 599, also with a significant software suite. Mikro is $349.

Then there's Ableton Push and a host of lesser controllers and the prevalence of piracy.

Huge hard drives are dirt cheap and sound libraries are massive. See where this is going?

By contrast, I paid $700 for a used 2000 XL back in 2002 without the 8 outs, no effect or filter expansions, and no program discs.

I of course spent a ton of money on used cassette tapes for samples as I had no turntable. Then I paid $500 and traded my PS 2 and a ton of games for a Roland Xp 80.

So here I was about $1800 into my setup, spending every dollar I have just to get going and I don't even have a mixer, EQ, Compressor, or DAT, not to mention monitors, and I'm recording straight in mono straight to a regular tape deck and using $20 Radio Shack headphones. I ate Ramen for fucking months just to get that much.

$1800 today gets you so much hardware, software, effects, and VST instruments it's absurd by comparison. Assuming you have your computer already squared away, you could cop Maschine Mikro, Cubase Artist, and, say, a MOXF6 and you still have a little cash for decent headphones or monitors. Whatever.

Or you could pay about $12 for a file downloading account and pirate all the software you want and just cop a basic midi controller and sound card.

Bottom line, it's so inexpensive to get in on the electronic side and there are so many quality options available that do pretty much everything that it's an extremely attractive option for a lot of people, certainly enough to take a significant bite out of potential rockers and steer them toward pop, hip hop, and EDM.

-Sig-

“Why didn’t you do this in your own god damn country?"

-All Stah's view on undocumented immigrants wanting to be treated like human beings.