Tools of the Trade lets an artist share their love for their favorite piece of gear.

To kick this feature off, we asked Pascäal (aka Peter Wiley) to tell us why he loves his MPC 2000XL.

I bought my first MPC 2000XL in the summer of 2008. It had been listed on Craigslist by an Ann Arbor kid named Evan Doering—a bedroom musician who made some of the most golden pop gems 2010 had to offer under the moniker Man the Hunter. Two years later, that MPC was stolen out of my bandmate’s house by a crackhead whose drums we had been borrowing (and whose drums we had thoroughly abused). I went MPC-less for another year before caving and scoping out another, this one from a kid in Detroit. I’ve had this last one ever since, and I can safely say that it is my all-time favorite piece of gear.

My use of the MPC 2KXL has ebbed and flowed since I first started using one, but these days it has become the foundation of my production workflow and where the heart of the composition takes place. When I sit down to make a song, I start by booting up the MPC and playing around with samples until a groove develops. Later on, I might switch on some synths and use the MPC to sequence out some MIDI. You can conceivably craft an entire song on an MPC without ever having to face the dull, tiresome glow of a computer monitor. There’s no drawing in MIDI—instead you have to feel the groove and tap it out in real time.

This next little loop was created entirely on an MPC with samples that I made—no laptops or effects except a little limiting/compression to boost loudness.

• MPC LoopDownload

Aside from its well established and celebrated history, I think it was the functional beauty of the MPC that motivated me to get one. But it wasn’t until I started using it that I found out that it actually sounds *fucking amazing*. Pitching and resampling can open doors to entirely new sonic realms. Notes get triggered slightly off kilter from each other, adding a subtle layer of organic complexity. Simply loading samples into the MPC and playing them back unaffected reveals its warm, speckled tone.

I built the above loop around a pitched down tape sample that I made from an iPhone recording of a babbling brook and a sustained chord on an Alpha Juno (another excellent piece of gear!). This next soundbyte will first play the original sample, followed by the pitched down version used in the loop. You can really hear how the pitched down version has a silky warmth to it that you can’t quite get from a laptop.

• Tape Pitch Before and AfterDownload

One of the most hyped sound-shaping aspects of the MPC 2KXL is its ability to resample. Subsequent MPC models use a different algorithm, and a lot of purists think that the 2KXL has the legendary resample sound. Resampling was used by early hip hop producers in order to save disk space because they had to save program and sound files onto floppies! I’ve tried using Logic to do the same thing, but it lacks the MPC’s characteristic grit. Resampling on the 2KXL gives samples a rusty, friendly sound that reminds me of toy drum machines. This next soundbyte has a tape sample that I made using a TR-606 and a reverb pedal, followed by the resampled version. I love how it completely remodels the high-end and adds a special taste of chunky dirt.

• Cymbal Resample Before and AfterDownload

I hope by this point it doesn’t seem like I’m bashing laptops. My laptop is also a very important part of my production workflow. However, I really feel free when I use my MPC. The user interface is charmingly simple and it allows me to have a relationship with electronic composition that is more akin to composing using real instruments. I love that feeling because that’s how I’ve always engaged with creating music since I was a middle school kid playing guitar in my bedroom. I think if I could sum it up, that’s why I love the MPC 2KXL. It allows me to play instruments, not play the computer.

I love my MPC so much that I use it to compose (almost) all of my drums and samples, and it directly influences the music that I make as Pascäal.