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It lags behind some rivals on the sampling front, but on the whole, the MC-707 is powerful, well-designed and a lot of fun. All in all, the MPC range is at the most appealing right now that it’s been in the 21st century. In terms of its balance of capabilities and convenience, there isn’t anything on the market to rival the MPC Live when it comes to realising the dream of wireless, go-anywhere music production. The hardware updates for v2 are subtle, but both speaker and CV ports add genuine usability.
A new suite of AIR vocal effects: Tuner to make your vocals sound perfect, Vocal Harmonizer, a four-part vocal-harmonizer effect and Doubler, to add presence to your vocal line or create realistic double effects. New AIR insert effectsThe best thing about MPC One is that you can connect it with Splice.com with an Ethernet cable and make real-time file and sample sync. It can be used as a MIDI controller when it comes down to DAW. Designed from scratch, this monitor features a dual tweeter-woofer system. As a result, you get fantastic sound with all the details of your production reproduced to hear whenever you want. As I said at the beginning, MPC veterans will likely feel right at home with the new MPCs — albeit a completely refurbished home of the future. The basic workflows and modes of operation are fully consistent with MPCs that have come before. In my review of the Touch I expressed some gripes about the MPC way of working, but over the last few months I’ve spent some intensive time comparing the workflows of the MPC, Maschine and Push, and have developed an appreciation for the strengths of the MPC, in particular the speed with which you can get stuff done once you’ve built the muscle memory, and the single point of focus. Furthermore, you can hook up your studio speakers and turn off the built-in monitors to get another perspective on your sound with ease. Full Force MPC
The MPC One Plus does not support adding an internal hard drive so here I would recommend a large, high quality SD card (or micro SD card placed in a suitable adapter) which you can just leave in your SD card slot at all times. Please note that the MPC Key does not support SD cards, which is really odd. The MPC Key 61 has 4 audio outs, and 2 inputs which support line, mic and instrument level signals, but there’s no support for phono signals. This is probably less of a deal these days, as many turntables now feature a line out, or vinyl is often sampled indirectly via a DJ mixer which will always output at line level. The budget MPC One Plus has the tightest selection, with just two individual outputs and no mic, phono or instrument inputs. The MPC Live II retains those lush full-size pads, with velocity and aftertouch response. They’re great for beats and for playing instruments. They also include RGB LEDs that show clip colours as required Selection box
It doesn't end there though; you've also got capacity to load up any samples of your own to create fresh sounds. Record them in, load them via USB or even SD card! New in MPC Firmware 2.10 - Incredible new features and Sounds Separate Looper and Step Sequencer windows offer additional ways to play and tweak sounds. There’s also a Pad Performance mode, which allows the 16 pads to be configured to set scales, chords and progressions - which is particularly handy for playing and sequencing external MIDI gear. On the record Put the MPC Live in Controller Mode. You can do this by pressing the Menu button and pressing the computer chip icon with MPC written in it at the top right-hand side of the screen. Versatility is crucial for all producers. Being able to easily pivot from creator to performer means more people have the opportunity to see and hear your music. The new MPC Live makes the process of performing your studio inventions on stage incredibly seamless by combining the power of a production centerpiece with the portability and rugged design of an on stage workhorse.
x MIDI inputs and outputs allows hassle-free connectivity to your MIDI-compatible hardware. Controllers, desktop synths and more. If the display layout of the MPC Live II ever feels cramped, you can simply transpose your project into the MPC software and view it via a computer display, which is an awesome ace in the hole. Though Akai received many requests to feature a monitor output on this new model, for now, this is as good as it gets. Software version 2.8’s new retrospective-record feature is as welcome as Capture was to Ableton Live 10, and a brilliant bit of insurance if you ever forget to hit record or didn’t expect yourself to play so well. All you have to do is press Shift+Rec to print the last MIDI part you played in. If you want to continue working on a project started in stand-alone mode it’s simple, as both the hardware and the MPC software use the same project file format (and MPC projects always keep copies of all their referenced samples). When connected in controller mode, all the MPC’s connected storage devices (except the built-in system drive) mount on your computer. You can then copy a project over, or even just open it directly. Fortunately, the MPC does offer a healthy complement of onboard effects to make up for this. These are generally high-quality and cover a broad base of mixing and creative applications. These use largely numerical interfaces, and users may find they miss the more detailed UIs afforded by their favourite plugins. A huge advantage of the MPC Live II is its versatile connectivity, meaning it can seamlessly integrate into any rig, gig or studio setting. Featuring three stereo ¼ inch TRS outs (6 mono), phono/line level inputs, Bluetooth, MIDI, USB, Wi-Fi and four TRS CV/Gate outs, the MPC Live II gives you a vast amount of options and makes it simple to hook up to your studio gear.NOTE -the MPC Live's USB ports will serve as a USB hub when you are in controller mode). Follow the steps below to set up your controller using a USB cable.In this example, I will be using an Akai Pro MPKmini mkII. Your MPC can now automatically calculate the key of a sample. Add any audio file with melodic content and let it do the work! From the advanced multi-engine plugin synthesis of Hype to a faithful plugin emulation of the legendary Mellotron Tape Synth keyboard, MPC2 delivers a wide palette of sonic textures with its MPC plugin instruments for powerful music composition. MPC One is designed with a seven-inch touchscreen, which makes it convenient to edit and file music samples. In addition, the musicians can trim the samples. There are specific touch keys and knobs for conducting every function.
It's been two years since we reviewed the MPC Live, which was Akai's return to stand-alone music workstations. A lot has changed since then. The Live was joined by a flagship studio model, the MPC X, and recently by the compact and affordable MPC One. The MPCs have seen numerous software updates, and now feature on-board synth plug‑ins and Ableton Live control. The MPC Live II sits somewhere in the middle, maybe a little overpriced especially considering it’s ultimately running the same 2GB ram as the MPC One Plus. But it is unique with its internal battery and speaker as well as it’s decent I/O. Standalone MPC Buyer’s Guide: Conclusion There are no plans for official MPC X or MPC Live cases at the moment, but we’re glad to hear that there is interest! In the meantime, you may be able to find an alternative third-party case/bag that meets the size requirements: The company has launched the 2.10 firmware upgrade that supports multiple audio interfaces to connect different studio gears, including digital pianos, microphones, sound generators, drum machines, electric guitars, studio monitors, and synthesizers.
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The MPC Live II will serve the majority of your needs if you’re in the market for a new Akai box, even if its stablemates have more specific functions. On the software side, the MPC Live II and MPC One use the MPC software, which ties in with the desktop MPC DAW/plug-in mentioned earlier. They’re also more about drum pads, Live especially, than the Ableton Push-style playable pads on the Force, which are more general-purpose and useable for beats, keyboard parts, and clip and scene launching.
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