Akai's MPC Studio Black features 16 Genuine MPC pads and 4 Q-Link control knobs with MPC Note Repeat, Full Level, and 16 Level for inspirational workflow. MPC Studio merges real MPC pads, iconic workflow, and the same MPC Software used by MPC Renaissance to give you a fully integrated portable production solution. Strangely, the Studio's own display doesn't zoom, so you're still forced away from hardware to enter mouse territory. Since we reviewed the MPC Live and X, Akai have delivered a number of juicy updates, most of which also benefit the One and Force. Compared to the Renaissance, the main drawback is the Studio's knob sparseness. Rounding up this batch of OS tweaks, Akai's bundled plug-ins have been born again to make them directly accessible from the Program Edit page. It'll be interesting to see how both develop from this point. Therefore, if your plan is to work with an entirely new instrument, it's best to select a new program before selecting a new plug-in. The screen (360 x 96 pixels) is blue and bright, and it responds fairly snappily to the various means provided for updating values. The software remains 32-bit (64-bit is scheduled for the 1.4 release) and classic MPC features such as Step Edit are yet to be seen. This is 'SP1200 Ring', a reminder of those guilty 12-bit sampling pleasures. You will receive a verification email shortly. A flip-out stand would have really helped, but you can prop up the Studio if necessary. Review: Akai MPK Mini MK3 Continuing to build on its incomparable legacy, Akai adds to its range of products that combines the aesthetics of the old with the advancements of the new. However, some customisation of both the organisation and view would still be welcome. It is, in fact, the most important part of the drum machine-style midi controller since this is how all the music is made. Latency is thankfully negligible in general but it does depend on how complex an arrangement you are working with and your DAW's buffer size, especially in plug-in mode. Unsurprisingly, there's still work to do. A fair bit has been lost from the Renaissance hardware to keep things compact and the price lower. All rights reserved. I experienced just a couple of crashes, and on both occasions with fairly obscure plug-ins. Low-key, portable and strokeable, the MPC Studio has a comparable aesthetic appeal to an iPad, and it slots into a setup with minimal impact, because it uses your existing audio interface. Power is supplied via USB. A NonLinear Educating Company . Push vs Machine vs MPC studio. I got the chance to play with both in order to make comparisons, but this review will concentrate on the Live model. The MPC Studio is sleek, silver and slender, its reduced girth putting it neatly into the laptop-bag zone. Maschine is a 64-bit program bundled with desirable content, but Akai, with this latest MPC update, have demonstrated that they mean business too. Web site designed & maintained by PB Associates & SOS. The efficiency upgrades continue with a welcome change to the way tracks are viewed. Home. Timing correct (quantise) and sequencer timing are also the same as on the Ren, with a handy additional strength parameter (as in Logic Pro) but still in OS 1.2 there is no real-time quantise or beat stutter, both of which I would love to see. The contents of this article are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Akai has generally done a good job with the Studio's hardware and it strikes a good balance between functionality and compactness. As a general feeling of trustworthiness crystallises, it's safe to say that the MPC transition to a software base has finally happened. Scrolling through the remaining enhancements, some are minor, others operational, and some seem insignificant, but could still bring appreciable gains. Their every parameter is visible without the need for a separate, floating window. There was a problem. Let's not forget there are still the versatile filter modes onboard, plus amp/filter envelopes, built-in FX, track mute, pad mute, step sequence mode and a powerful track and program mixer, but still no event list edit mode like old MPC's. With luck, it will eventually shed all its residual awkwardness; for example the 'Seq Edit' button has no software equivalent, yet it remains the go-to page for sequence and track copying and other common operations. Thank you for signing up to Musicradar. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the publishers. If you refer back to the Renaissance review in the February 2013 issue of SOS for the details, we can concentrate here on what came next. Akai MPC One In-Depth Review Akai’s MPC, in its numerous forms, is arguably one of the most iconic pieces of music production equipment we have seen since being introduced in 1988. Akai’s MPC, in its numerous forms, is arguably one of the most iconic pieces of music production equipment we have seen since being introduced in 1988. The center stage is vibrant with a user-friendly interface. This concerned the way plug-ins were handled, which was badly. Those four vertical Q-Link encoders didn't grab me — or, rather, I frequently failed to grab them! Its still small, sturdy, and covered in features: 16 Genuine MPC pads and 4 Q-Link control knobs with MPC Note Repeat, Full Level, and 16 Level for inspirational workflow. It's easy to imagine that, in the future, an MPC could replace your DAW entirely. Akai MPK249 Performance packed, feature rich MIDI keyboard that offers everything a professional producer would need. Windows: 2GHz Pentium 4 or Celeron compatible CPU or faster (multicore CPU recommended), 2GB RAM (4GB recommended), Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit), DVD-ROM drive. Oddly, some midi-mappable controls (Grid View / Waveform View) are not present with Akai's own MPC Studio (v2), MPC Touch, MPC Ren, etc.... amazing how these controls are available to learn, but not on their own hardware. The Akai MPC One is a complete studio that can easily fit in one’s backpack or hand luggage. Having also reviewed the MPC Renaissance, Studio, Element/Essentials and more recently the MPC Touch, it’s now time to explore the new hybrid flagship: the MPC X! Since 1.3, the software no longer generates separate copies of each plug-in for every sequence, saving resources by the bucketload. Now Akai Professional has made the MPC workflow available to the world in the form of a free DAW, MPC Beats. MPC Studio merges real MPC pads, iconic workflow, and the same MPC Software used by MPC Renaissance to give you a fully integrated portable production solution.