Akai Professional MPC Live II – Battery Powered Drum Machine and Sampler With Built in Speakers, Beat Pads, Synth Engines and Touch Display

Product Information

AKAI just launched version 2.10 of the MPC firmware, their biggest update ever, with loads of new features and improvements! Let’s go through some of the amazing novelties you can enjoy with version 2.10. USB class audio support

It also features a large data knob and four smaller multifunctional Q-Link knobs. These interface elements were combined in various ways to manage drum kits, software instruments, pattern and song creation, sampling, and audio and MIDI inputs and outputs. MPC Drum and Keygroup Engine Enhancements such as Akai Pro Sample Tail, Dedicated Pitch Envelope, and Keygroup Portamento This new MPC Live has more buttons, the master volume control is now on the front panel and, oh yes, there's a built-in speaker. There's Always More With your modern production work taking place in various studios and even on the move, the Akai MPC Live II gives you all the tools you need to keep creating music the way you need.Akai have reworked drums and keygroups to ensure a smoother workflow. Now you can add tail to any audio file to avoid abrupt and unnatural endings. There’s a new randomisation section as well, to add subtle variations to your drum samples. If that wasn’t enough, Version 2.10 adds eight effects slots for your drum pads, including bitcrush, decimator, soft clipper and many more! Key Detection The MPC 2.11 desktop software includes MIDI maps for popular Ableton, Arturia, Korg, M-Audio and Native Instruments controllers.

The Akai Professional MPC Live II is the second iteration of the hugely popular and powerful music production centre with fantastic new features and upgrades. Ready When Inspiration Strikes

Sync’ing feeling

We have a few issues trying to get the Akai Force and MPC Live II to sync via Link but, as soon as Ableton Live was running, they synced perfectly to that. Link works over wifi but there’s also support for Bluetooth MIDI in/out, as well as for devices such as computer keyboards, so you don’t have to keep tapping at the touch display to enter project names. Bluetooth audio, though, is not supported on any of Akai’s hardware devices. Enjoy over 100 plugins from award-winning AIR Music Tech., including the AIR Vocal Insert Effects Suite, delivering the power to record and mix the perfect vocals. In addition to its stable of standard dynamic audio processors, MPC2 features numerous time-based Insert Effects for creative remixing and production like Half Speed and Stutter. With the MPC One Plus, MPC Key and the MPC Live II, there’s only 4 physical dials – to access the other 12 Q-Links you have you hit a button to select the appropriate virtual Q-link ‘bank’, This is of course nowhere near as intuitive as the MPC X and (for me at least) means that the Q-Links tend to be used a lot less on these MPCs. If you’re often carrying your MPC around, then portability is an important factor – the smaller and lighter the better, especially if the MPC can sneak its way into a laptop bag. Here, the MPC One Plus is the clear winner and at 2.1kg and 27cm wide it’s a similar weight and size as a 16″ MacBook Pro. The MPC Live II at 3.38kg and 41cm wide is probably still within the limit of being considered portable, although it’s nearly 0.7kg heavier than the original MPC Live.

Update Now, then tap Shut Down when prompted. The MPC will restart and proceed with the firmware update. Once complete, the MPC will reboot into normal operation. 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. The budget MPC One Plus has the tightest selection, with just two individual outputs and no mic, phono or instrument inputs.

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. pre-installed content including 3 MPC instrument plugins, multi sampled keygroup instruments and drum expansion libraries Some firmware refinement is needed to justify its price, but there's a lot to like about this inspiring and intuitive standalone sampler. Firmware 2.10 introduces 14 new plug-ins: 4 instruments (Hype, Solina, Odyssey, and Mellotron), 7 insert effects (Half Speed, Diode Clipper, Stutter, Diffuser Delay, Sample Delay, Limiter, and Granulator), and AIR Vocal Insert Effect Suite (Vocal Tuner, Vocal Doubler, and Vocal Harmonizer)

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. With the option for battery operation and everything you need to create music contained within the Akai MPC Live 2, this music production centre allows you to create music whenever and wherever you want. 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. 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 Ableton Live IntegrationMPC Live II Retro comes pre-mapped to Ableton Live for an instant performance and production setup. Take complete command over Live's clip launching, mixer and instrument macro controls wirelessly via Wi-Fi network Ableton Link or by ethernet connection using a USB to ethernet adapter. Fusing MPC's production prowess, critically acclaimed synth engines and a rapid, intuitive workflow with Ableton Live, any creative endeavour is literally a touch away.Melding an incredibly intuitive user interface with plenty of power (it uses the same multi-core processor as its bigger brother the MPC X), the MPC Live is a perfect sonic playground for you to unleash your creativity. The sheer amount of possibilities is easily tamed with an array of hands-on control (including Akai Professional’s tried-and-tested 16 pad format, four capacitive touch-knobs and an assortment of dedicated buttons) and the crystal-clear 7 inch touch-screen display. Put simply, it’s a professional production workstation with the expressivity and intuitiveness of an instrument. Update the Drivers - If there was a corresponding software update, do this first, and be sure to also update your drivers if needed. The firmware update may fail if your drivers are out-of-date, or if you are using an unsupported operating system. MPC updates are usually released to introduce new features and fix any known bugs in the system. Updates to the MPC Software and MPC Firmware are often released in tandem so that both MPC software and firmware can be updated together. Akai Pro highly recommends keeping both MPC software and firmware updated and on matching versions, as long as it is supported by the computer OS. You’ll have to decide what type of inputs you’ll need from an MPC, but if you know you’ll be needing lots of varied I/O, you’re probably going to find life is easier grabbing an X or MPC Key. Along the way the Akai Force emerged, sharing many of the MPC's features and technology, but with a different approach to making and performing music. This latest revision of the Live hardware shows that MPCs aren't being phased out in favour of the Force; the two will run in parallel, and might hopefully cross-pollinate in cool ways. Boom Box