{"id":2596,"date":"2025-05-15T11:37:38","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T11:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/?page_id=2596"},"modified":"2025-05-16T12:05:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T12:05:42","slug":"mpc3-beta","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/mpc3-beta\/","title":{"rendered":"AKAI MPC3 beta"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’ve previously reviewed my MPC Live – first as an updated AKAI Sampler<\/a> just not white like the old ones but still with a big wheel. Then as a tool to perform a live set<\/a> at a small venue (with non synchronised video). It’s been useful for five or so years now – laptops come and go in this amount of time, so that’s a recommendation right there. I originally bought it back in 2019 for international touring which has started up again – well, if you consider two shows ‘a tour’. Still enough grunt in the machine to run the latest MPC3 <\/em>operating system … which now becomes the subject of today’s sermon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hey I get to use this picture again. It still looks the same.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The New<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although less idiosyncratic than before, the MPC3<\/em> operating system isn’t a DAW like Logic<\/em> or Cubase<\/em> although it can talk to Ableton Live<\/em>. The main conceptual change is that ‘tracks’ and ‘programs’ are now just ‘tracks’ of different kinds. Drum tracks<\/strong> are the remnant of the old Roger Linn style MPC. There are still modes to direct each drum pad to effects and mix channels. A new Project<\/strong> always starts with one Drum track<\/strong> (until I delete the damn thing, and add a Keygroup track<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keygroups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Keygroups<\/strong> are now deeper. Each keygroup can mix\/switch between eight(!) sample layers<\/strong>. There can be up to 128 keygroups on a single track, so all up 1024 samples. Allocation of samples is mostly about how the sound will be sent to the mixer and effects – you may still choose to populate multiple tracks for different mix chains. An Advanced Keygroup Synthesis Engine<\/strong> provides a screen for overall control of the eight layers so that you can for example add chorus, drift and harmonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audio tracks<\/strong> can now record and play back from hard drives (previously it all had to be held in RAM). That’s a big change<\/strong> of identity. You could now use it as a multi-track recorder to which MIDI events can be appended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plugin tracks<\/strong> use instruments installed in the machine. These are AKAI’s own format, mostly made by AIR. Some come with the machine<\/a> and others are available at extra cost<\/a>. I had some trouble when I updated to the MPC3<\/em> beta – the paid instruments were phoning home to activate every time I booted my MPC Live, which obviously you don’t want on stage. It required me to go back to AKAI’s website and re-enter the serial numbers. They locked to the hardware, without WiFi needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of these instruments can take a while to load up – notably the Fabric<\/em> series have a very large sample library attached. All of them are actually pretty good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MIDI tracks<\/strong> control external equipment plugged into the MPC’s MIDI out ports. Similarly CV tracks<\/strong> send out control voltages – if your hardware has CV outs, which the Live does not. I’m also unlikely to control MIDI instruments to be honest but you might find this a great way to run a MIDI stack from one keyboard on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Looks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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There is now a Main mode<\/strong> which attempts to show you all of the action on one screen, although I still find myself jumping around the place, tucking here and fussing there. Partly because I still think in MPC2<\/em> terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Sounds mode<\/strong> presents all the installed instruments and samples as if on a shop shelf. I don’t like using presets so I haven’t looked at this in much detail – but it probably helps break the ice at parties. It does set lists as well, which I really should try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Linear Arranger<\/strong> (the DAW part) looks much more like Ableton Live<\/em> – and less like FLStudio<\/em>. Well it still<\/em> looks a bit FLStudio<\/em>. MPC3<\/em> is also set up to sequence Ableton<\/em> projects. I’m not currently sequencing with the MPC Live when performing, so I’ll come back to that in a later update. The older Grid view<\/strong> is available if you’re used to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Does all of this make the MPC easier to understand? Well I think<\/em> so – I have to say that because I hadn’t used my machine for at least a year and felt as befuddled as I was the last time I tried to get my Nuendo<\/em> brain wrapped around MPC2<\/em>. The thing is – you are trying to learn a system which spans both instruments and sequencing. Like learning Live<\/em> and Kontakt<\/em> as if a single entity. To put a sample on a track means keygroups, and you will have to think first whether you are needing eight layers<\/strong> or eight tracks<\/strong> to get your results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it feels<\/em> easier then it did years ago, certainly the tide has turned from ‘pads with a bit of keys’ to ‘keys with a bit of pads’. Although I haven’t sequenced much yet, I don’t need to sort things out on the PC software version like I used to. And if you just like to dial up presets from Native Instruments, well you’re in pig heaven given the two companies are now in cahoots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a Roland 404<\/a>. There is no comparison – the 404 is a bumped up drum machine\/ DJ tool. I have also owned an Octotrack<\/a>. Again there is no comparison – the Octotrack has a single minded purpose and very little to offer outside of that, like a violin it is one colour, not a palette. I have a Zoom 24 track recorder – do I need to say it again – the virtue of the MPC is that it is a superset of these kinds of things<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve previously reviewed my MPC Live – first as an updated AKAI Sampler just not white like the old ones but still with a big wheel. Then as a tool to perform a live set at a small venue (with non synchronised video). It’s been useful for five or so years now – laptops come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[29,7,4],"class_list":["post-2596","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-mpc","tag-sampler","tag-virtual-analogue"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2596"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2596\/revisions\/2630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}