Just got an email from akai

****the reason they relase a unit with uncomplete os is due to us the users being the fatsest & most inexspensif way of beta testing a product****

I agree with you to a certain point, but most other companies that are developing OS for their new products will take a much more proactive approach to the development and will usually release new updates in short order. The thing that really pisses me off is that it seems like Akai doesnt give a shiit about the people who actually use this machine. If they did want to use us a 'beta testers' dont you think they would at least sponsor a forum of their own? I have nothing against companies releasing products while the OS is still in development, but this is taking way too fukin long.

right on earth nukka....I actually suggested that in an a reply to my earlier email to them about stting up a forum(I'm sure I ain't the only one). We'll see how far that goes though.

Earth what happened? you used to be so calm and amiable about the 4000. Now you seem a little disgrunteled. Nothin doin I mean I understand the grievances(this sh*t is borderline retarded), but did you lose some cash over the frustrations or what? Just curious. Regardless stay up. Everybody keep ya heads up high. I got friends that still trip that I even able to have one of these machines up in my studio.

well I don't think they don't care, although it looks that way,.. they might be cold but they really deliver, the S line was allways rock solid, it wasn't untill the S5&6k mpc2k & xl that they actually started shipping products with undeveloped os and mainly due to marketing, when the competition is tight they risk it knowing they'll eventually be in the clear, it's only the s5/6k that where really horrible in regards to the os, but now they are rock solid and respected

akai suport = they listen but don't speak


& to clear up the rumors>


Recent events have prompted some to think that things are not so healthy at Akai professional HQ!

Nothing could be further from the truth and it's business as usual for everyone as R+D in Japan strive to bring you new, exciting updates for the Z4/8, MPC4000, DPS24 and ak.Sys as well as develop new products while we optimise our operation in the States to provide you with a better service than ever.


http://www.akaipro.com/us/

Thats not really true, I had a S3000XL which I sold because the OS would bug out when using it with recycle and sending more than 30-40 samples.

I always got the same error message, something like "Tell Sean this happened" or some shit. Oh well just goes to show nothing is really perfect.

Kalei

Let's face it - AKAI is competing in a market that is software driven these days. Their monopoly has been broken and they have missed their chance. They even seem to have stopped development of their plug-in samplers. You can't find anything about those on their website anymore. Let's face it: who's gonna buy a VZ8 anyway? Almost everybody who needs a software sampler has got the EXS24 (or whatever the cubase equivalent is). I honestly can't believe how they have missed the chance to go software from the start. Don't get me wrong - I love AKAi gear and I would be terribly dissapointed if they went bust.

In reality their future looks quite bleak though especially if you consider how much R&D goes into hardware...Consider how many people are potentially going to buy it and how many units they have to sell to break even. 24bit/96kHz - great? well not really if you lose half the voices and processing power. If you want high sampling rates in a software product it takes no time to adjust a bit of code. Plus it's a lot cheaper. And you can have as many instances and outputs as you like. and plug-in acces....

Just look at ebay, I've seen people put in their Z8s an get no bids on a 10 day auction... That means the company really has to rely on the MPC to keep afloat. That's just one product out of many with a far from finished OS... In the UK all the big dealers are trying to get rid of hardware samplers of any kind because the market is dead. I really hope that AKAI can hang in there with the 4k but it's gonna be tough...

Some good points Fx. Akai should really concentrate on the MPC supply all the functions as promised and then some. They have the market covered for hardware sampling/drummachines. They just need to make the proper moves to finish the job that they have started and then market the product more aggressively with celebrities(Neptunes, Dre, Just Blaze, ect...) I think one of the main problems with the MPC though is it's lack of upgradability. Akai screwed this up by trying to skrimp on internal components. Now you cannot upgrade firmware for future leaps in technology without a complete redesign. It's a shame. But the machine should have at least 4-5 good years of usefullness till it becomes obsolete. Since it's been out for a year and a half-2 years, we still got a bit of time.

I agree, Gigaton. Since the MPC 4k is like a computer without the hassle AKAI should really have tried to provide more upgrade paths. Maybe a few more "optiion slots" would have been good to provide for people wanting to have yet more o/p (analogue or digital) or something like a firewire interface so you can stream more/additional o/p directly into your host computer. Ak.sys could then be a plugin and you could use the MPC/Z8like the TC Powercore (firewire version).....

Maybe all that sounds a bit far fetched but there are companies in niche markets which manage to stay in business by being able to respond to cstomer demands. It probably just comes down to AKAI not being flexible enough...

When a lot of music stores like Guitar Center are taking Akai products out of the store.... and then they tell you the company is going out of business.... I din't even see any DPS units in there.....

It make me wonder if we will ever get the OS we want before they go bust ???????

When a lot of music stores like Guitar Center are taking Akai products out of the store.... and then they tell you the company is going out of business.... I din't even see any DPS units in there.....

It make me wonder if we will ever get the OS we want before they go bust ???????

First off, Sam Ash and Guitar Center and all the like are pure scum when it comes to business practice. So when some dude at the GC tells you AKAI is out of business, please factor in the bullshit quotient. I've noticed the B.Q. is quite high at places like that. Akai is getting new distribution, so right now, they're in a retail limbo-of-sorts.

And for all the people screaming SOFTWARE-SOFTWARE-SOFTWARE, why are Korg and Roland both releasing MPC-like competitors into the market? The microKonsole and MV-8000 are both borrowing from the MPC and they look like they'll sell like hotcakes. Software is great, the studio at my office runs a gigantic 64-track protools system. They eat that shit up - I think it sounds great. Hardware is even better in my opinion. The mouse just don't have enough mojo.

B.S.Q. lol!

The mouse just don't have enough mojo.

Good point, mate. Couldn't agree more. However what I am saying is that nobody needs to convince us of the MPC Mojo. It's the average muso who needs convincing. And those people are more likely to use software because of it being cheaper and everything else...(presets anyone???)

I work in a popular UK studio and I can tell you that quite a few people have moved on from mixing in SSL rooms to mixing in Pro Tools. One of the reasons being that UK record companies are super tight about budgets when it comes to making the product (record) but don't worry about spending money when it comes to marketing and promotion. (And making a video...)

For the record, the only reason Guitar Center and Sam Ash have Akai products out of the store is simply becasue Akai owes that bucks. At least in the sense, that they have units that have been defected out and so forth that have been left in limbo because of the abrupt out of bussiness that happened with AMIC. Once, Akai gets this stuff taken care of, they will be back. Unless the relationship has been soured too much but I don't think so. The people that are really to blame is AMIC because they went out of bussiness without any warning whatsoever to Akai. From speaking with various people at Akai and Sam Ash, this is the way I understand it.

flowers all yall i had the mpc 60 and 2000xl and the 4000 blows them out the water i have v1.6 and all the missing features and bugs ain't shit its still and mpc the sequencer is what makes the mpc i use computer systems too and there not the same. peace