By Avasopht
Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:48 pm
I decided to get an MPC One, but the pricing structure does seem a little self-destructive.
At least for my needs:
1. Already have a huge collection of sounds.
2. Just wants portable hardware with solid instrument sounds (where I wouldn't miss Korg Collection / Xpand!2 too much).
Primarily I just wanted something portable with a strong selection of instruments I could use without a computer that I can carry around (I already have Komplete Ultimate, instrument Refills, Korg Collection, etc.)
I wasn't really feeling Zenology. They're great sounds, but their portable offerings like MC-707 aren't as solid when compared to Maschine and the MPC line.
MPC One + MPC Instrument Collection (£1100 / $1348) (MPC-IC from now on)
Anyways, ... MPC-IC raises the cost to a total price where I'm not as keen on the USB2 bus speeds (it's undermining the speed of the SD card I got for it). So right away it might deter a first-time buy of MPC One + MPC-IC.
And I wouldn't want to sell Komplete Ultimate (or anything else with USB2 and no wifi ).
Their choice of a USB2 bus while disabling Wifi and audio interface support undermines its potential value.
MPC Live II + MPC-IC (£1368 / $1,676)
A little heavier and not that much more expensive than the MPC One, it's still got me questioning the decision, plus we're quite a bit more than a Maschine+, and I do have to question the purchase a little.
On its own, the MPC Live II is an easy value offering compared to Maschine+ (even if its instrument selection isn't as comprehensive).
But £1368 is a difficult sell.
MPC Keys 61
If you are happy to lug around a heavy keyboard with you, the MPC Key 61 seems a good value offering.
I like the MPC-IC sounds. I've seen some criticism of the sound of the library, but the Korg Triton only had something like a 32MB or 64MB ROM, while the more recent workstations tend to have about 2-5GB ROMs. They do a lot of work to reduce the sample size needed (and aren't just playing back a long wave file with one long loop-point like your 100 GB instrument libraries).
Nah ... it's comparable (superior even) to the Triton sound, while holds its own against the larger libraries. No, it doesn't have complex scripting, but neither does the latest Korg workstations, instead, they've followed the Triton formula and focused on producing strong signature sounds.
But I don't want to have to carry that around with me. I've done it before when I used to carry an MPC3000 and a Triton LE every month or so. I did that for about a year before going back to software.
This is directed to their PR/Marketing. I really feel they've not quite thought this one through. And I say this not as someone who feels disgruntled by the pricing. I can just feel the gears moving in my mind saying what every first-time buyer is going to be thinking as well.
The MPC One / Live / Touch / Studio / X offering is already complicated enough. I'm sure there are tons of posts asking whether you can use the same tracks on them, .. which one is the latest one, ... what the difference is, etc. etc. etc.
I think they have a very strong offering. I've already got a Dell Micro for a portable PC setup, but I love editing patches with the touch screen and the uber low latencies the standalone offers (that I doubt the Maschine+ matches).
The fact I like the MPC line despite having a pretty decent portable setup speaks volumes about the strength of its offering. But I can't help but feel a little apprehensive about forking out an additional £500 to complete its instrument offering when I've already invested in a complete instrument lineup.
It just makes me question the purchase. Is it really worth it?
And I am considering returning it until there's a sale for MPC-IC, just because what I already have is so strong.
I'd like Akai to make the decision to stick with the MPC line easy to make.
--
p.s. hello everyone (this is my first post).
At least for my needs:
1. Already have a huge collection of sounds.
2. Just wants portable hardware with solid instrument sounds (where I wouldn't miss Korg Collection / Xpand!2 too much).
Primarily I just wanted something portable with a strong selection of instruments I could use without a computer that I can carry around (I already have Komplete Ultimate, instrument Refills, Korg Collection, etc.)
I wasn't really feeling Zenology. They're great sounds, but their portable offerings like MC-707 aren't as solid when compared to Maschine and the MPC line.
MPC One + MPC Instrument Collection (£1100 / $1348) (MPC-IC from now on)
Anyways, ... MPC-IC raises the cost to a total price where I'm not as keen on the USB2 bus speeds (it's undermining the speed of the SD card I got for it). So right away it might deter a first-time buy of MPC One + MPC-IC.
And I wouldn't want to sell Komplete Ultimate (or anything else with USB2 and no wifi ).
Their choice of a USB2 bus while disabling Wifi and audio interface support undermines its potential value.
MPC Live II + MPC-IC (£1368 / $1,676)
A little heavier and not that much more expensive than the MPC One, it's still got me questioning the decision, plus we're quite a bit more than a Maschine+, and I do have to question the purchase a little.
On its own, the MPC Live II is an easy value offering compared to Maschine+ (even if its instrument selection isn't as comprehensive).
But £1368 is a difficult sell.
MPC Keys 61
If you are happy to lug around a heavy keyboard with you, the MPC Key 61 seems a good value offering.
I like the MPC-IC sounds. I've seen some criticism of the sound of the library, but the Korg Triton only had something like a 32MB or 64MB ROM, while the more recent workstations tend to have about 2-5GB ROMs. They do a lot of work to reduce the sample size needed (and aren't just playing back a long wave file with one long loop-point like your 100 GB instrument libraries).
Nah ... it's comparable (superior even) to the Triton sound, while holds its own against the larger libraries. No, it doesn't have complex scripting, but neither does the latest Korg workstations, instead, they've followed the Triton formula and focused on producing strong signature sounds.
But I don't want to have to carry that around with me. I've done it before when I used to carry an MPC3000 and a Triton LE every month or so. I did that for about a year before going back to software.
This is directed to their PR/Marketing. I really feel they've not quite thought this one through. And I say this not as someone who feels disgruntled by the pricing. I can just feel the gears moving in my mind saying what every first-time buyer is going to be thinking as well.
The MPC One / Live / Touch / Studio / X offering is already complicated enough. I'm sure there are tons of posts asking whether you can use the same tracks on them, .. which one is the latest one, ... what the difference is, etc. etc. etc.
I think they have a very strong offering. I've already got a Dell Micro for a portable PC setup, but I love editing patches with the touch screen and the uber low latencies the standalone offers (that I doubt the Maschine+ matches).
The fact I like the MPC line despite having a pretty decent portable setup speaks volumes about the strength of its offering. But I can't help but feel a little apprehensive about forking out an additional £500 to complete its instrument offering when I've already invested in a complete instrument lineup.
It just makes me question the purchase. Is it really worth it?
And I am considering returning it until there's a sale for MPC-IC, just because what I already have is so strong.
I'd like Akai to make the decision to stick with the MPC line easy to make.
--
p.s. hello everyone (this is my first post).
NI KU13 CE | Korg Collection 3 | Xpand!2 | Reason + SR Gold | Maschine mk3 + S61 mk2 | MPC Live + MPC Instrument Collection | M1 Mac Mini 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD