MPC Beats Software

Neurone wrote:Does anybody have a download link for the Windows and Mac version ?
I registered, got the mail with all the tracking links in it, clicked , took me to the site, clicked download.
Asks me to register again

When I registered I got an email with some links none of them was a download link. Then today (2 days after I registered I got another email with some links. I havn't tried them and won't do.
If a company fail in simple tasks like

providing a download button on the website
or
send the link in the first email
and
do stuff like providing 1 file for PC and MAC together so you have to download 5GB instead of 2,5GB (I've read about this in a comment on bedroomproducerblog)

I say: GTFO

peterpiper wrote:When I registered I got an email with some links none of them was a download link. Then today (2 days after I registered I got another email with some links. I havn't tried them and won't do.
If a company fail in simple tasks like

providing a download button on the website
or
send the link in the first email
and
do stuff like providing 1 file for PC and MAC together so you have to download 5GB instead of 2,5GB (I've read about this in a comment on bedroomproducerblog)

I say: GTFO

I got the email immediately - It had a separate link for Mac and PC versions. Content download appears to be mixed installer.

An open download link on the site isn't going to happen as they want to add you to a marketing list, they will want to push the expansions and full software upgrade.

MPC-Tutor wrote:The thing is, Akai have been trying to sell the MPC Software as a DAW for other MIDI controllers for years now and no one has been biting, it's a very hard sell when you have so many mature DAWs or tightly integrated systems like Push/Live. It seems they've finally realised it makes more sense to just offer a highly featured free version as it immediately brings in hundreds of thousands of new users into the MPC ecosystem. It's a marketing tool.

Many of these free users will be buying expansions and eventually many will inevitably buy MPC hardware, which I assume will still come with the full version of the MPC Software. Most will look at the $200 update cost for the software and think 'Hmm, spend a bit more and I can have an MPC One which already includes the software'.

I saw a few MPC Beat tutorials, and it's quite clear that this version is indeed setup to introduce a lot of new users into the MPC ecosystem. Also targeting on new beat makers who just start out. These tutorials are trying to say: Look how easy it is to build tracks with this DAW. It's free, get a lot of sounds and some free plugins, and if you want to have your beats to sound as dope as Andy's in this vid, buy a few expansions. And if you can miss €100/ $100 for an MPK mini you're set. It's THAT easy to start making beats.

MPC-Tutor wrote:
I got the email immediately - It had a separate link for Mac and PC versions. Content download appears to be mixed installer.

An open download link on the site isn't going to happen as they want to add you to a marketing list, they will want to push the expansions and full software upgrade.

strange. I was sure that I tried all the links in the first email but.... I'm a human so..... I'll look into it again later.

peace

MPC Beats should be seen as an upgrade from MPC Elements and not that Akai is giving MPC 2.8 away. For starters MPC Beats has 8 tracks and 2 stereo audio tracks. MPC 2.8 has 128 tracks. MPC comes bundled with 3 VSTs and if you have MPC Elements you can scan to add Hybrid and Wobble. MPC comes with more than that, depending on the hardware you purchased with it.

For those of us who have the MPK Mini MkII and we only had MPC Elements with one track we are excited, since MPC 2 came out a while ago and Elements wasn't upgrade. This is a win and not a slight to the people who purchased the full fledged software.

This is the excerpt from pg 7 of the manual:
MPC vs. MPC Beats
In addition to the v2.8 MPC software, MPC Beats is the new software from Akai Professional that brings many of the
most essential beat-making tools of the MPC software to anyone, without the need for dedicated MPC hardware.
MPC Beats supports the following:
• Up to 8 MIDI tracks
• Up to 2 stereo audio tracks
• 4 Send channels and 8 Submix channels
• AIR FX Bundle insert effects
• AIR Bassline, Electric and TubeSynth plugins
For the complete MPC experience with up to 128 MIDI and audio tracks, additional plugins and more, you can
upgrade MPC Beats to the full MPC software by clicking the menu icon (≡) in the software, selecting Help and
clicking Upgrade To MPC. You can also visit akaipro.com to learn more.

Really, the only difference is the track count, everything else is given away. Why did I buy in to this ecosystem to only see it been given away 2 months later?

I gotta admit, I’ve been thinking of a nice workflow with mpc beats and my mpc500. But I can get the same features everywhere, with lots of software, even iOS apps.. good move on Akai for this. I wasn’t about to spend 200 for their software When I already got Reason, Maschine, Roland zenbeats, Beatmaker3. I’m down to mess with mpcbeats. I. Pretty stoked on it actually, I’ve been trying to use my 500 more lately and feel mpc beats is gonna pair nicely

inflict3 wrote:I gotta admit, I’ve been thinking of a nice workflow with mpc beats and my mpc500. But I can get the same features everywhere, with lots of software, even iOS apps.. good move on Akai for this. I wasn’t about to spend 200 for their software When I already got Reason, Maschine, Roland zenbeats, Beatmaker3. I’m down to mess with mpcbeats. I. Pretty stoked on it actually, I’ve been trying to use my 500 more lately and feel mpc beats is gonna pair nicely

I often chop samples and make programs in the software and export the programs as an MPC1000/ MPC2500 program. Load that in the 500, build beat and import that back into the software. Best of both worlds.

Menco wrote:I often chop samples and make programs in the software and export the programs as an MPC1000/ MPC2500 program. Load that in the 500, build beat and import that back into the software. Best of both worlds.

What are the advantage that you receive by doing this? Wouldn't it be less work to just finish it in the software, since it's already there?

CharlesRandolph wrote:

Menco wrote:I often chop samples and make programs in the software and export the programs as an MPC1000/ MPC2500 program. Load that in the 500, build beat and import that back into the software. Best of both worlds.

What are the advantage that you receive by doing this? Wouldn't it be less work to just finish it in the software, since it's already there?

Not speaking for Menco, but the main one I can think of without putting too much thought into it is that you're able to move to a portable workflow when the fancy may strike you.

NearTao wrote:Not speaking for Menco, but the main one I can think of without putting too much thought into it is that you're able to move to a portable workflow when the fancy may strike you.

That seems to work well, if you start there. But would you sacrifice sonic quality, for portable workflow?

CharlesRandolph wrote:

NearTao wrote:Not speaking for Menco, but the main one I can think of without putting too much thought into it is that you're able to move to a portable workflow when the fancy may strike you.

That seems to work well, if you start there. But would you sacrifice sonic quality, for a the portable workflow?

I used to be all about sonic purity and keeping it all digital, but the last few years I've come to appreciate the value in not being a slave to it. Plus for me, I'm absolutely not a pro, and I only have so much time to dedicate to music. To that end I'll say I have had just as much fun with a PO-33 Knockout with it's 40 seconds of sample time, barely passable auto chopping, and 8 bit sound, as I have in Ableton Live or the MPC.

I do value the high res screens, sample displays, the whole nine yards on more modern systems, but there is something magical that may happen when you're forced to use just your ears. Of course, this is a luxury I have as a hobbiest, and can totally understand why somebody who is making a career out of music is in the upwards and onwards.

Menco wrote:

inflict3 wrote:I gotta admit, I’ve been thinking of a nice workflow with mpc beats and my mpc500. But I can get the same features everywhere, with lots of software, even iOS apps.. good move on Akai for this. I wasn’t about to spend 200 for their software When I already got Reason, Maschine, Roland zenbeats, Beatmaker3. I’m down to mess with mpcbeats. I. Pretty stoked on it actually, I’ve been trying to use my 500 more lately and feel mpc beats is gonna pair nicely

I often chop samples and make programs in the software and export the programs as an MPC1000/ MPC2500 program. Load that in the 500, build beat and import that back into the software. Best of both worlds.

I didn’t know you could export as a 1000/2500 program, that’s tight, I was thinking of just sampling back and forth between the two, nice to know I can also hot swap the cf card with the program export. Dope!!

inflict3 wrote:
I didn’t know you could export as a 1000/2500 program, that’s tight, I was thinking of just sampling back and forth between the two, nice to know I can also hot swap the cf card with the program export. Dope!!

The MPC 500 and MPC 1k/2.5k (with the stock OS, or free JJOS) use the same program file format. Given that, as long as you consider what it means to go from 16 pads to 12 pads, then you can do this quite well moving back and forth.

NearTao wrote:
I used to be all about sonic purity and keeping it all digital, but the last few years I've come to appreciate the value in not being a slave to it. Plus for me, I'm absolutely not a pro, and I only have so much time to dedicate to music. To that end I'll say I have had just as much fun with a PO-33 Knockout with it's 40 seconds of sample time, barely passable auto chopping, and 8 bit sound, as I have in Ableton Live or the MPC.

I do value the high res screens, sample displays, the whole nine yards on more modern systems, but there is something magical that may happen when you're forced to use just your ears. Of course, this is a luxury I have as a hobbiest, and can totally understand why somebody who is making a career out of music is in the upwards and onwards.

Yeah, I can't play around with those PO-33. For me it's more self imposed frustrations than anything. I'm always striving for small incremental and continuous improvement. I work on eliminating as many unnecessary steps as possible all while being as knowledgeable as possible.

When a person strives for mastery levels in music or any field. Most tend to come to the same conclusion.
Also once, that process is become natural, we tend to apply it to everything we do. It's not necessarily doing more with less, but understand why we do something and how it effects what we do in the long run.

This is what I'm trying to understand about the process.