END OF THE MPC STANDALONE!!!

Its not about using what you what, we already know that.

The question people are asking is will this be the end of standalone from Akai via my title. Akai will not keep making standalone machines in the future. All you gotta do is look at how akai is moving. Akai is trying to find a new nitch.

This is relevant to those that depend heavily on a standalone. When it comes people will be purchasing used standalones, they will have to. For me l thought l needed a MPC to do music. Not the case. This is my last MPC annd l will cherish it.

SupremeSoulstice wrote:F*ck, maybe I'm just old I guess. Why does any of this **** even matter? If you copped? You copped, and if you still using it, then it's obvious the purchase was worth it. My first live started acting crazy the first week or two after purchase. Screen issues, etc... Contacted Akai and got another brand new one sent to me immediately. Standalone is something that only a few really understand. I get it, the live doesn't offer a whole lot as for being easily upgradeable, but in the age of everything being tied to a computer? This new direction is fresh and appreciated. Whatever way folks like to work? There's a hundred other options to choose from to accomplish it. Dead ass, this convo is irrelevant. Use what you use, rock how you wanna..

I sold mine, no biggie. Pretty much sold it at the price I bargained for from MF, plus shipping

I thought I need it, but the simple features its missing made me dizzy sometimes from the workarounds. Plus, I found it getting hardly used so I figured someone will make good use; and I did, to some producer in Los Angeles whom was more than happy to receive it as well as the mega downloads. Transfering was easy. Just erase your info and place in the buyer's and send him a temporary password to access it. Boom, done.

Wow! Watup lll Green.

I never thought you of all people would sell you Live. Dammm. Sampling features? What work around did you have to do?

Do you see the ypunger generation coming in to produce wanting standalone MPC or software?

Ill-Green wrote:I sold mine, no biggie. Pretty much sold it at the price I bargained for from MF, plus shipping

I thought I need it, but the simple features its missing made me dizzy sometimes from the workarounds. Plus, I found it getting hardly used so I figured someone will make good use; and I did, to some producer in Los Angeles whom was more than happy to receive it as well as the mega downloads. Transfering was easy. Just erase your info and place in the buyer's and send him a temporary password to access it. Boom, done.

Most are using software because it easily accessible. Buy the software and a controller and it's a wrap. Everything is online now, just go into a Guitar Center and the place looks like a ghost town. More employees than customers. It's basically a warehouse for online sales.

Danoc wrote:Wow! Watup lll Green.
Do you see the younger generation coming in to produce wanting standalone MPC or software?

Danoc wrote:Wow! Watup lll Green.
Do you see the younger generation coming in to produce wanting standalone MPC or software?

Waddap Danoc, some workarounds I remember was setting delay to a sample because it doesn't loop from a pad unless I'm in clip mode.

I have been around to see everything come and go, the future is hybrid systems though. Samplers will continue to be standalone, they are more like instruments and the young will always enjoy a device to tinker with. Software can be saved for the DAW recording and how dynamic you want to make the sound.

Sure, one might sample and master in Software but I know I can master and sample within the sampler.

More employees than customers lol

I see more of the you g people going software also.
First off lets talk about plugins. MPC X/Live don't provide the dopest of dope plugins out there. Air is cool, it can't complete wit Waves, SSL , Sound Toys, Spectrasonics , EastWest, Brain Works, Fabfilter etc. It just can't. The software industry is gone! Light years ahead of the MPCs. Im more tuned into software than the standalone gear. Yes lm a fan of standalone but gotta keep it real it will end.

Let me ask can anyone put Omnisphere 2.6 onto the Live/X? If you can't guess where you will end end up? In the computer. I have a new Dell desk top blown the heck out. i7, Win 10, multi cores, 4.00 bus speed etc less than $800. I haven't taken it out of the box yet cause its going to take time switching everything over, l need at least a whole week to do so.

My set is so simple, lm so glad l went ITB. But the things l can do with it is complicated. People wonder how l do the music l do when l have next to nothing for a studio They say, "That's it, that's all you have?" lol and l just laugh cause its funny they don't get it. The brain of my stu is the computer. From my DAWs to my plugins to sounds are all there. As the parts for PCs have become better and PCs became faster it will make my ITB experience a freakin breeze! My MPC live can't complete with it. The MPC standalone culture is actually gone! The culture of software and computer is on the rise.

The MPC was never meant to be an all in all machine. But the new technology that it has such as export, explode, bit rate and resolution, effects, screen etc improved. I don't enjoy tracking out this is perfect for me. Im taking culture here. The culture use to be the MPC. When Akai umfed up the 5000 that was the beginning. Im looking at myself and the younger producers flow towards computers and software. The excitement of the MPC has withered away. When l hear lll-Green say he sold his just confirms what l am saying.

Again l love my MPC and l love doing my drums in it but that is far as it goes. On my 2000XL l did entire songs in it. I had a work around and l didn't use midi connected to it. I sampled myself playin on time. Again l was looked out as weird but it freakin worked and made me a better player.

Im about to get another i7 lappy, 15.6 TOUCH SCREEN! Less than $300 and rock my production off that too
Why would l buy the MPC when l can do something like that? Evev the SSD HD are cheaper now so its just going to get that good.

While Akai figures out to implement PDC and disk streaming lm already in the loop. Why would l buy a new MPC that will then implement those features when l have it. They will be to late! From 2012 to 2017 l had no MPC. I used either the LPD8 or keyboard to finger my drums in. So in essence l was being prepared to be without the MPC. I stll made musuc.

I don't know how many are familiar with Studio One but 4.5 is beast! Im at awe and its going to get better. Let me tell you the MPCs can't compete without writing more. Im alteady long winded. S1v4.5 is better than PT now! Presonus now have a grip on the CPU with plugins, its a wrap! Presonus is doing well. Now it has gain on each channel l can gain stage and do prpoer mixing!. It has the best headroom of any DAW and was just given 70 new features. Bananas! Plus aesthetically looks beautiful!
If l was given the choice between it and the MPC yall know lma go with S1V4!

From Armin Van Buuren Daft Punk, to Marshmellow isn't using the live. It has to many glitches. Armin is my favorite and his stu is ITB as well . The Live is suppose to be able to go live.

So in conclusion this culture and the future won't call for the MPC standalone. There's only a minimum of people asking for it, not a massive of people.

CharlesRandolph wrote:Most are using software because it easily accessible. Buy the software and a controller and it's a wrap. Everything is online now, just go into a Guitar Center and the place looks like a ghost town. More employees than customers. It's basically a warehouse for online sales.

Danoc wrote:Wow! Watup lll Green.
Do you see the younger generation coming in to produce wanting standalone MPC or software?

You had to go to clip mode !

Crazy. I never sampled into the Live. Probably never will.

Hybrid thingy e.g. MPC/Controller yeah. A straight up standalone MPC l don't see Akai in the business making that in the future.

If people wanna see an all in all MPC that can take 3rd party plugins like Omnisphere, Nexus, Arturia, Sound Toys etc and a beefed up system its gonna cost.

I don't see Akai doing an all in all machine either. Hybrid my be the way to stay.

Ill-Green wrote:

Danoc wrote:Wow! Watup lll Green.
Do you see the younger generation coming in to produce wanting standalone MPC or software?

Waddap Danoc, some workarounds I remember was setting delay to a sample because it doesn't loop from a pad unless I'm in clip mode.

I have been around to see everything come and go, the future is hybrid systems though. Samplers will continue to be standalone, they are more like instruments and the young will always enjoy a device to tinker with. Software can be saved for the DAW recording and how dynamic you want to make the sound.

Sure, one might sample and master in Software but I know I can master and sample within the sampler.

CharlesRandolph wrote:Most are using software because it easily accessible. Buy the software and a controller and it's a wrap. Everything is online now, just go into a Guitar Center and the place looks like a ghost town. More employees than customers. It's basically a warehouse for online sales.

Danoc wrote:Wow! Watup lll Green.
Do you see the younger generation coming in to produce wanting standalone MPC or software?

Well ive never heard a software that sounded and felt like hardware samplers.Including the MPC4000.Or maybe people dont want that sound of HW anymore.Doubt it tho.And hardware is picking back up...just look at the boutique market ect.By yeah its not like it was back in the day.

Even this MPCLive ive got in front of me here now dont feel like my hardware...but im trying to coax it too.Like feeding it stuff from hardware and running back into hardware lol.Its too good this box but ultimate sound power is not its best feature.imo.Works for some sounds better than other i guess.

dryad-66 wrote:
Well ive never heard a software that sounded and felt like hardware samplers.Including the MPC4000.Or maybe people dont want that sound of HW anymore.Doubt it tho.And hardware is picking back up...just look at the boutique market ect.By yeah its not like it was back in the day.

Even this MPCLive ive got in front of me here now dont feel like my hardware...but im trying to coax it too.Like feeding it stuff from hardware and running back into hardware lol.Its too good this box but ultimate sound power is not its best feature.imo.Works for some sounds better than other i guess.

Most beginners did not grow up on hardware. Most music schools that teach production, focus on software and controllers. Store sell more controller and software packages. If people are making music at home, they don't have the space for lots of gear. It's easier to buy VST and Sound sets that you don't have to repair.

Having a wall of compressors, eq's, and mic pres used to be great. Now it's just more repair cost, maintenance, electricity and space for some people. We use to buy rack mounts sounds instead of keyboards. Now we buy VSTi instead of rack mounts. Personally, the sample sounds sets are better in terms of dynamics, with little to no compression.

I think it might be showing that people are itb most of the time.In Texture,tone and even creatively.Not say bad or better just its a lot of the same feel to what we can hear generally.I remember clearly getting maschine and i was going to weigh in my MPC4000.........the difference in weight of sound and the feel ect was huge.I kept the 4k.If people are happy using sw for all or most of there musical life then fine.....but i dunno.Im oldyschool : 0 ]

edt-this live box is growing on me tho.Just gotta understand it aint totally hardware sound.Its a hybrid

Sometimes it's a matter of convenience. Sometimes a mater of sound. Sometimes it's a matter of preference. I feel that no matter what I use, I want the recording to be true to what I hear in my head. Sometimes, I go full analogs. Sometimes, I go all digital. Other days it's mixture.

The key is to not get stuck in our ways. We must be flexible and adapt. Use our past knowledge and combine it with new found knowledge. On the high end of recording, we've never had it better. Recordings sound like we're sitting in the room with the musicians. The instruments actually sound like instruments.

i think this already happened around maschine 1.8 around that time every knew there was no point for a mpc standalone and it was preference. it's always been preference since then. people dont even use maschine. just komplete and that's it most of the time. waves bundle and yeah. I've been around electronic producers forever. it was already decided standalone was irrelevant then... that was around 2013 when we knew that. most of my friends were already done with hardware and on vsts entirely by 2010.

mpcs are preference... not worth the price but just a musical instrument. Even roger Linn said it was an Instrument, and should be used like one. This daw nonsense came out for Convenience... it would be convenient if it were a daw. but it aint!

if you don't want it as a musical instrument then yes. get a daw, vsts and a keyboard like the majority of people. your decision

Only into samplers, synths, sequencing since 1996. Previous to that was guitar, drums since the 80’s and saxophone since the 70’s. Guitar player in quite a few bands. Jazz drums in school.

1996-2000 was hardware. First synths, sampler, sequencers. Late 2000 - 2014 was all ITB bedroom production. 2014 was tired of ITB and wanted hardware again. Someday might go hardware/software mix, but ok as DAWless now. I only sequence what I can’t play live so songs now always incorporate some live play to them. Still just a bedroom producer, but now with a grip of gear.

Still on this forum because I like MPC’s and keeping up on progress with Live and X.

I think standalone is gaining popularity again. It’s never gonna sweep the music scene to be primary choices. DAW’s are too convenient for most. Hardware scene is rich now with options though. That’s not going away anytime soon.

Thank you for chiming in.

I will entertain the SW and HW thingy that you said. When you talk HW which type are ypu talking about? Acoustic or Hardware digital items? For instance the Korg Trinity keyboard was hardware but it was digital with software in it. That's mot analog its digital HW.
A 13 foot Acoustic Yamaha piano that has to be miced up in order to record is HW that is purely analog.

SW synths like Omnisphere 2.6, Keyscape and Trilogy can match or topple HW digital keyboards , hands down. It sounds impeccable plus you can do things in it that you just can't do with HW digital products.
Of course SW don't sound like acoustic instruments but they are pretty dam close and that's all you need.

Now if HW is picking up l would have to ask who is buying it? I would like a link on sales. I know for a fact its not young producers these days. Maybe HW being bought to replace HW that nroke in the major stu? Or a gear freak forva vintage want? Here's what l have on SW & HW.

"Professional, semi-pro and home studios use DAWs as their backbone for making music if their main focus is to have a digital setup. Aside from those who use real instruments, we do know of some well-known musicians who still use analog setups, such as drum machines andsynthesizers with real mixing boards and the like, but a majority of people nowadays are strictly computer-based or at least have a hybrid studio to incorporate both (why not?). This trend only continues to grow as technology advances. Aside from a computer or laptop for music of course, a DAW is the most important piece ofproduction gear you’ll need to get the ball rolling for those masterpieces waiting to be created."
https://www.wirerealm.com/guides/best-m ... ftware-daw

If we talk about sampling these ypung guys are taking stuff straight from Youtube and various other places without a standalone sampler and getting busy.

As BeatWilson pointed out the thurst for standalone was gone about 2013 with the coming of Maschine. Remember l said l sold my 2000XL in 2012. I was already on the kick "l don't need the MPC, Reason will carry me" and it did till this day. I remember stackinking 4 rack mount synth to get a multi timbral sound, now l can 8 with one VSTi unit and manipulate it right there. I got rid of the Triton rack, Roland 1080&3080 plus the Motif XS. Guess what l got all those as a reason refill except the 3080 with the original sound. I havevso many sounds its ridiculous
HW will never match the SW.

dryad-66 wrote:
Well ive never heard a software that sounded and felt like hardware samplers.Including the MPC4000.Or maybe people dont want that sound of HW anymore.Doubt it tho.And hardware is picking back up...just look at the boutique market ect.By yeah its not like it was back in the day.

Even this MPCLive ive got in front of me here now dont feel like my hardware...but im trying to coax it too.Like feeding it stuff from hardware and running back into hardware lol.Its too good this box but ultimate sound power is not its best feature.imo.Works for some sounds better than other i guess.

BeatWilson wrote:i think this already happened around maschine 1.8 around that time every knew there was no point for a mpc standalone and it was preference. it's always been preference since then. people dont even use maschine. just komplete and that's it most of the time. waves bundle and yeah. I've been around electronic producers forever. it was already decided standalone was irrelevant then... that was around 2013 when we knew that. most of my friends were already done with hardware and on vsts entirely by 2010.

mpcs are preference... not worth the price but just a musical instrument. Even roger Linn said it was an Instrument, and should be used like one. This daw nonsense came out for Convenience... it would be convenient if it were a daw. but it aint!

if you don't want it as a musical instrument then yes. get a daw, vsts and a keyboard like the majority of people. your decision

I've been using VST since Cubase 2.0 which was not stable at all. That's why rack-mount effects units and sound boxes were all the rage. Most studio were using TAPE, ADAT and Digital HD Recorders. (MPC during that time were called: Midi Production Center.) Nevertheless many studios used MPC's to sync external keyboards with tape machines using SMPTE. That's why the MPC's. up to 2002 had SMPTE sync on the rear. The MPC was the brains of the studio, we could sync gear with other pieces, but it cost much more.

At that time the MPC had a place in the studio, that was hard to replace. Now the MPC started to lose it hold when the MV8000 and 8800 came out. This was around the time, where manufacturers started to put everything in a box aka ALL IN ONE. A Studio In a Box, is what they would be marketed as. Make music, record vocals, mix it, and master it.

This is also around the time where Akai Pro released Akai DPS 24, which was great but it GRAVELY lacked the ability to work as a serious controller for computers. WHICH WAS A MAJOR OVERSIGHT. I knew then the writing was on the wall. By that time NAMM was full of sound and effect companies. Desktop hardware was stuck in a corner with the Euro Rack guys.

The good thing for the MPCs, were computer still replied on MIDI. Also people who bought, all that external gear still wanted to use it. Nevertheless as more and more sounds and recording went toward computers, software and OS'S became stable. External gear started to lose it's place, because everything could be done on your home computer.

To think about it, this is also when Studios started to shut down. Everyone could record and mix at home. Then send it in for mastering. Currently, there is a backlash against desktop and laptop recording. What was once all in one, is not being broken apart and resold as single units. Samplers, Seq, Sound Devices and so on. This movement won't last, because there is nothing that will take over computer as the main recording medium.

From Vinyl recordings, to Tape Recordings, to Computer Recordings, to ?