MPC Live & Live II - updates continue also for older model?

Hey I am about to purchase either the MPC Live or the MPC Live II
I have informed myself enough about the functions on both MPCs, the only real difference to me is the price. I am leaning towards the MK1.
My only worry are the system and firmware updates to come. I like the new features of the 2.8 update for instance and would like to be able to use 2.8 and the other future updates. I have made some very bad experiences with native instruments stop supporting Maschine MK1, and I want to avoid similar situations buying the older MPC Live.
As I want my MPC to be the centrepiece of my studio I want it to be able update for longer than a couple of years. I am new to Akai, and my question is - what is your experience with updates for "older" devices from Akai? If I buy the MPC Live MK1 is it likely that it will be supported in the upcoming years or do I have to expect a similar situation like I had with the Maschine MK1 ?
Thank you in advance!

As the MPC Live I and II are basically identical internally (same CPU, memory, motherboard) and run the exact same software then there is no 'technical' reason for the Live I to not support the same future firmware updates that the Live II receives.

Akai might however choose to exclude some features from some of the machines. We've already seen this with the MPC One; this doesn't have Ableton Live Control mode, despite there being no obvious technical reason for that exclusion. It seems like they just took it away simply because the One is cheaper. Hence I wouldn't assume that in the future they won't start excluding certain new features from the legacy hardware (some of which might of course be due to hardware limitations).

Basically we cant know for sure, but the assumption is that you should be able to receive future firmware updates until the older hardware can't cope with the CPU or memory demands etc.

Fully agree with MPC-Tutor about potential upgradeability going forward, but - for me - more important would be the fact that you can't get Mk1 new anymore, so it's gonna be used. Who knows how long it will last? How was it treated? What will you do if it fails? Those alone would be worth paying more (for me).

The One/X/Live/Live mk2 are all running on the same hardware platform... so presumably firmware updates for the platform will apply to all. The only outlier concern I would have is for the One, which has some odd decisions made about features that the platform should be capable of, but appear to be intentionally disabled (such as drive mounting in controller mode)...

animdrol wrote:Hey I am about to purchase either the MPC Live or the MPC Live II
I have informed myself enough about the functions on both MPCs, the only real difference to me is the price. I am leaning towards the MK1.
My only worry are the system and firmware updates to come. I like the new features of the 2.8 update for instance and would like to be able to use 2.8 and the other future updates. I have made some very bad experiences with native instruments stop supporting Maschine MK1, and I want to avoid similar situations buying the older MPC Live.
As I want my MPC to be the centrepiece of my studio I want it to be able update for longer than a couple of years. I am new to Akai, and my question is - what is your experience with updates for "older" devices from Akai? If I buy the MPC Live MK1 is it likely that it will be supported in the upcoming years or do I have to expect a similar situation like I had with the Maschine MK1 ?
Thank you in advance!

As already pointed out, I'd go for the Live 2 simply for support and longevity alone. All Live MK1's are either used or b-stock. Also, buy from a reputable retailer. That said, if you decide to risk an MK1, it will likely receive all of the same firmware updates that are coming to the Live 2, X, and One.

Go for the Live 2 as everyone else has said., since it’s the newest machine.

I’m not a fan of Akai artificially turning off features between the Live 1, Live 2, and Mpc One. There is no reason that Akai force doesn’t have lazy pad chopping either.



Admiral what was wrong with the Maschine Mk1? I have the mk 1,2, and mk3 but I mainly use the MK1 to this day.

It was a pain to find the drivers for windows 10. I’m not sure why it isn’t baked in the install of Maschine like the other devices

Thank you!

MPC-Tutor wrote:As the MPC Live I and II are basically identical internally (same CPU, memory, motherboard) and run the exact same software then there is no 'technical' reason for the Live I to not support the same future firmware updates that the Live II receives.

Akai might however choose to exclude some features from some of the machines. We've already seen this with the MPC One; this doesn't have Ableton Live Control mode, despite there being no obvious technical reason for that exclusion. It seems like they just took it away simply because the One is cheaper. Hence I wouldn't assume that in the future they won't start excluding certain new features from the legacy hardware (some of which might of course be due to hardware limitations).

Basically we cant know for sure, but the assumption is that you should be able to receive future firmware updates until the older hardware can't cope with the CPU or memory demands etc.

Yeah I run it on mac and I hve an old tower 5.1. from 2010 which I take great care of and it was the same with the driver here. I think it is not ok for a company like NI etc to simply stop supporting older models and you have to go thorugh all the hustle.

kaydigi wrote:Go for the Live 2 as everyone else has said., since it’s the newest machine.

I’m not a fan of Akai artificially turning off features between the Live 1, Live 2, and Mpc One. There is no reason that Akai force doesn’t have lazy pad chopping either.



Admiral what was wrong with the Maschine Mk1? I have the mk 1,2, and mk3 but I mainly use the MK1 to this day.

It was a pain to find the drivers for windows 10. I’m not sure why it isn’t baked in the install of Maschine like the other devices