MPC Key 61: New FCC Filing From Akai

Straker wrote:Yep MPC is better in terms of workflow, sampling, features and also design in my opinion but no way it can compete with synths of Fantom or other workstations.
If they want to enter the arena of workstations, Akai and Air have a lot of work to do and I am not sure they can reach any good level of competition with that cpu.
Don't get me wrong, I like and use Hype a lot, I like it, and also the other synths can have a good use, that's a good level for a sampler but it's still a low level for a workstation.
Even the synths on MC707 are at another level compared to Mpc ones, and Fantom is the top of Roland quality.
That quality cannot be reached with the current hardware power of Mpc.

HUBA wrote:

Straker wrote:Yep MPC is better in terms of workflow, sampling, features and also design in my opinion but no way it can compete with synths of Fantom or other workstations.
If they want to enter the arena of workstations, Akai and Air have a lot of work to do and I am not sure they can reach any good level of competition with that cpu.
Don't get me wrong, I like and use Hype a lot, I like it, and also the other synths can have a good use, that's a good level for a sampler but it's still a low level for a workstation.
Even the synths on MC707 are at another level compared to Mpc ones, and Fantom is the top of Roland quality.
That quality cannot be reached with the current hardware power of Mpc.

Depends on your perspective I guess.

An MPC keyboard workstation with a maxed out physical UI is a different beast which targets a different user group than the latest and greatest Fantom.
For one it will be cheaper, but more important is that it will be more compact than a Fantom, so easier to lug around and much, much better ergonomically for combining with a favorite desktop synth or two. Hell I bet lots of existing Fantom users would have loved to be able to pick something like this instead.

So yeah, you probably wont see such a thing much say in churches, but it will be popular in other live settings, particularly in the electronic / hip hop scene and off course in home studios.

I think the one who called it a 2022 ASR was pretty on point.

MPC-Tutor wrote:

SuperKonquer wrote: [I'm] sure that this will have plugs-ins not available on the other hardware.

If they do that then hopefully they will at least offer the option to purchase the extra plugins for other MPC hardware. Making stuff like that permanently exclusive to a particular model for anything other than legitimate technical reasons is generally going to lead to major backlash. .

MPC-Tutor wrote:So, what kind of pricing do we expect with this? I guess it's hard at this point as we don't know the I/O, it could just literally be an MPC One with a keyboard, in which case I can see how they could price it near the FA-06, which in the UK is approx £900

But this would make it cheaper than an MPC Live 2, and in terms of 'stature' I perceive this as sitting between the Live 2 and the X, so maybe £1250 in the UK ($1500-$1600 USD?)

Straker wrote:Yeah it makes sense.
Not the same quality, but cheaper, lighter and with a faster workflow and at least a standard quality for any purpose.
Like a cheaper bread and butter workstation.
For that they have to solve the very limited polyphony issue and they should make a mod matrix, which is lacking on Mpc.
And if Mpc Tutor is right, it might be a One synth version, so cheaper then a Live synth, a sort of workstation entry level, and that would sell good I guess.

KaoticShock wrote:The one major feature that the MODX/Kronos/Fantom Lines are missing is the ability to increase the storage by a vast amount.

HUBA wrote:

Straker wrote:Yeah it makes sense.
Not the same quality, but cheaper, lighter and with a faster workflow and at least a standard quality for any purpose.
Like a cheaper bread and butter workstation.
For that they have to solve the very limited polyphony issue and they should make a mod matrix, which is lacking on Mpc.
And if Mpc Tutor is right, it might be a One synth version, so cheaper then a Live synth, a sort of workstation entry level, and that would sell good I guess.

Yeah I fear Tutor may be right about that, sadly.

From what I can tell it's a market philosophy thing of the time we're living in and every brand seem to have been taken hostage by those blindly following that philosophy. They say it's difficult to predict the future, but when it comes to electronic music instruments it's numbingly easy. None of the brands seem capable of releasing a complete product that meets more than one specific need at the time at best. Products aimed to handle a broader picture are all prone to fail in some super obvious way it seems. Even when they're told directly what to do they have to somehow make sure it's crappier than necessary or they put out a product that's so similar to what's already out there in buckets that you have to wonder if they are trying to lose money on purpose. Elektron have to be the king in that department, with several products that could have been fantastic had they gone a bit further. I'll still buy things from them but I can't stop thinking how much better they could have done as a company. There are many similar examples of other brands as I'm sure you're all too aware of.

The last time someone had the «vision» it seems to take to make something semi complete we got the Virus TI. That's like what 16 years ago. Still selling for a premium and none of the manufacturers seem to have noticed. And all it is is a glorified 90's multimbral VA with a decent FX section and maxed out polyphony. Today we get overpriced monotimbral VA's with eight voices and two LFO's. Wooh.

IMO the last MPC line is the product that is closest to Virus TI level of completion and hitting a broad demand in the market, but they make some weird decisions, particularly with bypassing basic features like a proper mod matrix and struggle to see how to make the best of it for some reason.

I'll buy the MPC keyboard even if it's the crippled version Tutor is suggesting, but what I really want is to buy something that is going to be a legend, a game changer that everybody wants, and that seems to be the one thing we can be sure nobody will make, even if all it takes is to add a few knobs and OS features that by most people are seen as standard features anyway. They say we're spoiled, but drowning in redundant offerings is just about the opposite when we all know what's possible to put out with ease, both technically and economically, and have been so for 20 years.

Straker wrote:I don't think a game changer ever existed, I am more into buying different boxes and connect them. I never thought that Mpc could shine for its synths, so I use external ones but I have to admit that with last updates I use Air synths more and more but they never reach the level of Roland Mc707 synths and romplers, for example, which are a stripped version of Fantom full power ones.
So I think this key version is quite useless for me if it's just an Mpc with a keyboard, I already have an Mpc with a midi keyboard.
The point is that you cannot make a synth based box with that cpu, sorry but you cannot make a Synth or Rompler based box with this polyphony and limitations, so I guess it will just be an entry level workstation, a cheap one to use with other boxes.

HUBA wrote:

Straker wrote:I don't think a game changer ever existed, I am more into buying different boxes and connect them. I never thought that Mpc could shine for its synths, so I use external ones but I have to admit that with last updates I use Air synths more and more but they never reach the level of Roland Mc707 synths and romplers, for example, which are a stripped version of Fantom full power ones.
So I think this key version is quite useless for me if it's just an Mpc with a keyboard, I already have an Mpc with a midi keyboard.
The point is that you cannot make a synth based box with that cpu, sorry but you cannot make a Synth or Rompler based box with this polyphony and limitations, so I guess it will just be an entry level workstation, a cheap one to use with other boxes.

I guess it's a question of definition. When complexity and technological breakthrough features in combination with ease of use is available for normal income people is one. The Ensoniq workstations must have been somewhat game changers in that regard.

I use my MPC Live mostly for drums and basslines and MIDI sequencing and leave the synthy stuff to my Virus already, and this MPC keyboard wont change any of that. For me the main advantage is being able to ditch the MIDI keyboard and combine the MPC keyboard with operating external synths without getting chronic injury from ergonomically impossible working positions. So it's a centerpiece thing for me and I think it works great for that, but 16 Qlink knobs VS 4 would make a huge difference in workflow.

HUBA wrote:I guess it's a question of definition. When complexity and technological breakthrough features in combination with ease of use is available for normal income people is one. The Ensoniq workstations must have been somewhat game changers in that regard.

Monotremata wrote:

HUBA wrote:I guess it's a question of definition. When complexity and technological breakthrough features in combination with ease of use is available for normal income people is one. The Ensoniq workstations must have been somewhat game changers in that regard.

I take it you've never played with a Mirage?

Lampdog wrote:

KaoticShock wrote:The one major feature that the MODX/Kronos/Fantom Lines are missing is the ability to increase the storage by a vast amount.

Kronos2, I disagree.