MPC X, MPC Live, MPC One & MPC Key 61 Forum: Support and discussion for the MPC X, MPC Live, MPC Live II, MPC One & MPC Key 61; Akai's current generation of standalone MPCs.
By vkonyofficial Mon Jul 04, 2022 10:17 am
Hello ! I am keyboardist in a band.

I use various audio loops and audio riffs in my rig with an old , Fantom G .

I need a Keyboard that has/can :
- Import Audio Loops and One-Shot Riffs ( and has some memory )
- Has some pads to play the loops and the riffs
- I need to play the Loops and the riffs in same page
- Also I need to be able to make a performance patch with multiple instruments to play along the loops.

Right now I do that with my Fantom G . BUT ......
that's because i found a workaround to work it as I want it .

I import the audio loops ,I make a drum kit with all of them, then I record midi phrases to bpm and use the RPS mode of the pads to play the loops along the riffs . All synced by the Bpm . Wonderful . But it's kinda buggy . Like.... most of the times , the system works. But it's an old keyboard. Sometimes the drum loops just stop by themselves .
It has served me very well but I'm looking to make an upgrade , and the first thing i looked at was the "new Fantom" . I don't really think it will be that easy to switch to a new Fantom . And I don't really love the workflow it has. The only reason I would switch to it, is because on the New Fantom you can do all that Looping with audio files directly , no need to make midi phrases anymore .

I was looking to Akai MPC Key . I am not very familliar with the MPC world , BUT i think that the MPC engine is made with using audio samples in mind so it must have the features I am looking for . Right now, I don't know very much about it . I am asking if Akai MPC Key 61 can manage things like that , or if some other keyboard can do the job . It's 2022 and what i'm doing with my Fantom seems kinda hard and unintuitive . Also I don't have much space on the Fantom G and I read somewhere that you can expand the Akai MPC memory with Sata .

Any thoughts ? I may be looking at this situation wrong . :worthy:
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By MPC-Tutor Mon Jul 04, 2022 10:52 am
Yes the MPC can do this, the devil is always in the detail though, each sampler has its own implementation and unique way of doing things. If by 'performance patch' you mean a way to simultaneously play multiple instruments, yes, you can for example set up a keyboard split made up of multiple instruments (including drum kits/loops etc), plus you can also assign specific instruments to be played by a specific controller (which can then also be key split.)

None of these things are unique to the MPC Key though, these features are just part of the MPC firmware itself so will also work with any other current MPC model with a keyboard attached via USB.

For live loop/clip performances, the Akai Force is better. This doesn't have keyboard split in its current firmware (I have no idea if this will be in the next update), but does allow for different controllers to be assigned to different tracks.
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By MPC-Tutor Mon Jul 04, 2022 12:00 pm
Yes you can assign any sample you wish to a 'program' which is then assigned to a track and can then be played with the pads and/or the keys. The MPC has three different 'sample-based' program types; 'drum' (for one shots, loops, drums etc) , 'keygroup' (for creating instruments from samples which you can then play with your keyboard) or clips (optimised for triggering audio loops).
By mpc_fan_2022 Mon Jul 04, 2022 12:28 pm
The MPC Key (or any MPC) is not the best choice if your goal is to launch MIDI or Audio loops in Sync, thinking that you'll be making transitions that way between sequences or songs. You're referencing the RPS system. There is no such thing on the MPC.

The Fantom 06 on the other hand can do all that, since its sequencer is more like the one found in Ableton Live. the AKAI Force can also work that way however, it doesn't come with a traditional keyboard.

So until AKAI implements a MIDI clip launcher on MPC OS just like on the Force then it should be a hard pass for you.
By vkonyofficial Mon Jul 04, 2022 12:52 pm
mpc_fan_2022 wrote:The MPC Key (or any MPC) is not the best choice if your goal is to launch MIDI or Audio loops in Sync, thinking that you'll be making transitions that way between sequences or songs. You're referencing the RPS system. There is no such thing on the MPC.

The Fantom 06 on the other hand can do all that, since its sequencer is more like the one found in Ableton Live. the AKAI Force can also work that way however, it doesn't come with a traditional keyboard.

So until AKAI implements a MIDI clip launcher on MPC OS just like on the Force then it should be a hard pass for you.


I am not really concerned about the RPS mode if it has audio capabilities. I used the RPS mode on Fantom because , Fantom can't loop and sync pads with audio only .
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By MPC-Tutor Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:03 pm
vkonyofficial wrote:Can I also fire them from the pads along some audio one shots ?


I already confirmed that in one of my previous posts. Assigning samples to pads or keys is core MPC functionality, you can trigger any type of sample from the pads - one shots, loops, instruments, drums, vocals, entire audio tracks, whatever you want.
By vkonyofficial Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:30 am
MPC-Tutor wrote:
vkonyofficial wrote:Can I also fire them from the pads along some audio one shots ?


I already confirmed that in one of my previous posts. Assigning samples to pads or keys is core MPC functionality, you can trigger any type of sample from the pads - one shots, loops, instruments, drums, vocals, entire audio tracks, whatever you want.


Perfect ! Just wanted to be sure. Sorry ! You helped me a lot . Thank you so much