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 B-Wise Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:29 pm
B-Wise wrote:
J.O.BEATS wrote:I can almost guarantee there won’t be any difference besides upgraded ram and all the new instruments included (like the keys).

3.0 is still just an urban legend at this point. There are no indications it’s coming. The one legit leaked photo of the XL showed what looked exactly like the current OS

This is starting to sound like the Keys all over again. Remember all the debates about all the new features that were definitely going to come with it because why would Akai roll it out with the same OS and features as the live 2 and X?

And sight sold his X because he got a new one. Why would he keep 2 when he could have the XL and cash.


What are your basing your "almost guarantee" on? - I leaked old photo?

You would have be part of Akai development team or something to know what Akai is planing down the line - like do really think a music tech company which is a extremely competitive market would make a new product while it's current line devices has been selling really well (mainly talking about the ONE because of it's low new/used price) & just increase the RAM?

Just because we don't know much about OS3 doesn't mean it's not real, it could be Akai is better at not "leaking" that info. Just like most ppl didn't know about what new features would be on any of the current gen OS updates (besides the beta testers). So that's not a good agreement. I think the 61 keys is just waiting on the XL (the flagship) to drop to then be giving the new OS. Relasing the Key first even w/o the new OS still made $ense because, well, it's an MPC with keys! & all those early adopters will feel it they got a whole new device once that new OS drops - at least that my theory.

I can "almost guarantee", there will be differences besides upgraded RAM.


J.O.BEATS wrote:Common sense and the company’s track record form my opinion. When they dropped the live retro did they add anything different? Why can’t the XL just be that? It makes too much sense for it to have what the key has as far as all the plug ins since it’ll be the flagship. From a business model that and the upgraded ram is all they need to move new units.

There likely will be an OS update that goes with the release of the XL but it’ll be backward capable with all the other units and won’t be significantly different.

What difference are you expecting? Is it just 3.0 that you think will be in it? We’ve seen the unit and it’s just an X with a retro skin.

Common sense is knowing that the MPC Live Retro was really a new MPC, but if this is what your level of thinking lead you to based the companies track record on which goes back to the 80's, well try holding your thoughts until the new OS drops & had time to mature, because your opinion ain't based on much.
By HouseOfLatin Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:38 pm
8ty8 wrote:I will say this about OS 3.0.... Denon recently released an OS 3.0 and it includes a TON of new features. Like literally, you can DJ over the air now, it's pretty freaking sweet.

However, that 3.0 update was rolled out to ALL of their existing (and older) products, such as my SC5000's (which *cough cough* came out in 2017, hello MPC X). I see absolutely no reason why Akai would also not follow the same path. Oh and the Denon update to 3.0 was completely FREE.

I'm only mentioning this because:
1. Denon is also an InMusic brand
2. Denon gear uses the exact same hardware/logic boards as our MPCs
3. I personally see lots of parallels between Denon and Akai, especially how much both are shaking up/leading their respective markets since coming under InMusic's umbrella

Also, if you want to get deeper into it, I believe you can figure out the progression from MPC X > XL by following the progression of Denon's flagships: SC5000 > SC6000.

Compared with the 5k, the SC6000 has a larger screen, the optional addition of an internal hard drive, a bigger jogwheel, and different colored buttons. Barring the larger screen and jogwheel, the internals remain the exact same between both devices, and I believe the same thing will be true for the XL, with the only difference being minute...

Based on this, coupled with the leaks we've seen to date, one could possibly(?) deduce the XL: A new faceplate/color scheme, a larger screen, the addition of an ethernet port for device networking, and maybe more RAM?...

Either way, MPC OS 3.0 should still be backwards compatible. We're talking about Akai here people... NOT apple.

Thanks for that cohesive and insightful post, that could say a whole lot about the near future for our machines and its software. Obviously something extraordinary could happen, but big projects like this dont make sudden moves specially when they have a solid working platform as is right now.

Personally I wish for many small fixes, GUI and workflow improvements more than anything else.
By B-Wise Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:45 pm
eLuSiVeMiTe wrote:Afaik the current range use an old version of the soc the newer version in the keys is the same board with increased ram.

The is will be on the flash storage and using a portion of the ram for ops.
I did see the figures recently but can't recall the split.


Re post edits. You get a short window to edit before it's locked down.

Ok, but we don't know if those boards is exactly the same & just an RAM update. If so, that means that the same board from at least 2016 is going to be used until maybe 2030 or when the newer MPC's come out. Don't know if that's common with main boards. We're gonna have to wait & see.


Re post edits. I couldn't edit right after I posted. It wasn't like that before.
By eLuSiVeMiTe Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:54 pm
B-Wise wrote:
eLuSiVeMiTe wrote:Afaik the current range use an old version of the soc the newer version in the keys is the same board with increased ram.

The is will be on the flash storage and using a portion of the ram for ops.
I did see the figures recently but can't recall the split.


Re post edits. You get a short window to edit before it's locked down.

Ok, but we don't know if those boards is exactly the same & just an RAM update. If so, that means that the same board from at least 2016 is going to be used until maybe 2030 or when the newer MPC's come out. Don't know if that's common with main boards. We're gonna have to wait & see.


Re post edits. I couldn't edit right after I posted. It wasn't like that before.


That's what the keys is iirc Newer version of the same board. Someone on the Hakai FB group was exploring the possibility of swapping them out to increase ram. No idea what came of it.

Personally rams not an issue for me. Midi data is negligible and il only have 2 or 3 programs max. Mainly midi tracks.

Not interested in an upgrade right now. I am however looking forward to seeing what any new firmware may bring to the table.
By Avasopht Fri Mar 24, 2023 1:41 am
B-Wise wrote:Isn't the OS stored on the RAM?, if so, wouldn't having more RAM allow for a more powerful OS?

I wouldn't say so at this stage. Executable code takes up relatively very little memory. It was a different story when you only had 50kb to work with.

When I wrote code for a machine with 4MB of RAM, the executable size never even entered into the equation.

Graphics took up most of the RAM.

With the MPC it'll be your samples.

They might be able to trim down the Linux image.

B-Wise wrote:This isn't my area, so I'm not trying to be a wise ass (as some else called me :mrgreen: ), but besides the RAM I was thinking that all the other parts like Main board would be upgraded as well so with all that combined my thinking is that there's no way that the new MPC's will just be same but with more RAM.


They could give us a much more powerful CPU. The rest of the hardware seems pretty good.

The reason why a new OS wouldn't surprise me is that it's still relatively early days and an overhaul would be much less costly now than in another 5-10 years, while I think they've had enough time to know what does and does not work.
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By 8ty8 Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:05 am
Some time ago, a friend at Numark explained to me that InMusic got a reaaaaally good deal on a whoooooole lot of these logic boards, so they stocked up on them -- Like really stocked up.

This is why you see this hardware living within many many many InMusic products across the board, regardless of main brand or industry segment (i.e. why Denon and Akai share internals), and also why the majority of InMusic gear also has not been updated significantly since like 2017?. It's also why InMusic has been able to put out products despite the chip shortage that took place during COVID, which disrupted many other tech products.

It's just good business for them (from their POV) to reuse that existing internal hardware stock, while giving the "updated" gear aesthetic makeovers (think: color changes, button changes, adding larger screens where possible, additional ports, etc...).

Again -- look to my previous post on Denon and you'll get it.

I just hope OS 3 fixes the workflow bugs from 2.11, like how Denon was able to iron them all out a while back.

I've gone back to 2.10 on my X, but sadly even that ain't perfect.
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By Monotremata Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:15 am
It was rumored here and other forums, when that particular board was discontinued, Akai bought up all the remaining inventory of it. Nobody knows why they held off with the 4GB models until now though, they were available from day 1.
By Certified Beatz Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:02 am
Monotremata wrote:It was rumored here and other forums, when that particular board was discontinued, Akai bought up all the remaining inventory of it. Nobody knows why they held off with the 4GB models until now though, they were available from day 1.


Not true the boards are out there for 2gb and can be purchased.. so that is why since same processor why not offer the 4gb in the further for upgrading...
By johnnytravels Fri Mar 24, 2023 6:58 am
8ty8 wrote:I just hope OS 3 fixes the workflow bugs from 2.11, like how Denon was able to iron them all out a while back.

I've gone back to 2.10 on my X, but sadly even that ain't perfect.


I dread the release of a completely new firmware because I think it will only make things worse.
The very early versions of 2.0 were not great, then came few relatively stable versions, then feature creep set in and now we’re back to the OS being a mess again (even though it has 1000s of new gimmicks now).

I hope that 3.0 will consolidate everything we currently have into one stable package but I doubt it.
Staying on 2.10 and waiting for an alternative product to catch up with the sampling capabilities of the MPC ;)
By brutzero Fri Mar 24, 2023 12:21 pm
Once again my strong prediction is that there will be a fusion of MPC and Force workflows in 3.0

It is also my opinion that Force has been beta for 3.0 this whole time. Just look at what firmware it started with.... Force 3.1!

I look forward to a better UI on mpc. Some parts are very clunky and unnecessarily separated, where on the Force, Audio, midi, and internal programs all live in the same place.

Namm is less than a month away. Hoping we find out more info soon.
By jpeg Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:47 pm
brutzero wrote:Once again my strong prediction is that there will be a fusion of MPC and Force workflows in 3.0

It is also my opinion that Force has been beta for 3.0 this whole time. Just look at what firmware it started with.... Force 3.1!.


this is common knowledge I dont think anyone is suprised by these statements its self evident that the two have been converging
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By cocosushi Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:42 pm
brutzero wrote:Once again my strong prediction is that there will be a fusion of MPC and Force workflows in 3.0....Namm is less than a month away. Hoping we find out more info soon.


+1
the only remaining question is when 3.0 will be released.
I have a gut feeling telling me it won't happen this year :popcorn:
By LivePsy Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:06 pm
cocosushi wrote:
brutzero wrote:Once again my strong prediction is that there will be a fusion of MPC and Force workflows in 3.0....Namm is less than a month away. Hoping we find out more info soon.


+1
the only remaining question is when 3.0 will be released.
I have a gut feeling telling me it won't happen this year :popcorn:


Just for fun, I have a feeling 2.11.8 is the last version 2. Very happy to be wrong but the bug fixes to me seem like throwing the last easy to fix things in and moving on.