Akai Force Forum: Everything relating to the Akai Force, the new 64 pad, clip-based standalone sampler/groovebox from Akai. While not an MPC, it shares many similar software features to the MPC X/MPC Live including the same underlying code-base.
By analoguebubblebath Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:17 pm
I've had my Force for a few weeks now and while I really love everything it can do, there is one crucially limiting issue so far that memory gets used up extremely quickly when recording audio.

I have been testing with new projects the past couple weeks and I am continually finding that once I get about 10 audio clips recorded (yes 10) I start getting "low memory" memory warning messages. As per the user manual's recommendation, I save the project, shut down the Force, then power up and re-open the project. This resets a very small amount of memory, but once I start recording again I very quickly start receiving "low memory" warnings.

My project yesterday for example, I was only able to record 9 clips (3 drum, 3 bass and 3 chords) before the memory warnings stopped me in my workflow.

I spoke extensively with an Akai tech support rep last week discussing this and a few other issues, and according to them the Force is limited right now to about 20 MINUTES OF TOTAL AUDIO PER PROJECT.

This is astounding to me, I feel very misled that the Force has been marketed as a music production and performance tool when it can't even record enough audio for one simple song, let a lone create a longer DJ set to perform with. The new crossfader is way cool but there is absolutely zero chance right now you could make any sort of DJ set with this thing.

I'm really hoping Akai addresses this issue ASAP, as its completely blocking my workflow and I imagine the same will happen to countless others as more people get their hands on the Force and discover its current limitations.
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By MPC-Tutor Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:05 pm
The Force has the same memory spec as the MPC Live/X and they have the capacity for 53 minutes of stereo audio (i.e. 106 minutes of mono audio). Various things affect how much memory is actually available, and the Force might well require more system memory compared to the Live/X but 20 minutes doesn't seem correct, not if you are talking about the combined audio that can be stored in RAM. Was he referring to a 20 minute limit per audio file, or total audio in RAM?

And was he talking about stereo or mono audio? '20 minutes of audio' is fairly meaningless without further specs.

Here's my lab test for the Live:

https://www.mpc-tutor.com/how-much-memo ... ive-mpc-x/
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By Lampdog Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:12 pm
It's not a dedicated time-based recording device, not a DAW for lengthy recording.
Music production, yes, performance, yes. People get that confused.
By analoguebubblebath Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:39 pm
I've been doing some detailed audio testing the past several hours and after creating a blank new project on my Force, I was able to record a total of 34 minutes of audio (broken up into 1 minute clips) before it stopped letting me record with an error message saying I was completely out of memory.

What seems to happen is when you utilize the undo feature, the undo's recordings still are stored in RAM until you save/close/reopen the project. I tend to use Undo a bit as its a fantastic feature, but this is what was causing my sessions to max out with less than 20 minutes of audio recorded.

I understand this isn't a large scale DAW environment but given the size of 44.1k 24 bit uncompressed audio files. 34 minutes of audio should take up exactly 501mb (15mb per minute). I guess the other 1.5GB is going to running the software??

With 34 minutes, making a 7 minute track gives you only 5 tracks total. Doesn't this seem a bit low for music production???
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By Lampdog Tue Mar 12, 2019 5:28 pm
analoguebubblebath wrote:What seems to happen is when you utilize the undo feature, the undo's recordings still are stored in RAM until you save/close/reopen the project.



I didn't realize that, this makes sense.

Also, there should be a way to clear undo takes when you absolutely don't need them anymore.
A list of takes and options to choose indiv or all and clear "history" type deal. That would help out a lot.

RAM is dynamically used when the device is on I'm guessing, used for more than just recording.
Projects loaded into RAM, samples loaded into RAM, etc....
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By MPC-Tutor Tue Mar 12, 2019 5:49 pm
In the article I linked to previously I explained a few things about how audio is handled in these MPCs (and the Force). Audio is converted to 32 bit float internally, so 34 minutes of stereo 44.1 audio is approx 720MB.

I believe the system tends to 'reserve' space for all sorts of things (I seem to remember Dan mentioning that empty audio tracks are very hungry)

Until they implement disk streaming this is going to be a problem for a lot of people.

analoguebubblebath wrote:I understand this isn't a large scale DAW environment but given the size of 44.1k 24 bit uncompressed audio files. 34 minutes of audio should take up exactly 501mb (15mb per minute). I guess the other 1.5GB is going to running the software??
By Unreallystic Tue Mar 12, 2019 8:45 pm
Lampdog wrote:I didn't realize that, this makes sense.

Also, there should be a way to clear undo takes when you absolutely don't need them anymore.
A list of takes and options to choose indiv or all and clear "history" type deal. That would help out a lot.

RAM is dynamically used when the device is on I'm guessing, used for more than just recording.
Projects loaded into RAM, samples loaded into RAM, etc....

::Nodding in Agreement::
I've had this in other memory hungry applications, and it helps, especially in a "quick solution" kind of way.

While this is an assumption, it might have some merit - the Push 2's screen is actually pretty demanding, even though its not "another monitor", and I wouldn't be shocked if the Force's screen (and likewise a clip variant of the MPC's) is taxing the memory. Unfortunately, while I do code, I do not do any truly visual stuff, and have no grasp on what makes a display efficient/inefficient, but if there are resources there to scrape from, an "Audio enhanced" mode which trims down some of the screen, and cuts other corners to save RAM, might be of value.
- Unreall
By DokBrown Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:05 pm
I often move back&forth between my roland MV & mpc 1000 & Ableton live INTRO.
I use my mpc as a portable/durable MIDI center with basic drum sampling
I use ableton for production/mixing/etc.

I spend more time on my MPC & MV b/c i suck as a producer but am a solid chop/looper & drum beats dude. I always favor my hardware over ableton’s drum racks/etc. b/c the hardware is more reliable/simple & thus faster. At the end of the day, I move everything to Ableton b/c it is clearly the future.

No piece of hardware is going to be able to compete with a modern CPU & software. My 2014 64-bit laptop kills my hardware when it comes to power/space & thus capability. To top it off, I do not have Ableton Suite.

The akai FORCE clearly needs updates but it will never be able to touch modern CPU & software. My roland MV gets painfully slow when I use loard than 200mb of audio into its 512mb RAM. The key is to learn how to work within hardware limitations. My understanding is that the new akai line is based on some old android hardware that inmusic got for cheap. I would not expect major breakthroughs via updates but rather bug fixes & revised workflow.


IF the current akai FORCE is a major success, perhaps akai will do a “make2” 5-10 years from with a modern hardware setup.

I will not hold my breath,
LBjr
By DokBrown Wed Mar 13, 2019 11:38 pm
https://www.spire.live/en/lp/five-reasons.html

1 of my friends plays guitar & bought this. I tried explaining to him how a basic laptop setup with a usb interface & free software [audacity/REAPER] would be way more powerful & flexible. He reminded me that he is an engineer who codes all day & the last thing he wants to do is deal with a CPU when he gets home from work . . . . . . . .

The FORCE is Ableton in a very small box full of limitations & shortcuts . . . .
By mrbugbums Wed Nov 06, 2019 10:20 pm
I spent weeks researching Force before buying it this week, but nowhere did I learn about this absolute disaster memory problem. Can't somebody explain a solution? I got the low memory warning and my song was 2 minutes only.
i think we need to make a list of dos and don'ts like 1. Don't click undo. don't load a whole bunch of different kits and sounds looking for what sound you want. don't practice getting the correct vocal take with the Force but elsewhere such as record it onto my looping pedal or TC helicon, or a Zoom 8 track recorder and once vocal take is correct....then add it to a clip.
False advertising big time. this is not a song production unit.
Anybody figure out a way or where I should save the clips? Can you save clips to an SD card? and then bring them into a new project? Ram is being taken up by browsing and retakes.
Please would somebody explain clearly to us newbies? The user guide is a joke
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By Lampdog Fri Nov 08, 2019 1:42 am
mrbugbums wrote:I got the low memory warning and my song was 2 minutes only.


How much stuff did you load into ram tho?
By Fess Mon Nov 18, 2019 1:25 pm
For flip sakes... the Deluge streams audio from SD cards. Can't Akai coders figure this s*it out? RAM should be used for live project work, like loading samples and loops, undos, effect freeze efx etc. and the SD card could be used for recording and playing back audio tracks. Am I to believe a basically 'new-kid-on-the-block' (Synthstrom) has a coder (yes, only one dude does the code) who is literally doing the best coding ever done on a groove box sampler- compared to the team Akai has? Well, it's true. If Synthstrom ever decide to make a Deluge 2 with a touch screen and a few more connection options, they'll own the game
By Fess Wed Nov 20, 2019 12:07 am
Seriously, Akai (Dan, Andy etc.) if you comb these forums read this:

If you pair up an MPC Live or X with a Force right now, well you can sync them via MIDI but what about that memory limitation we always hear about? Currently if you plan on producing demo songs in either instrument, you're gonna run out of memory, and what if you wanna drop vocals?- Goodbye memory for sure.

The solution is this:

Implement audio track recording and playback from the SD card in the Force only. Keep everything separate- The internal storage and added SSD should hold only samples and saved programs/sequences- not stream audio tracks.

The approx. 1.1 GB of user-memory could then be used exclusively to load samples and clips (44.1, 48, 96 kHz - 8/16/24 bit, 32 FP)

The SD card in the Force could be the 'harddrive' to record and playback audio tracks recorded from internal clip sequences or externally (from the MPC Live/X for instance).

So in essence, the Force could act as a multi-track audio recorder and remix station for the MPC or any other connected instrument. Songs with vocals could be recorded live with no worry of running out of memory. 32 tracks of recorded audio straight to SD at 44.1, 48, 96 kHz - 8/16/24 bit,32 FP. Obviously, users would need a very fast SD card but hey, I think it would be worth paying 150 bucks for a 64GB SD that records and plays back 32 tracks of audio without hiccups.

Producers looking for some new gear would then look at the MPC Live/X and a Force as a pair- this would really give users a lot of creative options to make serious demos with the MPC and Force working together imo :)

Think about the MPC Live/X and Force as completely separate machines with different workflows, and implement future features and functions accordingly. I know they have differences but that could even be taken further. For instance, give the Force an exclusive SSL-style master bus compressor- exclusive to the Force to to render recorded audio tracks with the compressor model inserted on the master bus.
AIR could do it as a plugin, for instance.

One more thing- The MIDI clock sync (IN and OUT) has to be rock solid on both machines. The issues of the devices (Live/X) not slaving tightly have to be prioritized and addressed ASAP :!: :nod:
By Tronlady Wed Apr 07, 2021 11:22 am
What seems to happen is when you utilize the undo feature, the undo's recordings still are stored in RAM until you save/close/reopen the project. I tend to use Undo a bit as its a fantastic feature, but this is what was causing my sessions to max out with less than 20 minutes of audio recorded.

This is brilliant info thanks! This makes me wonder about RETROSPECTIVE RECORD???. Is there any way to turn this off ? Surely this feature is overkill on a device like this with very limited RAM ??