By CFM01
Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:09 am
Ok, as a former owner of the Live and now a new owner of a Force what can i say about which one you should get after a few days with Force.
First the Force is technically not a MPC, although has many of the features of the MPC range, but it’s not one. At the moment it can’t run the MPC 2.0 software. This currently limits you to its internal plugins and effects. Currently there is also no song mode. You just launch clips in matrix mode much like in ableton live. So you can launch just one clip, clips, or a row of clips as the matrix is columns and rows. If you have been using Ableton Live in this way then you will be at home with the Force.
So if you have Ableton Live with Push then you may think do I really need Force? Because basically Force has ‘Ableton Like’ features as a controller like Push. Which makes it a sort of hybrid Ableton Controller come 90% MPC but not... as sampling is much like a MPC and runs the same operating software. I think where the Force excels is in a live situation and here it is perhaps better suited than MPC Live, certainly the X which is less portable. MPC Live is great as it can run on battery so you can take it anywhere, the Force and X are mains powered so I’d say Force is about maximum size you would want to travel with.
Saying this I never ran MPC Live as a standalone, for most part is ran as a VST within Ableton Live, which meant I had to carry MPC Live and a laptop plus my soundcard.
So... in the UK MPC Live is around £900, Force £1300, MPC X £1800. Force has midi and CV wheres MPC live has no CV. The firmware on the Force is behind that of the Live and X although my catch up in time. I’m unsure if Force will never run full MPC software. If money is no problem and you are not worried about carrying then I’d get the X. If you own ableton live, gig live and don’t have push then it’s worth considering force, the cheaper option still is MPC Live.
First the Force is technically not a MPC, although has many of the features of the MPC range, but it’s not one. At the moment it can’t run the MPC 2.0 software. This currently limits you to its internal plugins and effects. Currently there is also no song mode. You just launch clips in matrix mode much like in ableton live. So you can launch just one clip, clips, or a row of clips as the matrix is columns and rows. If you have been using Ableton Live in this way then you will be at home with the Force.
So if you have Ableton Live with Push then you may think do I really need Force? Because basically Force has ‘Ableton Like’ features as a controller like Push. Which makes it a sort of hybrid Ableton Controller come 90% MPC but not... as sampling is much like a MPC and runs the same operating software. I think where the Force excels is in a live situation and here it is perhaps better suited than MPC Live, certainly the X which is less portable. MPC Live is great as it can run on battery so you can take it anywhere, the Force and X are mains powered so I’d say Force is about maximum size you would want to travel with.
Saying this I never ran MPC Live as a standalone, for most part is ran as a VST within Ableton Live, which meant I had to carry MPC Live and a laptop plus my soundcard.
So... in the UK MPC Live is around £900, Force £1300, MPC X £1800. Force has midi and CV wheres MPC live has no CV. The firmware on the Force is behind that of the Live and X although my catch up in time. I’m unsure if Force will never run full MPC software. If money is no problem and you are not worried about carrying then I’d get the X. If you own ableton live, gig live and don’t have push then it’s worth considering force, the cheaper option still is MPC Live.