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 misterflibble Sat Jun 25, 2022 3:41 pm
I spent three 8-hour sessions working with my Force during its return period to make sure I liked it, reading the manual cover to cover. I had owned an MPC Live for a year before I got my Force.

I spent most of my time during those sessions mapping the differences between the machines, and making notes of the key combos. The interface for Force is driven by loads of key combos that have to become muscle memory for the machine to feel easy to work with. Once I figured it out, I loved the Force. The ability to have both MIDI and Audio clips and the Arranger make it a much better tool for me than MPC Sequences, which is a personal preference. I also love the plethora of controls and the 64 pads, especially the ability to "split screen" the pads into halves or quadrants based on what you're doing. Step sequencer on top, notes on the bottom for example, or advanced 16 levels.

I would recommend doing a cover-to-cover reading of the Force manual and see if it clicks. And if not, send it back.
By J-Fly Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:26 pm
Coming from a MPC Live and Pro Tools, I too was struggling with the Force workflow but I eventually got the hang of it or at least the basics. I only utilize probably 40% of the Force's capabilities. With the announcement/release of the MPC Key 61, I've considered going back to the MPC. But this is Akai. As soon as I purchase the MPC Key 61, they'll be announcing the Force 61...................... :WTF:
By HouseWithoutMouse Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:29 pm
It was cancelled, because Akai didn't want to do an arranger keyboard... But seriously speaking, in my opinion it would be possible to add a "Force mode" scene/clip launch system in the MPC, maybe with an add-on USB controller like APC 40 or APC mini. https://www.thomann.de/intl/akai_profes ... 40_mk2.htm It seems that a lot of new MPC users expect to find Ableton's Session style clip and scene launching facilities.
By misterflibble Sat Jul 02, 2022 2:56 pm
MPC-Tutor wrote:There was originally a leak regarding a 'Force 6' keyboard:

Oh man, this would have been the tits right here. I like what they did with the MPC Keys 61, but a Force version would have been next-level.
By Ronnymonkey Sun Jan 22, 2023 7:59 am
OHi there,

Thanks very much for the feedback. i finally got it!
Just woke up, started again and here we go.
Its actually really easy and my next step is to sync it with ableton and shape the sound using some plug ins.
Thanks everyone.

Stay vegan!
By Ronnymonkey Sun Jan 22, 2023 8:01 am
HouseWithoutMouse wrote:"Re: Force is not a mpc" ... Yeah, but no, but. It isn't, but then again, it is, kind of.

Here's a translation map showing my idea of what the Force's concepts mean in terms of MPC project elements, if you're familiar with MPC world. The whole thing might be done as one big Sequence with a lot of tracks (more than you can normally have in an MPC Sequence), a few new screens/views and a set of operations that restrict the routing of Tracks to the one Program assigned to that group of tracks.

Image

This sort of reorganization of project elements could even be added over an MPC, if you had an MPC secretary operator robot doing all the actual button-pressing for you and keeping the tracks ordered and routed properly. :) Clip switching would be pretty difficult though - the secretary would have to very quickly stop a track and start another one.


:shock: :P
By J-Fly Tue Jan 24, 2023 10:31 pm
This is why an Akai Force Bible would be helpful. I don't do well in experimenting with a device until I learn things accidentally to muscle memory. I'm better at following a step-by-step guide. That's what made using the MPC Live a breeze because I used the MPC One/Live/X Bible.
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By dnkygirl Wed Jan 25, 2023 3:46 pm
J-Fly wrote:This is why an Akai Force Bible would be helpful. I don't do well in experimenting with a device until I learn things accidentally to muscle memory. I'm better at following a step-by-step guide. That's what made using the MPC Live a breeze because I used the MPC One/Live/X Bible.


It's almost impossible to write a book for the Force because it's changing so much. To me it still seems like a beta platform. I still think that Akai doesn't quite know what to do with this product. I'm sure they are happy that we have adopted it after all the work they have put into it. However, longterm they are still about making profits. This machine probably was the worst release for them. It's production run is weird not only because of the issues at initial launch and slow sales after it... covid and trying to repair their image. I'm wondering if they will continue with this platform or stop and only focus on the MPC. I realize that all the chip shortages and things surrounding that have added to their internal issues, but this machine is an anomaly. It in my opinion is the best modern stand-alone production machine ever attempted. It has some ruff edges still and could use a resource update to support all the new software offerings, but as a creative platform there's nothing else on the market that directly competes with it including the MPC. The workflow is not bad once you understand it. There should be more official training videos available to help with all of the changes.... as every release changes something away from what it was when it was originally released. I have not seen anyone sit down and do this directly starting from the most current version.

I wasn't able to learn it by watching YouTube videos. I had to sit down with the bad manual and open my mind to the clip launching method of creation. It helped that I am an Ableton user already. So the workflow of this machine made sense to me. The addition of the arranger just made it far more useful for building songs and not just launching clips. The fact that midi and audio work together is what keeps me on this machine. I like that I can transfer my projects to Ableton and keep working.
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By MPC-Tutor Thu Jan 26, 2023 8:32 am
dnkygirl wrote:It's almost impossible to write a book for the Force because it's changing so much.


Unfortunately yes, this is a big problem, something I didn't have to deal with too much with the legacy MPCs. There's been some pretty big changes with the Force firmware, a lot of the original content I was working on was pretty much wiped out. Small changes aren't a problem, but even with the MPC Bible it's becoming quite a challenge to keep re-jigging things to accommodate the shift in focus (i.e. less sample based compared to 5 years ago, it's almost hard to remember that plugins didn't exist back when I first wrote that course).

The issue isn't just about initially creating the course, it's the expectation to keep it updated with the new firmware releases. Not such a problem if it's selling well but if it's too niche with a limited audience (e.g. the Force) then it makes it financially unviable to keep on working on a course that isn't selling. I've had this problem with my JJOSXL and MPC Renaissance/Studio courses, they just didn't sell enough copies to justify any further work beyond some general bug fixes.

I don't really see other tutorial developers dealing with this ongoing update strategy, they seem to just make a something for a current version of whatever software (e.g. Ableton 10), then effectively abandon it, no further updates, and then come back with a completely different course 2 years later (e.g. Ableton 11). In the meantime, people are just expected to work around the bits of the tutorial that have become outdated. I didn't want to do that with my courses, I want to keep them 100% fresh, but I never really expected to see Akai putting out so many big updates like they have done.
By J-Fly Fri Jan 27, 2023 12:54 am
This reminds me of the Maschine Jam. It was trying to mimic the Ableton platform and Native Instruments quickly abandoned it. I think dnkygirl has the best approach. I should probably try to learn Ableton Live first and then maybe Force will make more sense to me. It's unfortunate that a Force Bible is not feasible but I understand. That's the least of my worries. I also have a TheoryBoard THY333 with crappy tutorial videos.