Future Akai Force wishlist (FORCE 2)

It feels like it's time for a hardware refresh. We are at about the 4 year mark now with the force. I'm hoping that this next hardware implementation addresses the issues we have all experienced with the current machine.

1. A larger screen!!! It's so hard to pinch in on this tiny screen when you're working in arranger mode. Also adjustable like the mpc-x. Honestly after watching that YouTube video showing some guy using a ported version of the force software on the MPC-x I was hoping that this was a pre-cursor to the next model...
2. Stability overall. I love all the innovation, but it's kinda trash if you break the new stuff when you release a new firmware version. What is going on with the testing team? Are they drunk or what?
3. More ram and a better CPU let's be honest when they added disk streaming it really started to show that the performance of the current hardware needs help.
4. Support large SSD drives beyond 1tb. I have a 4tb drive that I thought would be great for putting all my stuff on, but wow it only works via USB which stinks as far as performance goes. I have dumped all of my sample collections on to that drive and use it as a source for everything when it comes to building and experimenting with music on the force. Also how about m.2 slots instead of the old school 2.5? Why are you guys sticking to old tech?
5. The ability to upgrade the ram would be soooo awesome!!! The new plugins and trying to run multiple instances of them well... kinda stinks currently having the ability to put in more ram from a user perspective would be so cool. So if I need a machine that can run 4-5 instances of fabric xl......
6. Smaller footprint size wise. This machine is so heavy and big... yet when you look at the components inside of it.. there's boards that could have been combined. The overall footprint could have been the size of the mpc-x or a push 2 and have the 64 pads and the bigger screen. Durability is definitely a concern for a machine like this... if you are performing with it or even in a studio environment it get's beat on.. metal surfaces are better the plastics fade and wear really fast.
7. Midi implementation needs an overhaul. Midi cc should have been included from jump. The clocking Is really kinda awful in the current model.
8. Warp... what happened there... it's like one of the standard things we expect to just work... but it's trash in the current releases of the firmware.
9. The plugins are nice, but please more unique sound design in the future. I think we all have enough EP's and Pianos for days. Something unique sounding on par with Native Instruments sound design. Flavor pro was a good rc20 steal.

I see no alternative to Akai releasing a MKII version with more RAM, more CPU power and more built-in storage. A tilting screen would be ideal as well.

When is the next big electronic music industry event?

The next namm is April 13th-15th I wonder if there are plans for an update this round. It has been 4 years and we all have been very vocal about the needed changes for the next version. I just hope it doesn’t include all the bugs we are experiencing in the current unit.

Open source a Plugin & Controller API so the community can contribute. There is no negative to an open API, hide your core code but make it accessible to contribute to the project.

Give full control of the screen and controls to a computer like the push 2.

HDMI out and a mouse is all I want.

I saw some rumors related to a unit called the force 6 which is a 61 key keyboard with the force capabilities. Man I just don't need or want another keyboard. Also there's been buzz about something called the MPC XL which is an updated MPC X which is probably the oldest unit out now so it makes sense for it to have a hardware update. It just doesn't seem like we will get a hardware update anytime soon. I suppose I can live with that as along as they keep fixing all the bugs from the firmware releases so that the current machine is stable.

I'm with 64Hz on this one.

At least the mouse support should be a straightforward firmware change - then plug in any USB mouse, trackball or whatever and leave the touchscreen behind.

I can't possibly be the only producer with a manual labour job. Callouses are just bad for touchscreen response.

I wouldn't mind an HDMI out, but I'm not very fussy about it. A tilting screen would be an adequate option in my world. The screen that is on it is nice and clearly visible.

I absolutely agree on more RAM and CPU; not that we can't do a lot with what we have, but more tracks and more effects will make life easier. I'd also like to see more inputs and outputs.

Audio cross-fades. Audio quantization with swing. Properly working transient detection. Bug fixes. No new hardware needed for any of that.

- Buttons that are not so hard to press -> Plastic clicky buttons like on the MPC X or One
- Tilt-able Screen
- Utilising NUC for upgradability (see like the only good feature of the Push 3 Standalone)

But that's about it. Otherwise the Force is (almost) perfect. What I really really ... really! miss and that is solely SW relates is that I cannot use it in a controller-mode like the MPCs. Most of all I cannot understand why the Force is not 100% compatible with Ableton Live (as a controller). Not that I want to use Ableton. But Akai just released another Ableton controller and the Force still can only do the basics. Also as it stands the project compatibility between Force and Live is better than Push 3 Standalone and Live

mrmarbury wrote:. Most of all I cannot understand why the Force is not 100% compatible with Ableton Live (as a controller).

My understanding is that deep controller integration with Live requires ableton to include hardware specific support within live itself. i suspect this was why the mpc one did not initially support live control, despite the mpc firmware already having the support at the mpc end (they were likely waiting on ableton to add the required support files). This is probably why the mpc key does not support it either.

I suspect ableton are now drawing some lines as to what hardware they are happy to support.

dnkygirl wrote: Stability overall. I love all the innovation, but it's kinda trash if you break the new stuff when you release a new firmware version. What is going on with the testing team? Are they drunk or what?.

I know this was an older post, but have to say, this assumption that the only reason bugs remain is because 'the beta testers missed it' just needs to stop. Currently there are many, many Force/MPC bugs that are continually discussed publicly, and which have been publicly confirmed as being reported to akai (either by Force testers or by customers filing reports via the support system). Some of these bugs have been around for years.

If a bug is not yet fixed it is more likely that Akai have simply not got round to fixing it yet, or are in the process of fixing it.

... Akai have simply not got round to fixing it yet ...

This could be understood so that they are indeed going to fix all or even most bugs. I don't believe that to be the case. The track record shows it's not Akai's goal and ambition to make the Force a well-known reliable tool, something people use on gigs for decades to come. It's a fun toy for home use, and toys don't have to be reliable. Reliability is not needed for selling units and paid plugins, all that's needed is Youtube influencers. The small group of people who need actual real-world reliability, choose some other product, and it won't affect sales. Just my estimation of the situation.

The Force feels like it's Akai test/ beta product that's made in a kinda open end way so as the users/customers use it & give feedback on it Akai can cater the unit to our needs & design the real Force the mk2.

The last almost 5 years has just been one grand experiment where the customers & the Force is just the test subjects. Ain't we lucky

MPC-Tutor wrote:

mrmarbury wrote:. Most of all I cannot understand why the Force is not 100% compatible with Ableton Live (as a controller).

My understanding is that deep controller integration with Live requires ableton to include hardware specific support within live itself. i suspect this was why the mpc one did not initially support live control, despite the mpc firmware already having the support at the mpc end (they were likely waiting on ableton to add the required support files). This is probably why the mpc key does not support it either.

I suspect ableton are now drawing some lines as to what hardware they are happy to support.

That matches with my worries. Cannot imagine that Akai would only create a half implementation of this when they've already done a complete integration a couple of times. See the new APC64 for example. And that also matches with my changing perception of Ableton. Of course they don't want a controller to be better than Push. And despite the hype that is the Push 3 (And was Push 2 before) )I think the implementation of the Force workflow is waaaay better than what Push ever was.

Is it Ableton themselves who write all the remote control scripts, and not the device manufacturers or someone they hired? Looking at the decompiled(?) code, it seems to me that they've been written by many different people with different ideas. I could be wrong.

I mean https://github.com/gluon/AbletonLive9_RemoteScripts

What does this do?
https://github.com/gluon/AbletonLive10. ... _Force_MPC

I only have Ableton Live 9, so can't test.