By m1ckDELTA
Sun Jan 14, 2024 5:55 am
I thought I'd share my thoughts on the Force as a travel companion whilst at the same time documenting my personal evaluation of it. At the bottom of the post is a link to the piece I was working on
ON HOLIDAY
WITH THE AKAI PORTASTUDIO (AKA, THE AKAI FORCE)
I chose to do a “final evaluation” of the Force during my holiday rail travel. The ride would be cross country, five days to my destination, then ten days back (so I could spend some time in Portland). I thought this would be the perfect time for me to finally dig in and decide whether or not the Force really was the boat anchor I'd started to see it as. For the past two years it's been on and off the shelf too many times; each time off the shelf ended in frustration and the intention of selling it.
I decided my first order of business was to determine if I could use it like a traditional so-called “portastudio”, albeit an oversized digital one. That change in perspective allowed me to let go of any comparisons to my main workstation (which was a ludicrous comparison to make in the first place) and move forward with more realistic expectations. It also limited me to using basic functions and keeping things simple.
Of course, right out of the gate I deviate from the “portastudio” approach and head straight to sampling (it probably had to do with not wanting to miss the daytime scenery outside the observation car windows). I want to try easily sampling some things off the internet using my phone, nothing fancy, just some spoken word. The sampling is actually pretty straightforward, just patch the phone's audio output to the Akai's audio input, arm the sampler, then activate “record”; easy-peasy. Trimming the samples is only slightly tedious and disappointing considering the promise of precise touchscreen editing. The touchscreen will continue to be tedious throughout my travels. Nevertheless, I get the samples trimmed and saved to the project file folder. Onward I go...
After saving a few samples I get back on track with my “portastudio” approach. I attach a sustain pedal to the Akai and record a few plugins using the pads in “note mode”. Approaching the pads as an “alternative input device” helps ease me into what turns out to be an enjoyable experience (thank you SOMA and Arturia for getting me accustomed for this). Being able to use a sustain pedal with the Force is key for me so I spend some non-travel time tracking down what I need to make it happen and Amazon came through before my return trip. Not being able to utilize a sustain pedal would have immediately ended my evaluation and put the Force on the auction block.
With a couple of plugins recorded directly into the arranger things are feeling more portastudio-like and I have the bones of a musical arrangement. I assign the samples I recorded from my phone while on the train to pads then use the pads to record the samples to an audio track in the arranger, roughly where I think they'll live; they will inevitably be nudged around in the arranger later. In the past I've recorded everything to pads then into the arranger so this isn't anything challenging and it's a great feature.
From here on out I'll be using the Akai as a portastudio.
I promise.
Really.
I record a few more plugins using the Force's “alternate input device” and reach a point where some editing will help move the composition process along. This is where things get truly tedious and laborious. The touchscreen performance just isn't up to the task. Precisely zooming in and out, quickly moving about the arranger, moving events, then doing a quick listen is neither precise or quick. What does happen quickly is the creative process getting bogged down. Nevertheless, the job gets done and I'm back to working on more instrumental parts that work with the adjustments I've made.
I added some effects while editing and the process was very straightforward. The effects are basic workmanlike bread and butter but get the job done. Anything wacky can be added later if one exports the tracks to a DAW but that's not my intention here. For this evaluation I want to do everything in the Akai except pre-mastering.
Composition progresses as it has been and I'm eventually to a point where I can begin to focus solely on the final editing and mixing side of things; nudging parts a bit here and there, removing unwanted notes, lengthening or shortening a phrase, EQing and compressing the individual tracks to properly sit in the mix, dialing in effect parameters, assigning tracks to busses, buss EQ and compression if needed, then some final sweetening. For the purposes of my evaluation and because I'm now in Portland I file the piece under, “satisfied enough to consider it finished”. I execute a “Save” as “Audio Mixdown, then enjoy my stay in Portland till returning home.
Now what?
I wanted to test something that someone brought up in a Force forum. I wanted to export the mixdown file to my phone then upload it to SoundCloud. It took a minute to figure out that the mixdown file needed to be saved to the SD card before my phone could see it; really it was just a minute. The process was a lot easier than I imagined: save the mixdown to the SD card, connect the UCB ports of the phone and the Akai,, put the Akai into computer mode, wait a moment for the phone to recognize the SD card, save the mixdown to the phone, then upload the file to SoundCloud. It's so much more straightforward than so many other aspects of the Force and, more importantly, it's current saving grace for me. Hopefully a firmware update won't f*** it all up.
The portastudio approach was a good decision and an excellent way to familiarize myself with a work flow that is not very intuitive. Looking at it as a portastudio lessens the blow of basic effects, plugins that aren't very exciting or inspiring (particularly from a programming standpoint), track limitations, and an arcane navigation system. The number of button presses required to navigate the functions seems needlessly complex and convoluted. Being able to assign a plugin to a MIDI track is very welcome but it's hamstrung by the touchscreen's lackluster performance when editing events. It's just plain frustrating and can slow things down to a crawl. The screen needs a mouse, full stop.
I'm not going to list pros and cons. Within the context of creating a pretty basic and conventional piece of music in a very basic and conventional way, the Force got the job done. Being able to transfer files to a phone for upload to the internet dovetails perfectly into why I modded the Force for battery power and that is no small thing to me. Within the portastudio analogy, the Force seems large, However, when compared to a 17” laptop and what it would take to accomplish what I did with the Force, it's a different story. In order to do what I did, with a laptop I would have needed an external MIDI controller. The controller is a deal breaker. When in transit, the Force, headphones, cables, power supplies (for the Force and the battery pack) and adapters, all fit in one briefcase size Gator bag. When in use, the Force is a single footprint that is smaller than a laptop and MIDI controller.
This a successful initial evaluation for me but I didn't buy the Force to make this kind of music. It still remains to be seen as to whether or not it will end up on the auction block but, for now, it stays with me.
Here's the piece I was working on:
ON HOLIDAY
WITH THE AKAI PORTASTUDIO (AKA, THE AKAI FORCE)
I chose to do a “final evaluation” of the Force during my holiday rail travel. The ride would be cross country, five days to my destination, then ten days back (so I could spend some time in Portland). I thought this would be the perfect time for me to finally dig in and decide whether or not the Force really was the boat anchor I'd started to see it as. For the past two years it's been on and off the shelf too many times; each time off the shelf ended in frustration and the intention of selling it.
I decided my first order of business was to determine if I could use it like a traditional so-called “portastudio”, albeit an oversized digital one. That change in perspective allowed me to let go of any comparisons to my main workstation (which was a ludicrous comparison to make in the first place) and move forward with more realistic expectations. It also limited me to using basic functions and keeping things simple.
Of course, right out of the gate I deviate from the “portastudio” approach and head straight to sampling (it probably had to do with not wanting to miss the daytime scenery outside the observation car windows). I want to try easily sampling some things off the internet using my phone, nothing fancy, just some spoken word. The sampling is actually pretty straightforward, just patch the phone's audio output to the Akai's audio input, arm the sampler, then activate “record”; easy-peasy. Trimming the samples is only slightly tedious and disappointing considering the promise of precise touchscreen editing. The touchscreen will continue to be tedious throughout my travels. Nevertheless, I get the samples trimmed and saved to the project file folder. Onward I go...
After saving a few samples I get back on track with my “portastudio” approach. I attach a sustain pedal to the Akai and record a few plugins using the pads in “note mode”. Approaching the pads as an “alternative input device” helps ease me into what turns out to be an enjoyable experience (thank you SOMA and Arturia for getting me accustomed for this). Being able to use a sustain pedal with the Force is key for me so I spend some non-travel time tracking down what I need to make it happen and Amazon came through before my return trip. Not being able to utilize a sustain pedal would have immediately ended my evaluation and put the Force on the auction block.
With a couple of plugins recorded directly into the arranger things are feeling more portastudio-like and I have the bones of a musical arrangement. I assign the samples I recorded from my phone while on the train to pads then use the pads to record the samples to an audio track in the arranger, roughly where I think they'll live; they will inevitably be nudged around in the arranger later. In the past I've recorded everything to pads then into the arranger so this isn't anything challenging and it's a great feature.
From here on out I'll be using the Akai as a portastudio.
I promise.
Really.
I record a few more plugins using the Force's “alternate input device” and reach a point where some editing will help move the composition process along. This is where things get truly tedious and laborious. The touchscreen performance just isn't up to the task. Precisely zooming in and out, quickly moving about the arranger, moving events, then doing a quick listen is neither precise or quick. What does happen quickly is the creative process getting bogged down. Nevertheless, the job gets done and I'm back to working on more instrumental parts that work with the adjustments I've made.
I added some effects while editing and the process was very straightforward. The effects are basic workmanlike bread and butter but get the job done. Anything wacky can be added later if one exports the tracks to a DAW but that's not my intention here. For this evaluation I want to do everything in the Akai except pre-mastering.
Composition progresses as it has been and I'm eventually to a point where I can begin to focus solely on the final editing and mixing side of things; nudging parts a bit here and there, removing unwanted notes, lengthening or shortening a phrase, EQing and compressing the individual tracks to properly sit in the mix, dialing in effect parameters, assigning tracks to busses, buss EQ and compression if needed, then some final sweetening. For the purposes of my evaluation and because I'm now in Portland I file the piece under, “satisfied enough to consider it finished”. I execute a “Save” as “Audio Mixdown, then enjoy my stay in Portland till returning home.
Now what?
I wanted to test something that someone brought up in a Force forum. I wanted to export the mixdown file to my phone then upload it to SoundCloud. It took a minute to figure out that the mixdown file needed to be saved to the SD card before my phone could see it; really it was just a minute. The process was a lot easier than I imagined: save the mixdown to the SD card, connect the UCB ports of the phone and the Akai,, put the Akai into computer mode, wait a moment for the phone to recognize the SD card, save the mixdown to the phone, then upload the file to SoundCloud. It's so much more straightforward than so many other aspects of the Force and, more importantly, it's current saving grace for me. Hopefully a firmware update won't f*** it all up.
The portastudio approach was a good decision and an excellent way to familiarize myself with a work flow that is not very intuitive. Looking at it as a portastudio lessens the blow of basic effects, plugins that aren't very exciting or inspiring (particularly from a programming standpoint), track limitations, and an arcane navigation system. The number of button presses required to navigate the functions seems needlessly complex and convoluted. Being able to assign a plugin to a MIDI track is very welcome but it's hamstrung by the touchscreen's lackluster performance when editing events. It's just plain frustrating and can slow things down to a crawl. The screen needs a mouse, full stop.
I'm not going to list pros and cons. Within the context of creating a pretty basic and conventional piece of music in a very basic and conventional way, the Force got the job done. Being able to transfer files to a phone for upload to the internet dovetails perfectly into why I modded the Force for battery power and that is no small thing to me. Within the portastudio analogy, the Force seems large, However, when compared to a 17” laptop and what it would take to accomplish what I did with the Force, it's a different story. In order to do what I did, with a laptop I would have needed an external MIDI controller. The controller is a deal breaker. When in transit, the Force, headphones, cables, power supplies (for the Force and the battery pack) and adapters, all fit in one briefcase size Gator bag. When in use, the Force is a single footprint that is smaller than a laptop and MIDI controller.
This a successful initial evaluation for me but I didn't buy the Force to make this kind of music. It still remains to be seen as to whether or not it will end up on the auction block but, for now, it stays with me.
Here's the piece I was working on:
