Will Akai MPC ever go Vsti?

Hi,
I use and love hardware, but I also love software it's just a bit more practical in terms of workflow and mixing imo..
but hardware imo is better in terms of the feel.... now what I want to know is WHEN WILL AKAI ever meet us half way eg:
create a software version of the mpc5000 in a plugin not just a simple lame editor, but allow streams of audio from adat/spdif from mpc 5k , but allow for routing efx,changing programs via cpu.. ]] this would make sense in 2009/2010, no?

A few companies are already doing this technology with their boards/synth's such as access/yamaha/korg/others as well..

we really need akai to step into the future here...

I'd like a software version for chopping samples rearranging my pgm's, I'm so sick of relying on other 3rd party companies,they always fall short...I bought NI's maschine just to see what that is all about,and I bet akai would do it better,as they own the copyrights to all of the terminology and original mpc functions.. please akai (do it) press yes.
I've tried or have owned most itb solutions,but they fall short.. why not recruit dave smith and roger linn for the project??

we will buy it..

I would buy something like that too, but i'm afraid it would be buggy as hell given their streak with the last few mpc os's on their last fw mpc's

it may require akai hiring great software dev's thats all..

Akai is betting high on the midi controller market, the 5000 was prob the last one...

I dont see why so many ppl ask this....we've got hardware developers, and software developers. That's like people asking if Image-Line will ever come out with a keyboard

BxJaze wrote:I dont see why so many ppl ask this....we've got hardware developers, and software developers. That's like people asking if Image-Line will ever come out with a keyboard

Not really,it's like asking a hardware company to integrate better with software. Image line is software and already ITB, it only requires hardware to trigger it's engine and playback which is perfect because it supports mixdowns all in the box etc..,no problem there.It exsist's digitally or virtually until it's time to print to cd,but hell even cd's are slowly going away. Hope your catching on to this trend that's called technology. I'll explain

The problem with hardware imo is mixing down, total recall in the 5k to some degree,but not really when we talk about mixing quality projects,at some point we go digital,well most do, take a look @ the thread named ADAT.. In it we are asking the very simple question about locking in settings and not overwriting them when loading another program.. If the mpc supported a plugin version/ITB you wouldn't have to deal with re-routing your connections each time you load a new .pgm,as it would be able to be set once in your DAW with the appropriate connections I'd like to start routing efx plugins to certain channels from the mpc within my daw The Mpc supports adat,and I can set it up in my daw to assign plugin's to it's incoming streams,but again ,when I load another .pgm, all is lost apparently. The point is if the Mpc was able to have a counterpart within your DAW,most would have an easier time integrating projects,and recalling them quicker without the issues.

This is a reason why the new motif xs/korg m3/access ti are so popular in alot of production studio's,these companies show a modern approach for ITB workflow and are practical for digital rigs (cpu's).I guess I could understand if this was still 1990,but If you haven't noticed a large amount of analog studio's closed and digital is a way of life now.
All I'm asking is when Akai will jump on board.. ? It seems like a great time for Akai. I love the 5k, hell I love every mpc I've ever owned,but I always wanted them to integrate better,the 5k is so close.. Maybe the 6k?

BxJaze wrote:I dont see why so many ppl ask this....we've got hardware developers, and software developers. That's like people asking if Image-Line will ever come out with a keyboard

It makes perfect sense to ask such a question. Novation , Waldorf, Access and other have all made VSTi versions of their hardware instruments. The lines between hardware and software developers gets blurrier every 6 months.

Piracy being what it is today would put the MPC VSTi in the hands of several hundred thousands without paying. Locking the instrument into a hardware unit kills this entirely. Also key selling points of the MPC brand are tossed out if a soft version is introduced. Mainstay features like the MPC sound, timing and MPC swing are no longer applicable . The musical legacy behind the MPC is also left. VSTi versions usually indicates a certain finality of a hardware unit's lifespan.

moyphee wrote:It makes perfect sense to ask such a question. Novation , Waldorf, Access and other have all made VSTi versions of their hardware instruments. The lines between hardware and software developers gets blurrier every 6 months.

Since those went VSTi I'm not interested in their hardware synths anymore, to be honest. And I like the sound of the Virus C more than the TI Versions. I don't do VST Sequencing and the MPC is a hardware sequencer. So I don't see that VST use for me.

Make hardware good, make it better... and people won't scream for squared mouse & screen stares.

moyphee wrote:

BxJaze wrote:I dont see why so many ppl ask this....we've got hardware developers, and software developers. That's like people asking if Image-Line will ever come out with a keyboard

Piracy being what it is today would put the MPC VSTi in the hands of several hundred thousands without paying.

What are you talking about man? The MPC sound could be reproduced by selling a proprietary audio card to go with the controller and software. Include an authorization key like YellowTools has for their software and piracy crews would think twice before realizing it would take them years to crack it. Look at how long it took AIR to crack Cubase 5...4000 hours! YellowTools protection is even more advanced than Steinberg's and you need the dongle plugged in just to be able to load the sample libraries-much less the software.
The swing and timing could be either programmed right into the audio card or the software. Akai could easily make this a reality.

^^^ Good luck with that. Given Numark's philosophy, there's no chance of them engineering a pci card MPC. Beyond the the question of "Can vs. Can't" , it simply doesn't make any sense from a business standpoint.

moyphee wrote:^^^ Good luck with that. Given Numark's philosophy, there's no chance of them engineering a pci card MPC. Beyond the the question of "Can vs. Can't" , it simply doesn't make any sense from a business standpoint.

Sure it makes sense from a business standpoint.There's alot of money in software,I would wage to say way more then hardware. Just ask yourself,where did all the rack equipment go? On ebay thats where,it's not being produced,why, because there are better alternatives,far more practical for productions and ECONOMICAL and that's a huge business standpoint. It doesn't take an economist specialist to understand that.

Fear not good friend hardware will always be around,it just needs to become more like the cpu or adapt to a working desktop/laptop in better ways. The adat thread is interesting,because out of all the knowledge and brains on this forum,no one can reply or answer that very simple request.Again if it was in a vsti format,the software connections could be made and saved,irregardless it would never overwrite the settings,as daw's have better layouts for templates obviously. Smart coding on the daw's part.

No one is saying do away with the hardware,I'm screaming streamline it. That's it.

And if you take a look @ Akai/Numarks directions as of late (abelton live + controllers,joint business ventures by akai/numark and abelton) ,all signs point to working with vsti's and daws. The question is when will the Mpc streamline it's out of date technology and become more like or integrate with vsti.rtas/au/mas?
It's no longer a matter of it won't happen,it's when..

Software make sense and I've already stated exactly what you just did. What I'm saying is that building a PCI card opposed to just building a VSTi makes no sense. Engineering a PCI defeats the purpose of moving away from a hardware platform.

moyphee wrote:Software make sense and I've already stated exactly what you just did. What I'm saying is that building a PCI card opposed to just building a VSTi makes no sense. Engineering a PCI defeats the purpose of moving away from a hardware platform.

I agree with you on that.There is no reason for a pci card,we already have the hardware/dongle/mpc
hence > NI Maschine

moyphee wrote:Software make sense and I've already stated exactly what you just did. What I'm saying is that building a PCI card opposed to just building a VSTi makes no sense. Engineering a PCI defeats the purpose of moving away from a hardware platform.

It may not 'make sense' to someone who uses just a few VSTi's but for myself and other producers/engineers, we need native CPU juice to number-crack the 4 or five other VSTi's we have running at the same time. The MPC will move into the virtual world-it's inevitable. It will bring production costs down as well due to the fact that the controller will be more or less a shell with MIDI, USB 2.0 (possibly 3.0) or firewire data transmission and the hardware could be the included PCIe card-which would leave the computer resources free for DAW software and CPU intensive plugins. The software could run right off of the CPU on the PCIe card itself.

Have you not heard of UAD 1 or 2? Hardware and software integration-4 CPUs are on the Quad card. It's already been done dude-long ago. Akai could take the concept one step further-they already have the MPC pad controllers, so the PCIe card and software would be the icing on the cake.

I don't know about you, but the MPC is just one of many instruments I use to create music. I definitely need all the CPU power and RAM I can get in my computer. Hell, MachFive 2 (when it doesn't crash) needs 8 GB of RAM to run optimally- YES, 8 GB-it's in the manual. That's just one VSTi. Software today demands a lot of CPU power and a lot of memory. Thank God for UAD-2 or mixes would take forever from bouncing track after track.

Integrated hardware with software is the now and it's the future as well. And for the live aspect, look how many cats take their laptops on stage with them. It's about what you can do creatively and work as efficiently as possible-not having a hardware unit where you do some work and have to port it over to your computer to import wave files into your DAW or stream audio tracks. If you have the computing power-mixing (and performing) in the box is clearly the most efficient way to do it. I have a 4000 and a 5000 and they're great to come up with demos, but taking it to the next level and mixing it professionally means taking it out of the MPC and putting it into a computer-bottom line.

If Akai (Numark) were smart they would develop an MPC controller , which would control the MPC software and be powered by a separate source inside the musician's computer-i.e.-the MPC efx/processing card. You'd also worry a lot less about software glitches and compatibility issues. Think about how MACs are structured and maybe you'll get the idea...


Boom, the MPC 6000 V.

what about akia/numark/alesis vs (don, don, doonnnnnn) NI Maschine?

will they try to compete?

i mean the possibility of 6000.

or the craziest of all, .... the new version of alesis micron is the akai miniak, an upgrade from the mpc 5000 synth.

the best thing going for akai controllers, (other than the ableton controller itself), is the mpk series.

the beast of all beasts is the hammer weighted 88 key keyboard with the pads (why not novation automap competition?)

hmmm.. ..... (virtual synth completely integrated with software), ... is this what the virus TI does?

where does the virtual synth awesomeness of the alesis ION/micron go? surely "not away".

so alesis tries to compete with the virus by having a hardware counterpart / vsti

again, ... synth is still integrated with 'hardware counterpart' drum/phrase sampler.

inside an MPK...... of whatever size. plus internal effects

i can't see them combining all of that with ableton live controller though.

the total mpk + synth + internal mpc sampler + ableton live controller, all ran on internal DSP through virtual analogue synth technology like the Virus TI line, .... it would simply be too big.

the only thing remotely comparable to such a largeness would be something like the roland V studio 700, ... accept it would obviously be ableton live's version of it instead of cakewalk sonar's, (roland and cakewalk only have a partnership by the way, the one doesn't "own" the other, like yamaha owns steinberg).

but that doesn't come with keyboard or pads. if you're going to talk future, ... you have to take in the entire perspective.