Returned NY REN for a STUDIO...

I had both the REN and the STUDIO and this is pretty much my thoughts on the two for people who are thinking about buying an MPC, or people like me who are thinking about down/upgrading...

I really liked the Ren, minus all the bugs. (but hopefully 1.3 is as "Rock solid" as advertised). My reason for getting rid of it was that I travel a lot, and I like to work on tracks/play tracks at meetings or people around me to get feedback. I was hoping that AKAI would release a USB dongle so you could work on your tracks, or atleast play them while on the go. An AKAI rep told me this is not going to happen in the near future...

Ive had the STUDIO for a week now, and as soon as I started playing around with it I missed the sound of the REN. Especially the mpc60 vintage mode. I used to run the REN through my Apogee Duet sometimes, and that sounded really good with the vintage mode too (The Ren outputs sound a little bigger than the Duet but I wouldnt say punchier). Now that I dont have vintage mode OR the REN outputs the sound is a little uninspiring compared to what I got used to with the Ren. I also really liked the overall build of the REN, and definitely the flip screen. My neck has already taken a beating with the STUDIO. I also feel that the software doesnt recognize the hardware much more often with the STUDIO which is pretty annoying.

The things that I like better with the Studio is of course the fact that it is portable, but also that the buttons are closer to each other than the REN. With the STUDIO I can pretty much do all "SHIFT" commands with one hand. I feel like the buttons are better layed out on the STUDIO. The knobs on the studio are a little to slippery for my taste though, and its a little annoying that you only have four knobs. THis wouldnt bother me if you were able to chop samples with the jog wheel and arrows (like my 2500).

If I could use the MPC software stand alone when Im not at my studio I would definitely have kept the REN. I would also be really happy with the STUDIO if it had VIntage mode, but right now Im kind of stuck between both.... (Hope AKAI releases vintage mode as something you can buy separately eventually)....

cafnyc wrote:I had both the REN and the STUDIO and this is pretty much my thoughts on the two for people who are thinking about buying an MPC, or people like me who are thinking about down/upgrading...

I really liked the Ren, minus all the bugs. (but hopefully 1.3 is as "Rock solid" as advertised). My reason for getting rid of it was that I travel a lot, and I like to work on tracks/play tracks at meetings or people around me to get feedback. I was hoping that AKAI would release a USB dongle so you could work on your tracks, or atleast play them while on the go. An AKAI rep told me this is not going to happen in the near future...

Ive had the STUDIO for a week now, and as soon as I started playing around with it I missed the sound of the REN. Especially the mpc60 vintage mode. I used to run the REN through my Apogee Duet sometimes, and that sounded really good with the vintage mode too (The Ren outputs sound a little bigger than the Duet but I wouldnt say punchier). Now that I dont have vintage mode OR the REN outputs the sound is a little uninspiring compared to what I got used to with the Ren. I also really liked the overall build of the REN, and definitely the flip screen. My neck has already taken a beating with the STUDIO. I also feel that the software doesnt recognize the hardware much more often with the STUDIO which is pretty annoying.

The things that I like better with the Studio is of course the fact that it is portable, but also that the buttons are closer to each other than the REN. With the STUDIO I can pretty much do all "SHIFT" commands with one hand. I feel like the buttons are better layed out on the STUDIO. The knobs on the studio are a little to slippery for my taste though, and its a little annoying that you only have four knobs. THis wouldnt bother me if you were able to chop samples with the jog wheel and arrows (like my 2500).

If I could use the MPC software stand alone when Im not at my studio I would definitely have kept the REN. I would also be really happy with the STUDIO if it had VIntage mode, but right now Im kind of stuck between both.... (Hope AKAI releases vintage mode as something you can buy separately eventually)....

The studio is a beast but I just returned mine and upgraded to the Ren...I like 16 knobs instead of the four dials. Also built in sound car and vintage modes....flip up screen is a huge plus as well. Don't sleep on the Studio though.

I have a Ren at home and recently got the studio for the work place. I can easily lock it away in a drawer and keep it at my desk. I really like the Studio so far. My biggest gripe right now would be doing automation with those low profile jog wheels, I just don't have as much control as say the Rens knobs. But I understand they're trying to keep a low profile on it. To be honest, I think the Studio is kinda ugly, I'm just not big into shiny stuff I guess. However, it is built well.

Yeah, Initially I was going to keep the REN and buy the STUDIO aswell, but I mostly use logic so I just felt over 2 grand was too much...

i have both as well. studio for obvious travel and portability. but i purchased the ren first of course. I keep the ren at the studio and use studio on snowboard trips and home use. all though i use them equally i see that im faster on studio. they are both very eye appealing. i dont really have an issue with the five dial wheels they are a little slick but i like that for portability. the highlight area that shows what section you are on with those knobs needs to be thicker. so you can really see what you are working with. other then that its really about cost for most. to me the ren is fully worth the cash. the studio should be more like 500-550 imo. I see no sound differance coming out of ren or studio. i have matching monitors for home and studio. and completely differant sound cards. m-audio firewire sola at home and a presonus 16.4.2 studiolive at the lab. and they both knock as they should. the only real difference in the two are cost and of course the size.

+1 for making the software work without the hardware connected. I am mobile as well and dont wanna drag a macbook, a keyboard and a studio to a starbucks.
The studio is dope though, fits very nice in a laptop bag and the sound and OS is pretty much standard on both models. Even though i don't use it as often as Garageband, Cubase, etc, it's the only hardware i have now, so i am keeping it almost just for the
coolness factor.
Ren is nice, you can't front on the design, basically a 2013 mpc 3000. I don't think it's worth the extra 700 bucks over the studio, unless you are getting it for strictly studio environment, AND it needs AC power,