Renaissance discussion 1 year later

The ren has been out for about a year now. I normally wait that long to buy a new product and was really excited when the ren came out. From reading many online reviews, it doesn't seem to be living up to the hype. Also, there are a lot of them being sold used which isn't a good sign too (even though it could be too many newbies bought it and it was too much for them).

So I ask the experts who have had it from day one what your opinion is on it. Buy now or wait some more and why? Thanks!

I don't think the Ren is for most people that came up strictly on production software and are used to mousing around and not minding it. IMO, those programs are mostly a lot more powerful than Ren. So those people jumping on the Ren might be feeling like they're downgrading and that it doesn't live up to the hype.

But for people that came up strictly on production hardware that prefer to be 100% hands on, this is who the Ren is for. The Ren is practically the most powerful MPC ever. So for MPC, SP, MV, ASR, etc, users I think the MPC lives well up to the hype, and it's only getting better.

I think the main things that hurt the Ren was the poor stability and the lack of missing basic MPC features out the gate in the presence of Maschine which was highly stable at the point Ren was released. I think the Maschine also hurt Ren, because it was both stable and highly respected as a drum machine for the most part. So many people took the Maschine route and are happy.


I could go on, but I'll keep it brief!

Judging the Ren/Studio/MPC Software specifically 'today' rather than what it may or may not be in the future, I'd say it's fairly middling. It's good at some things, bad at others, and in many places quite rough around the edges. I feel it has a bit of an identity problem, it doesn't quite know who its intended market is.

I honestly feel that if I was starting out in music today, I would not seriously consider a Ren or Studio, and I certainly wouldn't be hanging around waiting for Akai to improve it as there's plenty of other options already out there.

There are no other options on the market for me as an MPC user....I believe I tried them all. I have purchased items, sold them, just to purchase them again and still not satisfied.

There are no more hardware sampling drum machine workstations being produced. The keyboard workstations with sampling capabilities are bad...such as the Kronos, Fantom G, Motif XF, etc. Software sampling options are plenty but while powerful, they do not have a dedicated controller. That leaves products like Spark, Maschine, etc. Spark the plugin is simply ho-hum and not enough to entice me to buy the controller. Maschine, while pretty stable at this point is simply not an MPC. It doesn't offer much of what I would expect from a sampling workstation being an MPC user.

The MPC Ren..is the only solution for me. It pretty much does what I need it to do. The features I desire, and hope Akai implements, are features not found in any competing product..past or present.

My two cents.

I agree with Jah. If you are a long time MPC user as I am you may agree that the workflow is the best when it comes to creating beats. Lets Remember something though...Us as producers are the most critical when it comes to gear especially those you may see post in this forum. Also remember that when the maschine first dropped it was not the most stable nor had the functionality one may want or need to be as productive as they want. Over time it improved and become a powerhouse.

The Ren is closing the gap quickly and IMO still has that great MPC work flow. If you were ever a avid MPC user then you wouldn't even question it but that's not a bad thing. My advice is just don't purchase something because its the NEW NEW. Pick something that will match the way YOU like to work. Remember its just a tool and not the holy grail. If your a dope producer you will still be a dope producer.

With that said since its software based we have many great upgrades to look forward to and in the probable near future this convo wont even matter because it is so promising that the upgrades needed will be implemented. Its here to stay and clearly is a threat to any product in the same market since MPC originated the workflow that they are all trying to copy from the 16 pads to functionality.....

Ive had them all and still own most of them but the REN is my weapon of choice.
Remember your Independent research should be base on YOUR workflow. Good luck to you and sorry everyone for this long winded post.

dccarson wrote:So I ask the experts who have had it from day one what your opinion is on it. Buy now or wait some more and why? Thanks!

In all honesty every piece of gear you buy is a crap shoot it can be a winner or loser, you won't really know until you try it.

Best advice would be if you are really concerned but still willing to give it a try then grab one of the many $600 Ren's out there or maybe one of the $300 Studio's.
That will at least give you a mental buffer on your investment while you try it out.

The key still remains that you have to actually try it to know.

Also pay close attention to what Andy said in his post especially about if he was starting out today.

The first that kept messing with my head when I was trying to like the Ren was why did they go with a small screen if the goal was to use the hardware not computer screen?
It made a real difference on the 4k as well as 5k, so it seems like it would have been an obvious move on the Ren to allow less computer screen time.

Yet that's something that might not affect other user.

You just have to man up, test drive one and see if it fits.

I totally agree that all gear are just tools. It's us, the producer (or musician) who makes it work. I still have two M3K, M2K, MV8000, and a few other things as far as hardware. Do I need anything else? Heck no. But you know we producers always are looking for and edge, a muse or just something that inspires. I like to know what's current.

With that said, I'm just trying to see how far the ren has come and if its something I may consider adding into the arsenal. It seems like it has the potential to be a awesome with a few updates. Thing is nobody has one on display in the music stores. You have to "buy to try". $1200 is a lot to lay down for that.

Thanks for the replies. Keep em coming.

dccarson wrote:You have to "buy to try". $1200 is a lot to lay down for that.

Thanks for the replies. Keep em coming.

Well they haven't had a high rate of physical failure so most people getting rid of them are for dislike.
That makes buying used a lot safer and in the half price factor and it no reason not to jump in if you are interested.

If you don't like it you should be able to easily break even.

Also based on the models you currently own the Ren has a lot of potential to impress you even at the current software level with the enhanced workflow you would pick up.

ntalec wrote:

dccarson wrote:You have to "buy to try". $1200 is a lot to lay down for that.

Thanks for the replies. Keep em coming.

Well they haven't had a high rate of physical failure so most people getting rid of them are for dislike.
That makes buying used a lot safer and in the half price factor and it no reason not to jump in if you are interested.

If you don't like it you should be able to easily break even.

Also based on the models you currently own the Ren has a lot of potential to impress you even at the current software level with the enhanced workflow you would pick up.

Buying used may not be safe either. I thought it could only be registered to the original user and then transferred only once to a new party. After that the new party can't transfer it again.

That may have changed though.

If you can buy a Ren for 600 then I would say buy it for sure, thats insanely cheap

InspectahEX wrote:If you can buy a Ren for 600 then I would say buy it for sure, thats insanely cheap

I just checked eBay. There are no $600 Ren's currently. There is one auction with a starting bid of $600. $780 is the cheapest Buy It Now price. You can get a new one from most authorized dealers for less than$1150.

I see a few on guitar center used section from $799 to $999. Im certainly not going to pay $1299 for it brand new.

I don't believe any of the forum vets here paid anywhere near $1299 for a Ren in the US. As I wrote above, $1150 was the max price.

It seems like you are trying to get folks to persuade you to buy it. If you are not convinced then you may probably want to sit this out. Or simply take your time and watch user videos with the Ren in action if you are unable to try it out for yourself.

Jay. Thank you for your response. I appreciate your opinion on the ren. I'm just asking questions, not seeking to be convinced. I like the concept of the ren. I'm just not sure it's there yet (which is why I am asking questions).