How are yall feeling the MPC Renaissance?

chopping was one area where i was pretty satisfied with Ren... maybe cuz i'm coming from a 60/3000 background so auto chopping feels like a luxury.. i did get some annoying clicks using threshold slicing.. but i prefer region slicing anyways.. the link slice feature i thought was pretty awesome.. but for what tutor is asking maybe a release setting for all chops could be added in sample edit?

JAH wrote:

MPC-Tutor wrote:I personally feel chopping is fundamental to the MPC workflow...

I tend to agree in spite of the fact in the past year.....minimal discussion has centered around Sample Editing. Everyone is in love with a global mixer, MIDI Controller Mode, and Akai's business plan.

Even with chopshop on the 5k, I started chopping in various software more (I admit that 1600x900 on monitor was preferred over MPC LCD) I mostly chopped with sound forge and audacity, depending on which I had open. I have seen some fo the chopping in MPC software and cannot wait to give it a shot.

daftmunk wrote:the link slice feature i thought was pretty awesome.. but for what tutor is asking maybe a release setting for all chops could be added in sample edit?

I was referring to using the AD envelope to shave off the click in the DRUM program you export chops to, but yes separately I think CHOP would benefit from a built in envelope and 'stretch' feature like Recycle, although it's not a priority.

But getting the threshold chopping algorithm fixed should be a no-brainer, although I appreciate that this bit was licensed from (the usually amazing) Izotope - however it might just be Akai's implementation that is lacking. Either way, they've had plenty of time to work together to get it fixed.

It's stuff like that really, just what I'd call fundamental issues that should be ironed out before they even think about stretching their resources even further with things like the MPC Element.

MPC-Tutor wrote:It's stuff like that really, just what I'd call fundamental issues that should be ironed out before they even think about stretching their resources even further with things like the MPC Element.

Right, stabalize your 'core', then more peope will be happy with whatever features you decide to add here and there along the way, to enchance what's already there, and working

If the Element and Fly are the same product...and Essentials and the MPC Software is the same...why is it assumed resources were stretched in either direction? I haven't seen anything that would lead me to suspect, the MPC Software was being put to the side in favor of another product.

JAH wrote:If the Element and Fly are the same product...and Essentials and the MPC Software is the same...why is it assumed resources were stretched in either direction? I haven't seen anything that would lead me to suspect, the MPC Software was being put to the side in favor of another product.

That's not really the point I was making. IMO the core MPC Software still has some fundamental issues that really should now have been ironed out by now. So far, this hasn't happened. I cannot quite fathom why they haven't attended to this. These aren't feature requests, these are fixes for core workflow issues. IMO, of course.

I guess it comes down to what is considered fundamentals. I am sure everyone will have a different take.

If the product was designed to everyone's specifications (fundamentals or otherwise), this product would have never came out. I can count 100+ things I would like to see in the software implemented.

JAH wrote:Everyone is in love with ......


Akai's business plan.

These days people want a "one maschine to rule them all" which is unrealistic. As I said in another post, some are looking for gear to give them something it cant, talent. You cant expect to go buy something, plug it up and start making Dr. Dre's beats sound seem like funk 2 from a casio keyboard. It takes practice. The M in MPC stands for music, nor microwave.

But back to the Ren. Do I think you can make music with it? if Marvin Gaye can pick up a bottle while walking to the studio and then use it on "got to give it up" then a Ren will do the job. It might not have your preferences, but it could do it.

dccarson wrote:As I said in another post, some are looking for gear to give them something it cant, talent

I have stated this over the years outside of posts so it's nice to read it. Smiling in agreement

dccarson wrote:These days people want a "one maschine to rule them all" which is unrealistic.

I'm not sure about that, I think these days people recognise the need for multiple tools, although they'll no doubt have a central piece to their studio. Personally I believe there's areas in which the MPC needs to excel (sequencing, chopping, programs for example), and other areas where clearly third party options make more sense (general audio editing, effects etc).

dccarson wrote:But back to the Ren. Do I think you can make music with it? if Marvin Gaye can pick up a bottle while walking to the studio and then use it on "got to give it up" then a Ren will do the job. It might not have your preferences, but it could do it.

Yeah, but did that bottle cost him $1300 from Guitar Center and come dripping with all sorts of hyped-up marketing talk? You're talking about two different issues. No one is saying they can't use a Ren to make music, nor are they expecting ti to provide them with talent, people are just pointing out this costly flagship MPC still has some teething problems which could do with some attention a year after release, and that they'd rather not rely on workarounds. I dont see a problem with that assessment of the situation.

MPC-Tutor wrote:...people are just pointing out this costly flagship MPC still has some teething problems which could do with some attention a year after release.

You just described every MPC released since 1997 with the Ren/Studio being among the cheapest MPCs. I am just stating a well known fact. The more functions they added to the software the more issues they had.

MPC tutor I think we agree in principle. To me, I couldnt justify the cost of the Ren which is why I got the maschine. I thought about the studio but it just seem to me too many people wanted to like the Ren/Studio software more than actually liked it. I also got a chance to demo maschine which sealed the deal.

I mentor young producers from time to time and I started looking at the Ren because I keep getting asked about it (along with everything else). I want to give them good advice on whats out there and try to match skill sets to tools. I get what your saying. It seems the Ren doesnt "wow" as many as it should.

JAH wrote:You just described every MPC released since 1997 with the Ren/Studio being among the cheapest MPCs. I am just stating a well known fact. The more functions they added to the software the more issues they had.

Er, yes, but I'm not sure I get your point in relation to the post you are quoting, Jah? I agree that people have complained about the same thing in all MPCs. My post doesn't have to be specifically 'damning' to the Ren alone, it's just pointing out that when people pay good money for something, they'll have expectations over what should be functioning correctly without the need to carry out workarounds. Of course this topic is about the Ren, so the Ren is the example used.

I think it's a perfectly valid point to be disappointed to find a $1300 piece of gear still has certain core deficiencies a year after launch.

As for it being cheaper than previous MPC flagships, that changes nothing in respect to the point I was making.

dccarson wrote: It seems the Ren doesnt "wow" as many as it should.

Well that's probably down to Akai's marketing department. It may not be the most expensive MPC flagship ever, but it sure is the most over-hyped

Ultimately the Ren is a decent enough piece of kit IMO, and it's more than capable of making great music, but I still find some aspects of the workflow quite stifling, and these aspects often just kill the creative mood for me. After a year, I'm beginning to wonder if 'my' priorities are ever going to get fixed.

And that's ultimately all that matters to most people, that their priorities are attended to, and that's one reason why people give up on something and move on to something else.