So was the MPC REN worth it?

So the MPC Ren has been out for a while now, just curious of how people are liking it? Was it worth the purchase, was it worth waiting for? Did it live up to your expectations? I guess the real reason I ask these question is not because Im thinking of purchasing one, its simply because I see so many buyers selling them, soon after purchase.

It has its flaws. I even expected a little more in a way... Still I wouldn't trade back to FL Studio. I have much more fun making beats than I used to. And Ren is my first MPC, always wanted to try 2000xl and 3000. Still don't afford to do that...

And yes, it was worth the money! I've had fun with it.

long time mpc user...yes it was worth it keeps the easy workflow that i was expecting...

but i m sure that this tread gonna turn soon....
can t wait for the first one posting things like "hey yo ni maschine smokes the mpc..."
"yeah and push & ableton smokes the ni maschine..."

it s the workflow that made me bought the mpc ..

I like mine and i use it everyday. I do everything in the mpc software except for the final mastering, i do that in studio one (which i was opening everyday before i had my Ren).

I'm really interested and impatient to see next updates.

Don't worry about people selling them. NI just released Maschine Studio. People think the grass is greener elsewhere then when they're on it also has its flaws.

Yes, it was.
A few improvements, and I have no complaints.
I have already made quite a bit of tunes with it that I'm happy with it.
Also, I must say it sounds good; also its emulation modes are nice.

After many years without MPC it was nice to have the return by way of Ren/Studio.

Akai did the best they could to serve us. It has been great.

To me, yes.

I waited for at least a year before I bought the Studio couple of weeks ago. I wanted something to be mobile I could easily hook up with my laptop to use Logic.

There are still some things that need to be addressed, but overall I like the concept and it really matches my workflow.

1. I started to hate to record everything in Logic (MPC+ VST's and Reason). Felt also like a workaround after a while. I made it sound as good as possible inside the MPC, split the sounds for recording, then 'glue' everything back together in Logic.

2. Mobility. I can work on full projects anywhere.

3. I can still use my MPC 2500. I still work a lot of times with it. Start the beat in there and import it in the MPC software once I want to add VST's and FX. Or just import a complete beat into the software while using it in plugin mode to avoid the tracking out process.

No, I don't think it was for me.

Its been worth it!
Im one of those who never had a problem with it, ever sins the 1.1 update until now..
Its a great machine and i use it every day

Obtainius wrote:Its been worth it!
Im one of those who never had a problem with it, ever sins the 1.1 update until now..
Its a great machine and i use it every day

There are many golden Rens. Some never have crashes or freezes. I have minimal issues, but I can still make beautiful sounds upon it.

For me it has been a godsend (Thanks for the final push Fanu)

I've been a recording artist for almost 20 years now and have used Akai hardware samplers for most of that time but never tried the MPC's. I was very aware of them and what they brought to the table but just didn't feel the need to use them with the type of music I produced (electronic dance music)

Recently I had drifted away from hardware sampling and focussed on the DAW/Soft sampler set up with Cubase/Reaper & Kontakt which, although highly capable, started to feel like something was missing or I missed the tactile nature of using hardware.

At the same time I had to put together the set up for a new live show and thought a self contained drum sampling unit would be ideal so looked at Maschine and the Ren. What pushed me towards the Ren was my familiarity with Akai and missing the way their machines handled samples and that Akai sound which was rampant in the 90's throughout dance music (some might say its golden era). Plus having the soundcard built in and the opportunity to step into the much lauded MPC world of swing was too tempting to resist.

I bit the bullet in August this year and haven't looked back ever since. I came in with version 1.4 and soon after 1.5 hit and things are fairly tight at the moment. No serious hiccups any more, most features implemented and much tighter vst integration.

Alongside that the soundcard actually sounds better than I thought it would, the emulation modes, especially when stacked, sound superb and the ability to sample anything and everything into the Ren at any time is a blessing. This thing can really spark your creativity and help you get ideas down very, very quickly!

I think I've made about 50 tunes since I've got the Ren and the only thing that's slowed me down recently is the new MPC 500 I've just purchased to run along side the Ren in my live setup and to use when on my travels.

So I'm very happy to finally be a part of the MPC world and the Ren, for me, is very much the future, wether live or in the studio. If you can get a chance to try it out and learn it before buying then do so because I get the impression old MPC heads want it to act like an MPC 4000 on steroids or even a fully working 5000 (which never seemed to happen when it was in production) whereas the uninitiated newbies, like myself, are happy to explore what possibilities the Ren offers and take it as far and out there as we possibly can.

In short, am I happy with the Renaissance? Very much so.
Would I recommend it to other producers? Very much so, but try it out and ask what do you want from a drum machine/sampler before you make your final decision.

I knew what I wanted and I got that and a whole lot more besides.

Peace

Nubian Mindz wrote:For me it has been a godsend (Thanks for the final push Fanu)

I've been a recording artist for almost 20 years now and have used Akai hardware samplers for most of that time but never tried the MPC's. I was very aware of them and what they brought to the table but just didn't feel the need to use them with the type of music I produced (electronic dance music)

Recently I had drifted away from hardware sampling and focussed on the DAW/Soft sampler set up with Cubase/Reaper & Kontakt which, although highly capable, started to feel like something was missing or I missed the tactile nature of using hardware.

At the same time I had to put together the set up for a new live show and thought a self contained drum sampling unit would be ideal so looked at Maschine and the Ren. What pushed me towards the Ren was my familiarity with Akai and missing the way their machines handled samples and that Akai sound which was rampant in the 90's throughout dance music (some might say its golden era). Plus having the soundcard built in and the opportunity to step into the much lauded MPC world of swing was too tempting to resist.

I bit the bullet in August this year and haven't looked back ever since. I came in with version 1.4 and soon after 1.5 hit and things are fairly tight at the moment. No serious hiccups any more, most features implemented and much tighter vst integration.

Alongside that the soundcard actually sounds better than I thought it would, the emulation modes, especially when stacked, sound superb and the ability to sample anything and everything into the Ren at any time is a blessing. This thing can really spark your creativity and help you get ideas down very, very quickly!

I think I've made about 50 tunes since I've got the Ren and the only thing that's slowed me down recently is the new MPC 500 I've just purchased to run along side the Ren in my live setup and to use when on my travels.

So I'm very happy to finally be a part of the MPC world and the Ren, for me, is very much the future, wether live or in the studio. If you can get a chance to try it out and learn it before buying then do so because I get the impression old MPC heads want it to act like an MPC 4000 on steroids or even a fully working 5000 (which never seemed to happen when it was in production) whereas the uninitiated newbies, like myself, are happy to explore what possibilities the Ren offers and take it as far and out there as we possibly can.

In short, am I happy with the Renaissance? Very much so.
Would I recommend it to other producers? Very much so, but try it out and ask what do you want from a drum machine/sampler before you make your final decision.

I knew what I wanted and I got that and a whole lot more besides.

Peace

Great post,thanx

Itskurisu wrote:So the MPC Ren has been out for a while now, just curious of how people are liking it? Was it worth the purchase, was it worth waiting for? Did it live up to your expectations? I guess the real reason I ask these question is not because Im thinking of purchasing one, its simply because I see so many buyers selling them, soon after purchase.

Unfortunately no.

I love the hardware and the basic workflow, but there are to many things missing in the software.
I'm sure some "big things" (Multicore, multitimbral PIs, unified mixer, etc.) will eventually come or be fixed, but I lose hope when I see all the things needed (for me), including "little things" that are important to me. (no shortcuts in plugin mode, non standard shortcuts on Mac, no individual PI bypass, track levels that send volume cc to PIs, pads with PIs routed to submix, no search or tagging in browser, etc.)

All those things cripple my workflow and they kill the fun as soon as I go beyond a few 4 bars loops. I'm a pro sound engineer/musician but I can't make music if it's not fun.
In my job, I had to find too much workaround this past 20 years because gears/computers were not powerful enough, but I don't have the patience anymore. Too old for that shit. Computer are powerful enough and I shouldn't have to spend my time e.g. copying a change on the same track in different sequences.

I can't afford to spend time on beats I wouldn't be able to open in a few months so I had to take a decision now.
I'm going back to Maschine, which has a lot of shortcomings too, but it seems, to me, that they have more resources to go forward and try new things. Not much other choices anyway. NI is now a big company and Akai will have to invest A LOT of money to be able to compete with them, I don't know if they're willing to do that.

Unfortunately, everyone focus on Maschine Studio's screens, while I think all the work needed for the Ren is on the software side.

My Ren is on the bay after 8 months, I'll probably lose half the money I spent on it and I'll miss the controller.
BTW, I had a Element for 2 weeks and I'll miss it too. Nice complement for MPC Software when you're not home.

Paint me as a NI fanboy (hate that word) if you want, but to this day I've owned and used more Akai products than any other companies (MPC60, MPC3000, S950, S1000, S6000, MPC4000, Ren).

I sincerely wish the MPC software will evolve and makes me regret my decision.

I like it and I do not regret buying it either

If akai gives up or gave up supporting it - I would have regrets

The ren is the first mpc unit i use. i have no possibility to make a direct comparison to other ones. i use it for 1 month, now, and so far the ren was worth it for me. except of 2 to 3 crashes while working on a beat (in one whole month) it's stable and easy to use. (keep auto-save in mind) the haptics of the hardware is amazing.
What has to be said is, that the answer to the question of this thread highly depends on the further support for ren and studio users by akai. so: so far thumbs up, to be continued... (sorry for my bad english language^^)