1.9 is finally released

This update might have made the least impression on my workflow of any update (not including the small bug fix updates) since I've owned the Ren. This update also had the lowest percentage of "what I was actually hoping for" items in any update I've downloaded for this device.
This update I could uninstall, and for what I do and how I do it, lose nothing.

I do like the idea of what this update's audio routing could be a set up for. We'll see.

Ren: Still the best controller available... which I think only makes it worse when people come by, see it's visual greatness, and can't understand how something that cool looking, with a thorough audio interface, doesn't have audio tracks and a handful of other things. They walked in like "man, that thing looks superior"... and they walk out like "....but nah I'm good using _____... I gotta put IMMB up on game. I can't believe thats how he's gotta do that..."
and I just be like...

Right now, Ableton champions are throwing Ableton at me from all angles. Phone calls, emails, texts, facetimes, etc.

I pretty much just use Pro Tools to make beats now. If I still mostly sampled, maybe things would be different... but for a guy that plays a lot of external instruments and works with other musicians, it just makes more since right now. I'll use the Ren like Battery some times as instrument in PT, or sometimes I'll just use Battery.

IMAKEMADBEATS wrote:This update might have made the least impression on my workflow of any update (not including the small bug fix updates) since I've owned the Ren. This update also had the lowest percentage of "what I was actually hoping for" items in any update I've downloaded for this device.
This update I could uninstall, and for what I do and how I do it, lose nothing.

I do like the idea of what this update's audio routing could be a set up for. We'll see.

Ren: Still the best controller available... which I think only makes it worse when people come by, see it's visual greatness, and can't understand how something that cool looking, with a thorough audio interface, doesn't have audio tracks and a handful of other things. They walked in like "man, that thing looks superior"... and they walk out like "....but nah I'm good using _____... I gotta put IMMB up on game. I can't believe thats how he's gotta do that..."
and I just be like...

Right now, Ableton champions are throwing Ableton at me from all angles. Phone calls, emails, texts, facetimes, etc.

I pretty much just use Pro Tools to make beats now. If I still mostly sampled, maybe things would be different... but for a guy that plays a lot of external instruments and works with other musicians, it just makes more since right now. I'll use the Ren like Battery some times as instrument in PT, or sometimes I'll just use Battery.

Did something happen during testing? The way they handled the 1.9 it was so secretive like something got pulled from it. When 1.8 was finalized they couldn't shut up about and gave us info on it more than 30 days before it dropped,

We finally got sample edit pad loop but it's only in the sample edit screen, should be in the chop screen also. This is what I was waiting for and we finally got it. We need audio tracks with adobe audition 1.5 /Acid 3.0 basic wav editing features, and viewable crossfade loops like the 4000 and JJOS.

kaydigi wrote:[We need audio tracks with adobe audition 1.5 /Acid 3.0 basic wav editing features, and viewable crossfade loops like the 4000 and JJOS.

I believe the MPC Software simply suffers from an identity crisis - is it a DAW or a sequencer/sampler (like most previous MPCs)? Is it an audio editor? How basic is 'basic', because you can bet that some people will never be happy with 'basic'.

I feel the introduction of audio tracks will firmly set its identity as a DAW, but then the flood gates are well and truly opened as it's never going to compete with the existing mature DAWs, absolutely no chance. Someone mentioned here recently that the MPC seems to have no clear direction, no master plan, that Akai seem to be making up as they go along, and I agree to some extent.

audio tracks, real time stretching(ableton style) and audio clips(ableton style where you can manipulate tempo and warp marks) would be the top requests for me personally

konc3pt wrote:audio tracks, real time stretching(ableton style) and audio clips(ableton style where you can manipulate tempo and warp marks) would be the top requests for me personally

It's crazy how Maschine and MPC Software lack realtime time stretching in 2015. Maschine is even more mind boggling because Traktor does it real well and Kontak has it.

MPC-Tutor wrote:

kaydigi wrote:[We need audio tracks with adobe audition 1.5 /Acid 3.0 basic wav editing features, and viewable crossfade loops like the 4000 and JJOS.

I believe the MPC Software simply suffers from an identity crisis - is it a DAW or a sequencer/sampler (like most previous MPCs)?

I get this, but, Is FL or Reason considered a Daw? I don't think anyone looks at FL/Reason and, because it has audio tracks, thinks "this should be competing with Pro Tools" I'm pretty sure most FL/Reason users use it just for beats and not functionally as a full blown out Daw.

Doesn't matter to me what anyone says... IMO, looking at 1.9, it was for the Touch. Period. The Ren benefits were collateral. And even though some say the Ren and Studio are included in the future plans, I believe that's true - up to 2.0. IMO end of life for the Ren and Studio isn't far away.

Personally I don't want to see audio tracks added to this, because I actually think it will further confuse the product even more. But soon, with Push 2, and soon to be (possible) Roland product, it will be clear whether the touch screen implementation was a good choice or not. Plugin mode has sucked since 1.0, and they implement a touch screen? People want audio tracks, and they implement a touch screen? Lots of other features that IMO are enough to make folks question the direction. Heck those two features alone would radically change the way people use the MPC. The Touch, not so much.

That being said, if they release a standalone, I'd be in line for one. But plugin mode, audio tracks... just appearing to be more abandoned functionality requested, in favor of the next best thing. That's been their way for a long time now.

IMAKEMADBEATS wrote:

MPC-Tutor wrote:

kaydigi wrote:[We need audio tracks with adobe audition 1.5 /Acid 3.0 basic wav editing features, and viewable crossfade loops like the 4000 and JJOS.

I believe the MPC Software simply suffers from an identity crisis - is it a DAW or a sequencer/sampler (like most previous MPCs)?

I get this, but, Is FL or Reason considered a Daw? I don't think anyone looks at FL/Reason and, because it has audio tracks, thinks "this should be competing with Pro Tools" I'm pretty sure most FL/Reason users use it just for beats and not functionally as a full blown out Daw.

They are DAWs.

Eyalc wrote:Doesn't matter to me what anyone says... IMO, looking at 1.9, it was for the Touch. Period. The Ren benefits were collateral. And even though some say the Ren and Studio are included in the future plans, I believe that's true - up to 2.0. IMO end of life for the Ren and Studio isn't far away.

Personally I don't want to see audio tracks added to this, because I actually think it will further confuse the product even more. But soon, with Push 2, and soon to be (possible) Roland product, it will be clear whether the touch screen implementation was a good choice or not. Plugin mode has sucked since 1.0, and they implement a touch screen? People want audio tracks, and they implement a touch screen? Lots of other features that IMO are enough to make folks question the direction. Heck those two features alone would radically change the way people use the MPC. The Touch, not so much.

That being said, if they release a standalone, I'd be in line for one. But plugin mode, audio tracks... just appearing to be more abandoned functionality requested, in favor of the next best thing. That's been their way for a long time now.

I wouldn't be stressing about audio tracks but the 1000,2500, and 5000 had them. I used them and you would think it would be a no brainer for a itb program to have it also.

If we don't ever get them then so be it, I'm surprised they didn't package pro tools express with every system instead of it being a launch thing.

kaydigi wrote:
They are DAWs.

Ndeed. And that's my point. Just because they are Daws doesn't mean they can't have their own DAW identity. I dont think crossing the road to audio tracks means you have to go to the heights of Daw'dom.

kaydigi wrote:

IMAKEMADBEATS wrote:

MPC-Tutor wrote:
I believe the MPC Software simply suffers from an identity crisis - is it a DAW or a sequencer/sampler (like most previous MPCs)?

I get this, but, Is FL or Reason considered a Daw? I don't think anyone looks at FL/Reason and, because it has audio tracks, thinks "this should be competing with Pro Tools" I'm pretty sure most FL/Reason users use it just for beats and not functionally as a full blown out Daw.

They are DAWs.

Technically, all MPC's are DAW's. And frankly, so is anything else that converts audio from analog to digital. But obviously, that's not the context of DAW that IMMB's is referring to.

DJ Hellfire wrote:Technically, all MPC's are DAW's. And frankly, so is anything else that converts audio from analog to digital. But obviously, that's not the context of DAW that IMMB's is referring to.

Well, technically you're wrong. A DAW emulates a tape machine, strictly speaking. Recording and playing back audio material with the ability to cut and trim material to the needs required.

A sequencer uses controller data (MIDI) to "sequence" various materials and needs expanders/sound modules (like samplers, synths etc.) - which makes it just that.

The terms "DAW" and "sequencer" got blurred nowadays, since most softwares can handle both to varying extents. So technically the MPC is a sequencer with integrated sound modules. It always was, and it probably always will be.

83dude wrote:

DJ Hellfire wrote:Technically, all MPC's are DAW's. And frankly, so is anything else that converts audio from analog to digital. But obviously, that's not the context of DAW that IMMB's is referring to.

Well, technically you're wrong. A DAW emulates a tape machine, strictly speaking. Recording and playing back audio material with the ability to cut and trim material to the needs required.

A sequencer uses controller data (MIDI) to "sequence" various materials and needs expanders/sound modules (like samplers, synths etc.) - which makes it just that.

The terms "DAW" and "sequencer" got blurred nowadays, since most softwares can handle both to varying extents. So technically the MPC is a sequencer with integrated sound modules. It always was, and it probably always will be.

DAW - Digital Audio Workstation .... haha come on dood, there is very little to be unclear about.That just make me laugh.

1.9 has broughy plugin stabilty which was badly needed, mixer upgrade is great, still a few things to fix, audio tracks would be handy but i can run them from my daw with reaper as a plugin or rewired so not really an issue that holds me back.
i have to agree with 83dude about that a general daw is a tape machine emulator ,a midi seq is whole extra thing, most daws can do video editing but anyone who works with video would tell you they are not proper video, like an mpc is dope sequencer but isnt a proper daw and will prob never be. It crosses over on lots of functions but its a midi sequencer thru and thru with new things being added all the time, i dont understand all the complaining on this forum, such great cheap tools to make music these days that are super easy to use compared to the machines and software we had to work with back then. akai didnt even update thier software or fix bugs then.

dopedee wrote:

83dude wrote:

DJ Hellfire wrote:Technically, all MPC's are DAW's. And frankly, so is anything else that converts audio from analog to digital. But obviously, that's not the context of DAW that IMMB's is referring to.

Well, technically you're wrong. A DAW emulates a tape machine, strictly speaking. Recording and playing back audio material with the ability to cut and trim material to the needs required.

A sequencer uses controller data (MIDI) to "sequence" various materials and needs expanders/sound modules (like samplers, synths etc.) - which makes it just that.

The terms "DAW" and "sequencer" got blurred nowadays, since most softwares can handle both to varying extents. So technically the MPC is a sequencer with integrated sound modules. It always was, and it probably always will be.

DAW - Digital Audio Workstation .... haha come on dood, there is very little to be unclear about.That just make me laugh.

You just deconstructed your argument, since it says "audio". It's a workstation for digital audio, nothing else. The term derives from the late 80s when such differentiation between a DAW and a sequencer was needed.