Akai Force Forum: Everything relating to the Akai Force, the iconic 64 pad, clip-based standalone sampler/groovebox from Akai.
By jeff lick Sun Jan 27, 2019 6:43 am
I know this. I was wondering what the addition of a drive does for the MPC X? The panel on the bottom is where it goes. What does it's addition to the X offer me though?
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By zangetsu01 Sun Jan 27, 2019 7:18 am
@Jeff lick, don’t worry about for some reason you’ve made me appriciate my X more..

That’s what I’ve got out of it..
By smellypants Sun Jan 27, 2019 7:30 am
zangetsu01 wrote:@Jeff lick, don’t worry about for some reason you’ve made me appriciate my X more..

That’s what I’ve got out of it..


Hey mate, yeah I love my X as well!

Quick question for you...

Have you noticed any screen burn on your X.

For example I've noticed that if I spend a significant amount of time in pad perform mode, when I switch to other modes I'll see faint remnants of the pad outlines from pad perform mode.

Its faint and will eventually fade away with time.

I never noticed it before and was wondering if others experience the same... I never noticed it on the Live but they use different screens from different manufacturers so it may be normal.

Is this something you've noticed.

Cheers bud.
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By zangetsu01 Sun Jan 27, 2019 9:49 am
smellypants wrote:
Hey mate, yeah I love my X as well!

Quick question for you...

Have you noticed any screen burn on your X.

For example I've noticed that if I spend a significant amount of time in pad perform mode, when I switch to other modes I'll see faint remnants of the pad outlines from pad perform mode.

Its faint and will eventually fade away with time.

I never noticed it before and was wondering if others experience the same... I never noticed it on the Live but they use different screens from different manufacturers so it may be normal.

Is this something you've noticed.

Cheers bud.


Het what’s up.. No I dont have that.. I take it that you mean that youre seeing afterimages.. But up till now I’ve only used the X in controller mode..

But it definitly shouldn’t show you afterimages..
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By zangetsu01 Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:31 pm
It's funny how no one noticed Akai putting the Akai Force up for FCC approval. This was back in April 2018. Makes you wonder if Akai didn't leak it their selves to get the Hype going..
By J-Fly Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:11 pm
Will MPC-Samples have an interest in creating a tutorial? The MPC X/MPC Live Bible is masterpiece.
By Unreallystic Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:28 pm
Marketdog wrote:Hey guys, I'm completely new to production but I've been spinning music and scratching for quite a while. I also know some sound design...

will this unit work like ableton, or should I get Ableton suite instead? I understand it will be a controller as well in the future and looks like it can do what the push was able to do

And is 2gb of ram going to be a problem?

This unit looks good for live performance since I do most of my things standalone but if you have a better choice I will be producing some deep dub so not sure if this is the right unit to do so.. advice please :)

So it actually falls into this weird space where it would be a great tool to use before moving to Ableton, but because of cost, its cheaper to get Ableton Suite. On the same token, if you spin/scratch already, then you most likely have something like Serato/Rekordbox/Traktor - so this would play REAL nice with that. Unfortunately, until people have it in their hands, its going to be hard to get a good answer.
- Unreall
By Unreallystic Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:36 pm
machinesworking wrote:
Unreallystic wrote:There is another group...people who just feel dissatisfied with what it provides over its cheaper brother. I mean its the same hardware, and $1000 gets you a larger screen, 3 extra sets of Q-links, better connection options, and no battery. You can find value in those sure, but you may not when its said and done. I could take that stack and put it against the Analog Heat for FX, towards something like the MX-1 for connectivity (yes I'm speaking what I have, because its what I know heh), etc. Hell I got my Novation Peak for around 1000.

So Novation Peak & MPC Live vs MPC X? That can easily make the X feels over-priced. Minilogue XD, Roland MX-1, and MPC Live vs MPC-X?

You're comparing apples to oranges here. To compare the price of the MPC Live VS X fairly, you have to add in a dedicated 16 knob controller with OLED display, a dedicated function section for a specific device, and the price of a larger screen. That's going to easily run you over $1000 separately.

No, its not apple to orange. The MPC X doesn't do ANYTHING the Live doesn't do, the difference is screen size, connectivity, and buttons, so you can compare their worth. That doesn't mean the X is a bad product, I'm not saying that or even hinting at that, heck I had been thinking of getting it myself. Heck if you wanted to compare them from a dollar value stand point, you have to increase the cost of the X to incorporate a battery. By no means is that the point. It comes down to how much do you value the extra connectivity, screen, q-links, and format. Is all that worth a stack? If it really was, there would be more people screaming "get the X", but their aren't because common perception is that hte X cost more than it really should.

And again that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it. Super cars are overpriced, you can't accelerate faster than the car in front of you or go at speeds double the speed limit, recent super cars lose their value as soon as they come off the lot. Doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the lambos.
- Unreall
By Unreallystic Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:39 pm
jeff lick wrote:That is the top of the line Komplete. Starts at only $199. It has way more sounds in the top edition but not sure you can fully tweak them? Omnisphere has a lot of effects applied ETC. I am not sure maybe I will buy the $500 one. 2 grand for software is steep. Unless it was commercial programs. Plus as others noted going through 100,000 sounds can hinder creativity. I think the $500 one is enough for me. So the consensus is their software is good but their hardware not so much? They are a software company after all. Akai has been making hardware for 25 or so years. Although I do not know why they did not just make an updated 5000.

I did have one other question. What does a SSD do if you add it? Store your tracks? I think it only has 16GB memory stock. Seeing as I do not use it much not sure I need one? They are only $60 for 500gb so no big deal. I am not one to try to replace the SD card though.

Just want to add to what Lampdog said - the no moving parts makes them more shock-resistant, especially if you are rocking the MPC Live. SSD are also "lighter" and use less power. Its superior in almost every single way.
-Unreall
By Unreallystic Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:45 pm
J-Fly wrote:Will MPC-Samples have an interest in creating a tutorial? The MPC X/MPC Live Bible is masterpiece.

I was wondering that this weekend. Since its the same to an extent, will it overlap with the MPC Bible? Will the MPC Bible incorporate it on purpose or will it be "it might work on there" hehe. I'd argue it should be a separate product that could possibly be offered.

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So I have a question (opinionated answers expected). So I use Ableton primarily for my heavy work, and the MPC Live for my portable and light work. The MPC pads just feel good for hip-hop focused tracks, while Ableton feels better equipped for more exact electronic music. Where on that "feeling" scale do you guys think the Force will fall?
- Unreall
By jeff lick Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:49 pm
I doubt the pads feel as good. The black fat pads special rubber Bruh.
I hate when people say Ableton is only for EDM. Yes, I play it as well. Ableton can do as much and more than any other sequencer. I prefer track based to pattern based.
By J-Fly Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:55 pm
Unreallystic wrote:
J-Fly wrote:Will MPC-Samples have an interest in creating a tutorial? The MPC X/MPC Live Bible is masterpiece.

I was wondering that this weekend. Since its the same to an extent, will it overlap with the MPC Bible? Will the MPC Bible incorporate it on purpose or will it be "it might work on there" hehe. I'd argue it should be a separate product that could possibly be offered.

#################################

So I have a question (opinionated answers expected). So I use Ableton primarily for my heavy work, and the MPC Live for my portable and light work. The MPC pads just feel good for hip-hop focused tracks, while Ableton feels better equipped for more exact electronic music. Where on that "feeling" scale do you guys think the Force will fall?
- Unreall

I make mostly Lo-Fi Hip Hop with a little bit of Neo Soul occasionally. I start with MPC Live for sampling and use drums to get the vibe. The problem is when I need to export to Ableton Live. I'm doing the arranging/recording and when I want to add some nice melodies and chords I switch over to my Launchpad Pro because I like the advantage of the 64 pads. Maybe a minor complaint but this is tedious work for me. Why not throw the Launchpad Pro in the trash, put the MPC Live to the side, and start everything on the Akai Force and then export later? Of course there are still some limitations that the Force will have out of the box and we have to cross our fingers and hope these promises are coming sooner rather than later.
By jeff lick Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:24 am
NoNo Guy's. I know what an SSD is. I meant what additional feature does it add to X? Obviously space to save your songs, sequences? I suppose it does not need more than stock unless a hard core user? Or is it kind of mandatory. Due to lack of stock memory? I can see if you were doing live sets. I just mixdown to 2channel and erase my sequences! I do not keep my masters. Perhaps stupid, I know. If by chance I write a hit song. Not much chance I think. I can play fine but just not out there. I really don't care to be. I just did not know what exactly is saved to the SSD?