Official: Akai Force Topic

CharlesRandolph wrote:

Danoc wrote:Wait a dam minute. Charles did you buy that Akai 88 midi Keyboard? l was joking but you really do have gear lust lol

No way. The Kawai VPC1 Virtual Piano Controller.

That's one serious midi hammer action keyboard. That thing actually has the hit pieces in it like a real piano that translate into digital using a sensory. Closest thing to a real piano. You don't have to get it tuned do you? If you don't that's killer.

$1,899.99

For anyone trying to hunt down a unit, Sweetwater currently has them in stock, mine is on the plane now (ordered on Friday), talking to my rep he mentioned that they still had some units for sale.
-Unreall

eclipxe wrote:That's not an online store, it's a regular dude in Japan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXB6tw ... 7UVyM7df0g

His link to buy is just to Rakutan. Rakutan isn't his store, it's like the Japanese Amazon.

It's still a sales video and I'll wait until the full manual is released. I hope you are enjoying yours. How about you share some detailed pros and cons. Give us some real user insight of the machine.

How many effects can you assign/sounds can you use/play before the RAM is maxed out?
Have you figured out any cool tricks?
Can you sync two of them together via Ethernet port?
Can you connect a MIDI keyboard to the Force, and launch clips via the keyboard keys?

Danoc wrote: That's one serious midi hammer action keyboard. That thing actually has the hit pieces in it like a real piano that translate into digital using a sensory. Closest thing to a real piano. You don't have to get it tuned do you? If you don't that's killer.

$1,899.99

No tuning needed. However there is software, where you can adjust parameters to match your playing style. I have a partner, whose going to bring the Force over in a couple of days. Then we're going to test and push it to the limits.

Unreallystic wrote:For anyone trying to hunt down a unit, Sweetwater currently has them in stock, mine is on the plane now (ordered on Friday), talking to my rep he mentioned that they still had some units for sale.
-Unreall

If I had to guess, I would say that my order is stuck in a winter storm since Zzounds has a distributor in Reno, NV and my FedEx shipping status has been saying shipping label created for the last 5 days.

CharlesRandolph wrote:No tuning needed. However there is software, where you can adjust parameters to match your playing style. I have a partner, whose going to bring the Force over in a couple of days. Then we're going to test and push it to the limits.

Yeah that's dope. It reminds me of True pianos. You cansl set it up to your playing style and mimic and keyboard you have heard. All you need is a reference and go.

If l go action hammer lm getting that. It beautiful and stylish you cant go wrong wirh it.

You should be able to connect your Kawai to the Force and go crazy via USB

CharlesRandolph wrote:

eclipxe wrote:That's not an online store, it's a regular dude in Japan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXB6tw ... 7UVyM7df0g

His link to buy is just to Rakutan. Rakutan isn't his store, it's like the Japanese Amazon.

It's still a sales video and I'll wait until the full manual is released. I hope you are enjoying yours. How about you share some detailed pros and cons. Give us some real user insight of the machine.

How many effects can you assign/sounds can you use/play before the RAM is maxed out?
Have you figured out any cool tricks?
Can you sync two of them together via Ethernet port?
Can you connect a MIDI keyboard to the Force, and launch clips via the keyboard keys?

So overall I'm really enjoying the device...here are some pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Workflow is crazy fast, easy to jump around the device with just the pad/buttons
2. The screen and pads operate pretty independently, so you can multitask/build some interesting workflows
3. Sound is great
4. New FX are pretty nice, haven't gone in depth
5. Hype is very, very good. I love it. Worth the price of admission. They need to figure out how to get it on the MPC Live
6. Stable so far, no crashes or glitches so far
7. Legato mode in clip launches for audio clip is a great trick for playing a long clip across an entire set of scenes
8. Number of scenes unlimited
9. Pad responsiveness is good. Left on default settings and can play quickly. Usually run my MPC Live at highest sensitivity
10. Timestretch is much better quality
11. Ram management seems better, haven't even gotten to 50%, but no hard data

Cons:
1. In the initial shipping version there is no good way to get your tracks off the device (no rendering/exporting. You can resample but limited to 20s. I imagine this will be fixed soon.
2. The cursor keys need to have more functionality - right now they only move the matrix view of the pads. I want them to work in the browser also (but I get why it's hard - you always need a way to navigate the pads independently from the screen)
3. No 16 levels (yet) - Andy Mac showed an example of a 16-levels like mode (64 levels) with the full scale/chord functionality...I want that asap
4. No split note/clip mode that was shown in a few videos
5. No Ableton export yet
6. No Splice integration yet
7. Can't record automation on the master track it seems (XYFX, etc)
8. I use it on the couch and the placement of the headphone port sucks

Tips/Tricks:
1. Select + double tap a pad to insert a new clip
2. There is a "master" button hidden below the launch pads. Swipe left/right in the Mixer panel to reveal sends/master
3. Two finger/three finger scroll in browser for faster scrolling
4. You can save and load individual tracks
5. MPC projects will open with your tracks mapping nicely.
6. There are a ton of shortcuts (shift+, edit+)
7. Edit+Launch pad lets you insert new scene, insert 8 scenes, or capture all playing clips into a new scene
---

Can you sync two of them together via Ethernet port?
1. I think, with Ableton Link...but I only have one

Can you connect a MIDI keyboard to the Force, and launch clips via the keyboard keys?
2. No, I don't believe the clips are midi mappable.

eclipxe wrote:So overall I'm really enjoying the device...here are some pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Workflow is crazy fast, easy to jump around the device with just the pad/buttons
2. The screen and pads operate pretty independently, so you can multitask/build some interesting workflows
3. Sound is great
4. New FX are pretty nice, haven't gone in depth
5. Hype is very, very good. I love it. Worth the price of admission. They need to figure out how to get it on the MPC Live
6. Stable so far, no crashes or glitches so far
7. Legato mode in clip launches for audio clip is a great trick for playing a long clip across an entire set of scenes
8. Number of scenes unlimited
9. Pad responsiveness is good. Left on default settings and can play quickly. Usually run my MPC Live at highest sensitivity
10. Timestretch is much better quality
11. Ram management seems better, haven't even gotten to 50%, but no hard data

Cons:
1. In the initial shipping version there is no good way to get your tracks off the device (no rendering/exporting. You can resample but limited to 20s. I imagine this will be fixed soon.
2. The cursor keys need to have more functionality - right now they only move the matrix view of the pads. I want them to work in the browser also (but I get why it's hard - you always need a way to navigate the pads independently from the screen)
3. No 16 levels (yet) - Andy Mac showed an example of a 16-levels like mode (64 levels) with the full scale/chord functionality...I want that asap
4. No split note/clip mode that was shown in a few videos
5. No Ableton export yet
6. No Splice integration yet
7. Can't record automation on the master track it seems (XYFX, etc)
8. I use it on the couch and the placement of the headphone port sucks

Tips/Tricks:
1. Select + double tap a pad to insert a new clip
2. There is a "master" button hidden below the launch pads. Swipe left/right in the Mixer panel to reveal sends/master
3. Two finger/three finger scroll in browser for faster scrolling
4. You can save and load individual tracks
5. MPC projects will open with your tracks mapping nicely.
6. There are a ton of shortcuts (shift+, edit+)
7. Edit+Launch pad lets you insert new scene, insert 8 scenes, or capture all playing clips into a new scene
---

Can you sync two of them together via Ethernet port?
1. I think, with Ableton Link...but I only have one

Can you connect a MIDI keyboard to the Force, and launch clips via the keyboard keys?
2. No, I don't believe the clips are midi mappable.

Nice, now we're getting some information.

Can you assign the 64 Drum Pads to the MIDI OUT and use it as drum pad for your MPC LIve?

What does the MIDI dongle look like?

CharlesRandolph wrote:
Nice, now we're getting some information.

Can you assign the 64 Drum Pads to the MIDI OUT and use it as drum pad for your MPC LIve?
What does the MIDI dongle look like?

Yes, you can crate a MIDI OUT channel and send it to whatever - including the MPC Live I assume.

Dongle looks like: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... &network=g

You get 3 of them

eclipxe wrote:Yes, you can crate a MIDI OUT channel and send it to whatever - including the MPC Live I assume.

Dongle looks like: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... &network=g

You get 3 of them

When loading an MPC project, how much of the projects shows up? (Filter, Sequencer, Keygroups, Effects, etc.)

Can it load Older MPC and/or Older Akai samplers files?

eclipxe wrote:It's still a sales video and I'll wait until the full manual is released. I hope you are enjoying yours. How about you share some detailed pros and cons. Give us some real user insight of the machine.

How many effects can you assign/sounds can you use/play before the RAM is maxed out?
Have you figured out any cool tricks?
Can you sync two of them together via Ethernet port?
Can you connect a MIDI keyboard to the Force, and launch clips via the keyboard keys?

So overall I'm really enjoying the device...here are some pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Workflow is crazy fast, easy to jump around the device with just the pad/buttons
2. The screen and pads operate pretty independently, so you can multitask/build some interesting workflows
3. Sound is great
4. New FX are pretty nice, haven't gone in depth
5. Hype is very, very good. I love it. Worth the price of admission. They need to figure out how to get it on the MPC Live
6. Stable so far, no crashes or glitches so far
7. Legato mode in clip launches for audio clip is a great trick for playing a long clip across an entire set of scenes
8. Number of scenes unlimited
9. Pad responsiveness is good. Left on default settings and can play quickly. Usually run my MPC Live at highest sensitivity
10. Timestretch is much better quality
11. Ram management seems better, haven't even gotten to 50%, but no hard data

Cons:
1. In the initial shipping version there is no good way to get your tracks off the device (no rendering/exporting. You can resample but limited to 20s. I imagine this will be fixed soon.
2. The cursor keys need to have more functionality - right now they only move the matrix view of the pads. I want them to work in the browser also (but I get why it's hard - you always need a way to navigate the pads independently from the screen)
3. No 16 levels (yet) - Andy Mac showed an example of a 16-levels like mode (64 levels) with the full scale/chord functionality...I want that asap
4. No split note/clip mode that was shown in a few videos
5. No Ableton export yet
6. No Splice integration yet
7. Can't record automation on the master track it seems (XYFX, etc)
8. I use it on the couch and the placement of the headphone port sucks

Tips/Tricks:
1. Select + double tap a pad to insert a new clip
2. There is a "master" button hidden below the launch pads. Swipe left/right in the Mixer panel to reveal sends/master
3. Two finger/three finger scroll in browser for faster scrolling
4. You can save and load individual tracks
5. MPC projects will open with your tracks mapping nicely.
6. There are a ton of shortcuts (shift+, edit+)
7. Edit+Launch pad lets you insert new scene, insert 8 scenes, or capture all playing clips into a new scene
---

Can you sync two of them together via Ethernet port?
1. I think, with Ableton Link...but I only have one

Can you connect a MIDI keyboard to the Force, and launch clips via the keyboard keys?
2. No, I don't believe the clips are midi mappable.

Dan said they thought the units wouldn’t ship unit Wednesday. The next update will give those features that Andy showed minus ableton control mode.

I’m glad to hear that timestretch is improved, pitch shift on the force sounds incredible. Compared to Live standalone.

kaydigi wrote:

eclipxe wrote:It's still a sales video and I'll wait until the full manual is released. I hope you are enjoying yours. How about you share some detailed pros and cons. Give us some real user insight of the machine.

How many effects can you assign/sounds can you use/play before the RAM is maxed out?
Have you figured out any cool tricks?
Can you sync two of them together via Ethernet port?
Can you connect a MIDI keyboard to the Force, and launch clips via the keyboard keys?

So overall I'm really enjoying the device...here are some pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Workflow is crazy fast, easy to jump around the device with just the pad/buttons
2. The screen and pads operate pretty independently, so you can multitask/build some interesting workflows
3. Sound is great
4. New FX are pretty nice, haven't gone in depth
5. Hype is very, very good. I love it. Worth the price of admission. They need to figure out how to get it on the MPC Live
6. Stable so far, no crashes or glitches so far
7. Legato mode in clip launches for audio clip is a great trick for playing a long clip across an entire set of scenes
8. Number of scenes unlimited
9. Pad responsiveness is good. Left on default settings and can play quickly. Usually run my MPC Live at highest sensitivity
10. Timestretch is much better quality
11. Ram management seems better, haven't even gotten to 50%, but no hard data

Cons:
1. In the initial shipping version there is no good way to get your tracks off the device (no rendering/exporting. You can resample but limited to 20s. I imagine this will be fixed soon.
2. The cursor keys need to have more functionality - right now they only move the matrix view of the pads. I want them to work in the browser also (but I get why it's hard - you always need a way to navigate the pads independently from the screen)
3. No 16 levels (yet) - Andy Mac showed an example of a 16-levels like mode (64 levels) with the full scale/chord functionality...I want that asap
4. No split note/clip mode that was shown in a few videos
5. No Ableton export yet
6. No Splice integration yet
7. Can't record automation on the master track it seems (XYFX, etc)
8. I use it on the couch and the placement of the headphone port sucks

Tips/Tricks:
1. Select + double tap a pad to insert a new clip
2. There is a "master" button hidden below the launch pads. Swipe left/right in the Mixer panel to reveal sends/master
3. Two finger/three finger scroll in browser for faster scrolling
4. You can save and load individual tracks
5. MPC projects will open with your tracks mapping nicely.
6. There are a ton of shortcuts (shift+, edit+)
7. Edit+Launch pad lets you insert new scene, insert 8 scenes, or capture all playing clips into a new scene
---

Can you sync two of them together via Ethernet port?
1. I think, with Ableton Link...but I only have one

Can you connect a MIDI keyboard to the Force, and launch clips via the keyboard keys?
2. No, I don't believe the clips are midi mappable.

Dan said they thought the units wouldn’t ship unit Wednesday. The next update will give those features that Andy showed minus ableton control mode.

I’m glad to hear that timestretch is improved, pitch shift on the force sounds incredible. Compared to Live standalone.

Do you think Live will get these better timestretch and pitch shifter of Force?
Or they will just belong to Force?

CharlesRandolph wrote:

eclipxe wrote:Yes, you can crate a MIDI OUT channel and send it to whatever - including the MPC Live I assume.

Dongle looks like: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... &network=g

You get 3 of them

When loading an MPC project, how much of the projects shows up? (Filter, Sequencer, Keygroups, Effects, etc.)

Can it load Older MPC and/or Older Akai samplers files?

Your tracks show up with all effects, keygroups, etc. There is no concept of a sequence on the Force, so your sequences are gone. Its basically loading your programs and tracks as is, into a blank slate of clips.

I imagine older MPC and sampler files load just fine, just like on the MPC Live, but haven't tested.

Dan said the Force has improved garbage collection for better memory usage. He said this is coming to MPC in 3.0 - so I imagine the better timestretch might come then also...just a guess though.

@ eclipxe

What about qlinks project mode assignments? Are they loaded?
And insert effects?
And send effects?