Akai Force Forum: Everything relating to the Akai Force, the new 64 pad, clip-based standalone sampler/groovebox from Akai. While not an MPC, it shares many similar software features to the MPC X/MPC Live including the same underlying code-base.
By starcadian Tue Feb 05, 2019 8:46 pm
eclipxe wrote:
starcadian wrote:Hey all!

This machine is looking more and more enticing by the minute, but I'm starting to get a little confused by all the disk streaming talk, can anyone please clarify this for me before I take the plunge?
If I wanted to use this on occasion for live backing tracks, I could theoretically only load up 500MB (or whatever amount of the 2GB RAM is allocatable) worth of MP3s at any time? That would also mean if I maxed that out, I basically would be unable to add effects on top of it, no? That sounds pretty limiting as far as the DJ aspect they're pushing goes.
Of course that would affect my song creation too, but I can learn how to work within limitations when song creating, playback seems more of an issue in my aforementioned DJ use.
I'd appreciate any heads up on this!


Any audio you load gets converted to raw WAV - so 500MB of MPC would mean about 10 total songs....but! That's in memory at once. You can load up a file, launch it, unload other files and load more from the HD. Apparently the RAM management and garbage collection is improved - so you can definitely have a large library on your HD that you swap in and out during a set...


Thank you so much, that's the first really clear description I've found online haha. I assume loading and unloading samples doesn't interrupt playback right? Suuuper excited for this machine now!
By Unreallystic Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:55 pm
Got my Force last night, haven't had a chance to try it out, will do so during lunch today.

Anyone got any other questions they'd like researched?

Its shape & size are a bit weird to me. I had to find a large laptap book bag to be wide enough, and it has too much height for a traditional laptop bag (what I use for my MPC Live). I desperately want a decksaver for it, it isn't flimsy by any stretch, but the shape and size just make it a prime candidate for something "bad" to happen to, especially compared to the MPC Live

Knobs look to be the same as the Live, so the alloy knobs sold on MPC-Stuff should work here also, will double check tonight.

Comes with (3) of those MIDI to 3.5mm adapters and a USB 3.0 cable...that for some reason is a bright ass blue.

Pads feel REALLY good surprisingly, it takes me back to the Push 1 pads in feel. They still are a bit short for my preference, but the overall size works.
- Unreall
By d2ba Thu Feb 07, 2019 5:56 pm
Unreallystic wrote:Got my Force last night, haven't had a chance to try it out, will do so during lunch today.

Anyone got any other questions they'd like researched?

Its shape & size are a bit weird to me. I had to find a large laptap book bag to be wide enough, and it has too much height for a traditional laptop bag (what I use for my MPC Live). I desperately want a decksaver for it, it isn't flimsy by any stretch, but the shape and size just make it a prime candidate for something "bad" to happen to, especially compared to the MPC Live

Knobs look to be the same as the Live, so the alloy knobs sold on MPC-Stuff should work here also, will double check tonight.

Comes with (3) of those MIDI to 3.5mm adapters and a USB 3.0 cable...that for some reason is a bright ass blue.

Pads feel REALLY good surprisingly, it takes me back to the Push 1 pads in feel. They still are a bit short for my preference, but the overall size works.
- Unreall

Has the force got the beautiful metal top like MPC-X or is it the same Rubber Plastic matt top that MPC-Live uses?
By Unreallystic Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:42 pm
Same as the Live.

And after using it for about an hour, and walking away with absolutely NOTHING accomplished, its workflow is NOTHING like the MPC. Sounds are different too. I can feel the potential oozing out of it, but there feels like a learning curve with the screen and keys being separated, and just navigating around. It definitely is more Ableton Live Loop in nature than MPC "bang out a track".

And damn Hype sounds good. I wasn't able to do any real sound design with it as I didn't know what to do frankly, but some of the presets were WOW. You could easily live inside of just the presets for Hype for a long time. I'm guessing it will hit MPCs with 3.0 when the memory clean up hits.

My biggest take away though, my MPC Live is safe and will not become a forgotten piece of hardware. I'm fine with it not getting Hype, just pump the existing synths with more presets and toss us some more expansion packs (especially of the boom bap variety, even though that's not my thing, I was surprised at how much that was under represented in favor of the house stuff).
- Unreall
By d2ba Fri Feb 08, 2019 6:04 am
Unreallystic wrote:Same as the Live.

And after using it for about an hour, and walking away with absolutely NOTHING accomplished, its workflow is NOTHING like the MPC. Sounds are different too. I can feel the potential oozing out of it, but there feels like a learning curve with the screen and keys being separated, and just navigating around. It definitely is more Ableton Live Loop in nature than MPC "bang out a track".

And damn Hype sounds good. I wasn't able to do any real sound design with it as I didn't know what to do frankly, but some of the presets were WOW. You could easily live inside of just the presets for Hype for a long time. I'm guessing it will hit MPCs with 3.0 when the memory clean up hits.

My biggest take away though, my MPC Live is safe and will not become a forgotten piece of hardware. I'm fine with it not getting Hype, just pump the existing synths with more presets and toss us some more expansion packs (especially of the boom bap variety, even though that's not my thing, I was surprised at how much that was under represented in favor of the house stuff).
- Unreall


Massive mistake to use the MPC-Live rubber top ---it marks and won't last the distance compared to the more traditional metal MPC tops
User avatar
By Danoc Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:04 am
Anyone that thinks the Force is like the mpc live/ X you're only fooling yourself. Sure you can do a work around to some how think so but why use a work around?
By Unreallystic Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:52 pm
d2ba wrote:Massive mistake to use the MPC-Live rubber top ---it marks and won't last the distance compared to the more traditional metal MPC tops

While I get that take, it could be argued that it saves some weight, and for a product with some level of aim at DJs, I'd wager that is a factor. I also think they were trying to keep the price within a certain range, and that would be one of the ways to save money, its already more than a new Live, and I'm sure there was bite back at the cost of the X, hence 'half' the number of Q-Links as the X as well.
- Unreall
By DokBrown Fri Feb 08, 2019 10:10 pm
Had some questions re: the new AKAI FORCE ?

I will not post them until people actually have their hands on them . . . . . .
I assume the AKAI FORCE will warrant a separate category from the MPC X & LIVE ???

I’m hoping there is some file compatibility between the 2 devices but AKAI’s website clearly puts it separate from the “MPC SERIES”

Furthermore,
The MPC OS is 2.4
The force OS is 3.0.1
https://www.akaipro.com/?SID=gk5bsn5vo2r79h28rs1k3fqda5
By kaydigi Fri Feb 08, 2019 10:18 pm
DokBrown wrote:Had some questions re: the new AKAI FORCE ?

I will not post them until people actually have their hands on them . . . . . .
I assume the AKAI FORCE will warrant a separate category from the MPC X & LIVE ???

I’m hoping there is some file compatibility between the 2 devices but AKAI’s website clearly puts it separate from the “MPC SERIES”

Furthermore,
The MPC OS is 2.4
The force OS is 3.0.1
https://www.akaipro.com/?SID=gk5bsn5vo2r79h28rs1k3fqda5


People have them, ask away. The manual is also posted,
By Cockdiesel Sat Feb 09, 2019 6:07 am
With my limited time with the force, I'll just say it's very different than using the live. Reminds me of how I used a mpc, and a 404 back in the day. But if that 404 was a 404 "PRO" edition and was also a bad ass keyboard controller. The force seems to me that that it's way more focused around the things that MPCs arn't generally focused on. For example, I can get a groove kicked out super quick on the live, I know it will change as I learn it, but its not the same on the force. Now on the other hand, with the progressions and notes mode I can bust out melodies and keyboard arrangements just as fast as I can knock out a simple groove with the mpc. They have alot of the same features but the work flows in those areas are focused in different directions on both pieces.

Although lacking song mode it's also way easier to check out different variations to flesh out a song better.

I WANT to keep my live and the force but I keep thinking I may not need the live and could donate it to my friend who is short on cash. Not sure how it will pan out and won't tell him until I make a final decision. Right now though, the force doesn't replace the live by any means for kicking out grooves and even resampling and tweaking stuff out.

If the force gets the promised ableton export feature, I seen on masada's video, and I can load the midi clips from the live it will be more than worth it. The cherry on top, and it's a BIG CHERRY is the keyboard controller aspect of the force. It's like a brand new instrument. About as game changing as the MPC first coming out in the 80's. I never used a push so they may do the same thing but this thing is seriously nuts and one standalone package.

Final word is it is a game changer on many levels, but it also might not be for everyone. The learning curve is going to turn alot of MPC heads off.
By Unreallystic Mon Feb 11, 2019 4:00 pm
I don't think the learning curve is *bad*. Frankly the MPC has been harder for me to pick up than the Force, its just different, and with the screen being separate from the keys - there is mental tab you have to keep open of understanding what you are doing at the moment, its not a big deal, and frankly the pros of this implementation FAR out weigh the cons, FAR.

I'm looking at my Live as well trying to figure out how this will play out. The biggest flaw of the Live to me, was the need for a keyboard controller, but this fixes that. Sure I could go to performance mode and work on chords and melodies, but it requires way more work than I want, to do something not-sample related. As well, the MPC stays out of my main studio as it doesn't really play nice with my setup, the Force does. But for all the pros of the Force...

It does not have MPC drum pads, I'm telling you man, those things have energy put into them...
It does not have a battery...this is significant to me. The MPC I can just pull out when I have some free time, and "go", I can't do that as much with the Force...

For me, I bring a "bag" of equipment to work everyday, this way I can either practice or work on a piece, during my lunchbreak, otherwise I'm dealing with kids and a wife while trying to get music done. The MPC Live is PERFECT for that, its size works well, it has the battery that means I don't have to find an outlet to work, I can even hit the benches outside if the weather is nice for more inspiration. I'm going on a cruise and can take the MPC into one of those outdoor tent/huts on the top deck and work on music while relaxing. I can't do any of that with the Force, but the 64-pads is a big deal as a push user, and while the pads aren't MPC pads, they still have a lot of life in them as well. I jammed my ass off last night just going through Hype presets, it felt so much better than both Push and Push 2 to just play.

So I can't call it. The more I use the MPC, the more I get out of it, however the Force is feeling "right" in a more general sense. So I doubt I'll sell the Live (I won't get good enough return on it), and my only IRL friend who wants to do music still (most have given up and moved on), he's holding my Push 1 right now as is, can't be too charitable. Trying to lug around both devices feels like overkill. *shrug* I'm happy with both products, with little "want" on either at the moment. Neither are perfect, I want a pitch slider like the Push on the Force for example, and the MPC feels like its too many extra steps to navigate than it needs to be and playing out stuff requires an additional device or patience.
- Unreall
By J-Fly Mon Feb 11, 2019 6:09 pm
At this point I'm not getting rid of my MPC Live because to my surprise the Force does not have the same sampler. To be more precise, it doesn't have pad tap mode which I primarily use as opposed to other sampling options. This was a discussion topic on the Gearslutz forum and an Akai representative promised that the Force was going to have the same sampler as X & Live. I don't know if this is a feature that will be added later or not.

I've only had it for about 3 days and I'm at the sampling section of the tutorial. I'm also going to take my 1TB SSD drive from my MPC Live and install it into the Force. I know I won't be able to access my MPC projects but hopefully I can access my samples and kits. For anyone that knows more about the Force sampling than I do, I welcome your feedback.
By Cockdiesel Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:06 pm
I see both your points of view and can relate. The live still feels like a better writing tool for me. It's just so quick for me to rough out ideas. I am really hoping that the integration between the mpc and force is expanded on. Id really like to be able to get some good ideas started wherever with the live, and expand on those ideas with the force.

I have a hard time taking tracks all the way with just using the live and then exporting to ableton. I tend to get way too distracted with fleshing out the track more. Hopefully now I can get a track set up in force and finish the track with everything planned out and organized better.

Also agree the force doesn't seem to have the same magic for just pounding out rhythms, BUT it has that same type of magic for me with melodies and keyboard stuff. I know the MPC can do it but its really cluncky compared to have more than a 61 note keyboard with all the progressions and other functions right there with pads that seemed way more intended to complement the keyboard controlling aspect. Seriously wasnt expecting how expressive and streamlined the pads on the force are. I was expecting APC buttons with maybe velocity.

The biggest differance I see with sampling is that with the live I can use the MPC software to make keygroups with my hardware and be able to record it on my soundcard, which is better than the one on the live. I am able to use plugins to help this process out. Like helping with the really low output of one of my synths. Although the new air effects make this easier in standalone. The keygroups i've been making with a computer sound alot better and I can edit them better if I wanted to.

The force seems limited to just being able to make groups with it's inputs and only on the machine. How it will work with ableton integration is anyone's guess. If the force gets integration with mpc software, it will be the same. I will agree that these machines, live and force, need better sampling options. Right now for me to make my keygroups perfect id have to transfer them over to another program. I can do that now, but have just been trying to catalog alot of the presents on the hardware synths I have. Although I may never just set them in stone. Having 100's of patchs is almost endless possibilities, especially if they enhance the sampling or maybe even just let us load them into a plugin like hype. Hype is far superior to the other three in my book, btw.

I was considering helping a friend out because he's a MPC head, and I can tell he is jealous of the live I have. He doesn't have much money and a big family he supports. He still rocks his older MPC, but I know the live is perfect for his situation and could take his stuff to the next level. I'm pretty sure besides the stuff we have done together none of his beats ever made it off his MPC.

I have alot of time to dedicate to figuring out this stuff starting today, so I am sure my opinions and thoughts might change some on all this.