MPC Key 61: New FCC Filing From Akai

Straker wrote:The Air new fx flavour sounds really great, as always with Air fx. Very nice to have some amp emulations and lofi parameters to add flavour to lame samples.

Yes, but as I mentioned in other topics, the MPC already has a tonne load of ways to add flavour to lame samples, it's not like you couldn't already be creative to sculpt the type of sound you need.

The flavor effect is nice and easy to use, 'all in one', but there's nothing there that you couldn't already add to your sounds. For example, the 'timbre' dial is really just filter/EQ, distortion/noise is straight from Air Lofi or Air Distortion (or any of the other harmonic FX), and flutter is just LFO with pitch modulation. PLus you have all the drum FX in program edit etc and all the older fx like resampler and so on.

I get it, people love new plugins, but I personally prefer the ones that bring in entirely new sound design options (e.g. granulator).

It would be interesting to hear what the background is on the amp sim plugin, is it just some nice sounding EQ and distortion settings, or have they performed some actual physical modelling?

MPC-Tutor wrote:

Straker wrote:The Air new fx flavour sounds really great, as always with Air fx. Very nice to have some amp emulations and lofi parameters to add flavour to lame samples.

Yes, but as I mentioned in other topics, the MPC already has a tonne load of ways to add flavour to lame samples, it's not like you couldn't already be creative to sculpt the type of sound you need.

The flavor effect is nice and easy to use, 'all in one', but there's nothing there that you couldn't already add to your sounds. For example, the 'timbre' dial is really just filter/EQ, distortion/noise is straight from Air Lofi or Air Distortion (or any of the other harmonic FX), and flutter is just LFO with pitch modulation. PLus you have all the drum FX in program edit etc and all the older fx like resampler and so on.

I get it, people love new plugins, but I personally prefer the ones that bring in entirely new sound design options (e.g. granulator).

It would be interesting to hear what the background is on the amp sim plugin, is it just some nice sounding EQ and distortion settings, or have they performed some actual physical modelling?

I think that the idea behind some plugins is to have a tool to sculpt your sounds fast.
It's the same idea of many plugins on daws: many of them are just chains of fx, something you can obtain with other ways.
I like this attitude and I think MPC is taking this direction. We have tools, different ways of scuplting the sound. You load a plugin and in a sexond you have all you need. It's faster then editing and programming and entering different windows.
And then it can be interesting to use that Air flavour to give character to some samples. You load, move some parameters, you have it.
I think MPC must be fast, that is way is appealing to me.

[quote="KaoticShock"]Now, can we get 2 LFOs and a 30 destination Mod Matrix like the 4K? Mayne some sort of semi-realistic Acoustic Piano sound with tweakable parameters in the sormftware as a plugin? [/quote]

It is beyond me that Akai builds the current crop of MPC with such paltry routings for modulation sources and destinations especially when earlier versions did so. I hope they stuff the guts of the Z series into the newer firmware now that the keys is destined for release. Don't know how they can justify the product without a proper sampler engine for keygroups.

At the very least I'd kill for a useably expressive bank of acoustic pianos.

MPC-Tutor wrote:

Straker wrote:The Air new fx flavour sounds really great, as always with Air fx. Very nice to have some amp emulations and lofi parameters to add flavour to lame samples.

It would be interesting to hear what the background is on the amp sim plugin, is it just some nice sounding EQ and distortion settings, or have they performed some actual physical modelling?

I want to see Jhonny DeMarco from Boss demo the Guitar Amp sims! I was slightly disappointed that the Amp Sim was only used on loops when Andy showed it in the demo video. I was hoping that they would run an actual guitar through the MPC to hear the tone and timbre colors of the different Amp types. I remember that being a big part of one of the launch videos when the Live and X first came out.

Matthew Stratton tends to do guitar through his MPC (sometimes). Maybe he'll do a video demo'ing the Amp cab plugin. He's posting 2.11 videos as well.

I am not sure they will be modeling amps, maybe more eq+saturations as MPCtutor said.
Usually modelling takes a lot of resources.
Anyway I use a GT1000core with my guitar so I will be able to make a comparison.
But even if it's eq+saturations, it's nice to have it for samples and synths, it can be a good way of adding character.

They could be impulse response based, and those take up very little CPU to run. No clue, though.

EnochLight wrote:They could be impulse response based, and those take up very little CPU to run. No clue, though.

Yeah no clue.
Let's see.
I don't know any AIR product with guitar amp modeling.
Anyway for me is fine whatever it is.
I forgot to mention probability.
That's a very nice feature also.
Together with ratchet and slice automations, it's gonna be a lot of fun to break rythms and add some glitches or randomizations here and there.
I like the direction Mpc is taking.

I'll A/B it against my JCM800 when it drops haha.

EnochLight wrote:Matthew Stratton tends to do guitar through his MPC (sometimes). Maybe he'll do a video demo'ing the Amp cab plugin. He's posting 2.11 videos as well.

100! You read my mind, Enoch. Literally watched his 2.11 Features videos this morning and was praying for him to do an Amp sim vid with guitar. I've got notifications on and my eyes peeled!

monkito wrote:At the very least I'd kill for a useably expressive bank of acoustic pianos.

Exactly. Especially because AIR (InMusic) created the Structure VST with Multi-sampled Steinway grand Pianos, so we know that they have access to good high quality samples, just give me a UI like Electric so I can adjust how much the lid is opened and closed.

I would even take Mini Grand as a plugin for use in standalone mode, at least it has a few different piano models and the Touch UI works in Controller mode.

Straker wrote:I am not sure they will be modeling amps, maybe more eq+saturations as MPCtutor said.
Usually modelling takes a lot of resources.
Anyway I use a GT1000core with my guitar so I will be able to make a comparison.
But even if it's eq+saturations, it's nice to have it for samples and synths, it can be a good way of adding character.

I agree with all this, I'll be A/Bing it against my ME-30 and 2X12 Combo Amp.

Isn't it funny that the GT1000 allows reordering of FX chains yet when using the MPC, if you have Delay first then Reverb, you have to play musical chairs to swap the FX order!

KaoticShock wrote:

monkito wrote:At the very least I'd kill for a useably expressive bank of acoustic pianos.

Exactly. Especially because AIR (InMusic) created the Structure VST with Multi-sampled Steinway grand Pianos, so we know that they have access to good high quality samples, just give me a UI like Electric so I can adjust how much the lid is opened and closed.

I would even take Mini Grand as a plugin for use in standalone mode, at least it has a few different piano models and the Touch UI works in Controller mode.

Mini Grand was the best piano I ever tried when I was using Pro Tools. Absolutely brilliant and with very good attack.
Velvet was my favourite electric piano also.
These guys know how to do those kind of things.
Hype already has some good natural pianos drown in awfully effected presets.
Mini grand for Mpc would be real dope.

KaoticShock wrote:

Straker wrote:I am not sure they will be modeling amps, maybe more eq+saturations as MPCtutor said.
Usually modelling takes a lot of resources.
Anyway I use a GT1000core with my guitar so I will be able to make a comparison.
But even if it's eq+saturations, it's nice to have it for samples and synths, it can be a good way of adding character.

I agree with all this, I'll be A/Bing it against my ME-30 and 2X12 Combo Amp.

Isn't it funny that the GT1000 allows reordering of FX chains yet when using the MPC, if you have Delay first then Reverb, you have to play musical chairs to swap the FX order!

Ahah yeah, you have to play a sort of Tetris to swap effects on Mpc.
And apparently they still didn't change that. Tubedigga shows the great TUI improvements but nothing about fx swap.
I love my GT1000core by the way, I was using guitar inside Mpc before but it's much better to keep it separate in my opinion. I just slave GT to Mpc master clock and all goes beautifully in sync.
And MPC and GT stand very good together, they sound both very good.

Well looks like next week will be the promo video for Key 61 at the way there going for the 23rd date