What form factor has been best for you? Live vs. other

The Key 61 has been my first MPC.

Of course, the Live III has caught my attention. If I ever play out, the Live and a Keystep would be enough, along with my voice and a guitar.

What have you guys found to be form factor that works for you? Is Live really necessary to play out?

Thanks,
Joe

joegrant413 wrote:The Key 61 has been my first MPC.

Of course, the Live III has caught my attention. If I ever play out, the Live and a Keystep would be enough, along with my voice and a guitar.

What have you guys found to be form factor that works for you? Is Live really necessary to play out?

Thanks,
Joe

I have a Live II, but I found it too big for live use tbh. It's a great form factor for a mobile production centre, but for concerts (travelling and performing) I eventually switched to a ONE+ which I prefer by orders of magnitude.

Oscar South wrote:

joegrant413 wrote:The Key 61 has been my first MPC.

.... I eventually switched to a ONE+ which I prefer by orders of magnitude.

Interesting! Thanks

I like the Key 61, but I'm not really a keyboard player. Long story short, it's not even always that handy for me around the house.

I like the idea of Live being a completely portable thing to grab ,use, and hear anywhere. But if it's too big....

Suppose I need to go to GC and hear it and hold it, and compare the heft of it to One+

joegrant413 wrote:I like the Key 61, but I'm not really a keyboard player. Long story short, it's not even always that handy for me around the house.

I like the idea of Live being a completely portable thing to grab ,use, and hear anywhere. But if it's too big....

Suppose I need to go to GC and hear it and hold it, and compare the heft of it to One+

I think without the battery and the speaker the Live is a pretty great form factor, but the Live I is missing other functionality I want so the ONE+ is the sweet spot for me.

I do like how the browser on the Live II feels more responsive, but it's a minor point. The ONE+ weight is MILES lighter, the form factor isn't too different but the difference in combination with weight is massively impactful, and the button layout/capability is nicer on the ONE+ imo.

Live II(/III) is killer if you have a big desk and don't need to move it around much, but the desk is not quite big enough for an X, or you specifically want to jam in woods/by streams or on a plane/bus.

i hope for a new MPC X,i have a one and like the layout, still have my 2500.
The new guts and step sequencer are cool, hope the new X isnt a year away.

OG live is the best
One is best form factor but lacks battery

Best form factor for me is the MPC One because, among modern MPC, it was the cheapest !

When comes to running 3.0 & the Clip-matrix, the Akai Force. It was made for it & had some these "new" MPC features 5 years ago.

FWIW, Koala Sampler is simply the best sampler.

BUT it's on mobile and separate desktop. Yes, it can be triggered by MPC or other MIDI sequencers. But I've learned the hard way that just because you CAN get gear to talk to each other doesn't mean it's worth the bother each time.

I still need to learn the MPC Sampler better. Lately, I've been using samplers to do audio takes. And, yeah, that sounds like a case for the MPC Clips.

This is a weird post cus I can't call it. I have only ever owned the MPC One, but the others are all dope too. each of the different models seem to have something nice about it. i still want an akai force most.. i bought the wrong machine.

Ultros wrote:i still want an akai force most.. i bought the wrong machine.

Many MPC users did & are slowly finding out.
I want a gen2 Force. When it comes to working with the Clip-matrix, the Live3 feels too cramped & limited after using the Force, but is major step up coming from gen1 MPCs.

If a Force II comes out, I'll sell both MPC One and RC-505 Mk2 to help finance it (and my Komplete Audio 5 Mk2 too, because its role right now is integrating them with the rest, which a Force number of I/O would make useless)... Lots fewer cables, les integration hassle, lots more possibilities - and not much less hands-on physical UI (it'll just need a few extra knobs over USB MIDI, let's say Korg NanoKontrol2 for €30) ... The reason I got RC-505 Mk2 was scratching the itch for audio loops from analog sources (a €3 kazoo with a few effects is great with the kids !), along with the MPC One that couldn't do it properly - but maybe a Force was what I wanted all along !

I dont think we are going to ever see another force. i could be wrong though. just gotta get my greedy mits on one.

Ultros wrote:I dont think we are going to ever see another force. i could be wrong though. just gotta get my greedy mits on one.

I see it the other way around. The Force was too much for MPC heads when it came out for many different reasons, but they knew the Force/3.0 workflow will attract more people & will just have to slowly force feed it to them like it or not. The Live3 which is a mix of the L2+Force & with the clip matrix is making more & more people like it & in a few month if Akai release an X+Force more "MPC users" will see the benefits of more Force like box & jump on it. They can drop the corny "Force" name & just call it the MPC32/64 or whatever da f*ck. The Force was the MPC from the future, but that name didn't have the legacy status like 3 decades old MPC.