From Force to Live 3

Did anyone make the switch? Does is translate your projects from the force to live 3 without any problems?

Nope, I could have but I chose to buy the Akai Force over the live 3. It just came in earlier today and my first impression was 'this is a ginormous monstrocity' but built like an abrahams tank! First thing I did to it was install an internal 128GB SSD, then set it as the default drive and set it to sync/download whatever it needs. I am very impressed how fast it performs out of the box, and with a top tier ssd it seems like a nice step UP.

I don't know how to use the device, so I will be asking AI as I play with it. Right now, it has 22,000 files to download and has four mpc 'kits' (i think is the right word) already on it. I bought it used in excellent condition for a little over $500, so I couldn't resist the temptation. It currently has 3.7.1 on it whatever thats supposed to mean. LOL
Thus far, it is VERY EASY to work with, without having any prior beat making skill or knowledge about the device to begin with. The 64 pads is what pulled me into buying it and I have watched a couple of expert videos on what it can do. Akai put some very strange 'tarnishing paint' on it. Seems like it's some kind of polished primer that is HARD TO SHINE or buff out to a beautiful finish. That's my only gripe. I am very happy I made the right choice as a beginner, as my first MPC to play with. Akai really put a lot of effort into it and it shows based on how easy it is to work on. They did a marvelous job!

DanangAlta wrote:Nope, I could have but I chose to buy the Akai Force over the live 3. It just came in earlier today and my first impression was 'this is a ginormous monstrocity' but built like an abrahams tank! First thing I did to it was install an internal 128GB SSD, then set it as the default drive and set it to sync/download whatever it needs. I am very impressed how fast it performs out of the box, and with a top tier ssd it seems like a nice step UP.

I don't know how to use the device, so I will be asking AI as I play with it. Right now, it has 22,000 files to download and has four mpc 'kits' (i think is the right word) already on it. I bought it used in excellent condition for a little over $500, so I couldn't resist the temptation. It currently has 3.7.1 on it whatever thats supposed to mean. LOL
Thus far, it is VERY EASY to work with, without having any prior beat making skill or knowledge about the device to begin with. The 64 pads is what pulled me into buying it and I have watched a couple of expert videos on what it can do. Akai put some very strange 'tarnishing paint' on it. Seems like it's some kind of polished primer that is HARD TO SHINE or buff out to a beautiful finish. That's my only gripe. I am very happy I made the right choice as a beginner, as my first MPC to play with. Akai really put a lot of effort into it and it shows based on how easy it is to work on. They did a marvelous job!

Design wise the L3 & even the XL are a downgrade to the Force. We need a gen² Force but even the current one is powerful & easier to operate 3.0. Been on it since 2021 & never want to go back to the MPC ever tho the clip made up for the horrible sequencer but the Force does clips better.

Here's a list of some great YouTuber on the Force:
Snowmetal
Joe Filburn
Nicethings (got hired by Akai)
MaxipoxMusic
PinkBuddha
Expectaz

DanangAlta wrote:Nope, I could have but I chose to buy the Akai Force over the live 3. It just came in earlier today and my first impression was 'this is a ginormous monstrocity' but built like an abrahams tank! First thing I did to it was install an internal 128GB SSD, then set it as the default drive and set it to sync/download whatever it needs. I am very impressed how fast it performs out of the box, and with a top tier ssd it seems like a nice step UP.

I don't know how to use the device, so I will be asking AI as I play with it. Right now, it has 22,000 files to download and has four mpc 'kits' (i think is the right word) already on it. I bought it used in excellent condition for a little over $500, so I couldn't resist the temptation. It currently has 3.7.1 on it whatever thats supposed to mean. LOL
Thus far, it is VERY EASY to work with, without having any prior beat making skill or knowledge about the device to begin with. The 64 pads is what pulled me into buying it and I have watched a couple of expert videos on what it can do. Akai put some very strange 'tarnishing paint' on it. Seems like it's some kind of polished primer that is HARD TO SHINE or buff out to a beautiful finish. That's my only gripe. I am very happy I made the right choice as a beginner, as my first MPC to play with. Akai really put a lot of effort into it and it shows based on how easy it is to work on. They did a marvelous job!

3.7.1 is the version number

I was very tempted to make the switch because of the beefed up hardware and the all singing and dancing USB-C port.
But then I looked at those sweet sweet 8 qlinks with their displays showing macro labels and all the shortcuts for arming, muting, copying etc and got relieved of my GAS once again.

I also looked at my bathroom mirror and said with a loud and clear voice "YOU ARE A HOBBYIST, YOU DON'T NEED THE SHINNY AND NEW, YOU CAN'T WRITE IT OFF BECAUSE YOU AIN'T MAKING MONEY OFF IT YOU BUM"

Ordered an adhesive cover to prevent the rubber from melting off, life's good again

MGoolas wrote:I was very tempted to make the switch because of the beefed up hardware and the all singing and dancing USB-C port.
But then I looked at those sweet sweet 8 qlinks with their displays showing macro labels and all the shortcuts for arming, muting, copying etc and got relieved of my GAS once again.

I also looked at my bathroom mirror and said with a loud and clear voice "YOU ARE A HOBBYIST, YOU DON'T NEED THE SHINNY AND NEW, YOU CAN'T WRITE IT OFF BECAUSE YOU AIN'T MAKING MONEY OFF IT YOU BUM"

Ordered an adhesive cover to prevent the rubber from melting off, life's good again

Sometimes you gotta Force the GAS away!

$1,500 USD gets you:

- Used Force with 64 pads and buttons optimized for clips, also great for sequencing drums and bass and one shots

- Used MPC X with tons of buttons optimized for creating loops and sections of music, and a really nice big screen

- 24 glorious q links with screens

- A fast way to easily have drums and bass on one box then experiment with melody in the other making full use of all physical controls and screens

- 16 full tracks across both, synced to bpm and measure over WiFi or Ethernet

- MPC Pro Pack even at full price so you can have clip launching on the X, the improved warp which you’ll want sometimes for audio clips and samples, plus envelope following which is huge if you like to sculpt sounds a lot.

- Enough I/O to choke a desktop mixer, and multitrack two way USB audio from each. The force uses the q links well for levels when launching live, if you have a multitrack usb mixer like Tascam Model 12-24 then you can send your tracks from the MPC X down the strips and the already leveled Force goes to a stereo bus.

- Those three devices all together is a huge problem solver any time you want to route signals around weird and get creative. Almost never have to hot swap cables or change settings.

Scared of used gear? Buy an extended warranty about $200 for two years to fully cover both of them including accidental damage (ants?). Using them together has been so nice I’d like to add a Live.

Probably only reason to go ableton is if you’re heavy into using a computer also because who knows when or if Akai will get their PC game up to snuff.

Well I got a live 3 but returned it. It just isn’t the same.

64hz wrote:Well I got a live 3 but returned it. It just isn’t the same.

I still want a gen2 Force.
Why didn't you like the L3?

I'm curious too. It seems to be the Walhalla of beatmaking in a reasenable package.

Meanwhile I still enjoy my Force, but sneek every now and then to the Live3 and the new XL........

You cannot have it all, but hey they are sexy ain't they? LOL.

Miyaru wrote:I'm curious too. It seems to be the Walhalla of beatmaking in a reasenable package.

Meanwhile I still enjoy my Force, but sneek every now and then to the Live3 and the new XL........

You cannot have it all, but hey they are sexy ain't they? LOL.

I prefer the Force UI, the many dedicated buttons & ofc, the 8x8 pads. All this make for a more efficient workflow. The L3 64 pad sections & 16 step/function buttons don't cut it. It's an improvement for gen1 MPCs users, but us Force guys. The only thing better is the gen2 power up. The force pad matrix & what you see on the screen lines up better. Plus, the Force can copy/paste/delete clips via the pads vs the MPCs having to use the pop-up menu
https://youtube.com/shorts/Bd_v4yWcoz4?feature=share

It just the workflow of having 64 pads, that can be anything. The 8 q links. The way the step sequencer works, the launch buttons and those 16 pads just feel so last century. It’s a shame that for some reason some one decided we shall NEVER abandon those 16 pads. The MPCe pads don’t replace the 64 force pads though.

Its a whole different world and I used mpcs for almost twenty years before getting a force. It’s just not the same. The only thing I liked was the portability.

I was pondering the issues, but you guys have convinced me to swap my MPC One for a Force some day when finances allow... My bottom-of-go bag portable toys are Roland Aira Compact - the MPC is just transportable for me and very rarely moves, not portable, so I might as well have a Force, stop cursing the touchscreen matrix and stop compulsively touching the Qlinks to remember what they do !

Jean-Marc Liotier wrote:I was pondering the issues, but you guys have convinced me to swap my MPC One for a Force some day when finances allow... My bottom-of-go bag portable toys are Roland Aira Compact - the MPC is just transportable for me and very rarely moves, not portable, so I might as well have a Force, stop cursing the touchscreen matrix and stop compulsively touching the Qlinks to remember what they do !

Go for it! It will most definitely help with those issues. Also, the 64 pads can convert into a 4 octave keyboard, which can save space if you don't want to use a ext MIDI controller.

IMO, a new Force would be more successful this time around as more MPCs users have adapted 3.0. It'll do even better if they changed the name to MPC-64.