TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does not

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TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does not

By JethroJethro Fri May 01, 2026 5:11 am
You’re not losing much on a 4 q link device, but the 8 and 16 knob ones really show that Akai can make great use of them. If they actually try.

For example on an X with one of the pad bank parameters pages up all 16 q links pop up with appropriate mappings in TriggerFX. And there are 4 such pages! In Flex Beat I get like 4 general q link mappings only.

That said flexbeat makes gating stutter and 404 type effects pretty easy. But the weak q link integration is a slap in the face when I paid for it and now the free one from the mini is way better in this regard. And maybe I’m wrong but they’re not adding functionality even to in house plug-ins with rolling updates, what you bought is what you keep.

Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Masi Fri May 01, 2026 10:17 am
AFAIK plugins never get updates. Which is a shame as some would benefit from really tiny changes that - I hope - wouldn't take very long to implement.

Keeping customers happy buy plugin updates isn't a strategy that Akai and AIR use under inMusic ownership. A bit odd as the OS gets updates.
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Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By MPC-Tutor Fri May 01, 2026 11:20 am
Masi wrote:AFAIK plugins never get updates. Which is a shame as some would benefit from really tiny changes that - I hope - wouldn't take very long to implement.


I assume they've realised that they don't need to, people seem to be buying them regardless of the fact that they rarely, if ever, see any updates. The model seems to be to churn out 'new' content continually with forever sales based on made-up RRPs.

I can certainly see why it works for them, very few customers will be happy about paying for incremental updates so there's little immediate appeal for them when they can instead spend similar time pumping out another fabric or NI rompler that uses the same engine with recycled samples inside. But...if people are buying, I guess they'll go for the easy money, make hay while the sun shines etc....

Long term I feel it's detrimental to the brand but I think they likely balance this with the 'above and beyond' updates they give to the main firmware.

But surely people must be tired of all the by-the-numbers plugins by now? endless lofi FX and romplers, is anyone really buying the vintage synth romplers with an alleged RRP of £100 each? IMO they need to start developing something unique that isn't just anther 'MPC version' of existing generic plugins or dredging up and recycling 20 year old CDROM libraries from their IP archives.

Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Masi Fri May 01, 2026 2:37 pm
MPC-Tutor wrote:
Masi wrote:AFAIK plugins never get updates. Which is a shame as some would benefit from really tiny changes that - I hope - wouldn't take very long to implement.


I assume they've realised that they don't need to, people seem to be buying them regardless of the fact that they rarely, if ever, see any updates. The model seems to be to churn out 'new' content continually with forever sales based on made-up RRPs.

I can certainly see why it works for them, very few customers will be happy about paying for incremental updates so there's little immediate appeal for them when they can instead spend similar time pumping out another fabric or NI rompler that uses the same engine with recycled samples inside. But...if people are buying, I guess they'll go for the easy money, make hay while the sun shines etc....

Paid updates are rarely welcome. I don't think that anyone will create much revenue from them.

I was thinking more in terms of some small changes that are fairly cheap for them to make, but yet enhance the product. But sure, if youre customers aren't following media that end reviews with glitches to be addressed or lists of missed opportunities why bother.

An example for me is Flex Beat. Folks have been asking that it can be played with the pads and that you can change the length of the effect. I cannot believe that it is so hard to do. I got the plugin, they got their money. But now it gathers digital dust and I cannot recommend it. OTOH I always praise developers with a constant update policy.

MPC-Tutor wrote:But surely people must be tired of all the by-the-numbers plugins by now? endless lofi FX and romplers, is anyone really buying the vintage synth romplers with an alleged RRP of £100 each? IMO they need to start developing something unique that isn't just anther 'MPC version' of existing generic plugins or dredging up and recycling 20 year old CDROM libraries from their IP archives.

To be fair, coming up with a unique plugin these days is near impossible. Even for desktop plugins I see only refinements of old ideas or improvements that are now possible because of more powerful hardware.

That's why I'd be happy if all existing plugins would get input/output metering and controls that allow loudness matching for proper A/B testing. Perhaps I might even pay for it. There more the MPC is going into DAW territory the more it will compared to a real DAW. Such commodities are now standard and to be expected.

Anyway, I bought my MPC to sequence my hardware synth so I'm happy about all MIDI and CV track enhancements of the OS.

Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Masi Fri May 01, 2026 2:41 pm
Masi wrote:AFAIK plugins never get updates. Which is a shame as some would benefit from really tiny changes that - I hope - wouldn't take very long to implement

Actually 3.8 brought an update in disguise. The "new" Vintage plugin is just a bundle of the 4 old MPC "emulations" with new controls.
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Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By MPC-Tutor Fri May 01, 2026 3:00 pm
Masi wrote:
Masi wrote:Actually 3.8 brought an update in disguise. The "new" Vintage plugin is just a bundle of the 4 old MPC "emulations" with new controls.


Did you not the the story behind the vintage plugins? The new controls for the 1200 ring are not new at all, they've always been available on desktop as it was discovered many years ago that if you copied the native MPC version of the 1200 ring plugin and placed it in your VST folder it would be recognised and load as a normal VST plugin, and here it showed it was just the 'Decimator' plugin with those parameters pre-configured.

This was at the time when they were still insisting that vintage mode was hardware based and hence only available on the MPC Renaissance. Of course it was purely software based and you could just copy the VSTs to your MPC Software VST folder and run them on the MPC Studio no problem. They eventually made it 'official' for the MPC Studio later that year, pretty shady from Akai though (apparently a rep was given the wrong info...) . Full info here:

https://www.mpc-tutor.com/mpc-studio-mp ... unleashed/
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Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By aPatchworkBoy Fri May 01, 2026 3:46 pm
They allow full MIDI mapping to flexbeat, which kinda makes it incredibly usable vs when they didn’t (MPC2.x). Particularly if you drive it with a foot controller.

What’s puzzling me in TriggerFX (on LiveII) is its UI implies it’s playable by the 4x4 pads… but can’t work out how (esp when inserted on an audio track).

Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Masi Fri May 01, 2026 4:06 pm
aPatchworkBoy wrote:They allow full MIDI mapping to flexbeat, which kinda makes it incredibly usable vs when they didn’t (MPC2.x). Particularly if you drive it with a foot controller.

A foot controller! What a great idea!

Now I know what I want as a birthday present :)
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Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Lampdog Fri May 01, 2026 4:11 pm
aPatchworkBoy wrote:What’s puzzling me in TriggerFX (on LiveII) is its UI implies it’s playable by the 4x4 pads… but can’t work out how (esp when inserted on an audio track).

Where in the v3.8. manual does it specify this is possible?
https://cdn.inmusicbrands.com/Software/ ... 20v3.8.pdf

Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Masi Fri May 01, 2026 4:57 pm
Lampdog wrote:
aPatchworkBoy wrote:What’s puzzling me in TriggerFX (on LiveII) is its UI implies it’s playable by the 4x4 pads… but can’t work out how (esp when inserted on an audio track).

Where in the v3.8. manual does it specify this is possible?
https://cdn.inmusicbrands.com/Software/ ... 20v3.8.pdf

aPatchworkBoy wrote that the UI implies that could be done.

And he's right. A 4x4 layout looks like that it matches the pads.
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Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Lampdog Fri May 01, 2026 6:43 pm
Manual doesn't mention that it supports trigger fx pad play, you can guess all you want though, that's fine.

aPatchworkBoy also wrote

aPatchworkBoy wrote:but can’t work out how (esp when inserted on an audio track).

Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Masi Fri May 01, 2026 8:01 pm
aPatchworkBoy wrote:Manual mentions the phrase “Trigger FX” precisely once, with sod all detail about it beyond that one mention as far as I can tell. Therefore users will naturally get curious about what its UI suggests.

I'm not really surprised by lack of detail.

Anyway, while toying with Trigger FX I found that on instruments tracks it makes sense that the pads are not used by the FX. This way you can play the instrument with one hand and the FX with the other.

OTOH you might not need this, so an option to turn pads on would be great. Could be that this isn't so easy. AFAIK none of the FX react to the pads, so it might require changes to the OS as well.
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Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By aPatchworkBoy Fri May 01, 2026 8:58 pm
Heh - just thrown it on a submix and MIDI-mapped all the pressure and speed controls to my BCR2000, and the latches to a NeotrellisM4 controller. I’m sold - TriggerFX is VERY playable… particularly when you’ve got banks of 32 physical knobs n’ buttons to throw at it.
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Re: TriggerFX from 3.8 uses q-links well, $50 Flex Beat does

By Lampdog Fri May 01, 2026 9:04 pm
Maybe one of the reasons why trigger fx control is for playing q-links and touch screen. Don’t really need it to be on pads, also what Masi said about instruments, it could potentially cause problems there too.

You found a way to work it out, good! I leave the trigger effects on XL to q-links. Imo, knob twists and turns feel more precise than pad pressure for trigger fx anyway.
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