Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Akai has just announced that they're set to release a new MPC. This one is called MPC Touch and you guessed it, it has a nice, big touchscreen.
What Is It?
When I first saw it, I immediately thought of the Native Instruments Maschine Studio with their dual screens, even though they're not touchscreens. Now, I'm not trying to spark a debate between Akai and NI and what both companies are doing to get ahead, but I'm assuming that the MPC touchscreen is inspired by Maschine Studio's screens.
Either way, this new MPC looks really good. From the specifications, it doesn't look ground-breaking but it certainly covers a lot of the standards, except for MIDI. For some reason they didn't mention any MIDI ins or outs, so we'll see about that (as of this writing, the Akai website is not loading).
Some Key Features
- 7" color multi-touch Display
- 16 velocity-sensitive MPC pads with RGB backlighting
- 2-in/2-out audio interface
- Step Sequencer with touch interface
- XYFX control adds effects, adjusts sound dynamics in real time
- Phrase Looper, enables connection of any instrument to create loops
- Pad Mixer for setting levels, stereo panning and adding VST effects
- Sample Edit control, for trimming, chopping and processing your samples
- 4 new, performance-ready touch-sensitive control
- Data Encoder knob, for push-and-twist control of display parameters
- Includes MPC software with over 20 GB of sound content
Here's where things get interesting. The touchscreen is a very good idea because for years I always thought it would be great if I could use a screen to actually touch a waveform and manipulate it. For example, I use Maschine, and even though the screen is good, and I can always look at my big monitor when fine-tuning a sample, but to actually touch a waveform could possibly make beatmaking a whole lot better. Maybe by touching the waveform it could allow the beatmaker to come up with different ideas.
The other issue I noticed from reading comments online is that the MPC Touch is not a standalone unit, as you need to have it hooked up to your computer running the MPC software. I get it. Hardcore MPC users are used to having an all-in-one box to bang out their beats, but on the other hand, it's sometimes good to change with the times. Software in conjunction with a hardware unit is so much more powerful than a standalone, since you can be limited by the hardware over time.
But having a standalone unit is also really dope as well. A few years back just before I decided on Maschine, I was contemplating grabbing an MPC 1000 because I was tired at looking at my computer screen to make beats. A standalone unit would have been great because not only would I not have to stare at the computer, I could also make beats on a plane or while taking a bath (although that could be dangerous!).
Conclusion
The Akai MPC Touch looks dope but it also leaves me wondering if Akai is either trying to play catch-up with Native Instruments, or if they're just stuck in between and wondering where to go next.
If you're a loyal MPC user (and especially if you use the Renaissance), then by all means the Touch would be a great addition to your studio setup. However, if you're looking to buy your first controller and software setup, take a good look at the Touch and other units as well.
More Information
For more information, visit the product page. The Akai MPC Touch is set to be released in November 2015 and the price will be $799 USD.
