I also used the export tool in the MPC software to transfer over some other Expansions I have on my Mac. The F9 instrument Expansion can be downloaded when you register the One, and provides a basic palette of sampled instruments. However, you can add Expansion packs to the One via an SD card. Drum programs have their own internal mixer and can use any of the many internal plug-in effects on individual pad channels or the whole kit.Īs with the Force, it's strange that the factory library has no sampled instrument patches ('Keygroups'). I've raved about MPC drum programs before: they range across up to 64 pads and feature up to four sound layers per pad. Most of what comes on the unit is drum programs and hits, representing various urban and dance styles. Akai say this pack is new for the One, complied from a number of popular content producers.
Instead you get a new 2GB pack and 2GB of user storage. Audio tracks are grouped separately and can play back or record audio linearly, but always bound within the current Sequence.ĭue to reduced internal storage capacity, the One does not arrive with the same pre-loaded 10GB factory sound library you find on the Live or X. Programs are sound sources such as drum kits, multi-sampled instruments, loop players or internal synth patches or MIDI or CV configs for controlling external instruments. MPC Projects have a central pool of samples and 'Programs' that can be accessed from any track. It could be an idea, a variation, a song section or a whole song. Each Sequence is its own little world, with multiple tracks, which could be different and use different sound sources from one Sequence to the next. MPC Projects are built from Sequences, which are more like Patterns on a typical drum machine, or Elektron's instruments. This has its roots in the earlier MPCs, and is quite different from, say, Ableton Live or NI Maschine (or indeed Akai's Force) which build Scenes from a pool of Clips. MPC projects have a particular structure and methodology that is consistent across all the models and the MPC software/plug-in. The buttons are hard and click like on the X, and provide direct shortcuts to most of the many views, without needing to visit the main screen menu. In order to fit all the other controls in, the main trigger pads are a fair bit smaller than those on the Live or X.Īgain like the Live, the One has four rotary encoders that can bank through parameters, and there's a master data encoder and increment/decrement buttons that will adjust whatever element you tap on the screen. Like the other MPCs and the Force, the One is quite thick: the MPCs are essentially stand-alone ARM-based computers under the hood.
This takes up quite a chunk of the square front panel, showing how compact the device is. The MPC One has a 7-inch touch-screen like the Live. They use a hybrid touch and hardware input system, which presents the same user interface whether you work with the internal stand-alone engine or control the MPC app/plug-in on your computer. To recap, the current generation of stand-alone MPCs are multitrack workstations that offer sample-based drum kits and instruments, loop launchers, audio tracks, internal synths and MIDI/CV sequencing. I was disappointed that there's no internal battery power, which is such a compelling feature of the Live.
Audio I/O is basic stereo, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are absent, and there are fewer storage options. The One could be seen as a compromise of the two: it's very compact, in fact smaller and lighter than the Live, but crams in many more dedicated function and mode buttons (and some CV connections) like the X.Īll the core MPC features are present on the One, but a number of economies have been made to hit that new price and size. The chunky, top-of-the-range X is intended as a studio centrepiece, while the Live is all about portability. Rather, each model suits particular needs. While the One extends the MPCs into a lower price bracket, the range doesn't really follow the traditional Good, Better, Best template for a product range. It also comes just a few months after Native Instruments didn't release a stand-alone Maschine, as had been anticipated, at a time when more and more people are looking to enjoy music production outside of their laptop. The appeal may also be that it looks like a traditional MPC such as the classic 2000.
It mainly repackages existing elements from the established MPC Live and X, but at a more affordable price. The MPC One seems to have triggered a swell of new interest in the MPC. The MPC One offers the most affordable way into the latest generation of Akai's celebrated sampling workstation.