First impressions are that the Live is solidly built and reasonably compact, while maintaining a sensibly spaced control layout. The box contains the MPC Live, a mains power supply, USB cable, printed Quickstart Guide, and instructions for installing the MPC software on your computer. However, despite that critical standalone status, it can step up and control the MPC software on a Mac or PC, just like the Touch, so it’s as versatile and inclusive as you need it to be. Unlike the MPC Touch, which is purely a controller and interface for Akai’s MPC software, the Live is a genuinely standalone hardware unit it doesn’t need a computer to help it create beats, melodies, or even entire arrangements. We’ll also do this without dwelling on Akai’s long history with hardware samplers – I’ve never owned or used an MPC, and I’m guessing most readers under a certain age haven’t either, so let’s leave the nostalgia-wallowing to the oldsters. So let’s make more effort, and discover what makes the MPC Live different from its predecessor. Tons of sample space plus tons of samples Sporting 16GB of internal storage, the MPC Live offers you plenty of space for your sample collection.Price £999 Web A lazy version of this review would link back to our coverage of Akai’s MPC Touch, and say “See that? It’s just like that, but standalone!” There is some truth in that, but it’d definitely be missing out on the bigger picture. What's more, drag-and-drop MIDI and audio makes the most of the MPC Live's touchscreen. While they were at it, Akai Professional also updated their time-warp algorithm and enhanced their Q-Link control system.

This feature alone pushes the MPC software DAW out of the realm of beat production into the big leagues with other loop-based DAWs.

The one thing many of us at Sweetwater love about MPC 2.0 is that you can finally record audio tracks right alongside your loops. The immediate success of the MPC Studio and the MPC Renaissance paved the way for the next generation of standalone MPCs and the MPC 2.0 platform. MPC 2.0 delivers serious workflow upgrades When Akai Professional announced a software DAW that thought like an MPC back in 2012, the electronic-music-production world went nuts.

Akai professional mpc live standalone