Akai Pro — MPC X Overview & Demo

[kmetal]

Its not quite that much. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MPCX


Both


I prefer stand alone. I did most of my best work on the MPC60. This should be like an MPC60, but better. I won't have to power up the entire studio as well.
To me, this is my core to a production system. I've been waiting 20 years for this to happen.

That's friggin awsome man! It doesn't look like it's gonna dissapoint.

 

[kmetal]

Just got off the phone w my salesperson from sweetwater, apparently sweetwater was involved in the new akia pre production stuff. Flew a bunch of the guys out to demo the prototype. My salesperson said he was the one who suggested the battery, and they actually vaulted production for a year to make that and some other changes.

I thought that was interesting.

 

[Kurt Foster]

right on Chris!

 

[audiokid]

right on Chris!

Thanks Kurt.

 

[kmetal]

Man the MPC seems awsome! Great to hear ya back at it Chris, glad you are diggin your new toy.

 

[audiokid]

Man the MPC seems awsome! Great to hear ya back at it Chris, glad you are diggin your new toy.

Thanks Kyle yes, it’s very cool. The monitoring section makes seamless overdubbing easy as well.

Note:
I never touched my computer once to make this demo. However I tried importing all the tracks into my DAW and couldn’t improve the mix at all.
In fact my DAW degraded the mix which left me scratching my head.

If Akai made a 16 track MPCX , I suspect I would never miss all the gear I’ve been accustomed to using for years.

 

[kmetal]

I never touched my computer once to make this demo. However I tried importing all the tracks into my DAW and couldn’t improve the mix at all.
In fact my DAW degraded the mix which left me scratching my head.

If Akai made a 16 track MPCX , I suspect I would never miss all the gear I’ve been accustomed to using for years.

Im glad you've touched on this. Ive been developing a theory that the computer OS, and the daw having to conform to it, degrades audio by adding unecessary processing.

My thinking about this started in '07, when the modest mackie HDR standalone recorder jusy seemed to have a solidity to the sound vs dp. Ditto for the d8b digital mixer and dsp vs the motu and pluggins. Even summing digitally sending tracks from dp to the mackie (spdif) vs rendering inside the daw had a similar effect of solidity. Ive even noticed that ipad based recordings, and portable handleld recorders, seem to offer that solidity to the sound. Like more dense, fuller, dimensional. You can hear this on youtube demos of the avid eleven rack vs the avid eleven pluggin, which have the same sounds built in.

I almost commented this when i first heard your demo, but i was hestiant to sidetrack the convo.

If you think about it the mpcx uses computer type hardware components so its not digital hardware thats the issue, my theory is based on the OS, which is bare bones and custom for standalone devices. Perhaps better clocking? Maybe its the connection protocal to the computer, the USB, TB, ect. Thats also absent in the standalones.

It could be interesting, if the mpcx and mpc software i have, have any of the exact same samples, to render them on the mpcx and the computer, and see if they null, and sound the same.

I couldnt help but think about how much more advanced the mpcx is vs the old cassette based portastudios.

 

[audiokid]

Im glad you've touched on this. Ive been developing a theory that the computer OS, and the daw having to conform to it, degrades audio by adding unecessary processing.

My thinking about this started in '07, when the modest mackie HDR standalone recorder jusy seemed to have a solidity to the sound vs dp. Ditto for the d8b digital mixer and dsp vs the motu and pluggins. Even summing digitally sending tracks from dp to the mackie (spdif) vs rendering inside the daw had a similar effect of solidity. Ive even noticed that ipad based recordings, and portable handleld recorders, seem to offer that solidity to the sound. Like more dense, fuller, dimensional. You can hear this on youtube demos of the avid eleven rack vs the avid eleven pluggin, which have the same sounds built in.

I almost commented this when i first heard your demo, but i was hestiant to sidetrack the convo.

If you think about it the mpcx uses computer type hardware components so its not digital hardware thats the issue, my theory is based on the OS, which is bare bones and custom for standalone devices. Perhaps better clocking? Maybe its the connection protocal to the computer, the USB, TB, ect. Thats also absent in the standalones.

It could be interesting, if the mpcx and mpc software i have, have any of the exact same samples, to render them on the mpcx and the computer, and see if they null, and sound the same.

I couldnt help but think about how much more advanced the mpcx is vs the old cassette based portastudios.

Interesting points, Kyle.
Ironically I only bought the MPC X for drum programming then two days after I had it home I was dazzled on how well tracks sat in the mix and how easy it was to use in comparison to all the DAW’s I’ve used in the last 20 years.

I forced myself to not get turned off by it’s very basic control panel and plugins. As I was tracking this song I kept thinking... I can’t wait to hear how great I will make it sound once I import it into Samplitude.

What’s most impressive is how easy it is to lay down drums, that imho sound good enough and then get instantly inspired to start making up music without all the fuss.

I tried a few mic’s and was astonished how well it accepted my Soundelux e250 for Vox and a DPA acoustic SDC for the guitars. By the way... I can’t rave enough about the DPA. It was super easy to find the tones I wanted with it.

I’ve looked all over the web to find something that was used to track acoustic stuff like I did and there is nothing out there. The MPC x still seems to be stereo typed for hip hop etc yet it’s very friendly for musicians.

It’s portable and ready to get you tracking the moment you plug it in.

 

[audiokid]

This is the DPA mic I used for guitars. I like it because you can move around which is a big part of how I enjoy playing. The MPC X liked it.



4099G

https://www.dpamicrophones.com/mic-university/how-to-mic-an-acoustic-guitar

 

[kmetal]

What’s most impressive is how easy it is to lay down drums, that imho sound good enough and then get instantly inspired to start making up music without all the fuss.

The ability to be recording before you forget the beat or riff is priceless!

I tried a few mic’s and was astonished how well it accepted my Soundelux e250 for Vox and a DPA acoustic SDC for the guitars. By the way... I can’t rave enough about the DPA. It was super easy to find the tones I wanted with it.

Both those mics look very cool. Ive never used a mic like the 4099g, it sounds good on your track. Not having bulky stands, and having consistant mic positioning while moving around is cool.

The MPC x still seems to be stereo typed for hip hop etc yet it’s very friendly for musicians.

Yeah man, this seems like the perfect setup for any songwriter. Its interesting how fast you can get going when inspiration strikes.