AKAI Force

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If the Force never existed & came out today (with gen2 tech & a Fn tilt screen) would it be a hit in today’s post MPC3.0 market?

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I be interested in it more than a Live 3 because of the pad layout.

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Unless you’re already invested in the MPC ecosystem, I think the Force is a hard sell given the existence of the Push 3.

When I bought my original Force, it was the only game in town in terms of the 64 pad form factor AND truly stand alone AND the fact that it played well with Ableton. Once I got my hands on the Push 3 SA, the Force got left behind.

I would think that for a new Force to sell well Akai are going to have to beat the Push 3 on many fronts, both in terms of hardware and in terms of integration with DAWs people truly use in large numbers (the MPC 2/3 software doesn’t count :wink: )

I think if the Force 2 were to have a speaker like the Live 3 and battery, that would convince a lot of people to buy one. It would be a day 1 buy for me. Though I kind of doubt they would add a speaker if I’m being honest, just wishful thinking.

I have an MPC live 2 but am mostly invested in Ableton with a copy of Suite and a Push 3 controller which I do love. But I also love that I can easily take my Live 2 to the backyard or basement with a small midi controller and chill.

My question was aimed at MPC users who are using MPC3.0. To be more specific, users that like the Clip-matrix, the 16 step seq/function buttons (the Force has 64), & more dedicated buttons on the XL.

For 3.0 lovers seeing new unit like the Force I mentioned that was designed to handle 3.0 better with it 8x8 pads layout that mirrors the screen unlike the gen2 MPCs & can copy/paste/delete clips from the pads, not just from the pop-up menu.

Being able to use a 32 & 64 step sequencer via pads that light up, after being limited to only 16 black buttons. Also having something not as big as the XL but still having many dedicated buttons & some not even on the XL like the 8 launch buttons & the Navigation buttons which is a mode not on any MPC.

Now, in that MPC3 market (users that don’t want a push), if the Force never existed & a new gen2 Force with a tilt screen was to come out today, would it be successful?

I think it would, especially if they call it a MPC-64 to keep on brand but offer a break from the normal 16 pads in os where the 8x8 pads layout makes sense.

I think the speaker would add to size & weight to what many say is a already big machine. The battery would be more useful. If they could allow for BT connection to my little JBL speaker that would work. I don’t mind the size of the Force, but I don’t make music outside of my studio so I would need the extra size, but I would be mad about it.

I am an MPC 3.0 user and a Force user before that. I appreciate some, if not all, of what Akai has done to improve the user experience. But by your response I take it you’re only looking for responses to conform to your view, so I’ll leave you to the echo chamber…

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I explained the type of users I was referring to & the hypothetical situation. That’s your assumption I want a echo chamber answer. I didn’t ask if you appreciate the improvements Akai made. Can you answer the question based on the info & context I gave?

The question isn’t about your personal feelings about the device. It’s about if you think a Force like device would be successful coming out now instead of 2017, after MPC users had time to use 3.0 & more sspecifically those who like that workflow & the clip-matrix.

Many MPC users never used the Force nor know much about it, but like many features that came from it. You are not one of those users, but you can hopefully imagine what it would be like seeing a modern Force in today’s market after only using a MPC & liking the Force OS that improvements that were added overtime.

yes it would, as long as they didn’t Frankenstein it like they first one.
The Force and the MPC might share a lot but the workflow is still different enough to be of interest… there are people who own an mpc, a push, and a force for this reason… I have no interest in a Live 3 or mpc xl but definitely have interest in a Force 2, especially if they put the crossfader on the left

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Dang where have you been??? I hope all is well

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Cool, but why can’t they put a crossfader on right & left. Win-Win! :grin:

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My guess is yes. Maybe they could name it ‘MPC 64’, market heavily to DJs like before, and partner with a brand like ‘Supreme’. :laughing:

All the recent new features like Adv Keygroups, Slice Motion, Mod Matrix, are powerful but definitely needs optimization. Plus the ever-growing list of bugs.

Or they could just throw faster hardware at it.

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Just naming it the MPC-64 would mean they wouldn’t have to market it to DJs. We would MPC users already using the features from the Force like the clip-matrix, but now they would have MPC that was made for it. Please never mentioned Supreme again. I hate their branding.

The gen2 MPCs have some of same old bugs & new ones but that hasn’t stopped people from buying them & it would be the same for a new like device. All those new features & other things could be improved, like adding a FX favorite list. Adding a faster processor *wouldn’t happen until gen 3, mind you this Force would be a g2 model - with a tilting screen & with MPE pads.

I think MPC heads wasn’t ready for the Force back in 2019, (which I thought was a dumb down MPC marketed to DJ LOL), now after being ease into it with MPC3.0 & the Pro-Pack, they’ll be more receptive to a new Force. More are already seeing the benefits of the current Force because of those 2 factors. The name change will help a lot, more for MPC heads, I don’t care what they call it, but it would make more business $en$e.

Akai would be crazy not to update the CPU.

My current project is 3 tracks with a grand total of 3 samples for the entire project. CPU spikes >80%. GUI slowing down. Parameters (esp. Sample Edit & Track Edit) randomly stop working. OLEDs bugging out, their encoders become practically useless. I haven’t added automation yet, and we all know that’s a resource hog on modern Akais:

  • Track 1: Keygroup with 1 sample (drum loop), sliced (14), random Slice Motion & ping-pong looping on for each slice, light use of the Mod Matrix. 3x FX.

  • Track 2: Keygroup with 1 sample (chained single-cycle waveforms), sliced (16), incremental Slice Motion & ping-pong looping on for each slice, light use of the Mod Matrix. No FX.

  • Track 3: Drum Program with 1 sample (drum loop), sliced (12), incremental Slice Motion & ping-pong looping on for each slice, light use of the Mod Matrix. 1x FX.

Older projects w/o the new features, some with >40 tracks, even with automation - they play fine, but with a noticeable increase in CPU usage now with OS 3.5+.

I’ve been reporting these issues to Akai, they’re receptive, but slow.

Edit: Forgot to mention that ping-pong looping is enabled for each slice. That’s a resource killer.

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I meant to put *wouldn’t happen until gen3.

Of course they should update the current Force with gen2 tech. Thanks for reporting. They may be responding slowly because there’s many others reporting & there’s only so much the can improve on in gen1. I wonder if they will make the Force compatible with MPC PC software since both platforms are basically running the same OS. That would give the current a major power boost.

yummmmyyyy

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Found this among the comments regarding the new upcoming MPC One Gen 2:

ADA2S = Force2 :partying_face::+1:

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Yeah, I dropped this info on MPC-FORUMS.com over a year ago. He was right about some other stuff he found & now BAM. The gen2 Key37 & One both showed up the same day.

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You might have to wait until middle October for your wish to come true but at least it’s coming to fruition .

I’ve noticed that middle to late / October is their big announcement. Still cool that the guys post on MPC forums is making sense now

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