True, if you need to decide, the force eats 707.
But: 707 can multitrack into computer too. With force you need to record to arranger, and copy over.
If you want to multitrack of course. If not, well.
force has bi-directional import/export with Ableton Live to doesnāt it?
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Can you connect a boutique (or other class compliant synth) to the Force via USB for both Audio and MIDI?
ā¦ and using the effects of the force ?
Yes but with limitations. 8 audio tracks and of course vst and ableton devices are not converted
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As long as the class compliant device is 44.1 and linux class compliant. Midi over usb is also supported so if you find such a synth, theoretically it should work.
Once the audio is routed into an audio track you can apply all of Forceās effects. But just note the 8 audio track limit and not all audio interfaces have been working flawlessly so I assume this is also relevant for synths.
Here is a thread about working/not working devices Akai MPC Forums - List of Working/Non Working Class Compliant USB Interfaces : MPC X, MPC One & MPC Live
Thanks, no mention of anyone trying synths in that thread, so I guess itās just a case of try it and see.
I was wondering if the Rytm or A4 might work, and the boutiques.
I have a Digitone and the audio doesnt work since the audio is 48khz. I assume all the Elektron boxes are the same audio rate. Not sure about the boutiques though.
The Roland boutiques are 44.1 kHz. So they could work I guess. Do you know if you can connect two compliant devices and use them together. Could be a neat little setup. The Force plus a couple of boutiques connected only by USB. Does the Force also supply power?
Edit: infact could hot swap them easily too for changing boutiques over in the studio
But are the Roland boutiques class compliant? I had a System 1m and 707 and neither were class compliant. They also have to be Linux class compliant.
Hot swap doesnt work so the Force needs to be restarted when plugging in new devices. You can choose which device to use if they are plugged in on boot but you cant combine multiple devices (ie. Aggregate audio like on mac).
The usb ports provide power so no issues there.
You can change the 707 settings so itās class compliant.
But youāll lose multitracking. You only get a stereo stream then out of it over usb.
Actually I just read they need drivers so arenāt class complaint, but thanks for helping me explore the idea 
Donāt know about Boutiques, but I have 2 Op-1s connected via USB to my MPC Live. The Opās sync together perfectly but the Mpc goes out of sync eventually.
I donāt have a compatible audio interface, so canāt say if audio works.
The Mpc supplies power too.
Just bit the bullet in the force after seeing one in a shop here in the UK pre owned but in great condition for a good price.
Iāve owned one before but it was a while ago, and hoping the updates-particularly the last with the randomiser, granulator, stutter and additional plugins will make the difference this time. Excited to dive back in!! Not sure yet how to use it and the TR8S in my setup, but Iāll see how it plays out. For now Iām excited to get something with this much power for Ā£650!
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Congrats! Thatās indeed a good price. Just a tip - after you upgrade to the latest firmware, reset all Preferences (twice even! 
) and then change your disk-streaming temp folder to your SSD assuming you install one (or a fast SD Card). That said, what ārandomiserā are you talking about?
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Itās long, I wish Force:
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would use higher end interfaces. My Lynx Aurora(n) doesnāt work with it, and the other option I hoped would ( Motu AVB interfaces ) wonāt either. RME works in Class Compliant mode, but then you lose all of the cool stuff. Tascam, NI, Focusrite, most āpro-sumerā stuff seems to work fine. Some report glitches, I have not had any.
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judging by the gripes on the boards, I think the biggest gripe is user knowledge of MIDI& Audio interconnections and functionality within a musical, sequencing based system - that and folks wanting it to be as powerful as a 12-core desktop.
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had a larger set of plugins designed for use with acoustic instruments, ie polarity, a few more compressor types, a graphic eq, de-esser, amplifier sims, a vocoder,
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the pitch strip from Push 1
Limitations I run into are: when attempting to use it as a sound module for another sequencer; it will respond to note offs for the same note # on different channels and ports.
Or
When I want to export tracks from it to a DAW and donāt leave an audio tailā¦ little frustrating things like that.
There are work-arounds, but it can be frustrating figuring out wtf is going on.
Now the griping is out of the way, itās become my go-to for creating something outside of drum set or guitar. I can create tracks astonishingly fast, and then if I want or need to add live instruments, I can record up to 16 tracks at once with my Tascam US-16x08, and mix down 20-24 tracks ( depending on how much other processing / plugins Iāve got going.
Latency with this box has been equal to or better than the onboard; Iāve actually tracked a band, run headphone mixes using outboard reverb and delay and had no complaints.
There could always be more, but itās a pretty solid box. It ticks a lot of boxes for me. It and OT are a great match. I really enjoy taking it, a decent mic, some speakers, and building tracks with someone.
SCG
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Do you mean the Tascam US-16x08 is being used to record into the Force as class compliant device without the vinyl pop/crackling on playback and recording?
I am looking to get an audio interface that i can multitrack 4 pairs of stereo line levels (poly synths) and I had issues with a Scarlett 18i20 gen 2 where it sounded like vinyl pops/crackling were introduced in the recordings. Tried all the suggested settings on Force but no love. A few others have also reported the same issues.
It would be amazing if the Tascam US-16x08 worked!
I had a 707 before the Force, and in my case I should have just gone straight for the Force. It does everything I need it to, and I prefer working with it.
The 707ās main advantages for me are hardware-related - youāve got more tactile control with the per-channel knobs and faders, and youāve got more onboard i/o flexibility. You can use the macros mode on the Force to replicate some of the control features, but the immediacy of the 707ās controls always remains useful. The Force does have the potentially huge advantage of allowing you to create your own custom marco controls, which is great for jamming and improvising if you have the time and patience to set it all up.
The i/o is addressed, I suppose, by the Forceās new USB features, but that requires you to have the additional and appropriate hardware.
Sound is subjective, but Iād say both are more than capable of generating any sound you might want. The 707 is fiddlier in some ways - itās well laid out, but you will be menu diving to some degree. But you benefit from a consistent interface, which some might prefer. The Force gives you much better control with the touchscreen, knobs and VST-style plugins, but they all have different approaches and layouts. As with most other factors, it all depends on your preference. The 707 is quite old school at heart - it feels a bit like using a rack sampler at times, but in a good way - a robust, focused system thatās fast once youāre used to it, whereas on the Force itās not unusual to find your finger hovering over the screen while you try to remember where it needs to be. I still get on better with the Forceās approach overall, but the 707 certainly has its strengths there.
Sampling, Iād say the Force wins hands down there, unless youāre not a fan of touchscreens (in which case you should probably be looking elsewhere). The 707 is a bit more imemdiate in terms of layering samples and synths, but this is another area where the lack of immediacy on the Force is balanced by a wealth of possibilities. Streaming samples from disk on the Force is a huge advantage if itās important to you, and if large/long samples are something youāre likely to use, it definitely has you covered.
Sequencing is an interesting category - the Force has a very robust linear sequencer (and arranger), but isnāt partcularly interested in experimental approaches in the same way as, say, and Elektron device. There are some elements and workarounds, for sure, but itās not the same. The 707 is a bit more accommodating there, but the implementation often feels clunky. The grid arrangement on the 707 is really interesting, though, if you like working with multiple sequences and tracks in a generative or unpredictable way. Neither of them match the Elektrons for immediate experimentation, but both have tools for exploring that side of things. The arranger mode on the Force, if itās something youāre interested in, is very nice.
When itās all put together, I just find the Force easier, faster and more enjoyable to work with. I like to tinker around, swap things around, try out different effect chains and so on, and the Force offers rewarding ways to do all that. I think its macro system is very much an underrated gem. I do like the physical elements of the 707, and it works really well as a kind of Roland museum, but itās just hard to go back to it after the Force. If I had to choose one, I wouldnāt hesitate to lose the 707. That sounds harsh, which is a shame because itās a powerful and flexible device that would have blown my mind ten years ago - but thatās how it is.
(If the choice was Force or Octatrack, then Iād have a problem on my hands - which is another testament to the Force.)
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Just read over at the MPC-forums that Force firmware 3.1.2 just dropped yesterday (addresses the save bug as well as a myriad of other stuff). Check your Akai accounts!
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Whatās the workflow for converting a drum program or keygroup into an audio clip? Is it straightforward to capture things like reverb tails? (On Ableton itās easy to record a couple of bars and then loop the second bar so that any reverb/delay tails are included at the start of the bar)