Trust me this was a great move 
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[quote=“toodee, post:5173, topic:32978”]
in 2+ years of owning that machine, every time I get close to a usable workflow, I find a show-stopping quirk in the software, something so basic and still not implemented…[/quote]
As someones once said about the missing features, they know wat they want and where they want to go with their stuff! This let me think that if it isn’t implemented since the 1.0 until now, that mean that it will never be implemented. Don’t need to waste your time to wait for the 3.0 or 3000.0!
Look at evidences. Everybody’s asking for automation lines, best midi implementation, what they give us? Splice!
This is not only Akai. Pioneer, Elektron act sometimes this way, they give tou beta stuff and promises. They keep releasing new stuff and put on hold old beta stuff the sad thing is when you complain about this, someone’s try to silence or discredit you.
You just have to pay and stay quite even when you feel you get scammed
The MPC has been around for so long, it’s very much about a paradigm these days. It seems to me, the MPC is much about live playing, hitting Undo if you get it wrong and play it again until you get it right. And that’s what it is. Everything seems to be designed around that experience.
It’s quite possible that many of the features that seem obvious on request will never happen, because it’s just not what the MPC is about, from Akai’s point of view.
Just because it’s a great idea, doesn’t mean it will ever happen. Discarding bad ideas is easy. It’s choosing between the good ones remaining, that’s hard, cause go for them all and you’d get a blurred product.
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On the other hand, why buying a product for features it doesn’t have and complain they are missing?
When I bought the Live I was aware that automations editing in standalone was not possible and that there was not such thing as p-locks.
Would I like them?
Yes.
Do I expect Akai to implement them?
No.
Am I still making music with it?
Yes.
I do have a list of things I would like to see but I’m well happy with what the Live is today.
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I didn’t put my money on it waiting for features… but you can’t deny that everything they announce on Live is true, things that works very good on old MPC’s.
Alongside with MPC Live i’ve OT and DN, 2 inferior gear, on the paper, but best implement and more mature than MPC Live. Feel more instant gratification on that combo than with MPC Live. The midi connection between DN and OT is very accurate, the same we can’t say adding the MPC to the party. The same connection that worked very well with the MPC1000
The way i do and i want to do my things maybe the Force could be better for me but i’m afraid and i’m very reticent giving my money to akai
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This is exactly it. The reason people’s feature requests go unanswered most of the time is because, technically speaking, they’re just fanciful requests. That is to say, there’s nothing broken per se (nothing major anyway), it’s just that they would prefer something be changed or augmented about the existing functionality, based on their personal workflow or (sometimes misguided) expectations. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with aspiring to greater things and voicing an opinion in hopes of being heard - and certainly limitations, if only perceived rather than actual, can be frustrating - but that has little to do with product development from a logistical standpoint.
I was successful, for instance, negotiating for bug-fixes on behalf of the Tempest community, only because I was staunchly focused on fixing bugs (and there were A LOT of them), not adding new features. Anything that wasn’t in the original Manual was simply not a priority, unless it was directly causing problems with basic functionality. In fact, I wanted several features removed, not fixed. The community, however, shot themselves in the foot, so to speak, because they made so much noise about what they thought the Tempest should have been, rather than focusing on what it was: i.e. user samples come to mind… Ahem! Hell, I remember a guy who kept derailing the conversation with requests for an audio input (rolling my eyes).
By contrast, I’ve been using the MPC Live for the better part of a couple months now, and aside from a corrupt project (which, to be fair, was surely the fault of my SD card), I have experienced nothing that I would consider a show-stopping bug or broken feature. That’s not say that I don’t see room for improvements, but I’m not about to hold Akai accountable to my vision of their box.
People have asked me (here and elsewhere, both publicly and privately) to take up this fight with Akai, but I honestly don’t feel as though there’s a fight to be had. I was also solicited, a couple years ago, to campaign for features in the new Electribes. Again, don’t get me wrong, I’m humbled and flattered that people would want me for the job (grin). However, I also own an Electribe 2, and I personally think it’s a very capable groovebox; especially considering the price point. There’s simply nothing wrong with it; nothing worth kicking up a fuss about anyway.
My favourite thing to say, with regards to the perceived “limitations” of modern tech (and how people feel impeded by said limitations), is that far greater music has been made with far less. A good craftsman, as they say, never blames his tools (wink).
Anyway, I’m just making conversation…
Cheers!
*Edit: Sorry, nothing changed, just clicked on the wrong post (smirk).
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If you’re not using your MPC like this, for example, perhaps you’re using it wrong (smirk)…
Cheers!
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Well said John,
With a couple of exceptions , namely disk streaming and multi timbal midi input ,
I’d rather they just focus on improving what’s already there (strange erase key functionality and grid editor issues etc) which is more or less what the Akai roadmap seems to be.
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Our vision of their box has been shaped over the years by the actual implementation of their previous boxes. When every other MPC has been able to properly manage CCs, it comes as a (bad) surprise that this one is poorly equiped in this area. And it’s just an example amongst many others. Also it’s not Akaï alone… Over the years almost every manufacturers remove useful features and favor ease of use, even Elektron. But there may be a moment when it breaks the balance for some users.
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I remember this one 
What times eh…
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Okay, so use an older MPC then.
I’m no MPC aficionado, by any means, but it seems to me that the MPC Live is light years ahead of its predecessors in many respects, even if it lacks certain legacy functionality. See, I’m not coming from a previous incarnation of the box, so I simply (and sensibly) bought it for what it does, and as a result, I’m more or less happy with the thing. Now, if the current functionality was exceedingly buggy or broken, maybe then I’d have a bone to pick; but it’s not, so… It is what it is.
For the record, I did encourage people (in what I said above) to be vocal if they feel it’s justified, but to also be reasonable. I’ve been privy to enough product development over the years to assure you that companies are listening, and they do aim to impress. As such, the more that people demand of a product, and the less they expect to pay for it, the more likely we are to end up with flimsy boxes full of half-baked features. That’s what happened to the Tempest: i.e. perhaps ironically, everyone saw the esteemed names Dave Smith and Roger Linn, and decided right then and there that it ought to be an MPC 3000 (only better of course) and the greatest synth Dave Smith ever produced, all under one hood. Then they had the audacity to bitch about the price (smirk). Meanwhile, an enthusiastic young programmer (whose name I won’t mention) chased every request until a mess was made of what should have been a beautifully simple and elegant analog drum machine (that I am currently sampling into my new MPC Live, because the Tempest remains broken in so many ways). It’s a tragedy, and a cautionary tale.
Again, I didn’t say that there wasn’t room for improvement, but the way people carry on sometimes, as though music can’t be made without feature ‘X’… It’s a bit silly. Besides which, we do have the power to vote with our wallets. If the box ain’t there yet, don’t buy it until it is. Otherwise, as I see it, you’ve got two choices:
- Keep making music with what you’ve got.
- Wait till something better comes along.
Cheers!
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Sure, but hardware ages and vintage stuff has its own burden.
light years ahead of its predecessors in many respects
Which ones ? I can see a few: audio quality/resolution, speed of execution, ergonomics, portability… it’s nice and useful but far from light years ahead in my view.
as though music can’t be made without feature ‘X’… It’s a bit silly.
Of course it is. We’re also talking about progress here.
we do have the power to vote with our wallets
Sure, and I did.
Honestly, not having multitimbral functionality after 2 years is not just an oversight but straight up negligence! The back of the box has 2 midi input ports, 2 USB ports and I am only allowed to control the track I’m on?!!! I didn’t look up the manual to see if that basic function is available because it’s supposed to be there from launch! Other than that I love the MPC but please Akai fix this!
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Frankly, the hardware is fantastic… but the software lacks behind. Great connectivity like you said… but no way to use midi in properly. 8 track recorder capability… but have to restrict to limited onboard RAM. Excellent and snappy interface, with good touch interface… but no way to draw automation on it. And the list goes on. All these are perfectly reasonable requests. But I guess it was more important to make a deal with sample vendors.
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Let’s see if os 3.0 addresses these issues. I don’t feel it’s unreasonable to expect certain features to be there in your “music production center”
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The automation thing was the deal breaker for me. As soon as it gets done, I’ll get another one 
I don’t blame you. I kept mine. It’s the center of my studio but it gets frustrating when I want to control my synths with my midi keyboard but have to be tethered to the same midi track on the MPC! I want to bang out on program A on the MPC and control synth B with my midi controller simultaneously! I can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time Akai!!! 
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Jeez, man, I’m not going to split hairs with you, but those seem like the hallmarks of progress to me. It seems to me that people have gotten a little spoiled on tech in recent history. You give a mouse a cookie, as the expression goes, and it’s bound to ask for a glass of milk.
As a professional touring musician of 30 years, I can tell you straight up (and without pretense) that what sounds promising on the tech conference floor is usually a decade or more from becoming a practical reality. Sure, the perception is there that anything is possible, but that doesn’t mean it’s in the bag. The truth is, the MPC Live is a miracle of modern science. If it were a no-brainer to produce a box like this, I can think of at least 5 other companies that would have beat Akai to it (no pun intended). And it’s a competitive industry, so as previously stated, the more that people expect of the latest gadgets, the more likely it is that those gadgets come to fruition prematurely. In other words, we were generously given all the attributes you volunteered above, which in itself is a huge hurdle, at the forgivable expense of a few legacy functionalities being left behind, at least until they can be properly ported to this entirely new platform.
To be clear, I’m not advocating for Akai here. The truth is, I’m wary of every new offering in music hi-tech, because I have to take this stuff to task in front of a crowd with my reputation and a paycheck hanging in the balance. And, make no mistake, I’ve been genuinely burned before. My original point was simply that the MPC Live is a remarkably stable platform for what it is, and not otherwise obligated to live up to the (often misguided) expectations of the laymen user, or its legacy for that matter. Would it be nice if does? Yep. In the meantime, however, it remains a very capable and forward-thinking device, somewhat ahead of its time.
Cheers!
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Ah ! As a professional touring musician of 30 years you must be right then. Please excuse our laymen expectations. Have a nice day
Oh, you gotta be kidding me!
I was just making conversation, pertinent to the conversation at hand, and attacked no one in the process (certainly not you). Nor have I been condescending toward anyone.
You want better MIDI implementation? I can’t say I blame you. You don’t even currently own the box, though allegedly you did, yet you claim to have voted with your wallet. But I’m somehow being absurd for simply touting the merits of an otherwise fine piece of music production hardware, if only to encourage those who recently asked if there was reason to worry, given all the negative chatter? Give me a break. I was actually enjoying this conversation up till now. I honestly don’t know what you’re all fired up about, but whatever, man…
Cheers!
P.S. For the record, my comment about being a professional touring musician only stood to draw a comparison between the risks that hobbyists and bedroom producers can accept, because they’re under no certain pressure, versus the stability that companies like Akai are obligated to deliver, based on the needs of people like myself who must be able to rely on their boxes in a live context. Sometimes that means not rushing certain functionalities out the door. And again, the MPC Live might look like its predecessors, but it is an entirely new platform. Hence my many points about the actual state of technology. Whether you think so or not, the truth is, we’re lucky this tech even exists.
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