MPC Thread : MPC Live - MPC X - MPC One (Part 1)

Silly question(s), but do MPC Touch / Live / X users get all of the MPX software / updates free?

Or is it a continual paid upgrade program?

Or is the above for cats wanting to use the MPC software who don’t have the hardware?

The above is for anyone without the hardware. Akai decided to allow the software to run without their controllers. They introduced this policy change around software version 2.2 IIRC

Owing a touch / live / X gives you MPC 2 software for free… But when MPC 3.0 gets released we might have to pay an upgrade fee, that’s what owners of MPC renaissance generation controller users had to do when 2.0 was released IIRC

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Thanks @tsutek, appreciate the info / clarification :slight_smile:

  1. I recently bought an mpc studio black used and registered it on the Akai page. I got a 2.0 license with that. Kudos to Akai for the freebie on a used controller.

  2. No it’s not a perpetual license. You might want to ask Akai if buying a used live/ touch / or x will get you a free 2.0 license.

  3. The offer I sent is for someone just trying to get into the mpc world if they don’t have those controllers.

When I didn’t have the mpc studio I used maschine studio to control the 2.2 software. Not bad at all. I also tried it with the push 2. Works ok.

  1. Be warned 2.2 is not the prettiest GUI but it swings when you write drum patterns and if you have an Akai mpc controller there is pad performance mode which has presets for chord progressions. Pad perform mode on my studio black is so cool because I drop in a polyphonic Arturia plug-in. Make a progression sequence and drum to it. Not pretty GUI also means some menu diving but once you have it in your muscle memory you’re good.

I bought the studio black because I was so used to using the 1000 and 2000xl. First hour of using it my muscle memory kicked in.

  1. There’s something about that MPC swing that I like. You can even use Arturia spark in the DAW and add swing.
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Oh man! Looking at the studio black now after your previous post, I find myself getting jealous lol

The UI of the studio black looks alot more like what I’d actually want to use with my MPC live (except for the screen). The dedicated buttons for TRACK MUTE and NEXT SEQ are desperately needed on the live :sleepy:

How those pads feel though? I noticed they are not of the fat variety as on the live, X and the MPD2 series… The live pads are the best stock pads on any MPC I ever had laid my hands on.

Personally I find the MPC Studio pads to be the best around. I own a silver one for that reason only and use it as my finger drumming controller with BFD and Superior Drummer. The MPC Studio was recommended to me by David “Fingers” Haynes. I like to put the pad sensitivity and threshold down to 2, which gives me great control over the velocity range. I found on the MPC Live that the pads are great but amlost a little too responsive - if I remember correctly velocity curve B or C were more playable.

I have the MPC266 and find it quite clunky.The pads either need to be hit fairly hard or just push down to get lighter less velocity notes.Im in the market for another controller.I did the electrical tape mod on the pads on mt MPC5000 and they are super sensitive now.Had the silver studio and it was good and pads were fine but did not like the feel of the buttons,dials ans i dont really need all the options and screen on there because i just mouse on the big screen.Easier.I wonder iif the studio black is the same pad feel to the silver.

I tried using the MPC software with the Live, but it has the ugliest, clunkiest UI ever.

Standalone Touch? You mean a Live?

I have a Studio Black and I bought clear fat pads from MPCStuff.com for like 45 bucks, they’re thicker, softer and more comfortable. And they look better because the colors show through. As far as the dedicated buttons, they’re a must. The lack of dedicated buttons is why I won’t get a Live.

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Hello all of the MPC Live pocessors.
Need help cause I can’t load my old midi files in the Live.
When I had a MPC 2500, I just put them on card and it was done. When I plug a usb drive on the Live, I don’t find my midi files, i see the directories but not the files. I change the .mid by .MID but it dont change.
Is there a specificity with midi files ? I don’t have computer so I try to load midi file in standalone.
Thanks
Cheers

A quick google tells me the MIDI files should just open up, assuming they are type 1 standard MIDI files…

Select to view all files in Live’s browser

Same as the live.

Not making a big deal about it but just had another go in the shop with the live pads plus adjusting in menu and the MPC5000 pads with the tape mod kill it for sensitivity (if thats your thing) I can get 1 velocity consistently by just lightly touching the pads now and obviously all the way up…and softer too (standard grey,softer than the standard MPC1000 pads) Just cant get better at this point.Which makes me feel it will be hard to replace.Basically the best pad set up ive had so far.For detailed percussion.Edit-i might just start controlling the software with the 5k !!!

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Those stock pads on the black are good. I have the MPD232 and those have the fat pads that you’re used to on the live. Technically I can throw the MPD232 in my USB hub and use the dedicated studio black Mpc buttons if I really miss those fat pads.

Dedicated buttons was why I went with the studio black. I’m sure if they made an updated renaissance MK II I would buy it.

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Hey Yogos_Arabatzis, thousand hundred of thanks ! :))))))
I was about to sell it, with regrets just because of that.
Promised, next time I take time to RTFM

\0/
Cheers

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Yes I knew that. Thx for help

thx tsutek for explaining. I will give it a try in the next days.

Actually seems like someone had a similar conversation over at GS regarding the same topic. They claimed that if you make a song into a new sequence, the program changes will be lost?

If that is the case, then I’m afraid you need to add in all the pgm chng commands manually in list edit mode :zonked: