I’ve not seen a Live 1 and 2 side by side, but from what I can tell they are pretty much the same size with a bit more depth on the Live 2 where the speaker lives.
I have a picture somewhere here of some of my units laid out… got it;
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Oh word. The Live 2 isn’t tooooo much bigger than the OT. My desk is definitely getting a bit crowded and I haven’t been able to modify it yet to accommodate more stuff. I’ll need to get on that.
I actually just sold my OT this week.
BeatStep is going… and I’m finding it hard to justify keeping the MC707, although I do like that as a standalone fun workstation.
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I just rebought the OT a 3rd time a few months ago… Rocking it with the DN/DT combo, and hopefully a MicroMonsta2 in the future, for a live rig.
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Just the part of the speakers …
But there are some buttons more on the Live 2 as well, just compare the upper left areas. And there is more connectivity as well. The CVs are great for Eurorack modules.
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Awesome. Maybe I’ll look into the L2.
I am so damn jealous of that black OT. We have the same Elektron trinity, too, so that’s an even better image for me. Thank you for the comparison. Definitely not as big as I thought it would be.
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Cheers! I almost got the grey but couldn’t find it in stock. I am definitely glad I went black, and I was happy when it arrived.
One last thing, re: Live MK1 vs MK2 - I have owned both and HATED the shift function requirements of the original since there are less buttons overall. When the MK2 came out, was a no-brainer for me to upgrade. Don’t get me wrong, there are still shift functions on the MK2, but less so. (You can always double click the button fast to avoid the shift feature).
In hindsight, I don’t use the portability like I thought I would, so the MPC One would be the unit I would get if I could go back. Especially seeing how the panel layout is much closer to the MPC X I used to own. I just can’t shake the “I am using a computer feeling” with the MPC Live (did not feel this way about the MPC X thus why I think the One would be similar).
But I digress, the Live isn’t that much larger than the Elektron Trinity.
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The One or v2 are the ones on my radar at this point. Thanks for all the information!
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Anyone here has a Live/Force and a Virus?
Which mode is best? Single and resample, multi then resample once all sounds are in place or sequencer mode?
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The One is the best deal in music gear. I had the Live 2 but I sent it back. It w as great, but the reality was I knew I’d barely use it out of my studio so the portable factor was gone. Once I wire up an MPC I typically keep it where it is, since it is the hub of my hardware basically.
I use the CV with semi modular gear and it’s an amazing benefit of the One. I also prefer the buttons on the one as well.
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Fucking right it will! I used to use a Snow with my MV8800 and it was a dream!
That’s my opinion as well. I just don’t see the justification for me when all I do is using it in different places around the house. I’d love to not bring the cord with my everywhere but that convenience is not worth another 400 USD. Also, the One has more buttons, making it a slightly quicker machine to work with.
At a roughly similar price point, I might still have considered the Live II because it looks cooler, and the battery and speaker is nice to have. But I can’t say prefer the bulkier form factor and with a 50% higher price tag, it’s an easy choice in my opinion.
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With my personal experience, I disagree with this… I find the Live 2 really fast, faster than my MPC X which has the most buttons of all.
Maybe the X might seem faster to me when I know it better and have the muscle memory down… but there doesn’t seem to be anything more than a double tap at most away with the Live 2 and it has the best ergonomics:feel of them all in my opinion… it would be fantastic if had a tilt screen though.
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Yeah, more buttons takes more time to learn for sure. I have no experience with the X but the Program Edit button on my One is one of the most used buttons on the machine because I use the plugins and tweak parameters of them all the time. Not sure how that’s accessed on the Live 2.
Personally I don’t necessarily need more buttons, but I’m sure my workflow would be faster if there were dedicated buttons for track mute, track solo, octave +/- shift, and active track +/-.
If there was a way to re-map existing buttons, I’d be all set.
- The +/- buttons below the wheel would be ideal candidates for octave or active track shift. Currently, I don’t see why anyone would use them when there’s a big knob right above them that changes the same parameter with both greater precision and speed.
- I rarely jump onto the Step Sequencer or toggle TC, so those two buttons would be great to map to e.g. Solo and Mute.
- Those four pad bank buttons - I rarely use more than 16 samples and would be perfectly happy with just one or two bank cycle +/- button and then freeing up the other 2-3 buttons for other stuff. I’d add a Last Screen feature to get back to the previous pages you were on more quickly, and then I’d add Track +/- buttons to jump between the active track more quickly across all screens.
- The Erase button - I don’t think I’ve used it more than once. Perfect candidate for reconfiguration.
Quality of life things like button mapping should be fairly easy to implement by Akai, along with the ability to reorder and delete tracks/sequences/programs more easily using drag and drop, a Select All function in the grid sequencer, etc.
Hopefully they’re listening to feedback like this somewhere. 
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You should communicate these suggestions to Akai. Some of them are very elegant. I love the octave up/down function for +/-. I wonder what Shift + -/+ does, actually…. Will try tomorrow when I have one on One time again… 
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I’m the same, I’m in Program Edit constantly, on the Live 2 it’s Menu+Pad 14, which might sound slower than having a dedicated button but in reality is intuitive/seamless when it’s familiar.
I have a dedicated button on the MPC X, but it’s upper left location (and probs my Live 2 experience) means I always default to the Menu+Pad approach there too.
These are great suggestions. At first, I did think that I like knowing that everyone has the exact same functionality because it makes learning the machines easier (manuals, YouTube videos, etc)… but you’re right, many of the buttons (particularly the + and -) could be put to better use.
I can’t believe they didn’t put a press button selector on the main jog wheel of the MPC X. It’s equivalent button is below in the center of the cursor buttons (that I rarely use).
I use this constantly on the Live 2.
Another irk I have, in Program Edit, I wish it would remember the sub page you are on and revert to it when you go between the different sections.
Example, if you’re on the Filter Env page and go to the 8 Drum Fx page, when you return you have to scroll past the Amp Env page.
I spend a lot of time in the Randomisation page of the Sample section… that’s 4 taps on it every time you want to go back to it… WHO has the time for this?? It’s nearly 2022!! 
Seriously though, it would be cool if there was an option for it to remember your sub page positions.
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The volume knob on front deck of the Live 2 is a big upgrade from the Live and one imo….also its a shame the left right switches underneath the dater wheel on the One dont also have up and down like previous MPCs for going around the screen.Does not make sense.
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