Getting past the inevitable brand fandom stuff, it seems like there are very very different design philosophies going on with each of these. Akai going all in on DAW in a box, Roland sticking with a more classic approach to electronic instruments, and Elektron gonna Elektron.
Everyone’s gonna have preferences, but for me I think it’s clear which one is more likely to come out with the 2020s spec sampling box I’d want - 404 is close but not quite, TR1k isn’t trying to do that but seems like it might even be enough for me - either way wouldn’t take much by way of upgrades to the 404 to hit the ideal I’d have in mind.
Even more interesting thing with new drum articulations is that you can assign multiple samples to a drum pad and split them by velocity layers. Then drum articulations will play different samples in a single hit.
Paradiddle is broken though, it’s just a four stroke hit without any dynamics.
This is exactly my use case. What a bummer. You just saved me an expensive and time consuming test.
Playing in a band I need the thing to be flexible, as I would expect from a box with the term ‘live’ in their name.
May I ask what are you using nowadays? I’m using an iPad as the MIDI master for my gear and occasionally as a soft synth. It does its job very well, when software doesn’t do anything weird, which does not happen frequently but it does happen and I’ve always dreamed of a self contained, standardized, dedicated, reliable, great sounding with multiple outputs, hands-on kinda box I could do +90% directly on during improvisation, composition, sound designing, arranging, rehearsals, playing live…
incredible post, thanks for sharing your thoughts. gotta dig into this.
Happy to report that the MIDI Note Off bug seems to finally be squashed. Same with the issue of Note Repeat capturing MIDI notes from other channels and throwing them on your drum program.
Unfortunately, I have found a new midi bug that has to do with external midi devices, but I’m not going to tell you what it is, and I’m going to do my best not to think about it too much unless it really gets in my way.
I seem to remember there was someone out there years ago modifying the 2.x firmware to add things like encoders for extra q links and midi-mappable transport controls. I bet something like that could enable external crossfaders. anyone remember that/have a link to that? edit: this is what I was thinking of
other than the live 3, it looks like it’s just the mpc key models that support crossfader. bummer, as it’s an assignable destination for everyone in the q-link learn drop down from the top of the screen
Played with 3.6 and the pro pack a little on my MPC one tonight.
Lots of cool things but I’m a little frustrated that the drum program LFOs are not free running and still reset when triggered. Can’t tell if it’s a bug or by design but it’s annoying either way
West End DJ seem to have them at the moment for UK heads if they’re struggling to find. Not in the market for one myself (too many samplers, not enough time already) but like to help fellow nauts out Akai Professional MPC LIVE III
I don’t think I am gassing. I’ve just been searching for the perfect groovebox for 20 years meaning the all-in-one and unique machine in my set-up.
I had a lot of boxes. Some were grooveboxes assumed (Electribe 2, Spectralis 2, QY70…) and some others were close to be considered as such (Monomachine, DT2, DN2, DNOG, MPC One…).
Really the Move is very very close to be the perfect machine for me but lacks of power (only 4 tracks), misses some functions from Elektron sequencers and is limited in sound design. Something between the Move and the Push 3 could get even closer to this dream.
I did like the pluggins in the MPC One (Jura, OPX4) but as said not the global sound of the MPC.
The Live III seems to have very interesting evolutions (he kind of MPE, the XoX sequencer). So my question for who tried the Live III was is there any sound difference with the OG ones due to electronic components choices. I don’t know.
I assume you mean the MK3 not the +? 400 is defo a decent price but IMO you get a lot more for your money with a used MPC One.
They have different workflows though. As mentioned by @benway the MPC is now more of a ‘DAW in a box’ where the Maschine is a bit more streamlined. That’s not neccessarily a bad thing though tbh - a lot of people rave about the Maschine workflow and the hardware is top notch with some of the best pads in the business.
I actually can’t think of any music gear that represents the value for money that a used OG MPC One does.
I managed to dodge the bullet for now. Last night I hovered my finger on the Buy it now -button of a local dealer, but in the morning when I refreshed their page, they were out of stock too.
I have basically two choices. If I order it from Thomann I’ll get the VAT discounted as a business owner and it’d be only around 1190€. But I don’t have that kind of cash lying around. If I buy it from a Finnish shop it’ll be 1599€, but I can pay it with Klarna and divide it into 12 monthly payments.
For a long time I’ve dreamt of having two MPCs. One for desktop use and another one I could lug around with me to the couch and to the summer cabin etc. I hate disconnecting and reconnecting all the cables every time I want to have a sofa session with my Live II Retro. If I bought the Live III, I could tether that to the studio table and just move the SD-card between the two machines. That would be perfect.
If one buys the Live III, does it mean they get to install the pro pack for their other MPC for free? I guess not. That would be great. I don’t want to spend a hundred euros on the pro pack and then in a few months time spend a 1600€ on the new MPC.
The tricky thing here is that there will be a lot of subjectivity involved.
On paper the Live III is probably the most comprehensive single-box on the market - but it’s not really a ‘groovebox’, it’s a lot more than that - which might be good, but might also be quite cumbersome and overloaded, especially if you love the Move and its approach.
The Push3 isn’t a groovebox, I’d rule that out right away IMO. The SA fits that bill a bit better and might be a good option if you’re considering an ‘upgrade’ from the Move, but the nonSA is really just an Ableton controller.
Not sure I fully understand this bit though tbh - modern MPC’s are completely neutral, high-bitrate and sample rate machines that can pretty much sound however you like - what you put in is what comes out. What specifically didn’t you like about the sound of the One?
I’m in this boat. As a ‘traditional’ sampler it’s basically perfect - a 404+ that has a few extra bells and whistles like a speaker, battery and mic, maybe some of the QOL improvements I’m seeing on the TR-1000 screen/menus - instant buy for me.
I did not. I haven’t installed the pro pack, i decided I’d rather spend the money on the Live 3. But weirdly I don’t want to sell my Live 1, I’ve gotten emotionally attached to that unit!
I felt the same way about my Live 2 and all of the cables. That is a real thing that gets in the way of using the thing how you’d like. I was reconfiguring my studio and realized I should use an old small audio interface and a midi interface instead of all of the ports on the Live 2 itself. Now I just have a usb hub that both the audio and midi interfaces are plugged into, and that one cable along with power are all that are plugged into my Live 2 when it’s in my studio. Super easy to unplug; it’s actually made a world of difference in how often and where I use it. (I know it’s far from ideal to have an audio interface on a hub, especially with a midi interface, but it hasn’t caused me any noticeable problems yet and I don’t care about those “shoulds” until it does)
Someone with a Live 3 should be able to tell you whether their InMusic account has a Pro Pack license (it should). Those licenses cover 3 device activations, and I can’t imagine Akai having a separate 1-activation license just for the Live 3. Maybe someone here with a Live 3 still has their old MPC? Would be super cool if someone could clear up these license questions once they get their Live 3.
