The Akai MPC ONE is here, with an ode to that old-school workflow
The Akai MPC ONE is the new standalone production workstation with a similar approach to the legendary original MPC series.
The Akai MPC ONE is much more than just a watered-down MPC Live, although it shares much of the same core features and runs exactly the same OS software, it presents a much more intuitive way of controlling certain functions.
The core focus behind the MPC Live is extreme versatility, so it’s understandable that they opted to go without the dedicated hardware controls for in-depth editing, however, that is one of the things that made the original legendary MPC’s so sought after.
Learning the workflow and applying muscle memory allows you to play the device like an instrument, however, the touchscreen moves away from that a little bit.
The MPC ONE introduces those dedicated hardware controls – something that hardcore MPC-heads have been asking for on a standalone system for a while now.
The most affordable standalone MPC ever…
Another huge selling point is that this is now the most affordable fully-fledged standalone MPC system ever, it’s got USB to connect to a laptop or PC, and another USB for a flash drive or an additional MIDI controller.
There’s traditional DIN MIDI in and out and eight CV/Gate ports – so there is certainly enough I/O for most home studios.
The new Akai MPC ONE is smaller and more compact than the MPC Live, however, there is no built-in battery – so it does need to be powered.
It’s also got slightly smaller drum pads and less internal memory (4gb to be exact), and no drive-bay to add an additional hard drive.
The software is exactly the same as the rest of the MPC standalone range, however, the compact form-factor and dedicated hardware controls make for a very intuitive workflow.
There are a lot of functions that require the touchscreen, however, core functions are moving towards dedicated controls.
As usual with Akai, the unit comes with a ton of built-in sounds to get you started straight away. The MPC ONE is set to retail at USD $699 (Around R10k excl. duties).
For more information check the Akai website.
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