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Akai MPC

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An AKAI MPC2000 sampler

The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Controller) is a series of electronic musical instruments produced by the Japanese company Akai from 1988 onwards. They are grooveboxes that combine features of a sampler, drum machine and MIDI sequencer.

History

In the late 1980s, drum machines had become popular to create beats and loops without musicians, and hip hop artists using samplers to take portions of existing recordings and create new compositions. The original MPC60 was the first result of an alliance between Akai and Roger Linn to design products similar to those of Linn Electronics. Linn, who disliked reading instruction manuals, wanted to create an intuitive interface that simplified music production.

He developed the functional design, including the panel layout and software/hardware specifications. He then created the software with a team of engineers. The hardware electronics were designed by English engineer David Cockerell and his team. Cockerell was a founding member of the synthesizer firm EMS (co-creator of their famous VCS 3 along with Peter Zinovieff), and then worked for effects manufacturers Electro-Harmonix. Akai then pioneered many processing techniques, such as crossfade looping and "time stretch" to shorten or lengthen samples without affecting pitch and vice versa.

Intended to function as a powerful kind of drum machine, the MPC60 drew on design ideas from earlier groovebox machines, combining a powerful MIDI sequencer with the ability to sample one's own sounds. A major influence to Roger Linn's design was his love of rubber pads and how they could be pushed, prodded, and banged; this can be seen clearly in his designs especially from the MPC-60 onwards. Linn also had a passion for squares: thus, no round pads on the MPC Series. Later models feature increasingly powerful sampling, storage, interfacing and sound manipulation facilities, which broaden the use of instrument beyond just drum and rhythm tracks.

Shortly after the MPC60's release, the MPC60-II was designed. Released in 1991, the MPC60-II offered most of the same features as the MPC60, with an added headphone output and a plastic housing replacing the original metal one. In 1994, Akai released the MPC3000, which boasted 16-bit, 44 kHz sampling, 32-voice polyphony, and SCSI data transfer. Akai tried to save money by dropping Roger Linn, the brainchild behind the MPC, to whom they would have to pay royalties on future models. The company developed and released the MPC2000 without Linn in 1997. The MPC2000 came with 2 MB of RAM, an optional effects board, and a 100,000 note 64-track sequencer. The MPC2000 was replaced by the MPC2000XL in 2000. The MPC2000XL added an improved 300,000 note sequencer, a 64-track mixer and time-stretch and resample features. Four limited edition models of the MPC2000XL were released.

In 2002 Akai unveiled the MPC4000, the most powerful MPC ever made (higher bit depth and sample rate than the later 5000). The MPC4000 featured 8 assignable outputs, a hard drive and CD-ROM drive. The MPC4000's memory could be expanded to up to 512 MB of RAM, the largest amount on an MPC to date. Only two years after the release of the MPC4000, Akai released the MPC1000, which was the smallest in the MPC product line at the time of its release. It was also the first MPC to utilize CompactFlash memory. Both the MPC2500 and the MPC500 were added to the Akai MPC series in 2006. The MPC2500 is a mid-range MPC with 8 assignable outputs and CompactFlash storage. Designed for portability, the MPC500 features 1 MIDI In/Out and CompactFlash storage, and can be powered by 6 AA batteries.

At NAMM in 2012 Akai unveiled a line of controllers named the MPC Renaissance, and MPC Studio which work with MPC Renaissance software on Mac or Windows computers. Additionally they unveiled the MPCFly, an iPad 2 and iPad (3rd generation) controller which runs on the iPad MPCFly app, available from the Apple app store.

Legacy

Whereas prior artists had sampled long pieces of music, the MPC allowed them to sample smaller portions, assign them to separate pads, and trigger them independently, similarly to playing a traditional instrument such as a keyboard or drum kit. Rhythms could be built not just from percussion samples but any sampled sound, such as horns or synthesizers. According to Vox, this turned sampling into a "new artform" and allowed for new styles of music.

The affordability of MPC and its ability to create finished tracks in a single machine had a "democratising" effect on music. Artists could create finished tracks without the need of a studio or music theory knowledge, and it was inviting to artists who did not play traditional instruments such as piano. Users learnt how to push the technical limits of the machine; for example, producer Om’Mas Keith would record records at high speeds, then slow them to their original pitch on the MPC, allowing him to record samples longer than the MPC's maximum.

According to Vox, "The explosion of electronic music and hip-hop could not have happened without a machine as intimately connected to the creative process as the MPC. It challenged the notion of what a band can look like, or what it takes to be a successful musician. No longer does one need five capable musicians and instruments." MPCs continue to be used in music, even with the advent of digital audio workstations, and fetch high prices on the used market. Its 4x4 grid of pads was adopted by numerous imitators and became standard in DJ technology.

According to Engadget, "the impact of Akai's MPC series on hip hop cannot be overstated". It credited the MPC's pad design and price for " music production to a whole new audience". British rapper Jehst saw it as "the next step in the evolution of the sound" after the TR-808, TR-909 and DMX drum machines. Producer DJ Shadow used an MPC60 to create his influential 1996 album Endtroducing, which is comprised entirely of samples.

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ^ "Meet the unassuming drum machine that changed music forever". Vox. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  2. "Past Products Museum". Roger Linn Design.
  3. ^ "Industry Interview -Roger Linn". SonicState.com. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
  4. "The EMS History". Electronic Music Studios (Cornwall). 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  5. "Akai MPC-60". VintageSynth.com. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  6. "AKAI MPC-3000". VintageSynth.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-07-03. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "AKAI MPC-2000 / MPC-2000XL". VintageSynth.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-07-03. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. "Akai MPC4000 Plus". akaipro.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  9. "MPC1000: The Power of an MPC with the Portability of a Laptop". akaipro.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  10. "MPC2500: Ultimate Production Power". akaipro.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  11. "MPC500 Production, Power and Next Level Portability". akaipro.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  12. http://www.slashgear.com/akai-mpc-fly-turns-ipad-2-into-portable-beats-center-20210158/
  13. "Hip-hop's most influential sampler gets a 2017 reboot". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  14. "My Precious: The History of The Akai MPC". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  15. "DJ Shadow". Keyboard. New York. October 1997. Archived from the original on March 20, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. "First album made completely from samples". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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