RSS feed
All postsEXPLORE TOPIC

#Akai MPC

Mike·
···

I can no longer trust any new software

The current rage in “decomp,” which is an insulting term to anyone who has ever actually decompiled something, has seemingly instantly affected/infected all my hobbies.

Self hosting? Decades-old software is out the window thanks to the latest vibe-coded dredge to be abandoned next week.

Music? Your favorite synth or groovebox has a new firmware! Rejoice in its ability to rejuvenate old, abandoned, and locked-down hardware... or dismay at the new ways to brick beloved tools while devouring a small Kansas town?

If you peruse Reddit, you’ll notice how different communities embrace this in different ways. Self-hosting has its AI advocates but largely is frustrated and done being excited about new stuff. But musicians are tech doofuses a lot of the time, and I don’t think the people delighted at the new vibe-coded firmware for the Novation Circuit are really even thinking about how it was made or what the consequences are.

I’d love to be excited about software that lets me use old and abandoned IoT devices, curb the spying by my TV, or even let farmers escape the thrall of John Deere, but it’s not really a great trade, is it?

DiscussOct 24, 2026
Mike·
···

When you can't be an early adopter

The beta version of the MPC version 3 software is out, and I can't install it because I have shows and can't rely on beta software to not lose all my shit or crash while playing. But oh man, it looks great. On one hand, it does not dispel the notion that modern MPCs are "DAWs in a box," but it also looks more touch-friendly and visible onstage in many ways.

Unfortunately, one of the coolest things (IMO) about the MPC is how the desktop software is sort of an extension — a bigger interface, a plugin host, etc. And until version 3 of that comes out, I have no idea what the experience is going to be like when using the thing in controller mode.

Still... stoked.

DiscussSep 16, 2024
Mike·
···

Apples to MPCs

If you've ever spoken to an electronic musician or a guitarist, you know that GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a chronic disease. And though it can be treated, the results tend to be temporary.

The issue, aside from the obvious financial ones, is that gear can never actually solve your problems. That's what all the pros say, anyway, but who can trust them? They have really nice gear.

The real issue, at least as I see it, is that so few pieces of electronic music equipment can be compared in an apples-to-apples sort of way. Guitars? Sure. Tone-chasing is a thing, and a neurosis that's even worse than GAS, because it can cause you to hoard dozens of distortion pedals, claiming they all do different things. But are they all objectively distortion pedals? Yes.

Are a Roland SP-404MKII, an Akai MPC, a Novation Circuit Rhythm, a Korg Electribe Sampler, a Polyend Tracker, and an Elektron Octatrack objectively the same thing? Sort of. They are samplers with sequencing. Most are capable of sequencing external machines via MIDI. Most store samples on an SD card. But it stops there. They range from around $350 to about $1500, and that's not just the honorable Swedish pedigree that's giving Octatrack that kind of price tag. They have varying amounts and quality levels of built-in sounds. There are wide ranges in connectivity and numbers of tracks. Some are more sequencers with sampling capability, others are samplers with just enough sequencing to make you think it's an all-in-one device. Some are very good at both. Some have no screens, some are basically computers in a box. You get the idea.

So, in a live set, to replace Circuit Rhythm and Circuit Tracks with an MPC One is more or less an even trade in terms of whether the same stuff I've been doing is possible. But what else is possible? Turns out, a great deal. More on that another time.

Am I going back on what I say in this post by replacing the Circuits as the centerpiece of live work? Not really, because I'm not thinking of it as an "upgrade." I still think that they are the most beautiful, elegant, and fun quick-composition machines out there, especially the Tracks. But that's not to say that another device doesn't have a place in my show or in my life.

DiscussMar 5, 2024