Funny, no one noticed MPC now stand for Music Production Controller? When you think about, "Center" actualy had more appeal to the mpc as a utility/tool which now has been downgraded to just a controller(the mpc has always been a "controller").
Also, first thing that came to me when seeing the (g)UI is Ableton!
Also I will have to laugh at all the hardware heads, I wonder if they will stay with the claim that this MPC doesn't sounds as good, blah, blah.....
I know what you're getting at, but technicaly
I'd choose the SSL converters over the budget EIE(pro)engine. Therefor, my mpc2000xl will still sound better than this controller.
Also, the only standalone feature is the software, this machine is dead without a computer lol.
and yes.. the new pocket taurus is going to be bad ass, huge bass for little money.
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Personaly, the reason i dont jump on either this or the competition is that i'd never run it standalone(one daw to rule them all). I dont see the point how a sequencer in a daw would improve MY workflow, though this is not relevant for anyone starting out.
Just a few thoughts/assumptions on bottlenecks;
- io routing; screw the internal fx/dynamics engine. Even though i cant know right now, i havent seen anything in the software which indicates multi channel vst/au support. So im limited to a stereo bus when i would use this in a daw. Im not even sure if Maschine supports this, perhaps Mono could provide info on this.
- interface; Even if you can setup an aggregated device under osx you probably run into stability issues running 2 interfaces... unless you have 2 mpcs (lol). Win7 has no support for running 2 interfaces afaik.
Why are the footswitch inputs on the front, this is really something i dont need fast acces to.
Also, what the deal with the 3.5mm and 6.5mm headphone inputs ? I can see the ipad version having a 3.5mm input but this studio model has both where it really should be 2x 6.5mm.
The studio model should have a dedicated mic pre, not switchable between line/mic. The problem here is that the TRS inputs has its phantom power coupled for both channels and assuming noobs will use this, noobs will fuck up the phantom power upon switching(not knowing how to handle phantom powered mics/inputs). A dedicated gain for the micpre wouldve been nice aswell(theres a toggle now for the usual input gain knob).
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Face it, there is no sampler, there is no sequencer. The vintage sound is a joke(heads know where the vintage sounds come from). I'd also like to know if the software enables disk streaming, im assuming it doesnt considering the competence of akaipro usa. Also look at the software snapshot on the akaiprompc website, then look at the cpu meter...just...lol
Now..if this would have a concept Z-engine annex interface, internal sequencer, ssd, half the q-link rotaries(but with cc# management), replace the other 8 rotaries for a trackpad, 8 outs! then this would be heaven.
All the features actualy makes it less practical to apply for seasoned producers opposed to the Maschine and aims it targetgroup at the starting producers instead.
The problem with this is that the price is more than likely twice that of the Maschine or 1/3 of the Mikro. I wouldnt recommend it for those starting out with a limited budget even though it would cover most you'd need to begin with. Reason being is when looking ahead, exceeding your learning curve as a noob, you will end up selling it in order to gain a better quality interface. In such case, you wouldnt need to sell the Maschine. Otherwise, we'd have to wait for the studio version which appearantly isnt equiped with an interface(saint joe) which could be more appealing because the price is reduced and indirectly makes it better applicable for a better quality home studio.
