Akai MPC One

Oh... Ok. Well, if that was what you were waiting for then it's great news for you.

Personally I like that NI has stuck with the Controller approach consistently and AKAI is in the Standalone market this way each can focus on a separate market instead of trying to please everyone.

 

You didn't understand me... I'm not waiting for. I was pointing that from rumoured standalone-maschine topic which seem was "deprecated" from mass production the day before hit "go!" button... was possible since competition had something similar in production too (in fact these new mpcs will be available on march or so).
The whole point is about this

NI was stuck in the past, it seems considered to get this direction before the lay-off and now seems it's stuck again with software but it's also rumoured they will outsource the controller/whatever hardware production to focus in software side.
I hope NI has a good plan because, even these mpcs aren't like the olds, the market seems asking for something like that (standalone DAWless Ableton/arranger sequencer for modulars, reliable clock source, groovebox with big screen on it). This is mainly drove by Apple post-pc (tablet focus) era which had been stagnating the whole x86 market and related apps. It seems a shift towards ARM which made some brands works on "independency" (and also lots of users). Alongside the numbers (people with smartphones vs x86 machines and in-app purchases/subscription models) it seems clear where the future points (but maybe never goes of course). Just make the numbers to get newest macs and studio based on that vs newest iPad pro and portable "studio" based on that. Then look how brands are building around that (Akai Mpc line is the most clear bounce ball) to see the whole picture.

Roland is trying with MC707, Nektar with their new controller, Arturia with Beatstep/Keystep, Akai with MPCs and Force, Pioneer with Toraiz... even Serato has the Studio software going that direction and supports any controller (including djing ones)

So,
I hope NI has a good plan as I said and starts to keep up to date. For me how it's dealing with Traktor, even they stated the Native ONE platform will not include it (so probably means subscription for the ONE, license model for Djing apps) makes me a bit uncomfortable.

I still believe Traktor 3 is an amazing piece of software and I can see the potential for TDJ2 (but again a bit late in the party) but I also remember how Torq2 (and Trigger Finger Pro) made me left M-audio on the trash bin.
Also the way TDJ2 is being marketed makes me wonder if Maschine will follow the same path being a tool for millenials (like Serato Studio ATM) or if they are going with the professionals (where seems pointing Nurkai denon) since in the end throw some bucks/euros into one platform should be taken as investment and ATM those Akais aren't cheap but make the Roland Mc707 and the Maschine a bit overpriced in bangXbuck approach. I know Komplete suite and Maschine are more than a box+software but being portable and reliable seem a must in the future of music production IMHO.

It's not just a matter of release new things (and even less if these are half backed like some of the competition) but maybe a trust thing. If a brand gets stagnated more than 3 years, then gets a lay-off and revamp strategies... users want to see releases in some way.

Maybe there was where Standalone Maschine made sense for someone in NI but it seems now far away (or ditched) and it's sad... because the actual hardware isn't compatible even with the iMaschine app (and of course non-class compliant for the midi side).

I see a gap and I think lots of users will want to see it filled with something anytime.

 

It’s not hard to be a controller once stand alone is already implemented. What has NI and Maschine been concentrating on? Let’s not act like Maschine is a better “controller” than the MPC’s. Both were made to control their respective softwares and can be midi mapped to control other software. With Akai being much better at controlling hardware, on top of being stand alone with a much better sequencer.
Been doing this almost 30 yrs. I’ve owned the MPC 2000, 4000, 1000 and still have my 5000 that has been boxed up since I got Maschine in 2013 from the Kore discontinuation discount. In that time, Maschine has upgraded at a snails pace to say the least. Simple things the every other sequencer or daw has, we are still waiting for. And, being a beta tester, like yourself the last 4 years I also know we are again a long way from having our problems solved. Why anyone would buy Maschine at this point and price is beyond me. I’m done waiting for NI and Maschine. I will be purchasing a MPC X in the next few weeks. I’ll definitely keep my kk s61 and used the komplete kontrol software and nks inside of the of the Mpc.... that’s really the only reason I’ve stuck around this long. They can’t even get Maschine and the kk keyboards to work in sync like they should have from the start. I could really see NI dropping Maschine in a year or two, just like Kore.

 

I don’t think either is better than the other overall. Both maschine and mpc have their pros and cons, but i have to agree that maschine updates are some of the slowest in all the industry.

Maschine still has an edge with its browser and preview library, plus NKS. These threads always turn into an either-or presentation but I still believe both are great units. I’d be surprised if Maschine gets dropped but NI pouring all those resources into Sounds.com platform and integration seems like a mistake that has caused a ripple of negative outcomes that don’t really need mentioning.

The only reason I bought an MPC One is an interest in simply turning something on and getting to work without dealing with software patches, operating system distractions, and all the other crap that a computer throws at my ADHD. It’s simpler for when I want a simpler way to work.

I tried using an iPad for production but new iPad pro’s have major touch issues (apple says due to static, sure) of which both of my new unit and apple care exchange suffer from. Plus developers don’t really seem interested in creating music apps anymore. Most apps are a either no longer supported or if they are, are rarely updated. New releases with promising professional features are few and far between. This is why ai ended up with an Akai One.

 

The pads are tiny really not fan

 

Why should NI go stand-alone? Any standalone device wil be obsolete within 3 years because of ongoing development in CPU, GPU and Memory parts. The Maschine Studio was released in 2013!! It's a dinosaur in tech-land and getting new features with every upgrade of Maschine and still as relevant in my studio as it was a few years ago!

I think it's wise to keep the computing done at the please where it's done best, and that's the replaceable/upgradable CPU called Computer. It's the same as that I don't understand why my car has it's own outdated navigation while it has Carplay/Android Play. I never use the outdated maps in my car's hardware but always use Google maps in Apple Carplay. And their updated on the fly.

Please NI, stay on the controllers-only route and stay dedicated to the more flexible software side of things. In the meantime I hope you get the business part of things in order so you can go fast forward with developing.

 

Wouldn’t they want to cater to both if both markets exist and are profitable? Do you think Microsoft made a mistake entering the console market with the Xbox?

Akai seems to be getting along just fine with their software / hardware hybrid model. At any choice the user can decouple the project from hardware and use it as a controller so as to add VST plugins via computer.

 

We were making music already with the mpc of the 90s ... today the power of the processors and even the most modest show us that we can run very good vst and plugins as we prove the mpc x and live. I imagine that these machines still have a bright future ahead of them.

 

Yes the best of both worlds

 

You have a fair point - computing power changes rapidly and hardware can become obsolete quickly but I think what really helps is that the Akai MPC One can act as a controller as well as standalone (at a similar/lower price point as the Maschine). I see it as an additional feature and functionality to a controller rather than a completely separate direction / product.

The added advantage with standalone is that even if Akai disappeared tomorrow, all the standalone MPCs would still function as advertised. Where as with software, it has to be maintained with regular updates... Just a couple months ago when Apple released their latest OS update, NI and other DAWs advised customers to not update to the latest OS until they updated their software or there is a risk of their products not working. If NI goes bust or discontinues the product line, your Maschine controller won't be nearly as useful for very long.

I think NI is well positioned to do really well in the standalone market. They have a solid line up of synths and sounds. And with NKS and Native Access, they could potentially make a standalone Maschine that can install third party VSTs.

PS: I love the touch screen on the MPC One. There are so many instances where a touch screen would be so useful... Standalone or not, NI needs to add a touch screen to the Maschine.

 

Plus the touch screen allows the software to evolve in features without restricting Akai to only updates that accommodate button layouts across current devices like what NI has to do.

 

Standalone obsolete? Plenty of OG hiphop and EDM producers still making great music and hit records on vintage gear made (decades) ago. Samplers, keyboards, sequencers, effect processors, etc. You be surprised if records today actually showed the gear they used to make tracks, especially in those genres. They know 100% their strengths, limitations and workarounds to make them work. Every other company besides NI is still coming out with standalone groove devices. But hey, that's like the friend that always LOVES to tell people "sorry, I can't eat that, I'm a vegan". You're not special, you're just an idiot that doesn't eat meat.

 

You really dont need to insult vegan's and their personal choices to prove a point about music-making hardware tho... I dont think they abstain from meat to be "special", at least not all.

They didn't say Standalone's are obsolete in that sense, they are talking specifically about the specs, CPU, Ram, Disk, etc... Of course OG's use old gear... they're old, young people use them too, just not as much as computers.

Because some modern hybrid standalones are getting to be more like computers it's a legit concern they could potentially became obsolete faster, no reason to get nasty about it. Relax...

 

But at the same time you don´t depend on a third party OS as a platform for your software and you don´t need to waste ressources on making your software compatible again if the OS changes for whatever reason. They might get outdated specs wise but that doesn´t make the unit useless over night unlike an OS update that can basically make expensive equipment unusable if the developers can´t/don´t want to make it work. Tech is generally becoming obsolete faster, that´s nothing specific about standalone gear.

 

I dont know why these threads always turn into a battle of standalone VS anything else. Personally I invested in NI's ecosystem because I didn't want a standalone, I like the software/computer approach, I like choosing my hard drive and it's speed, my CPU, my motherboard, my Ram, picking how quiet or fast I want things, I like being able to upgrade parts when I need without fully replacing my computer so I rather NI to keep focusing on what they've done in the past 10 years, their legacy and what I paid for. With that said I dont mind a standalone, perhaps I would buy it but then software development would be even slower than what it is now...

For those of us who like/need a standalone... go and buy one from a company that has a history with them, it's almost guaranteed AKAI will always make them. Why get mad at McDonald's for not making Pizza?

You still depend on an OS, for modern MPC's it's Linux if I am not mistaken, it's still a complex OS that has to handle a screen that is much more advanced than a standalone from back in the days + wifi, ethernet, USB, modern dsp, etc... people somehow assume these modern units are exactly like mpc 2000's or something... they're not. No one is saying they will be useless, they will always be able to do what they do on release, but can start to be slower as the software develops for example, it's really just a "concern" nothing else.

Yes, that's what I am saying... It's a general thing however a standalone can be made not to have an OS as an intermediary at all, so it's chip/firmware communicates "close to the metal" meaning it's extremely efficient, it only has code for what it needs to do, no OS, no APIs, no drivers, no 'program' but this requires simplicity, modern mpc's are complex, they're really computers so computer-like problems should apply as it gets more complex. This fact doesn't equal "standalone's suck", "no one wants them" or "it won't work in the future".

 

In 1990 for the World Cup in Italy
McDonald’s made pizza ,only little ones , they were pretty nice tho , I actually missed them when they stopped doing them and was a little mad at them for it .
Damn I miss those pizza’s

 

I was 6yr so wouldn't remember that...
I bet it had pineapple on it.

 

Not sure , I think only cheese and tomato and pepperoni
I was about 12
Good times

 

Can you input automation from the touch screen yet or is it still only velocity

 

My point wasn´t meant as an offense, appologies if it came off that way. I don´t care if anyone uses standalone or computer based, whatever floats your boat, it´s about the music that comes out in the end. I personally prefer standalone because I already spend 8 hours in front of a computer at work and don´t feel the need to extend those hours even further when coming back home. And I tend to be more productive on rather limited machines than a computer with a shitload of plugins etc.but I still use a computer with NI stuff alongside. And I don´t know how many times my creative moment went right out the window because I had to install some updates first or suddenly one thing wouldn´t work anymore with the other and that never happened to me with standalone gear. Used Maschine happily for years as standalone then tried it as a plugin in Ableton and immediately stopped again using it as a plugin. A real PITA. A complex MIDI chain worked better for me in first attempt than getting Maschine software to do what I wanted it to do, even the most basic thing like recording didn´t work even though everything was set up properly.

Even though modern MPC´s have a bloated OS inside them it´s still the manufacturer´s OS and he decide´s which direction it´s going instead of having to follow someone else´s decisions, that is a big difference. Especially when the OS developers aren´t focusing on music production like this is the case with Windows and MacOS.