The competition - Akai

So this afternoon, I went to Sam Ash in Manhattan to demo the touch screen on the Kronos. I wanted to compare it's responsiveness to the MPC Touch.

Hands down...the MPC Touch was better.

 

the responsiveness looks good here

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/-hhmtcJ4x9/

 

Now here are some things that I do not like about the MPC Touch:
1. Bank Changes. The MPC Touch (as well as the MPC Ren) has 8 Pad Banks spread out between 4 bank buttons. A/E, B/F, C/G, and D/H. To change between Bank A and E you have to double tap this button. Or you must hold down Shift + hit this button. I absolutely hate this design. It should be a toggle. Hit a button once for Bank A. Press it again for Bank E. This is far more user friendly.

2. Grid View Mode. After many, many years...Akai has brought back the Sequencer Grid on the MPC Display. With the colored display, this feature has never looked better. However, the functionality is less than desirable. It is sub par when you compare it to the MPC 5000 or 4000 IMO.

3. Expansion Browser. The Expansion browser is not available on the MPC Touch. So you don't get to view your expansion icons on the touch display. To be honest I don't use the MPC Expansions because you can only install them on your OS drives. It is 2015 and serious computer enthusiasts do not store unnecessary files on their OS hard drives especially if you have SSD (solid state) drives.

4. Icons. There are 4 icons on the Touch's Main Mode for selecting the type of Channel Strip you want displayed (Pad, Program, Submit, or Master). But these icons are microscopic compared to the other touch targets. Functionality-wise, I can still tap to select the Channel I want. But damn...I have to squint in my old age.

5. Erase Automation. Using the Erase button you can erase all or none of the automation on a track. This needs to be more like the MPC 5000 where I can select the specific automation event type to erase.

 

Yeah those videos were posted already.

 

^^^^^^This!

If iMaschine didn't have so many standard features crippled (MIDI, copy/paste, audio I/O, Dropbox,etc.) it would be a killer app.

Ableton on the other hand is supported by all of the major IOS developers. Korg Gadget, UVI Beathawk, Korg iKaossilator, Lemur and now Ableton has Link to sync them all together. Ableton is clearly Push(ing) the envelope whereas the other companies are busy pushing rehashed hardware and software.

 

So this is what I would like to know. Can this device send MIDI output from its pads to the DAW while its plugin is also running?

If Maschine can only do this and not be stuck in its ridiculous proprietary mode, none of the ridiculous workflow hassle with THRU that so many people have complained about would even be an issue.

All I really want is a way to interact with drums without scenes and patterns. If this can do it, I'm there.

 

still salty post a link to where this was posted before?

 

Can these modern MPCs, including the Touch, play any melodic/pitched instruments? I know that Air VSTs are included with some, but I'm not sure what's inside. And can 3rd party instruments, like NI, be loaded?

 

of course do ur research a quick search of youtube vids will confirm this

 

I think I remember from threads in the past, but what specifically are you trying to achieve? From what you write here, it sounds completely possible, but if you're having trouble, there might be a "gotcha" somewhere, depending what you actually want to do. I send MIDI out from the Sounds (pads) all the time to control other things, so that part is very possible (as you probably know).

 

but seems like most of the reviews have been good despite the poor akai demo vid.

defo looks like a good upgrade path for me as a mpc studio users but I think ima wait till after namm and do some more work on the mpc studio

 

Your gonna wait because you want to see what NI are going to do lol. It makes no sense to hype about the mpc touch for all these months trashing NI, and then all of sudden you have "more work to do" on the mpc studio. You did say you were going to buy it. I was right from the beginning.

 

I'm waiting to see if Roland release that rumoured workstation , also what n.i do

 

ur weak and pathetic stop stalking the next mans posts

 

It's not possible. When maschine is in "midi mode" - all of its functionality and features are lost, such as note repeat and all ability to control the plugin with the hardware.

You can output MIDI finally through a convoluted 5-step procedure of setting up sounds to midi notes, etc, but those settings are lost with every group that is loaded.

And, MIDI out from an AU isn't seen in logic, so there is no way out of this. If only the controller would send midi data out in addition to its proprietary communication with the plugin, this can all be avoided.

Press record in DAW, record directly into DAW, done. That is what I am trying to do, and it's impossible right now in logic.

 

Fair enough. Though it seems that many, perhaps even most of your issues are actually with the AU format and Logic. Not saying at all that Maschine doesn't need some relatively simple improvements in this area (losing MIDI settings when loading a new Group is unacceptable, for example), but what you describe is possible in many hosts. Perhaps even in Logic with a little help... I can't test in Logic, but I can test the principle later, trying to use ctrlr as a plugin to bridge between Maschine the IAC bus in OS X, so you can then set MIDI inputs from the IAC bus to record MIDI out from Maschine. One way to get around the aforementioned Group loading issue is to use a static Group to do the triggering, which also has its pros and cons, but can work.

 

Thanks for trying, I'm so beyond tired of looking for workarounds for this thing. IAC bus didn't work, plogue bidule didn't work with rewire, etc.. Just gave up. They could fix all of this if it was a priority. In fact, they can fix it in one easy swoop by making a button called Daw mode. It would disable scenes and patterns completely for people who don't want to use them, and it would ensure that Midi comes out of the maschine controller directly for logic (which would make the AU issue moot). I've asked for this exact thing years ago.

I just got my MPC touch and will start to throughly test it.. If it does this simple thing, then it's a pity that maschine has lost me since I have run out of patience in waiting for them..