Music Thing: Akai's portable MPC-500

Sometimes, vapourware turns out to be real. There have been rumors, complete with stupid photoshop images, that a portable, pocket-sized sampler/drum machine called the MPC-500 was about to be launched by Akai for at least two years. Last week, after a few leaked photos appeared, it was finally announced: a little black box running on 6 AA batteries, with 12 pads, 16mb of memory and a two-line LCD display beamed straight out of a 1985 pocket calculator. Is it the greatest piece of pocketable audio kit since the Walkman iPod, or just an overpriced toy for DJ wannabes? Keep reading for the full scoop...

As with any announcement about the MPC range, it was met with a barrage of bitching, complaining and mean jokes. Why do people care? Because the many incarnations of MPC are synonymous with hip hop, and people either love it or hate it. As I've written before, these things are cult objects, whether it's Kanye West's custom-painted MPC-2000XL, or Dr Dre's five MPC-3000s synced up because he doesn't like changing disks, or endless guys in bedrooms posting videos of themselves making beats to YouTube. The MPC Forums website is a center of the MPC universe, notoriously bad-tempered and filled with complaints about bugs and missing features.

But these are exciting times in MPC-land. In June, a mysterious Japanese collective (quickly named JJ - Japanese Jenius) released an unnofficial replacement operating system for the cheap, popular MPC1000. It added features 'borrowed' from the more expensive MPC-2500, corrected bugs and - in the latest version - added a hidden game of Pong. Last week, just 48 hours after the MPC-500 announcement, JJ released the first paid-for version of the new OS, briefly having to close their site as too many people signed up to pay them $30, causing their password-generating system to break down.

So what of the MPC-500? With that cheap-looking screen and the four 'missing' pads it seems very, very expensive at $1,299 list ($799 street). There are certainly plenty of cheaper and arguably more powerful ways to make music on the move - I use the incredible Bhajis Loops software for Palm, and there are options for PSP and DS. But the vast majority of MPC haters are people (like myself until a few months ago) who have never used one for any length of time. If you get a chance, give one a try - there's something great about a device that has matured and evolved over almost 20 years and is now as close to a real musical instrument as any piece of software-in-a-box has a right to be.

[Franco Colon @ Sep 22nd 2006 7:57PM]

I thought a MPC was kinda lame and just for making "beats" until I
saw this guy Divinci perform. Now I look at them in a whole new way,
and much more like an instrument.

http://www.myspace.com/divinci

[David Mendez @ Sep 22nd 2006 8:53PM]

This would have been cool 5 yrs ago. They have a new product that they purposley put on hold for 7 months called the MPD 24 (it's on akaipro's website) at www.akaipro.com. It's much like this mpc 500 minus the storage features but it includes 8 knobs and 8 sliders and a usb connection. Used in tandem with a software program like native instruments Battery, kontakt and Propellerheads Reason 3.0 and it's equivalent to an mpc 4000 and then some.

This is good for people who do not have access to a mac or pc with usb ports and DAW (digital audio workstation) software.

[aka Wombat @ Sep 22nd 2006 10:21PM]

Hans Zimmer eat your heart out!

[dj mcmanus @ Sep 22nd 2006 11:07PM]

A piece of hardware like this offers a context, culture, and a certain degree of constriction. These are all very helpful for encouraging the creative process.

Originally aimed at making beats this series grew to making entire songs. The copy and paste method expanded to cutting and manipulating while the trigger buttons became note articulate keys.

A full MPC is as much fun and inspiring as a Juno or a 303, maybe even more so. It offers a specific way to move forward and make music. It is built to work in certain specific ways.

In moving to software you lose alot of the context, culture, and constriction. There are sometimes just too many ways of proceeding. With an MPC there is more of a "this is what it is and this is what you can do with it" approach. It also looks perfect.

This particular version continues on the MPC's recent trajectory and may signal the entire line's deterioration into dilution and irrelevence. I believe that many of the negative comments in this thread relate to this issue, in their essence.

The MPC needs to be bigger and better instead of smaller and weaker! Isn't that what we all really want anyways? Blow us away. Make this piece of gear "ESSENTIAL", again!

dj mcmanus
indiedanceparty.com

[dj mcmanus @ Sep 22nd 2006 11:15PM]

My previous posting is taken from a thread in Music Thing. There were at least 65 posts wherein strong feelings both for and against the MPC-500 were expressed.

http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2006/09/mpc-500-now-official-with-unexpected.html

[MoJo @ Sep 23rd 2006 12:28AM]

This is a sexy MPC. DJ's got vinyls, mc's got mics, producers got MPC's.

-- MoJo

http://www.mojoinchina.com

[David Mendez @ Sep 23rd 2006 12:44AM]

I beg to differ; I've owned every MPC to date; My favorite was the Mpc 4000. The Mpc 4000 with the aksys software makes it the absolute best of the entire mpc series. I won't go into a hardware vs software debate because there are damn good arguments on both sides. I happen to favor the side of software.

I am particulary interested in the MPD 24; I had the mpd 16 and gave it up in favor of the trigger finger. The mentality is the same with this usb pad used in conjunction with software.
Chopping up samples and getting them just right is just as rewarding with a program like recycle. Manipulating those samples in a program like reason (rex player or nnxt)allows for maximum mayhem! Taking it much further than could have ever been possible on an mpc (with the exception of the mpc 4000)

As far as the juno or 303? They have both been emulated very well on the software end (Take a look at the nostalgia instrument plug and Timewarp 2600 and the degree of programability in them and Propellerheads Rebirth 2.0 (already retired and remade as a refill for reason)

I think this the mpc 500 is a step backward and a much too late arrival to the party.

The MPD 24 or Trigger Finger connected to a laptop is definitley the way to go.

If the the mpc 500 doubles as a midi controller I still wouldn't be excited; I need the 16 pads and the 8 knobs and sliders.

Had they done this with the MPD 24 usb controller (w/same features as mpc 500) it'd be OVA!!!!!!!

[PiR8 Rob @ Sep 23rd 2006 2:04AM]

It looks like Darth Vader's chest control panel.

[Billy Gun @ Sep 24th 2006 7:31PM]

PiR8 Rob - LOL

[Docii Design @ Sep 29th 2006 4:26AM]

My friend is gonna love this... It's killer...really killer.

[bigbolo73 @ Oct 20th 2006 12:55AM]

the only reason i would think about coppin the 500 is because roland hasn't come out w/ something portable yet. i rock the mv8000 which has the mpc in it and more. the gripe i have w/ akai is how do u come out w/ the 1000 at 128 mb upgraded and the 500 is SUPPOSEDLY 128 mb upgrade as well. kinda shootin urself in the foot don't u think?

[ed @ Dec 21st 2006 3:49PM]

i hate MPC users. they're such tight asses. so resistant to change. they're like typical Mac Users-hate every and anything that isn't what they've always owned.

I'm an mpc60 user..and I cant wait to get this little bad boy to travel around with. This MPC is like mini-me.

myspace/djeddieleonard

[Toro @ Mar 19th 2007 7:43AM]

Is not that we are tight, we like tight stuff, i have yet to find a software that matches any hardware when ot comes to feel and power...I mean playing the dam thing, not programing and tweaking 4 fours after the "performance" Geek!!;)