My mpc one is my main tool , I sold most of my other gear to buy it . I have produced 4 albums on it , 3 of which I deemed worthy enough to release to the world , there on iTunes and Spotify and all the others , could have never done that without it

2.10 is as far as I'm going. No crashes. Decent plugins. Great effects. It has everything I need. Don't see myself getting rid of it. Great vid as always, Bud.

I just got my hands on the plus. Let me tell you, I have the Digitakt, Octatrack , and the Analog Rytm and while I love all 3 and would never sell either of them, I’m falling in love with the MPC One. It’s everything I always wanted in a Dawless standalone machine.

Great, objective re-evaluation. You speak very clearly and articulately, by the way!

Appreciate you content and tutorials Gabe!

Worth mentioning it’s fantastic with external synths. It runs all mine including my old SH-2 via CV

I am forever grateful to Gabe for pushing me over the edge during my procrastination and over-analysis of what Groovebox to buy. I finally dropped the hammer on an MPC One and wondered where it had been all my life. I immediately wished I had bought it when it was $699 instead of $899, but oh well. My biggest concern was the number of people slagging off the workflow, but honestly it was the exact workflow I was looking for. It can take a lot of steps to get some things done but once you have the basics down, creating patterns and stringing them together is fantastic. I think the building-block approach it uses is logical, at least for my brain. I don't use it as deeply as others so I haven't faced many weird quirks and bugs, but I see where that would be very frustrating for heavy users. Looking past that, it is an otherwise pretty amazing piece of kit. I have a Studiologic Sledge so believe me, I know how to look past a slew of bugs to see the shiny object on the other side. Despite the constant introduction of new bugs in each update, which is disappointing and annoying, at least Akai are actually making updates and there is progress. Compared to some other manufactures who dump equipment months into it, it's hard not to root for this thing.

Proud member here of the 2.10-Gang! Don't plan to buy plugins in the future and made the same hate-like-love journey! It is awesome as it is!

Awesome review! Thank You!

Great honest review great thanks !

I’m lazy so never bothered updating to 2:11 . Now I don’t feel so bad if it is in danger of breaking things. Had mine for 2 years but always learn something new from your reviews Gabe.

I totally agree with you! I first bought the One and after a few months of getting used to this device I upgraded to an X and build my whole home studio around it. I haven't regretted it so far although I also hate the bugs that are in the MPC software. Fortunately you can downgrade if it annoys you too much. I still use the One now and then as I'm relaxing on my couch. The form factor, the amount of physical buttons and the fairly low price makes this (for me at least) a no-brainer to buy.

Running an MPC one for about a year aswell, after a few years on a Machine. You seem to have hit every nail on the head.

I've had my MPC One for two years. I've installed Firmware 2.11.6 it's running sweet as a nut. I don't use Splice, Mp3, Sample Packs or the paid plugins so I have not had any issues. It works flawlessly. I'm currently working on two UK Garage eps and a Ghettotec album for a few labels. This machine is not perfect, but it's s close enough too let your imagination go wild.

I was thinking about buying it for the last 3 days. May end up doing it, but this was a heads up!

Completely agree with your criticisms.

I do like my MPC one, but something about my Circuit track’s interface just seems to allow me to work more effectively. I kinda want to try using the two together but can’t get my head around how they might work. Have you ever tried using both of them?

Thanks a lot for this video! I've been considering getting either the MPC One or the Akai Force mainly for live performance but have had a lot of doubts of their reliability and stability. I don't think I will be getting either as I would need it to be rock solid. So far Ableton Live and a few midi controllers have been working nicely with zero reliability problems having done about 5 live gigs with this setup over the last year.

It sounds you know how to use your gear! thanks for the review

Excellent vid as always, Gabe. Akai is insane for charging $350 and up for plugins when Hype and the others truly cover a LOT of ground. It makes me mad that the MPC One launched at $699 and is now $899, and they're charging even more. So many free plugins do everything those plugins do, and then some. Granted, you can't use the One as a third-party plugin host, BUT, you can use MPC Beats as a plugin host. I feel that people need to be aware of the upselling/scam stuff some companies pull. And the updates? Yeah. ABSOLUTELY. I'm sticking with 2.10.1 and not moving an inch. Not an inch. I still love my One, two years after buying it. And I will, for years to come, as long as it continues to work. Some clunkiness, as you mentioned, but in general, it's a good piece of gear. Still stoked I got an open-box one for only $530.

Have you ever considered using the MC-101 as a sound module together with the MPC One? If you have, do you know if the USB audio works?

I don’t mind the upcharging for some of the instruments. They’re excellent additions to an extremely powerful machine. And the sales are not terrible. I love me some Fabric.

Best production tool I have ever used .

You can resample with one button those string tracks and free up the cpu. Those new plugins sound dope and you get a lot of nice sound from them.

Finally ! I've been waiting for this. After watching the video: Akai, are you listening? I am; and I'm not going to buy one right now.

Great review!!! I’m still on 2.10 I’ve read that some people upgraded and their mpc got bricked. That’s probably the biggest problem with akai rn

I have faith, having owned a couple since 2017 and also a force😉 Also knowing whos in charge, I have faith😁

Do you feel that the live 2 has the same problems with the updates? Great video

Nice video! Key 61 owner here and first time MPC user. For me, the question has been why would I not just keep using the plug-ins and why should I bother with the samples? I don't seem to have the memory issues and the plug-ins especially OPX4 and Mini D sound great. Should I take the time to bother with the sample kits and key groups? Thanks.

They had this out at my local guitar center, I was playing with it just yesterday. I was sad the mc707 out on display wasn't plugged in, I think that's more for me, this stuff is mostly way over my head. Love all the videos tho!

I’m one of those people still on 2.10 Looking at the complaints from people on the updates keeps me on 2.10 I’m pretty happy with the free plugins and all the key groups/kits I have. Hope Akai can fix the bugs.

I got one second hand recently and think it’s great; I’m learning finger drumming and also to play keyboard with the electric piano plugin

I looooove the MPC One, just got it last week, it's been super easy to learn, a huge asset to my workflow both on and off the computer. I love working standalone and bringing my work into a DAW later, but works just as well in unison with DAW, creating music on the fly. In my opinion its the greatest standalone drum machine/groovebox type hardware there is, but of course its all up to ones individual preference.

Hey ! Thx for the video !! Did they fix the midi - note repeat problem ? And second ! Did you have the problem while your playing and want to load up a new kit that the play mode stops imedeately ?

I just bought one shortly after watching this video, and it crashed 5 minutes into using it while switching a preset. Updated to the newest firmware, added the newest synth plugins and haven't had any issues. I've been making music with FL for 15 years now so the layout wasn't too confusing.

I agree with you 100% on this, but I won’t get any of the new plug-ins like fabric or mini d Cause high cpu but air flavor pro for lowfi is a must. But I wonder how much cpu mini d does use or like air flavor vs air flavor pro sound test .

I haven’t really come across any of the bugs mentioned as I have never used the splice integration or the looper. Only concern I’ve had is using external midi controllers where mapping disappears after shut down. I think you are right about the plug ins. Choose the ones that are really useful to you and ditch the rest. I have OPX-4. It’s great for sound design as extremely powerful for a 4 operator fm synth due to unusual wave types and extensive mod matrix. Fabric is ok, but not as good as the hardware synths I have,but don’t underestimate the other free plug ins. As you mention Hybrid is surprisingly powerful as is Tubesynth. After 2 years I am more than happy with the MPC one and it remains my central piece of hardware for track/album creation with only mastering only completed on a computer.

It’s an incredibly powerful machine and the stock plugins are fine. You can make pretty much anything you like with it, I just find the workflow annoying and clunky and I have had mine for two years. I usually reach for other gear unless I need something specific that only the MPC does simply because it’s much less fun and immediate than a lot of other gear I use.

So would you do an mpc 1 and a microfreak or a akai force or maschine +? I like FL studio n think I'd prefer the force

I'm a keyboard player forever, but I need to incorporate a groove- what would MIDIing into this be like if you are say too note intensive to rely on pads

Bought it from your review. I need to put much more time in, but even just to trying to get it to work with my computer, load the basic data into the device has been such an absolute pain that I'm almost tempted to drop it and go for the native instruments...

I’m thinking about buying the gold version because I have the Roland JV-1080 Midi sound module which has the 5Pin MIDI IN/OUT my question is can I just connect my 1080 & make my beats with the MPC Drums? & will the MPC One Save my Midi Sequences from my 1080 so when I travel I can play all of my beats back that I had laid my 1080 sounds from? Because if I can’t save my 1080 sounds with the MPC drums & save my full sequences with the 1080 sounds on a SD cards then I might’s well save my $700 & just start learning how to use Ableton Live Lite with My M-Audio MK3 61Key USB controller because I don’t want to use MPC Beats any way.

I love my Live 2 - unlike some, I haven't experienced too many issues with it outside of the recent 2.11.5 update (which i promptly downgraded). Anything that I've found annoying or somewhat problematic is more design decisions that I've figured out how to work around. I'm coming from 17 years of producing music on Ableton in the box and I've experienced my fair share of issues and feature focus that i disagreed with - as well as long standing issues that never seem to get resolved. I think it's just part and parcel to software these days (and not just music software).

Do you know if there are replacement pads that don't feel like beating on an old Firestone?

Nice, I wanted to get one and add the FM synth tho. But now, idk. Maybe I should wait for the “MPC two” (?)

I use a mpk249 with mpc beats! From what I seen, I'm getting the same work flow. The user interface are the exact same. I don't sample at all... dope video!

I share your concerns. Been using the MPC One for some time now and have to say with the recent updates i'm starting to enjoy it less. In my opinion it's kinda losing it's purpose as a fun device for making some beats. Instead we're forced spending hours online looking for work arounds and fixes. I really hope it will get better, but it's a pattern we see in a lot of other stuff aswell; adding more and introducing new bugs instead of making sure the current content is running smooth and steady. Let's hope Akai is watching your videos.

Long as you can make some music it’s always worth it!!!!! Don’t matter what it is.

Funny seeing this as I've just ordered the MPC One+ today and will have it tomorrow. I already know what to expect as I've had the older MPC Touch (the granddaddy of all current MPCs with touchscreens) which the One + will replace

Bro, i think that you should maybe have an answer to my doudt, can i use the MPC one as a multi-timbral module and send sequence and data to it by Ableton Live? or i need to use his own program? Maybe it sound a little redundant, but im been using a Verselab MV 1 in that way for about 2 years, and i want to know is the MPC ona can do it better... I have one right now and kinda of struggling with that!

The less knobs and buttons on the live is no problem anymore. If you go to the main menu you just choose what you need with hitting the pads...

I’m a career software engineer. When new features break old functionality it tells me there’s tight coupling going on, typically suspect with poor design choices. This may also be because they’ve been forking and iterating on previous major releases which simply just inherits the old problems. This is ironic because it’s endemic of larger teams rather than smaller ones :|

Great vid as always G! I think the solution is just for people not to get too carried away with buying all the paid plugins, as should be the case for any device, standalone, DAW or otherwise. Its easy to be enamored and seduced by a new plugin that comes out, I personally do all the time. But with the MPC One, I've found that creating a keygroup out of a sample, manipulating it's parameters and stacking those sounds (as you demonstrate in this vid), is more than enough for my creative demands. If I like a plugin from a DAW, I simply sample it and use it in MPC as I please. I've used the kitmaker as well, it works like a charm if you sample a range of keys from a VST. As for the bugs and crashes, I haven't experienced any of that but fingers crossed! Anyways, carry one bro, you've got awesome content, keep it coming and I'll be anxious to hear more killer synthwave from you!

Just got the One to accompany my MPC X for on the road jamming. Now thinking about selling my X because the One is such fun and maybe getting a Force 😅

I enjoy my MPC One. However I REALLY wish they would let the sampler trigger from the count-in! I don't use the Audio tracks because I like to jam and the sampler keeps on going while the sequence loops. I don't use the plug-ins for the same reason that I don't use soft synths in a DAW - I find them fiddly and they take too much effort to get what I want compared to plugging in an acoustic/electric/electronic instrument. I do need to explore the CV capabilities a bit more.

I am on 2.11.4 Hakai it’s far more reliable than 2.10 was , and because it’s Hakai with ssh I can get some great extra features , obviously get to use the force , I can control the Mpc from an custom made lemur template on the iPad , launch the looper in the background with a foot switch whenever I want, I can also change sequences legato, in that it doesn’t restart it just carries on from where it left off but in a new sequence. I can also utilise the clip programmes much better because I can launch groups of clips from the ipad , similar to scenes on the force, but better. My thanks goes to ultros for making Hakai possible.

I have The MPC One, but I already have my tracks, is it anyway that I could just play my tracks directly from the SD Card? or would have to import them into the MPC One .

I have the Live II, and it's very cool. I am just now getting to really know it, but so far it's great. As someone who has a day job in software, I appreciate getting away from the computer what I'm working on music. For anyone seeing this, in a nutshell, the difference between the One and the Live II is: the Live II has a slot for an internal drive for a TON of extra storage, has built in speakers which sound... ok, and has a few more inputs and outputs.

You hit the nail on the head about Akai seeming like a bunch of talented folks who don't talk to each other. I prefer the Force's workflow to the MPC'S but the Force is just as susceptible to bugs and things getting broken in each version. I get the impression that In Music is like the guy running the horse carriage with a whip and Akai is one of the horses getting terribly terribly abused.

I WANT a Maschine Plus but not in its current incarnation. Then again took till Firmware 3.05 before I grabbed a Force. Having Komplete 13/14 in a standalone piece of hardware is definitely something I want. Just waiting for them to either show horn more into this Plus or release a MKII

Ur a real one

Loved the workflow of my TE OP-Z but the Bic lighter like build quality turned me off on it so ditched it for a 1010Music Blackbox Studio or as I call it my MPC Micro :) I’ve got WAY too much gear and each has its place.

I've tried the Mpc One but i had problems with his workflow, i didn't like even if i know can do almost anything. Now i need a suggestion: how can i go dawless (i should spend a lot of money in a new Mac and at the moment i can't) with something similar? I have a Circuit, a Sp404mk2 and other gears. I need something that can be the core of the setup, what about the Roland Verselab?

Best value for money though is a maschine mikro 2 used and Maschine software when it’s on sale

Have you tried the new plugins on the Force yet now that its capable of running them???

The MPC One has been on my list for a long time as an all in one with sampler. I've been seeing if I can get by in DAWs (currently Bitwig - no lazy chopping and other software sampler annoyances) but I'm really still feeling the urge for a hardware sampler. And at this price point (and hey it's an Akai after all), it does still look desirable. I just worry about making full tracks with it, due to the workflow and then end up hopping back to the DAW.

I’m in the market for a drum machine / sampler. Can anyone tell me why I should get an MPC One over a Maschine Plus?!?

Are you using just the Mpc for all sounds? How do I take my beats from the Mpc one and put them on Logic Pro to record songs on? Thank you.

All my songs are made with the MPC One 🤙🏽

I’ve gone back to my MPC4000. Much more fun and focused. I’ll prob continue to use the One for live gigs still.

i use mine primarily as a sampler. i have beat step pro and a sq64 i use to sequence the mpc one and the rest of my synths. using it as a slave device rather than the master of my whole setup... way better route to go, IMO

I used it for 2 years as the main part of my dawless rig. I went back to desktop with Ableton for 8 months and now back to dawless. I still use the Mpc a lot, but using the sp404mk2 more these days. I do a lot of sampling of live instruments (I play guitar, bass, piano, etc.). For me music needs to be fun… pc just doesn’t do it for me. Mpc and 404s are both worthy buys, imo.

I recommend it but no update beyond the 2.10

Ive had an MPC One since beginning of covid, but havent updated it- which version should I go to? Want to avoid any of the issues ive been hearing about, and stick w something with new features but not F'in all the time. thx for any help

Thanks for the info. Being that I have been away from any kind of music making as a fun hobby for about eighteen years, I've decided to jump back in. I ended up winning an ebay bid for one of these at half the price that they are currently brand new. I figured it since I am a technical person, and still have a desire to play around and make music, I thought that I'd jump in with this unit for the price, and the features offered. I didn't want to drop big money on a casual hobby, so this unit at used prices seems good to me.

💯

To help with the load times, grab the fastest SD card you can. I've got one that is rated for 150MB per second and usually it is pretty fast with Fabric XL presets. (1-3 seconds per preset change).

I t seems like stating the obvious, but I think the next MPC from Akai will have more memory, just like the MPC Keys. Thanks for the tip on Kit Maker. I have quite a few Maschine Libraries that shipped with Komplete Ultimate but that I never use.

The thing that is making it hard to choose between the MPC One and an Octatrack is that is seems like the Octatrack is able to make glitchy weird stuff much more quickly. I'm trying to achieve a balance between sample mangling and a instrumental performance. I play keys so I sample myself, I don't really like using other peoples' samples. If the MPC One could make glitchy/generative stuff I think it would be an easy choice haha.

Using any kind of external midi CC controller with the MPC One is also an unstable and buggy nightmare, and has been for years without being properly fixed. I love my MPC to death as a studio tool, but I could never perform live with it, it just isn't stable enough.

I just knew you were going to say roland mc 707. I had my mpc one since last Christmas. it stayed in the closet so much that it still looks new. I have been trying two mc 101s which have been feeling clunky. (I want at least eight tracks). I was going to trade my mpc one for the Roland mc 707 THIS Christmas. the mpc (despite all of the buttons) still feels to "dawish" to me. I would love to hear your opinion about why you chose the mpc over the mc 707.

Nice, how about more on akai force? Pretty please

Akai/InMusic headquarters is in Rhode Island, USA, but their software division is actually in the UK for some reason. Im sure there are talented coders in America.

I'm pretty sure there are significantly more powerful ARM processors available now. Would be good to see the MPC/Force given a hardware upgrade. Firmware wise, it seems many of these companies need to get their act together - at least put out your updates as Beta/Experimental releases until you've ironed out ALL the bugs.

More about Maschine plus and also about how each and every hardware integrates with a DAW as I think that is always needed and gives you the freedom to work in a DAW, DAWless and the combo 🎶☀️😃

Why compare against the Maschine Plus? The price point for the Machine Plus is the same as the MPC Live 2. This gives a great bang for your buck because it's using the same interface as its older brothers. The price has been raised for the One recently I was able to get mine for $699.00 (US) which is great when it came out.

I’m weird I own an MPC Renaissance and a One as well as the Force(my favorite of the 3) I’m looking forward to next generation with more RAM ala MPC Key 61 and more and better processors. Been playing keyboard since 1973 but relative newcomer to MPC….. 2018ish

One area Akai could (I think easily?) improve on the MPC is mapping external midi inputs. I can't find a way to map Looper or Sampler controls to a foot switch for example. Audio inputs only offer mixer targets like volume and pan (rather than Rec arm for example), and no global controls when you should be able to map midi directly to MPC controls (e.x. adding buttons missing on the Live that are available on One and Live 2). Recording multiple midi tracks at once is a good super power of the MPC and improving midi maps would make that power more accessible.

I got mine new for 699usd plus tax and got to experience the upgrades with the wonderful new plug-ins, but now I'm choosing to stick to 2.10.1 I figure I'll eventually get more plugins when I buy the next generation of the MPC, or if I get the key 61, which I doubt unless I get a super deal. I'm banking that the next generation will have the same os just more processing and memory, so all the plug-ins of today will run on the next generation. Not too sad about not upgrading or even keeping myself from buying the new fm synth. It's still the best studio machine I ever bought for the money

Splice intergration? Thats the cherry on top for me. Im in

Long walk for a short story.

I love the machine

You don't have to update on WiFi, and you can back date.

Im running v2.11.4 and I have found no issues. I don't use Splice stuff anymore, so I haven't checked that out in a while. I just downloaded 2.11.5 the other day and installed- it broke mp3 previews..I downgraded back to 2.11.4. Now today they release 2.11.6. I am going to wait to update for a bit. Im also gonna wait to buy the 2 new plugins. I ran out on first day for Instrument Collection for $500 - now its $350. SMH.

Just a heads up, atm maschine plus is 200 cheaper for europe and uk, 300 for usa for the "cyber season." Expansions are half price too. Still more expensive than the mpc one, but honestly as an owner of both the mpc one has been collecting dust, for many of the negatives mentioned here, and also i started with maschine at 1.0, never got an mpc until 2 years ago. Once you have that muscle memory, it´s difficult to switch imo. If i started with an mpc, i wouldn't get how maschine worked in the first few months...

My first sampler was the octatrack, which I could never fully wrap my head around. Long story short I sold it for an MPC one, which has been much more intuitive for me. There's something about the workflow that I still don't love. I've been considering, for creativity's sake, getting a digitakt to make my samples and loops and to push myself out of the very DAW-centric MPC style. I'm not sure what the move is. Maybe I should have given the octatrack more time. I picked my MPC One up for $299, so not much of a loss lol.

I like the sounds that it came with but its limited and too many steps with the workflow. i like how the maschine 2 workflow better and has tons of sounds in diffrerent genre. But I will keep my Mpc one and maybe buy maschine mk3 soon

2.10 Hive BLUKA BLUKA BLUKA! My Live 2 is the centerpiece of my studio but these days I'm only using it as a Midi brain

I think It's at a point where I can't buy one for live gigs, really worries me how many bugs pop up every update

MPC's bugs have never bothered me much: they're not supercritical (I don't use Splice), they get sorted out and you can always choose not to upgrade. As for performance and paid plugins. Less of a problem on my MPC Live 2 (which has double the RAM) and if anything, I would welcome more third-party developers to develop for the standalone platform.