The intro was very cool! Thank you Conan, I have only seen videos hyping the product so far with very minimal talk of the issues the new update brings.
Ya i agree, the new stuff looks so cool! And i do understand that there is always the hope with new gear and or new software, that it functions as intended. But as for me, my workflow in 2.15 is flawless. I did try the beta and decided to go back to 2.15. Just alittle too buggy 🐛 for me. Im more comfortable with a more reliable OS. We’ve had the 2.0 format for so long that its hard to leave that back of the hand eyes 👀 closed workflow for a few new bells 🔔 that dont work well. My confidence just isnt there for now in the new upgrades. Hopefully that will change down the road 🚘 but its really great to see 2 companies come together and collaborate.
If I had two MPC’s it would be easy to upgrade one to the 3.4 so that I could still have my workflow on one and slowly learn the new stuff on the other.
I appreciate you and your perspective. I don’t think they fixed the problems I have with it wrecking old projects. Song mode would unmute all my mutes leaving me to try to reverse engineer what I did in the first place. A lot of old projects would have to be treated the same way. Probably over hundred hours to make my old projects work with the new software. Not feeling it. I’ll try it like I did the betas but I forsee using MPC 2 in the near term. I have a Kurzweil PC4 and Roland Integra 7 along with various small synths. I really don’t need NI plugins. They may be nice but I often switch between hardware and software MPC and I need everything to be compatible with the desktop. Besides, I track out from the MPC software to Ableton Live, Studio One, Cubase to finish things off. That’s problematic unless I just want the stem data and not the MIDI data. I compose so I really want the MIDI. I do change time signatures sometimes. It all seems like this newer firmware wasn’t all thought out.
Omg they fixed the issue i have with zooming in. Sometimes i wanted to take out little pops and getting the screen to focus on the selection was frustrating. Finally fixed for me 😮
Look fwd to this content, its all great stuff, but used a 2000xl and an eps16+ for nearly 20 years and was amazed with that. its hard to find things to complain about when you can pick up an mpc one, used for £300, with so many possibility's!
Thank you for the run-through. I do look forward to using this new 3.0 upgrade, but I need the software update as well as standalone. I did love using NI plug-ins and instruments when I ran with Cubase back in the early 2000's, Battery and the bass program (I forgot the name) were amazing. My mind is kinda BLOWN!!💨
I’ve spent the last several months finally getting the hang of 2.xx as I’m new to the MPC coming from Logic Pro and Reason. It’s been a slog. Honestly I feel like I’ll be starting over if I upgrade to 3.0. I’m not interested in the NI plug-ins anyway. This video helps me feel like I’m doing the right thing.
I’m in the same boat but you’re way ahead of me! I upgraded today and downloaded the new v3 manual - it’s a very good tutorial and works through the steps in an easy to read, understand and ‘produce as you read’ flow.
@@R-sn1ty You know I can’t lie I felt the same way at first. I used to hear about how great the MPC pads were and when I got it I liked the Maschine pads better. Maybe because I’d had it so long and they were broken in lol! I still don’t love the feel of the pads and I may change them out but I’m nitpicking. Besides that I don’t have one single complaint about the MPC and don’t miss my Maschine at all.
Great that the final version is out at last. Disappointed that I can’t program 3/4 time signatures. Otherwise love v3. Love the Native instrument additions I’ve loaded up the trial of Nacht. Prices aren’t too bad and I’ve already got a 20% off code drone native instruments in my email…
I’ve updated, 🔥 😎 purchased cloud supply and on first impressions it looks and sounds amazing , the other instruments are on a trial so looking forward to having a play . There’s always gonna be bugs with any changes just depends on how severe. 👍
I'm trying to be optimistic and not complain too much, but the time signatures is honestly a big issue for me. I do enjoy a lot of the new features, but when I'm in the zone and improvising on piano, or working out phrases that I find really interesting and compelling, I often do that in odd 8th note meters. It sort of feels like Akai is being sort of gimmicky with all the endorsements and trinkets, yet leaving out features like that or the fact that my Q links still keep freezing up haha. I'm not just trying to "bitch" but you're right, I don't really feel confident in the direction they're going. They ignored time odd time in Akai Force for the entirety of its lifetime. Starting to consider the Push 3 again, although I didn't want to have to go that route haha. Edit: The official release notes from Akai address that they are working on this for a future update! I rescind much of my frustration haha
Appreciate the honesty. Reminds me of when stems came out, I got it and it’s totally useless on the standalone from my experience. I will stick with the MPC2 that i still understand, I just got comfortable with it including after watching many of your videos
Love that you don't mince your words. I'm not that impressed either. Those NI plugins are honestly just ROMplers in my opinion. Also, it seems like the clips mode is gone. Haven't updated mine yet. I think could wait for another 6 months ✌🏽
Thanks for the honest point of view on mpc3 in your video. I'm still in mpc 2 because some of this fundamental issues, like time signature, or MPC software controller comptability. I've had to wait again. It seems so weird that they stop the fact to choose tiome signature. I think it would be easier in mpc3, and it's not even there. So I will wait.
@@TheCratesMotel thanks for your answer. Yes, I didn't understand why it disappears. They try to do DAW-like firmware, but every daw let you choose time signature. And in the MPC2, you can have in same sequence different time signature. it was so rare to have that. It was a real plus for MPC to me.
2.15 is Great, so i see why you Don’t wanna make the Jump… But if you Do, Once you make your First Decent Beat and feel Comfortable about Navigating Around in 3.0… You WILL NOT Think To Go Back To 2.15… Because i was You A Month Ago.
Appreciate your subjective take. My biggest concern right now is not knowing if there's even a plan for the MPC3 VST, which is essential for my workflow of transitioning to Ableton Live without having to commit to printed audio stems. They would do themselves a big favor by being more transparent about these things, rather than labeling MPC3 "the future of standalone workflow". There's not even a single mention along the lines of "coming soon", which bets the question: is it coming at all?
I never bothered with the beta testing but I installed the mpc 3.4 last night after work and I gotta say I like the new GUI,it's logical to use and simpler and faster,I did have some trouble finding return fx channels til I realized u can swipe along on mixer page lol,I did notice that separating some stems in stand alone took a lot longer than before,but so far it seems like a good update
@TheCratesMotel oh definitely,tbf I remember the 1st few firmware versions when I first got my mpc had some a awful bugs so hopefully with time we will get to a place where everything works as expected 🤣🤣🤣
Everything works good enough for me, I'm enjoying using Mpc 3 & the new NI plugins. I just wish that Akai would change the opening splash screen when turning the unit on.
I like the NI integration and hope there will be more plugins to stand against the AIR stuff which is expensive. Sub Factory is $80 and these are way less…
You touch on some great points here. MPC has come much further than I had ever expected and at this point in time not sure it has any competitors? I had started to wonder whether the current hardware was going to start to become obsolete. It has worked so well with 2.15, but there must be a point with all of these improvements and virtual instruments where the current base is no longer suitable. Let’s just hope if and when they do, they supercharge the next generation products.
Thanks Conan, great objective and informative video - I have to get this off my chest and say I'm a bit heartbroken to say goodbye to the MPC because IMHO 3.0 has turned it into a portable DAW. I bought my first Akai in 1997 when I got signed (one that I actually owned, not borrowed) so I don't have an issue with the Sequence / Track / Program structure but I totally understand that loads of new producers do. I really get it that loads of people want everything to have an arrange page but I like different ways of working and the old AKAI pattern based structure makes you think in a different way. Also the bland an uninteresting AKAI 2.15 GUI makes me listen harder, personally I don't see how having loads of colours and pictures of waveforms help you mix - it's just distracting. So happy days to all you who want to work this way, I'm glad for you (no really - I'm not being sarcastic) but please understand that there are those of us who have a legit reason for not wanting this upgrade. I hope there is still space for us in the AKAI community. Peace
@@mickfeltham2887 All fair points mate. In my opinion, it makes no difference what firmware people use, we’re a community. Not everyone will think like that, but some definitely will. I am seeing a lot of people saying they’re happy with 2.15 and they’re staying there.
@@TheCratesMotel I appreciate your comments and I guess for me the best outcome would be for AKAI to honour the near 40 year MPC legacy and maintain / update 2.15 for at the next few years (at least until the new machines come out)
Thanks for this video Conan! I won’t be updating. Staying on 2 for my MPC Live. Gonna wait until akai comes out with a better machine that’s more optimized to mpc 3. More ram, cpu and bigger screen.
Really appreciate your point of view. As you pointed things out I couldn’t help but think the leadership managing the delivery are a bit inexperienced in delivering mission critical software. Pushing out nice to have enhancements when issues that should be gating remain are the sign of green hires IMHO.
I upgraded and immediately downgraded back to 2.xx because some of my beats were missing sounds and sequences… I’ll get all my beats tracked out and then maybe upgrade to 3.0 later. Hopefully it’s a bug that will get fixed later.
Glad your twin brother helps you out with production of these videos! 👍 Conan I’m so glad you put me onto v3.0 - I’m into the manual and the print tutorial for me as a n00b to MPC is just great! My only regret is I didn’t jump into the X SE from the off, as I see I need one now - not GAS, just common sense for me! I also notice in V3 Akai must have watched your videos on templates and as such there are efx pre-loaded and busses set up - did you notice?
Great video! I made the switch January 1st to beta 3. I'm enjoying it so far. The new public release and NI integration is cool, nice bonus. I do wonder why they rushed to release the official version if there are so many unresolved issues. I would like to see a behind the scenes video from Akai addressing the whole beta 3 thing. The Andy Mack beat making videos are cool. Content creators like yourself and other forums are cool but I wonder why Akai or inmusic hasn't put out a video addressing this. I'm not a computer programmer, I'm sure there is a lot that goes into coding and testing but if some things worked prior, I'd like to know what broke them or make them buggy in 3. 🤔
I'm guessing new NI-Akai MPC hardware could be on the way. I was planning on an MPC Key 37 at some point this year, to replace my non-working MPC Live, but might wait to see if they develop anything new
There is certainly a lot of speculation, but I guess we will have to wait and see mate. The other thing of course is that if a new one does come out, you’ll be able to pick up a Key 37 for a lot less probably.
@@TheCratesMotel Exactly. Although I noticed that prices have jacked up on the MPC Key 37 since the initial stock ran out - the places I can still find them, the price is up 40%. So some price relief would be handy. Maybe the dream MPC Key 37 Mk II - battery powered with speaker? Remember last year, some of the unverified rumors teased that there would be a "new OS"? I now wonder if it will eventually become NI-based
We’re at The point where we are Assured that the bugs will be resolved… Eventually. But until then, We’ll have a whole lot of good stuff to play around with and or to Master.
I just can't believe how long it's taking to add the option to change time signatures. Literally that would be enough for me to stay on MPC3 comfortably despite other bugs and issues. I have a 404 mk2 in my setup and use that whenever I want to flip something in an odd time signature. Crazy the sp can do it and the mpc cant😂
@@TheCratesMotel I’ve been meaning to ask since we’re talking about the intro. How do you make the sounds in your intro when your logo comes onto the screen? How did you design those sounds?
Def. stoked for this and have updated my MPC One yesterday. Not very cool that they did not include a couple NI instruments for free. I realize they want to sell them but the update should have included a couple at no charge. Anyway, I'm still having fun with it and I would never sell my MPC.
@@TheCratesMotel For now, I have downloaded them as a trial and will bounce the sounds to audio if I use them in a track so I won't lose anything after the trial period is up! lol
I can’t tell you how excited I was. Rushed home updated. Purchased new plugins and went to start desktop software and use mpc x se as vst and still not in 3.0…what…are you kidding. Ruined what I had planned
It’s completely free… still the most powerful piece of gear on the market. Nothing to complain about… if your a real professional you know not to update any software that’s essential for quite a while but it seems like they have sorted most of the issues
@@BeatsBespoke if you want me to be brutally honest, I don’t think the latest build fixes any bugs. It just adds NI plugins. But I’m still working through it so they may have fixed something.
@@TheCratesMotel I actually wrote that wrong. I meant to say "what are the bugs that HAVEN'T been fixed in this current build?" Are they MPC2 features that don't appear in MPC3 or actual behavior that differs from the 3.4 expectations?
@ Appreciate the clarification, these appear to be features and user requests (WiFi is definitely user specific), for the most part. I'm sure any minor issues will be resolved in updates, shortly. Btw, your vids on effects are ace :)
I'm waiting for someone to upload a video demonstrating how well the NI plugins work before EVEN considering getting them... i haven't found any footage of it being used in an arrangement yet to see the CPU usage / ram usage which makes me suspicious it's gonna be on par or even heavier than fabric XL.
I totally agree mate. That is why I mention that I do not really know how well they have been optimized to work on the MPC. I want to dig deeper. I need to experiment. I will definitely make a video once I know more.
I just maxed out my plugin limit and had two drum tracks, but I wasn't using a lot of effects, and it got ot about 55% CPU and 65% memory for me. I made a 4 bar loop, 3 sequences, and did some automation with the Native Instruments plugins, Flexbeat Player, and pad mutes. It was handling it pretty well, but the presets take a few seconds to load up, similar to Stage Piano and EP. It was a little sluggish, but not too bad overall. I honestly expected it to be worse haha.
Great video as always. Can anyone compare analogue sounds vs the jura pluggin? I've had Jura and it's great for 80s analogue sounds. Is there any point getting analogue dreams if I have Jura?
I've been loving 3 for months now...but at the risk of sounding repetitive...the time signature issue is Fking ridiculous. Seems pretty straightforward to me, why the hell didn't we get it now...geez...
MPC software updates for 2.x have been stable for a while now. But the bug fiasco with new OS releases has been something the Force community was dealing for years with after every OS update from Akai throughout the 3.x lineup as well. MPC 2.x was just as bad when it was under heavy development (I own both devices). To their credit, they do eventually seem to get to the biggest bugs, but every time I updated my Force or MPC Live, I would wonder what new bugs would show up. There’s a video on TH-cam somewhere where the software engineering manager at Akai at the time was at a conference talking about how hard it was for them to do quality assurance on their 2.x platform given how many devices they offer and software DAW versions on both Mac and PC. I don’t imagine the task is much easier for 3.x on MPC, and god knows if we’ll ever see controller mode with a 3.x software DAW one day. I’m sure MPC 3.x will eventually stabilize. But this issue with buggy software has been either a development culture or technical issue with Akai for as long as these devices have existed. I’m not surprised the latest release is buggy.
@@TheCratesMotel this prompted me to look up Pete Goodliffe. He’s now CTO of InMusic, and a published author on software engineering best practices. So clearly passionate about software quality, which says to me that this probably isn’t an engineering culture issue at Akai. That would leave the problem being either that Akai’s corporate culture favors rushing unfinished products to market regardless of how the engineering team feels about it (not uncommon in the tech industry), or getting this kind of thing right is just really hard.
loading them wont make anything to them, when saving though, then you got to save them to a separate place/folder or however you choose to do regularly.
Make sure you back them up first. Once you save the project in 3 you won’t be able to open that version in 2.15. As for screwed up? Yes there have been issues noted. It’s a risk.
This whole keygroub-thing is crazy but I really miss programs.. The arranger is cool but I am not that hyped, because It doesn't give the MPC any new capabilities. I am used to building many beats or "sketches" inside one project. I loved how every sequence could be its own little thing. Also for live-looping, beatsets and performing in front of an audience. I need to be able to set up the Instruments from sequence to sequence on different tracks. I think the update killed something by adding limitations. I understand that some people are loving the new mixer, but for me the 16Pads-Layout made much more sense. At least for the pad-mixer. Not sure if I will get back to the older firmware, but it really takes time to get used to. At one point I will have to downgrade because I worked in a different way and there are still many projects on my harddrive that I need to record.
Might update to mpc3 and give it again a shot, the beta was a mess and when I‘ve heard 3.X is out I thought „hopefully they fixed at least the mpc 2 projects file issue“ Well I‘ve read that its getting better but not fully fixed. Thats a huge buh, I often load old projects just for fun and when I‘ll do it in 3.0 my old once mostly will sound like I don‘t know what I‘m doing on the thing… Even this might be fixed I‘m scared to update + the downgrade button is now hidden, you need to do this manually which is another boomer while 3.0 is still buggy af…
MPC 3 isn't 100% official until the PC version is also on version 3. I updated my MPC because I want to start getting into the new release, but I do like bouncing back and forth between the MPC and the software on PC because my PC is just so much faster. I hope the PC version comes out soon too.
I love firmware 3.0, but currently not loving the NI plugins for the original MPC One. Basically too slow to load presets to be usable. I mean, fair enough, it has the least memory of the product range, but it's a shame they put it under the supported list when it's frustrating as hell to use. The presets I did try did sound great though.
The ugly mixer of the mpc2x and the lak of automation the main and submixes was the reason for me to change to the akai force 1 year ago. The mpc3 now is more intuitive for new and somtimes users. The new main screen is a game changer in my opinion. The missing time signatures is a problem, but you can find workarounds. But NI is not a good idea. The MPC hardware is not powerful enough for it. The wait for loading the instrument an the time to change a preset is way to long. But MPC3 is the start of a new love for me. I like it.
Time Signatures are taught in the basic fundamentals of music. Still don't understand why it not in the 3.0 software, to me its a huge disappointment for calling this the official release.
It's a very bad move from Akai. I can't recommend an MPC anymore to most of the musicians I know. Isn't there any real world musicians in the Akaï team ?
This is so frustrating... I moved over to MPC from the 1010 Music Blackbox as my main writing tool after 1010 Music released firmware v3.0 that broke every one of my songs. I was already tired of the lack of features and the much needed quality of life updates in Blackbox v2 so decided then to walk away from that machine and bought an MPC One, spending months and months re-building all of the songs I had written on that machine. Fast forward to today and I've written even more songs on the MPC One and decided to update to MPC 3. Low and behold, all of my songs and projects are broken again. Not only that but all of my Q link assignments are broken and some tracks will even freeze the MPC to the point I have to pull the power cord. So now I have to roll back and I'm stuck using 2.x, just like the Blackbox. This is complete garbage.
@ thanks. First world problems right?… If a work around emerges great, if not then I’m locked into 2.15’s workflow and limitations and will have to consider buying a second unit and putting in the work to port my projects over.
The fundamental problem is that NAMM is when it is, so they shipped what they had when NAMM arrived. It's clearly not finished. So now they're out of beta and we've still got beta-quality software. Let's hope they can quickly turn out what they couldn't get ready by NAMM.
They want buy-in so used the NI collab to bait early adoption. They also needed beta testers and community feedback, so released it early to only those willing to try it. They were very transparent and communicative about it all being new and needing the feedback. They made it incredibly easy to revert/rollback. This is only 3.0 public release, I don't think there's much more they could do. It's the consumer's responsibility to understand that they're early adopters and it will need revisions. Akai took a massive leap towards modernization and the new look will help first timers. I'm willing to cut them some slack.
Well, not all bugs emerged from new features added in 3. Some of the serious bugs were things that worked very well in 2.x, for instance MMC MIDI communication I/O worked flawlessly before, but is totally unusable in 3. So for me, as a professional musician and as an Akai supporter for many years, it feels like they launched a version with some flashy candies almost to cover up the non-addressed bugs. I'm very disappointed.
I've been on the beta since day one, and I love it, but it's almost like they had a deadline deal with Native Instruments, and decided to drop beta from the title, as it still feels like a beta to me. I get that most MPC users use 4/4 time signatures, but come on.
Always had some bugs before 3.0 You’d think they had it sorted like and now there’s more issues What kinda company is this Seriously regretting even buying mpc live 2… could’ve bought half decent laptop and a daw that works for the same price or less Want pads, I could’ve just bought a controller and probably had enough for a midi keyboard leftover 😅
@@TheCratesMotel Problem solved the problem comes from the fact that the InMusic software center cannot connect to the MPC and in my account for the activation of the plugins a problem with the InMusic servers that caused an internal problem in the MPC...Now we will see.
watched the Tubedigga video and he showed some of the added functionality on the sampler side. To me it was very underwhelming, and i really dont care about NI packs, I wish they perfected the auto-sampler. isnt that the core and soul of a sampler?! What about perfecting that instead of turning it into a "rompler". It doesn't have to clash with their apparent need to sell us mediocre plugins and sample packs and fx. Making our own keygroups and sample our DAW vsts, both drum libraries and synths in a perfect way, that would be development imo. Cheers
Great video dude, I love your honesty and transparency.
@@saintvoleur what other way is there?
Some really great points in this video. 👍🏻
@@beatsandsamples thanks mate
The intro was very cool! Thank you Conan, I have only seen videos hyping the product so far with very minimal talk of the issues the new update brings.
@@deirellbyrd6770 thanks mate. I try and keep it real.
I don't know mate I'm a little spectacle about this native instrument and Akai team up?????
@@Wizz6768 you’re definitely not the only one mate
Ya i agree, the new stuff looks so cool! And i do understand that there is always the hope with new gear and or new software, that it functions as intended.
But as for me, my workflow in 2.15 is flawless. I did try the beta and decided to go back to 2.15. Just alittle too buggy 🐛 for me.
Im more comfortable with a more reliable OS. We’ve had the 2.0 format for so long that its hard to leave that back of the hand eyes 👀 closed workflow for a few new bells 🔔 that dont work well.
My confidence just isnt there for now in the new upgrades. Hopefully that will change down the road 🚘 but its really great to see 2 companies come together and collaborate.
Yeh mate, that’s fair enough. I think a lot of people feel the same way.
If I had two MPC’s it would be easy to upgrade one to the 3.4 so that I could still have my workflow on one and slowly learn the new stuff on the other.
@ yes I’m lucky enough to have that scenario and it was a great help.
I appreciate you and your perspective.
I don’t think they fixed the problems I have with it wrecking old projects. Song mode would unmute all my mutes leaving me to try to reverse engineer what I did in the first place. A lot of old projects would have to be treated the same way. Probably over hundred hours to make my old projects work with the new software. Not feeling it.
I’ll try it like I did the betas but I forsee using MPC 2 in the near term. I have a Kurzweil PC4 and Roland Integra 7 along with various small synths. I really don’t need NI plugins. They may be nice but I often switch between hardware and software MPC and I need everything to be compatible with the desktop. Besides, I track out from the MPC software to Ableton Live, Studio One, Cubase to finish things off. That’s problematic unless I just want the stem data and not the MIDI data. I compose so I really want the MIDI. I do change time signatures sometimes.
It all seems like this newer firmware wasn’t all thought out.
I completely agree with all your points mate. The time signature thing is a massive school boy error in my opinion.
@@TheCratesMotel
Akai just decided to send it, for better or worse.
Looking forward to your follow up vid after you've had a chance to dig in. Appreciate your efforts sir 💯👊🏻✌🏻
Thank you mate. Yeh I am looking forward to digging in more.
Omg they fixed the issue i have with zooming in. Sometimes i wanted to take out little pops and getting the screen to focus on the selection was frustrating. Finally fixed for me 😮
A positive. This is good!
how is it fixed for you? For me with 3.4.1 in grid mode the q- links are non longer assigned to horizontal/vertical zoom. It’s driving me nuts
Look fwd to this content, its all great stuff, but used a 2000xl and an eps16+ for nearly 20 years and was amazed with that. its hard to find things to complain about when you can pick up an mpc one, used for £300, with so many possibility's!
Thank you for the run-through. I do look forward to using this new 3.0 upgrade, but I need the software update as well as standalone. I did love using NI plug-ins and instruments when I ran with Cubase back in the early 2000's, Battery and the bass program (I forgot the name) were amazing. My mind is kinda BLOWN!!💨
@@manatee_flips6811 I think there is a lot of scope for things in the future if both companies work together.
Word!! Great points.
@@BareRareBeats 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I’ve spent the last several months finally getting the hang of 2.xx as I’m new to the MPC coming from Logic Pro and Reason. It’s been a slog. Honestly I feel like I’ll be starting over if I upgrade to 3.0. I’m not interested in the NI plug-ins anyway. This video helps me feel like I’m doing the right thing.
It will always be there if you need it, and you can always downgrade if you’re not feeling it. Akai I definitely got that part right.
I’m in the same boat but you’re way ahead of me! I upgraded today and downloaded the new v3 manual - it’s a very good tutorial and works through the steps in an easy to read, understand and ‘produce as you read’ flow.
I'm in the same boat - have just downgraded back to mpc 2. MPC is all about live for me and I use clips to perform.
@@TheCratesMotelhow do you downgrade now? My MPC no longer shows the downgrade button like during beta. Is it just USB “upgrade” then?
@ check my latest video mate. I explain it.
I mothballed my Maschine and switched to the MPC X for a reason. I love my MPC and don’t miss Maschine or anything from Native Instruments AT ALL.
I kinda miss the pads. maybe I just need more time to adjust to the akai style pads
@@R-sn1ty You know I can’t lie I felt the same way at first. I used to hear about how great the MPC pads were and when I got it I liked the Maschine pads better. Maybe because I’d had it so long and they were broken in lol! I still don’t love the feel of the pads and I may change them out but I’m nitpicking. Besides that I don’t have one single complaint about the MPC and don’t miss my Maschine at all.
Great that the final version is out at last. Disappointed that I can’t program 3/4 time signatures. Otherwise love v3. Love the Native instrument additions I’ve loaded up the trial of Nacht. Prices aren’t too bad and I’ve already got a 20% off code drone native instruments in my email…
@@The_artist_called_The_Engineer yeh the time signature thing is a weird one. I’m sure they will give it back to us eventually.
I’ve updated, 🔥 😎 purchased cloud supply and on first impressions it looks and sounds amazing , the other instruments are on a trial so looking forward to having a play . There’s always gonna be bugs with any changes just depends on how severe. 👍
I'm trying to be optimistic and not complain too much, but the time signatures is honestly a big issue for me. I do enjoy a lot of the new features, but when I'm in the zone and improvising on piano, or working out phrases that I find really interesting and compelling, I often do that in odd 8th note meters. It sort of feels like Akai is being sort of gimmicky with all the endorsements and trinkets, yet leaving out features like that or the fact that my Q links still keep freezing up haha.
I'm not just trying to "bitch" but you're right, I don't really feel confident in the direction they're going. They ignored time odd time in Akai Force for the entirety of its lifetime. Starting to consider the Push 3 again, although I didn't want to have to go that route haha.
Edit: The official release notes from Akai address that they are working on this for a future update! I rescind much of my frustration haha
I feel you mate.
@@TheCratesMotel Just saw the release notes and they have addressed the time signature thing! Hyped! Haha my complaining has been humbled.
Appreciate the honesty. Reminds me of when stems came out, I got it and it’s totally useless on the standalone from my experience. I will stick with the MPC2 that i still understand, I just got comfortable with it including after watching many of your videos
Love that you don't mince your words. I'm not that impressed either. Those NI plugins are honestly just ROMplers in my opinion. Also, it seems like the clips mode is gone. Haven't updated mine yet. I think could wait for another 6 months ✌🏽
There are definitely still some issues mate. I don't want to mislead people into thinking everything from the beta has been resolved.
Thanks for the honest point of view on mpc3 in your video. I'm still in mpc 2 because some of this fundamental issues, like time signature, or MPC software controller comptability. I've had to wait again. It seems so weird that they stop the fact to choose tiome signature. I think it would be easier in mpc3, and it's not even there. So I will wait.
It’s very odd especially as it was already there in 2.
@@TheCratesMotel thanks for your answer. Yes, I didn't understand why it disappears. They try to do DAW-like firmware, but every daw let you choose time signature. And in the MPC2, you can have in same sequence different time signature. it was so rare to have that. It was a real plus for MPC to me.
Im a 2.15 guy. Im not attracted to 3.0. But my God. The keygroup is now basically a sample synthesis engine and I LOVE that. Gimme that in 2 please.
2.15 is Great, so i see why you Don’t wanna make the Jump… But if you Do, Once you make your First Decent Beat and feel Comfortable about Navigating Around in 3.0… You WILL NOT Think To Go Back To 2.15… Because i was You A Month Ago.
Appreciate your subjective take. My biggest concern right now is not knowing if there's even a plan for the MPC3 VST, which is essential for my workflow of transitioning to Ableton Live without having to commit to printed audio stems. They would do themselves a big favor by being more transparent about these things, rather than labeling MPC3 "the future of standalone workflow". There's not even a single mention along the lines of "coming soon", which bets the question: is it coming at all?
@@sinewaymusic yes it’s very vague.
I love the disclaimer in the description lol 😂
I never bothered with the beta testing but I installed the mpc 3.4 last night after work and I gotta say I like the new GUI,it's logical to use and simpler and faster,I did have some trouble finding return fx channels til I realized u can swipe along on mixer page lol,I did notice that separating some stems in stand alone took a lot longer than before,but so far it seems like a good update
There are definitely improvements and there is definitely room for improvement.
@TheCratesMotel oh definitely,tbf I remember the 1st few firmware versions when I first got my mpc had some a awful bugs so hopefully with time we will get to a place where everything works as expected 🤣🤣🤣
Everything works good enough for me, I'm enjoying using Mpc 3 & the new NI plugins. I just wish that Akai would change the opening splash screen when turning the unit on.
That’s good to hear mate.
I like the NI integration and hope there will be more plugins to stand against the AIR stuff which is expensive. Sub Factory is $80 and these are way less…
More mpc3 videos .🙏😊 exactly what I need. ty.
@@dedude5864 you’re welcome mate
Good video, looking for the follow ups, keep up the good work.
Thanks mate
You touch on some great points here. MPC has come much further than I had ever expected and at this point in time not sure it has any competitors?
I had started to wonder whether the current hardware was going to start to become obsolete. It has worked so well with 2.15, but there must be a point with all of these improvements and virtual instruments where the current base is no longer suitable. Let’s just hope if and when they do, they supercharge the next generation products.
Yes exactly mate
I got rid of my Maschine and got the mpc live and then the live 2 and never went back. But I've saved all of my Kontact library.
@@joserivera1054 that could come in handy in the future. I still have all my Kontakt libraries.
I will only upgrade to 3.0 if you approve Conan… waiting to pull the trigger, but not just yet committed
Yeh maybe give it a little time to settle if you are apprehensive.
Thanks Conan, great objective and informative video - I have to get this off my chest and say I'm a bit heartbroken to say goodbye to the MPC because IMHO 3.0 has turned it into a portable DAW. I bought my first Akai in 1997 when I got signed (one that I actually owned, not borrowed) so I don't have an issue with the Sequence / Track / Program structure but I totally understand that loads of new producers do. I really get it that loads of people want everything to have an arrange page but I like different ways of working and the old AKAI pattern based structure makes you think in a different way. Also the bland an uninteresting AKAI 2.15 GUI makes me listen harder, personally I don't see how having loads of colours and pictures of waveforms help you mix - it's just distracting. So happy days to all you who want to work this way, I'm glad for you (no really - I'm not being sarcastic) but please understand that there are those of us who have a legit reason for not wanting this upgrade. I hope there is still space for us in the AKAI community. Peace
@@mickfeltham2887 All fair points mate. In my opinion, it makes no difference what firmware people use, we’re a community. Not everyone will think like that, but some definitely will. I am seeing a lot of people saying they’re happy with 2.15 and they’re staying there.
@@TheCratesMotel I appreciate your comments and I guess for me the best outcome would be for AKAI to honour the near 40 year MPC legacy and maintain / update 2.15 for at the next few years (at least until the new machines come out)
I’m happy I started MPC late so the 3.0 beta wasn’t so jarring. I’ve been having a ball since it dropped
Thanks for this video Conan! I won’t be updating. Staying on 2 for my MPC Live. Gonna wait until akai comes out with a better machine that’s more optimized to mpc 3. More ram, cpu and bigger screen.
@@gengee21 fair point mate
Really appreciate your point of view. As you pointed things out I couldn’t help but think the leadership managing the delivery are a bit inexperienced in delivering mission critical software. Pushing out nice to have enhancements when issues that should be gating remain are the sign of green hires IMHO.
💯 % agree mate.
I upgraded and immediately downgraded back to 2.xx because some of my beats were missing sounds and sequences… I’ll get all my beats tracked out and then maybe upgrade to 3.0 later. Hopefully it’s a bug that will get fixed later.
How can I change it back 😢
Check my latest video mate, I explain and provide a link to the old firmware
All true. Totally agree.
Glad your twin brother helps you out with production of these videos! 👍 Conan I’m so glad you put me onto v3.0 - I’m into the manual and the print tutorial for me as a n00b to MPC is just great! My only regret is I didn’t jump into the X SE from the off, as I see I need one now - not GAS, just common sense for me! I also notice in V3 Akai must have watched your videos on templates and as such there are efx pre-loaded and busses set up - did you notice?
@@IdeologieUK I hadn’t noticed actually.
In my opinion it is a much better experience than the previous version. The arrangement is a big deal in my workflow.
Yeh mate the arrangement and mixer are fantastic upgrades.
Great video! I made the switch January 1st to beta 3. I'm enjoying it so far. The new public release and NI integration is cool, nice bonus. I do wonder why they rushed to release the official version if there are so many unresolved issues. I would like to see a behind the scenes video from Akai addressing the whole beta 3 thing. The Andy Mack beat making videos are cool. Content creators like yourself and other forums are cool but I wonder why Akai or inmusic hasn't put out a video addressing this. I'm not a computer programmer, I'm sure there is a lot that goes into coding and testing but if some things worked prior, I'd like to know what broke them or make them buggy in 3. 🤔
I would pay to see that video haha
Anybody knows? can it be downgraded if mpc3 is not for me?... Time signatures.
Yes mate, it can be downgraded really easily in less than a minute.
@@TheCratesMotel thank you, good to know. will be updating this weekend to finally see what all the fuss is about
@@user-wy5kv5hg1o I switch between the two all the time mate as I often have to work on client projects who are still using 2.15
I'm guessing new NI-Akai MPC hardware could be on the way. I was planning on an MPC Key 37 at some point this year, to replace my non-working MPC Live, but might wait to see if they develop anything new
There is certainly a lot of speculation, but I guess we will have to wait and see mate. The other thing of course is that if a new one does come out, you’ll be able to pick up a Key 37 for a lot less probably.
@@TheCratesMotel Exactly. Although I noticed that prices have jacked up on the MPC Key 37 since the initial stock ran out - the places I can still find them, the price is up 40%. So some price relief would be handy. Maybe the dream MPC Key 37 Mk II - battery powered with speaker? Remember last year, some of the unverified rumors teased that there would be a "new OS"? I now wonder if it will eventually become NI-based
@ 40% wow
@@seansleyjust buy it , I never wait I just buy and enjoy. Spend that money and make it back
We’re at The point where we are Assured that the bugs will be resolved… Eventually. But until then, We’ll have a whole lot of good stuff to play around with and or to Master.
There is an old saying “ Happiness is not about getting what you want, it’s about appreciating what you have”.
I just can't believe how long it's taking to add the option to change time signatures. Literally that would be enough for me to stay on MPC3 comfortably despite other bugs and issues. I have a 404 mk2 in my setup and use that whenever I want to flip something in an odd time signature. Crazy the sp can do it and the mpc cant😂
Exactly.
Love the intro man!!!
@@leogolive haha you’re the only person to comment on it. I thought I’d have a bit of fun.
@@TheCratesMotel I’ve been meaning to ask since we’re talking about the intro. How do you make the sounds in your intro when your logo comes onto the screen? How did you design those sounds?
@ it’s actually from a bunch of old radio jingles mate.
@@TheCratesMotel Oh ok!
Def. stoked for this and have updated my MPC One yesterday. Not very cool that they did not include a couple NI instruments for free. I realize they want to sell them but the update should have included a couple at no charge. Anyway, I'm still having fun with it and I would never sell my MPC.
Yes I was literally just saying to somebody else, at least a lite version of a plugin for free would have been nice on launch.
@@TheCratesMotel For now, I have downloaded them as a trial and will bounce the sounds to audio if I use them in a track so I won't lose anything after the trial period is up! lol
Where the fkkk is the desktop software??? I don’t use the mpc in standalone. It’s too limited for my use. I need all my plugins.
Akai have been very cagey but I guess it will come at some point.
I can’t tell you how excited I was. Rushed home updated. Purchased new plugins and went to start desktop software and use mpc x se as vst and still not in 3.0…what…are you kidding. Ruined what I had planned
Yup and no indication of when the software version will be available.
It’s completely free… still the most powerful piece of gear on the market. Nothing to complain about… if your a real professional you know not to update any software that’s essential for quite a while but it seems like they have sorted most of the issues
Hi, I'm curious...what bugs do you feel have been fixed in the current MPC3 release build?
@@BeatsBespoke if you want me to be brutally honest, I don’t think the latest build fixes any bugs. It just adds NI plugins. But I’m still working through it so they may have fixed something.
@@TheCratesMotel I actually wrote that wrong. I meant to say "what are the bugs that HAVEN'T been fixed in this current build?" Are they MPC2 features that don't appear in MPC3 or actual behavior that differs from the 3.4 expectations?
@@BeatsBespoke Well the obvious one is still no alternate time signatures and I’m hearing of issues with q links, clips, mutes, WiFi not working…
@ Appreciate the clarification, these appear to be features and user requests (WiFi is definitely user specific), for the most part. I'm sure any minor issues will be resolved in updates, shortly. Btw, your vids on effects are ace :)
@ thanks mate, I’m glad you find them useful.
Amazing that OS 3.4 doesn’t do 3/4 time signatures. I couldn’t move over to the new OS even if I wanted to as I have songs cooking in 3/4.
Yes I’ve got a bunch of songs in different time signatures that I’ll be finishing elsewhere.
I'm waiting for someone to upload a video demonstrating how well the NI plugins work before EVEN considering getting them... i haven't found any footage of it being used in an arrangement yet to see the CPU usage / ram usage which makes me suspicious it's gonna be on par or even heavier than fabric XL.
I totally agree mate. That is why I mention that I do not really know how well they have been optimized to work on the MPC. I want to dig deeper. I need to experiment. I will definitely make a video once I know more.
Tefty music tech went into that a little in his video on it.
I just maxed out my plugin limit and had two drum tracks, but I wasn't using a lot of effects, and it got ot about 55% CPU and 65% memory for me. I made a 4 bar loop, 3 sequences, and did some automation with the Native Instruments plugins, Flexbeat Player, and pad mutes. It was handling it pretty well, but the presets take a few seconds to load up, similar to Stage Piano and EP. It was a little sluggish, but not too bad overall. I honestly expected it to be worse haha.
You get a free 10 day trail. Download them yourself and try them out
Loopop has a video with a bit of comparisons.. Not the exact same sounds..
Great video as always. Can anyone compare analogue sounds vs the jura pluggin? I've had Jura and it's great for 80s analogue sounds. Is there any point getting analogue dreams if I have Jura?
I haven’t tested AD enough yet but I’d say they’re different enough to at least consider purchasing both. I’d wait for a sale though.
I've been loving 3 for months now...but at the risk of sounding repetitive...the time signature issue is Fking ridiculous. Seems pretty straightforward to me, why the hell didn't we get it now...geez...
@@drewtempler Agreed
I have heard that during the beta one of the bugs was not being able to sync other midi devices. Is this true and if so was this issue resolved?
@@BradleyDrop I’m not sure on that one mate. I have it synced to my S2400 without any issues via a MIDI cable but I can’t speak for any other devices.
MPC software updates for 2.x have been stable for a while now. But the bug fiasco with new OS releases has been something the Force community was dealing for years with after every OS update from Akai throughout the 3.x lineup as well. MPC 2.x was just as bad when it was under heavy development (I own both devices).
To their credit, they do eventually seem to get to the biggest bugs, but every time I updated my Force or MPC Live, I would wonder what new bugs would show up. There’s a video on TH-cam somewhere where the software engineering manager at Akai at the time was at a conference talking about how hard it was for them to do quality assurance on their 2.x platform given how many devices they offer and software DAW versions on both Mac and PC. I don’t imagine the task is much easier for 3.x on MPC, and god knows if we’ll ever see controller mode with a 3.x software DAW one day.
I’m sure MPC 3.x will eventually stabilize. But this issue with buggy software has been either a development culture or technical issue with Akai for as long as these devices have existed. I’m not surprised the latest release is buggy.
@@spindlenine Great talking points mate
@@TheCratesMotel this prompted me to look up Pete Goodliffe. He’s now CTO of InMusic, and a published author on software engineering best practices. So clearly passionate about software quality, which says to me that this probably isn’t an engineering culture issue at Akai. That would leave the problem being either that Akai’s corporate culture favors rushing unfinished products to market regardless of how the engineering team feels about it (not uncommon in the tech industry), or getting this kind of thing right is just really hard.
Will my projects from 2 get screwed up if I upgrade and load them in 3.0?
loading them wont make anything to them, when saving though, then you got to save them to a separate place/folder or however you choose to do regularly.
Make sure you back them up first. Once you save the project in 3 you won’t be able to open that version in 2.15. As for screwed up? Yes there have been issues noted. It’s a risk.
This whole keygroub-thing is crazy but I really miss programs.. The arranger is cool but I am not that hyped, because It doesn't give the MPC any new capabilities. I am used to building many beats or "sketches" inside one project. I loved how every sequence could be its own little thing. Also for live-looping, beatsets and performing in front of an audience. I need to be able to set up the Instruments from sequence to sequence on different tracks. I think the update killed something by adding limitations. I understand that some people are loving the new mixer, but for me the 16Pads-Layout made much more sense. At least for the pad-mixer. Not sure if I will get back to the older firmware, but it really takes time to get used to. At one point I will have to downgrade because I worked in a different way and there are still many projects on my harddrive that I need to record.
@@MushyBrainBeats All good points mate
Might update to mpc3 and give it again a shot, the beta was a mess and when I‘ve heard 3.X is out I thought „hopefully they fixed at least the mpc 2 projects file issue“
Well I‘ve read that its getting better but not fully fixed. Thats a huge buh, I often load old projects just for fun and when I‘ll do it in 3.0 my old once mostly will sound like I don‘t know what I‘m doing on the thing…
Even this might be fixed I‘m scared to update + the downgrade button is now hidden, you need to do this manually which is another boomer while 3.0 is still buggy af…
@@siuuep7456 it’s definitely still buggy mate 100 %
MPC 3 isn't 100% official until the PC version is also on version 3. I updated my MPC because I want to start getting into the new release, but I do like bouncing back and forth between the MPC and the software on PC because my PC is just so much faster. I hope the PC version comes out soon too.
Yeah it's a big hole in the initial release.
I love firmware 3.0, but currently not loving the NI plugins for the original MPC One. Basically too slow to load presets to be usable. I mean, fair enough, it has the least memory of the product range, but it's a shame they put it under the supported list when it's frustrating as hell to use. The presets I did try did sound great though.
@@ceetronic yeh mate I’m the same lol. I feel your pain.
We're still missing time signatures in 3.x!
Exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well said
Thanks mate. I wanted to put some subjectivity in there and not just read the press release out online lol
God its so much snappier in arranger mode that was evident immediately to me, the loop brace is much more responsive.
The ugly mixer of the mpc2x and the lak of automation the main and submixes was the reason for me to change to the akai force 1 year ago. The mpc3 now is more intuitive for new and somtimes users. The new main screen is a game changer in my opinion. The missing time signatures is a problem, but you can find workarounds. But NI is not a good idea. The MPC hardware is not powerful enough for it. The wait for loading the instrument an the time to change a preset is way to long. But MPC3 is the start of a new love for me. I like it.
Time Signatures are taught in the basic fundamentals of music. Still don't understand why it not in the 3.0 software, to me its a huge disappointment for calling this the official release.
@@ZZEROO99 it’s a massive school boy error
It's a very bad move from Akai. I can't recommend an MPC anymore to most of the musicians I know. Isn't there any real world musicians in the Akaï team ?
@ it is a very odd decision
This is so frustrating... I moved over to MPC from the 1010 Music Blackbox as my main writing tool after 1010 Music released firmware v3.0 that broke every one of my songs. I was already tired of the lack of features and the much needed quality of life updates in Blackbox v2 so decided then to walk away from that machine and bought an MPC One, spending months and months re-building all of the songs I had written on that machine. Fast forward to today and I've written even more songs on the MPC One and decided to update to MPC 3. Low and behold, all of my songs and projects are broken again. Not only that but all of my Q link assignments are broken and some tracks will even freeze the MPC to the point I have to pull the power cord.
So now I have to roll back and I'm stuck using 2.x, just like the Blackbox. This is complete garbage.
@@ChuckLeone ah man, I’m sorry to hear that
@ thanks. First world problems right?… If a work around emerges great, if not then I’m locked into 2.15’s workflow and limitations and will have to consider buying a second unit and putting in the work to port my projects over.
Yeah I'll wait until black Friday possibly
And hopefully by then there will be way more to choose from.
I dont find MPC3 for download I nay account, soo extremely irritating AKAI (wtf??) marketing department
Here you go mate www.akaipro.com/mpc-software-firmware-downloads.html
Its still in "beta", when the software and hardware are on the same version I'd see that as a real version of the OS
I think I'll stick with 2.15 for the foreseeable 😂
The fundamental problem is that NAMM is when it is, so they shipped what they had when NAMM arrived. It's clearly not finished. So now they're out of beta and we've still got beta-quality software. Let's hope they can quickly turn out what they couldn't get ready by NAMM.
I totally agree mate.
They want buy-in so used the NI collab to bait early adoption. They also needed beta testers and community feedback, so released it early to only those willing to try it.
They were very transparent and communicative about it all being new and needing the feedback. They made it incredibly easy to revert/rollback.
This is only 3.0 public release, I don't think there's much more they could do. It's the consumer's responsibility to understand that they're early adopters and it will need revisions. Akai took a massive leap towards modernization and the new look will help first timers. I'm willing to cut them some slack.
Some good points mate. As you say, there are always issues with initial releases.
Yup. Time Signatures! Jeez.
Yup. Mental 🤷🏼♂️
I think if you own some ni plug-ins then Akai it would be nice to maybe give users a discounted version for MPC version ?;Just saying 😜
I agree mate
Well, not all bugs emerged from new features added in 3. Some of the serious bugs were things that worked very well in 2.x, for instance MMC MIDI communication I/O worked flawlessly before, but is totally unusable in 3. So for me, as a professional musician and as an Akai supporter for many years, it feels like they launched a version with some flashy candies almost to cover up the non-addressed bugs.
I'm very disappointed.
I agree. That’s exactly what I meant by superficial bonuses.
Said it before it’s all smoke n mirrors. Unfortunately they are good at it, unlike their devs who are not good at it.
Hahaha
I've been on the beta since day one, and I love it, but it's almost like they had a deadline deal with Native Instruments, and decided to drop beta from the title, as it still feels like a beta to me. I get that most MPC users use 4/4 time signatures, but come on.
@@Casey-cq9xp I totally agree mate. That’s basically what I was trying to convey. It’s not ready.
Always had some bugs before 3.0
You’d think they had it sorted like and now there’s more issues
What kinda company is this
Seriously regretting even buying mpc live 2… could’ve bought half decent laptop and a daw that works for the same price or less
Want pads, I could’ve just bought a controller and probably had enough for a midi keyboard leftover 😅
NI just gave declared the war is over. and they didn't win lol.
I’m going back to 2.10, and staying on it! 😅
That’s what I did😂
3:23 craked me up 😂
Hahaha
I'm old school so sort out the basics before moving forward.
@@tomdunn6416 I’m down with that
Time signatures are a big problem for me. I gonna have to downgrade for now, SMH
@@lurch26killa I agree mate. It’s mental.
Crazy that they forgot about time signatures. Flabbergasted
Yes it’s nuts frankly
MPC 3 CRASHING🤬Only marketing for Native, the software is not fixed it Bugs and crashes a lot in less than 24 hours! Back to 2.15.1
Sorry to hear that mate.
@@TheCratesMotel Problem solved the problem comes from the fact that the InMusic software center cannot connect to the MPC and in my account for the activation of the plugins a problem with the InMusic servers that caused an internal problem in the MPC...Now we will see.
@ I’ve had that issue before.
Doesn't sound too good....
track edit
watched the Tubedigga video and he showed some of the added functionality on the sampler side. To me it was very underwhelming, and i really dont care about NI packs, I wish they perfected the auto-sampler. isnt that the core and soul of a sampler?! What about perfecting that instead of turning it into a "rompler". It doesn't have to clash with their apparent need to sell us mediocre plugins and sample packs and fx. Making our own keygroups and sample our DAW vsts, both drum libraries and synths in a perfect way, that would be development imo. Cheers
@@eddiexx I agree mate
NI stuff should be free. Akai software is outgrowing hardware.
I think it would have been a nice gesture to offer at least a Lite NI plugin for free on launch.
OCD ---a simplier machine that did less but more stable would be more likable, ever since he mpc 5000 nothing has ever been stable -ever
To be fair, my 3000 used to crash sometimes.