I don’t want to get my hopes up too high until I’ve tried it, but MPC lovers may finally have the gear they want. It could finally bring MPC-style music making to the PC with all the feel of the original hardware.

360-degree knobs: Well, okay, some of you might prefer non-continuous encoders, but for the other half of you, this will make you happy.

(Curious what that actually means, though, in terms of what samples they’ve included.) Retro library: Akai’s sample library of classic drum machines lets you actually play this out of the box via a Mac/PC plug-in.Transport controls: Missing from its competitors, these are essentially to making the hardware the center of performance and production.Now this finally looks serious: a more logical array of controls and what looks like a fantastic case. But nothing gives you the full array of controls and feel of the MPC.Įnter Akai’s MPD24. I’m preparing a review now of the Korg kontrolPAD, and its pads basically blow the Trigger Finger away with an onboard X/Y controller it’s the perfect compact controller. M-Audio’s Trigger Finger offers more controls for less money, with faders and knobs, but many of us have been disappointed with the responsiveness of the pads across their surface area.

Akai’s own offering, the MPD16, got just about everything wrong, with (inexplicably) a lone fader, middling pad quality, and little to differentiate itself from competitors. Now you just need a hardware controller so you can use these applications musically. So, even as the MPC hardware has continued to evolve, many of us want more. But today, software like Ableton Live (and FL Studio, and many others that function brilliantly with 4×4 sets of pads) give us the flexibility to make new kinds of music. With its array of knobs and sliders, the MPD24 allows users to control parameters on their favorite DAW or software synths, offering incredible real-time control.Akai’s MPC hardware was terrific in its day, launching whole genres of music. The MPD24 allows users to program drum parts in a much more intuitive and natural way than by simply playing them on a keyboard. The firmware is installed to MPD24 via a USB-connected Mac running OS X or later, or a PC running Windows XP or later.ĭesigned for use with Digital Audio Workstations (DAW), sequencing, and other software applications, MPD24 is a velocity sensitive USB/MIDI pad controller. Users may download the 44 kb zip file at no charge. A complete document of release notes is also available for review at Owners can update their MPD24 firmware by selecting the Docs & Downloads section of the MPD24 product page on the company’s website. Offering improved transport functionality, v1.09 is the second update to the original release of MPD24 firmware. Akai Professional has released updated firmware for the MPD24 USB/MIDI Pad Controller.

Akai mpd 24 ableton