Coming up to NAMM 2019, we can expect all manner of PR to land in our inboxes. This week it has been full announcements, but today Akai Pro dropped of a full 7 seconds of animation that says pretty much nothing but “we’ve got something trouser trauma worthy but we’re being really coy about it”.
This of course means it’ll get leaked sooner than they’d like, probably sourced from the FCC (they seem to have it in for inMusic), and the whole thing will be entirely blown, most likely from a retailer keen to get the preorders or some over-eager look at me blogger looking for traffic not realising that their chances of getting anything in the future is nil. Sight of this video will positively see the rumour mill being turnt to 11, and the grapevine shaken to destruction for snippets of anything.
Tell me I’m wrong.
Anyway, feel free to roll out the use the force/space force related puns (I imagine they expect them anyway), and hazard insane guesses as to what this could be. Akai Pro is definitely excited about it, and would appreciate it if you were too.
yawn, the APC live is discussed to death already. I just want the improvements to the MPC software, already got an MPC. Push style 8 x 8 clip grid will appease ableton fans however, so its a win-win for Akai.
After seeing that leaked image of a standalone Push styled device its hard not to connect the dots from that to this announcement, done properly a standalone 64 pad clip launching device ala Ableton withOUT a laptop is manufacturer is hype worthy, yet to be done and in line with the info (tho scant) in the tease vid, hmmmmmm….
“After seeing that leaked standalone Push image its hard not to connect the dots from that to this announcement”
I was thinking the same.
Just so people know, that prototype that was leaked last week is just that. It’s a couple of years old and was submitted to the FCC. Whatever will come out in due course won’t be that.
Gotcha!
You know something that we don’t, don’t you? Again ;)
I only know that the black monstrosity bandied around last week won’t come out in that form, which is why I didn’t post a story about it.
About the teaser? Not a thing actually. I would speculate, but it’s not my area of expertise at all.
I own an AMX, and loves it. I’ve often wondered what can Akai do with a no holds-barred, show-stopper designed “uber AMX/AFX” if it wanted to. Probably not considering it will overlap with its other sister brands within InMusic.
I just bought an amx and was wondering the same thing. But I think Mark is probably right
My gut tells me that Akai Pro’s dalliance with DJ is over. inMusic already has three very strong DJ brands, serving different sectors of the market. Akai’s Pro’s name in music production and performance. It would make more sense to push out DJ related products under Denon DJ, Rane, or Numark.
This announcement is more likely to be about standalone performers, wireless syncing, touch screens, and providing an interoperable ecosystem for producers and performers. And that is a spitball of a guess — I honestly have no idea.
The advance 61 keyboard hasn’t been supplied to retailers since summer. The whole product line is 4 years old and ni is going strong with the komplete series. What about an advance mk2? The harware button layout could get a revamp.
Something new in the MPC lineup is what I suspect. With the success of both the MPC Live and MPC X standalone units, it only makes sens to release something with further takes advantage of the latest update.
Ok, here is my totally uneducated guess. I think it might be a standalone, running the mpc software, but with a keyboard rather than (or in addition to) 16 pads.
An MPC Live with a Keyboard than. :-p
Exactly
At the risk of be totally wrong again but continuing with the leaked source…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsvCfB7gxRd
(discuss gives me an error trying to upload the image)
https://www.sequencer.de/synthesizer/threads/akai-force-groovebox.145861/page-5
Description:
“Force blurs the lines between contemporary music production solutions and the latest technologies available for DJ performance, a first among the industry standards. By merging clip triggering, step-sequencing, sampling, but also in-house synthesis engines, not to mention the latest-generation touchscreen, all in one stand-alone performance equipment, the Force combines the essential features to offer ultra-intuitive ergonomics and allow you to give free rein to your creativity.
Force embeds a matrix of 8×8 trigger pads with RGB backlight, a 7-inch color touch screen, 8 touch-sensitive potentiometers with individual graphic OLed display, 2 audio inputs, 4 audio outputs, not to mention the MIDI and CV Gate connectivity . All this end to end leaves the user unprecedented creative freedom, since it even goes to emancipate a complementary computer.
The very essence of Force consists of a workflow focused on the use of the clips, which are at the origin of your creative performances. Choose multiple modes such as plugins, MPC-style drum tracks, but also audio tracks, Keygroups, MIDI tracks, and CV tracks to set your clip type, then customize them with step sequencer and performance pads , and add notes via the edit window or the smart-scales, chords or progressions modes.
In addition, Force has advanced real-time timestrech capabilities and pitch modulation with quality equivalent to current music production software, effects plug-in from AIR Music Technology collections, and TubeSynth synthesis engines. , Bassline and Electric. Another synth, Hype, extends this list, a synth based on presets and macros accumulating several synthesis engines in one plugin, easy to use. Force can also record up to 8 stereo audio tracks.
Force includes more than 10GB of embedded sounds, from the most famous collections of premium content like SampleTools by CR2, MSX Audio and Sample Magic. With 248 kits, 16 demo projects, more than 2,500 loops and 500 designs, the Force library opens the doors to the best sounds for your creativity.
As of March 2019, Force will also include deep integration with Ableton Live in controller mode. This feature will include visibility and full control over the Ableton clip array, touch control of mix parameters including crossfader assignment, and control of Force settings on the Ableton Live workspace, via the screen. Touch and Force Q-Link knobs.
In addition, March 2019 will also mark the integration of Splice into Force. Splice Sounds powers the creativity of producers around the world with access to millions of high-quality, royalty-free samples, sounds, presets and loops, covering almost every genre of music. With the integration of Splice, Force users will have immediate Wi-Fi access to their own Splice library directly from the touch user interface – perfect for ultra-fast auditioning of sounds to be integrated into their project.
◙ Standalone – no computer needed
◙ Matrix of 8×8 RGB pads for triggering clips
◙ 7-inch multi-touch screen
◙ 1 push encoder wheel for navigation and selection
◙ 1 crossfader A / B
◙ 2 combo inputs Xlr / Mic Jack / instruments / line
◙ 4 TRS outputs
◙ MIDI In / Out / Thru minijack (minijack to 5-pin adapters included)
◙ 4 configurable CV / Gate outputs
◙ Remix, merge and produce with 6 different programs for complete audio / MIDI / CV sequencing
◙ Performance modes including drum MPC, notes, smart note suite, chords and chord progression
◙ MPC Sample Editor
◙ Automatic detection of BPM, real-time time stretching and pitch modulation
◙ 8 Q-Link touch-sensitive potentiometers with individual graphic Oled display
◙ 4 powerful and fully customizable synthesis engines
◙ 16 GB of internal memory (including more than 10 GB of sounds included)
◙ SD card slot and 2 USB 3.0 ports compatible with USB storage devices or MIDI controllers
◙ 2.5 “SATA connector internally (SSD or HDD) for an extension of the internal storage by the user
◙ 1 Type-B USB port for connecting to a Mac / PC computer
◙ 1 TRS headphone output
◙ Weight and dimensions: 3.87 kg, 350 x 389 x 72.5 mm
1578 Euro”