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Akai MPCs (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) are a popular and well respected series of electronic musical instruments originally designed by Roger Linn and produced by the Japanese company Akai from 1988 onwards. Intended to function as a powerful kind of drum machine, the MPCs drew on design ideas from machines such as the Sequential Circuits Inc. Studio 440 and the Linn's own Linn 9000, combining a powerful MIDI sequencer with the ability to sample one's own sounds. Later models feature increasingly powerful sampling, storage, interfacing and sound manipulation facilities, which broaden the use of instrument beyond just drum and rhythm tracks.
The original MPC60 was designed by Roger Linn, then a lead designer at Akai. He conceived the entire function design, including the panel layout and software/hardware specifications. He then created the software with a team of engineers. The hardware electronics was designed by English engineer David Cockerell and his team. Cockerell was a founder member of the synthesizer firm EMS (co-creater of their famous VCS3 along with Peter Zinovieff,), and had then worked for effects manufacturers Electro-Harmonix.
Shortly after the MPC60's release, the MPC60-II was designed. Released in 1991, the MPC60-II offered most of the same features as the MPC60, with an added headphone output and a plastic case to replace the original's metal one. In 1994, Akai released the MPC3000, which boasted 16 bit 44 kHz sampling, 32 voice polyphony, and SCSI data transfer. The MPC3000 was the last MPC designed by Roger Linn, due to the fact that Akai no longer wanted to pay his royalty fees. Akai fired Roger Linn and released the MPC2000 in 1997. It came with 2 MB of RAM, on board effects, and a 100,000 note 64-track sequencer. The MPC2000 was replaced by the MPC2000XL in 2000. The MPC2000XL added an improved 300,000 64-track mixer and time-stretch and resample features. Four limited edition models of the MPC2000XL were released.
In 2002 Akai unveiled the MPC4000, the most powerful MPC to date. The MPC4000 features 8 assignable outputs, a hard drive and CD-ROM drive. The MPC4000's memory can be expanded to up to 512 MB of RAM, the largest amount on an MPC to date. Only two years after the release of the MPC4000, Akai released the MPC1000, which was the smallest in the MPC product line at the time of its release. It is also the first MPC to utilize CompactFlash memory. Both the MPC2500 and the MPC500 were added to the Akai MPC series in 2006. The MPC2500 is a mid-range MPC with 8 assignable outputs and CompactFlash storage. Designed for portability, the MPC500 features 1 MIDI In/Out and CompactFlash storage, and can be powered by 6 AA batteries
What Akai MPC Do you use?
