The MPC format has been one of those constants in music production. favoured by many as the only way to create beats and tunes, and chosen historically by hip hop and EDM musicians for its hands on workflow, solid timing and specific swing character. The all new MPC Touch takes it in a different direction.

With a 7" colour multi-touch display at its heart, samples and MIDI events are now literally at your fingertips. Another major change is the placement of the 16 pads - controversially they are now on the left with the Q-link controls (four of them) on the right and horizontal.

For those of you hoping for a standalone MPC - this is not that, its a controller for the host software, presumably the same flavour as the brains behind the MPC Renaissance. It does feature stereo in and out plus a USB slot so you can sample and play as you can with other MPC controllers in the range.

Looks quite compelling, though I suspect some MPC die-hards will be uppity at the choice of moving the controls around. We shall no doubt see that response via the forums.

One thing to bear in mind isa that OS X - El Capitan (10.11) is not yet officially supported by MPC Studio, MPC Element and MPC Renaissance, but we assume this must be just around the corner with the introduction of the MPC Touch.

The new MPC Touch will be available via dealers in November 2015 at a price of £499

• 7" colour multi-touch Display
• 16 velocity-sensitive thick, fat MPC pads with RGB backlighting
• 2-in/2-out audio interface
• Step Sequencer with touch interface
• XYFX control adds effects, adjusts sound dynamics in real time
• Phrase Looper, enables connection of any instrument to create loops
• Pad Mixer for setting levels, stereo panning and adding VST effects
• Sample Edit control, for trimming, chopping and processing your samples
• 4 new, performance-ready touch-sensitive controls
• Data Encoder knob, for push-and-twist control of display parameters
• Includes MPC software with over 20 GB of sound content

More Information

• Akaipro.com

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