Akai ProfessionalBattery Powered Drum Machine and Sampler with Built in Speakers, Beat Pads, Synth Engines and Touch Display (MPC Live 2)

This is my first MPC. The work flow is different from what I'm used to (Logic). I've only had it a couple of days and it is a joy to learn. The work flow is very intuitive once you grasp the design. The keybed is high quality and very quiet (for anyone wondering if key noise would be bothersome to a sleeping spouse as you create through headphones in the bedroom late at night ;) The stock sounds that come bundled with the unit are delightfully plentiful and useful. I love the feel of all the knobs, buttons, wheels and touch screen. The sequencer and sounds appear to have all the bases covered very well with plenty of edit options for creating and saving your own preferences. I feel very confident that this is one of my best investments...maybe THE best! I'm not a hip hop or rap fan, so I was a little concerned that I may not be able to create traditional orchestral or new age style music since all of the YouTube videos seem to show it being used for hip hop, rap, etc. But, having reviewed the sounds and making a few test sequences, it appears this will do just about anything you could want. the compact size is a HUGE PLUS for me. I love having a full DAW-like interface in such a small unit WITH KEYS! It's lightweight and easy to move around with. I highly recommend this and I'm expecting I will spend all my time on this while my Roland MC-707, Verselab, Deluge, and Blackbox fall by the wayside. Not having to hook up a keyboard is a big plus!

After half a year, this continues to be the bargain electronic device of all time. New to MPC's of any form, this is an iconic music producing device. It is a complex product, requiring only a modest effort on your part to draw out a myriad of musical possibilities. There is extraordinary teaching/learning support documentation available and an infinite number of professional quality add-ons that you will never outgrow. MPC ONE+ is exceptional if you already own a MIDI controller. Multiple alternative forms of the MPC are available.

This is everything I dreamed of and beyond. I jumped in the deep end but I’m so happy with this product. The screen is modern and easy to use. You get more free software than you will ever know what to do with. The key feel and materials are very premium. Product is not too heavy and I have no fears of damaging it.

It is such a great difference and upgrade from my Korg DDD-1 which I have had for over 30 years. The touch screen makes everything so detailed and precise that making beats on here is so easy that I can teach my youngest child how to use it. It’s a lot of fun to use, so much fun I brought one for my cousin as a gift and he’s in love with it!

I loved this unit but did not end up keeping it since it was overkill for what I needed but if you know what you need and this is it, I highly recommend it because it really is a lot of fun and very powerful.

This device does everything. It can be a portable DAW that can control and record your entire studio, or it can do it all itself. It has full song making capabilities where you can create midi sequences or audio loops and that can be saved as songs. You can create entire drum kits for the pads (or use the hundreds already included for free!) and make your own beats and sample your old records or songs from an ipod through it's inputs. You can fill it full of your own samples if you want, and even warp them into stepped synths or slow and time warp them. It recognizes every MIDI USB device I plug into it instantly AND it can power those MIDI USB devices from its own powered USB ports. Even when it's running on it's own batteries! No joke, you can chain as many USB powered devices and you want on this thing and the battery will power them all (At the cost of runtime!). Got a keystep? Plug it into the USB and it just works.The speakers are actually really nice and the battery life is about 6 hours on the dot. The overall feel is it's quite heavy and solid. It's all metal and it shows. The touch screen is actually very cool and you can do most everything via button combos as well.For inputting music, it's really geared for beats and samples above all else. The standard step sequencer is nice and easy to use and you'll have drum loops going easy. The grid mode/key roll is a bit harder to use. It's where the touch based screen isn't as precise, so if you want to put a C# note on step 6 you'll likely place it on D and have to select and move it down. It's easier to simply live record your melodies. If you want to do ARPs and such, it has all that built in. It has hundreds of different modes and you select your scale (like major, minor, pentatonic, etc) and then if you want to play chord (It has 64 sound polyphony) arps or single note arps.It has about 50+ built in FX like reverb, compressor, ducker, chorus, etc.It really can do everything. Plus it can sit on your lap on the couch. For what you get, the cost is amazingly cheap, IMO. There is a reason so many people are picking these newer MPCs up like crazy.