It’s all booting off in the workstation world. Last week, the brand new “timeless” Ableton Push was nudged into our periphery, boasting impressive new standalone capabilities and 250 GB of storage. Then, on Wednesday, Akai hit back by launching the new MPC One+, sporting a red finish, built in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, extra storage and access to AIR’s Juno-60 emulation plugin, Jura, all for an affordable price tag.
The MPC One+ is turning lots of heads, especially beat-making MPC veterans who love the feel of Akai’s classic workstation and sequencer but have been calling out for more storage and Wi-Fi.
There’s already been extensive debate around which of the two aforementioned workstations is better, but there’s only one way to form your own opinion – it needs to be put to the test. We’ve rounded up content creators and musicians who’ve put the MPC One+ through its paces and showcased what it can do.
TnTXD
South Carolina-based hip-hop beatmaker and producer TnTXD has amassed 178K subscribers on his YouTube channel and produced for rappers NBA Youngboy, Pop Smoke and more. In this video, the MPC don swiftly gets stuck into making a trap beat, chopping up a piano sample, thumbing in the kick and snare and adding in those classic hi-hat rolls. He says how usually he can feel “robotic” when “dragging stuff in”, but the hands-on nature of the MPC One+ gives him the rare chance to “make a beat off of a feeling”.
Ave Mcree
You can’t talk about MPC-toting content creators without mentioning one of the machine’s biggest aficionados, Ave Mcree. In this video, he answers the question as to why this new version of the MPC One has been released, and runs through its features, comparing it to the original and even having a little go himself.
MALO BEATS
MALO BEATS gets stuck straight into making a latin-edged hip-hop beat on his run-through of the Akai MPC One+. In it, he chops up a Latin sample and then showcases the unit’s plugin abilities by using the PEQ 4-band EQ unit to clean up the mix. He also commends its affordable price tag.
Tefty
Tefty, in his video, moves away from using samples and utilises the stock plugins and sound packs that come with MPC One+ to make a beat. After introducing its features, he searches for an “urban kit”, selects a kit, adds effects using plugins and gets going.
The Akai MPC One+ is available for $699. Find out more at at akaipro.com
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