Akai are celebrating 35 years of their MPC platform with the release of a new version of their flagship instrument that boasts a retro look along with increased processing power and storage.
David Caulfield has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a book detailing the development of the Akai Professional products that put sampling and sequencing into the reach of musicians.
Synths from AIR added as well as crossfade looping and an arpeggiator
Akai give MPC X /MPC Live owners and MPC Software 2 users three brand new synths to play with as well as user-requested features such as an arpeggiator, an autosampler and real-time crossfade looping for sample playback.
Nearly all modern samplers have powerful synth engines concealed inside them — and sometimes they're so well hidden that their users are unaware of their existence. But then why would you want a synth in your sampler? Let's find out...
Having introduced the concept of looping, velocity switching, and multisampling, it's time to actually make some samples. We give you a few hard-won tips that can make your life easier on the way.
As we saw last month, sampling is really just a form of digital recording, but to use short recordings to emulate real instruments, you soon need to understand new concepts like multisampling, looping, and velocity switching. We explain all...
The sampler has made its presence felt throughout modern music production, and phrase sampling in particular is the backbone of many musical styles. Oli Bell arms his loop points and explores some tricks of the trade.
These days, samplers are the electronic musician's bread and butter — but they need not be used in commonplace ways. In the first part of a short series, Nicholas Rowland looks at ways to spice up your tracks with samples from unusual sources.