It was fun to watch a demo from someone who can play 
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Computer = I am too dumb to figure out how it works because it does so much.
And donât mind the hypocrisy of a few Elektron product owners, this website is a fan club after all lol.
The first MPC is a computer with enough processing power to guide the lunar module to the moon and back.
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Letâs not pretend we donât get what people mean when they talk about MPCs and others being like computers. Itâs the experience, not the functional specification, thatâs intended, Iâm sure.
Even so, from that angle, the MPC and similar boxes is nothing like a computer for me, at least. The integration of hardware interface with a digital experience is everything. Even just merging a keyboard to the experience rather than attaching it through midi, makes a world of difference when done right. Which Akai seems to have done.
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I never pretend.
Not quite. Loading some of the presets can take a couple of seconds. This is painful. It really is. Itâs making browsing the thousands of sounds incredibly laborious.
I love my X and what Akai are doing but the load times needs optimising big time.
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Almost right then 
I guess this is why NI made preview-sounds for all patches. Luckily Akai has an auto-sampler so they can generate all preview-sounds automatically, but it requires an OS update of course.
The MPC Keys has made me realize that while a keyboard built on the MPC platform is cool, what I really want is a keyboard built on top of Drambo.
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And once you see that price, you will be like âIâm fine with just the appâ lol
Laid hands on it today and also watched much more skilled keyboard players lay hands on it.
The consensus was that the feel of the keys is ok for using the MPC Keys 61 as your secondary keyboard - eg. sitting on top of a Rhodes.
The users who will be happiest with this thing are peeps who have previous experience with MPCs and have always wanted an MPC with attached keyboards.
My friend the skilled keyboardist has a lot of previous MPC experience. Iâd seen him play keyboards before and already knew heâs a beast on the keys. What I didnât know until today was how skilled he also is at finger drumming on the MPC pads.
He wasnât a fan of the short length of the keys and the key action, but felt those shortcomings were outweighed by the overall machine allowing him to quickly capture musical ideas, as well as the sound of the new Organ and OP4 plugins, as well as the preexisting synth plugins. I watched him lay down a bass line, synth riff, drums, etc. in short order.
Heâs also considering the Deluxe Hydrasynth for the on-top-of-the-Rhodes spot. We both felt the DH has better feeling keys. OTOH, I get the impression that for him, the DHâs superior keys may be outweighed by the familiarity of the MPC workflow, and the quality of sounds that he explored on the MPC Keys 61.
I got to try the keyboard before he arrived at the shop so I already had my own impression the key action being a step down from the The keys on my Moog Matriarch feel nicer than these but⌠I donât need perfect feeling keys to make music either.
The new Organ plugin proved to be a winner for everyone who tried it. My buddy is no stranger to organ. His buddy who works at the store plays gospel organ in church, and was pleased with it too, especially after we figured out how to show the virtual drawbars for him to mess with.
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I was surprised at the quality of the organ plug-in myself. I play lots of organ in a blues/jazz setting live and Iâve have no issue using these sounds on a gig. The acoustic piano and ep sounds arenât too shabby either. Just the velocity doesnât respond well to a weighted action, it is obviously set up for a light keybed.
Personally, Roland/Yamaha need to take note, as an mpc with this quality of bread and butter sounds really is turning into the ultimate workstation imo.
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I find it kind of odd that he says it is unusable, and theyâre are many forums, even the mpc forum, where nobody else has had such problems? Doesnât that seem strange? If it was that bad I think it would be a huge uproar⌠I have only heard remarks about the price of plug ins really⌠I know theyâre are some bugs⌠but unusable?
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I was probably one of the first non reviewers to have it, and Iâve had little to no issues. Itâs not flawless, there have been bugs, but nothing like he describes. I like Benâs videos, quite a bit actually, but I donât know what to make of this.
A good musician needs their instruments to be reliable
A mediocre musician doesnât notice how much theyâre being hampered
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If you are using it at home to make tracks itâs an annoyance but if you are headlining a festival bugs that can lock up a device could ruin your reputation.
Also 55% resources for a single piano makes it seem underpowered especially considering its premium price.
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Sorry but thatâs just snobbery BS. Nothing to do with Musicianship. Using more or less of a groove boxâs âpowersâ has nothing to do with being a better or worse musician at all.
I do get that a live musician obviously needs a setup thatâs not going to fail on themâŚ.
Edit to add: and the same goes, just because one musician plays live and another doesnât, this has no bearings on their level of musicianship.
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Iâve had no issues with the new plugins with my OG MPC Live other than the load time / inability to preview sounds. But maybe thatâs because Iâm mediocre 
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Alright I wanna apologize as I think my words are being taken personally which I didnât mean so I wanna add to what I said. Most people notice bugs, but I guess some musicians are more demanding than others and donât tolerate being hampered. Those tend to be the ones who have letâs say high standards.