The hardware updates for v2 are subtle, but both speaker and CV ports add genuine usability. In terms of its balance of capabilities and convenience, there isn’t anything on the market to rival the MPC Live when it comes to realising the dream of wireless, go-anywhere music production. A retrospective record tool has been added too, effectively the same as Ableton’s Capture, allowing users to recall recently played MIDI parts.Īll in all, the MPC range is at the most appealing right now that it’s been in the 21st century. It’s also now possible to route MIDI internally to sequence multiple elements from a single track. This allows the MPC hardware to connect to multiple devices simultaneously, using an external USB hub or MIDI interface.
The latest software update, version 2.8, adds a vastly expanded set of MIDI capabilities. Since we last reviewed the MPC line, Ableton Live compatibility has been added, not only allowing MPC creations to be exported as Live projects, but also providing mapping to use the hardware as a wireless Live controller. In all, it doesn’t feel like too much of a compromise in exchange for truly self-contained, portable music-making. The latter of these isn’t too big a hindrance as Akai’s own suite of effects and synths is comprehensive and covers most bases to a pretty high standard.
There are some restrictions when using the software in standalone mode, compared with the desktop version, primarily a limit of eight audio tracks and no access to third-party plugins. That said though, you can’t knock the capabilities here. It lags behind some rivals on the sampling front, but on the whole, the MC-707 is powerful, well-designed and a lot of fun. Some firmware refinement is needed to justify its price, but there's a lot to like about this inspiring and intuitive standalone sampler.
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