We’ve heard the rumours, and maybe even seen a mocked up photo of what it might look like, well the wait is over and now it’s official. Akai are introducing a new member to the MPC family – the MPC-500. Designed to work on the go, the unit can be powered by six AA’s and dimensions small enough to fit in a modest bag. Presumably a pair of headphones and your off – on the bus, on a plane etc
Work can be saved on compact flash if your on the go or to external USB drives in the studio
The pad count has been cut to 12 to accommodate the smaller form factor, but the sequencer and sampler still offers 48-tracks, a 16-channel MIDI sequencer combined with a 32-voice 16-bit/44.1 kHz drum/phrase sampler. The unit’s MIDI sequencer supports the SMF (standard MIDI file) format, while the sampler accepts WAV files. Like all Akai MPC units, the MPC500 provides velocity sensitive pads (12) for triggering sounds and the unit includes Akai’s legendary 12 Levels function—where one sound can be assigned to all pads with varied level or tuning per pad. The MPC500 provides numerous onboard effects plus two stereo effects sends and a Master control. In addition to operation via six AA batteries, the unit includes an AC power adapter. For transferring work to other Akai MPC models, a Compact Flash storage card is included for use with the internal CF drive. The MPC500 includes a USB port for connecting an external hard drive. Memory expansion is available.
Key Features:
Pattern-based and linear 48-track sequencer with 16 MIDI channels
16-bit / 44.1kHz sampling
32-voice drum/phrase sampler with up to 128MB RAM
Battery powered (6 AA’s) or AC powered
Velocity and pressure sensitive pads for expressive programming
12 Levels function: one sound on all pads with varied level or tuning per pad
Built-in Compact Flash drive and USB port (Mass Storage Class)
Support for standard WAV files and MIDI sequences
Built-in Analog Audio I/O, headphone output, and MIDI I/O
Internal sounds in Flash
4-way sample layering and velocity switching per pad
1 lowpass filter with resonance per voice
On-board effects: 2 stereo effects and a Master effect
Memory expansion available separately
Compact Flash card and AC power adapter included
According to Harmony Central, the price is to be $1,299 - yes you read that right - it seems a tad pricey consierding the MPC-1000 list - with larger screen is $1,499 but we've seen it for ads little as $899.
Available October