Sunday, June 24, 2012

Akai MPC-60

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11460079/Hersey_Martarius_MPCpodcast.mp3One of the most important technological advancements for Hip Hop production is the Akai MPC drum machine. This piece of equipment has been around since the early stages of Hip Hop. The MPC has became an industry standard for almost everyone that's on the Hip Hop side of the music business and also plays a major role in R&B as well. I never learned to to use one personally, but this drum machine is what I dream of owning one day. The sound it produces is way beyond its competitors. The founder of the MPC is Roger Linn, also the founder of the Linn drum machine collection. The MPC-60 was the first of its kind and was released in 1988. Some great features that help set this beast apart is that it allowed for 12-bit sampling, a huge track sequencer, and massive drum pads (Solida, 2011, Musicradar.com). The velocity sensitive drum pads allow sample playback that makes for an easy to use beat machine whenever the inspiration to create strikes. This machine also features MIDI in and out connections which gives the user more freedom to create in just about any setup. Most producers created their patterns in real-time and built on that, but with this drum machine you could create different patterns and chain them into a sequence (Akai MPC/Vintagesynth.com). As a listener, this drum machine has been apart of all my favorite songs coming up as a kid and still today. I didn't understand or know anything about music equipment, but that sound was very distinguished and kept my head rocking all the time. As an industry professional, I must say that this drum machine is what made Hip Hop what it is today. Numerous and numerous amount of hit songs that flooded the air waves was in part to Roger Linn, the Akai MPC-60, and the later series to follow.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Martarius!

    The MPC is a legend in Hop Hop production! Infact, I had the same dream as you. I spent many years wishing for one, and hanging out at the Guitar Center, trying not to drool on their floor models. For me, I used the power of positive visualization. I pasted a picture of a MPC on my keyboard stand so that I could see it in my studio. It took a few paychecks and my income tax refund, but I eventually got my first one.

    You are right; the MPC is a production beast. It is hardware based, so you didn’t have to worry about computer crashes, or even knowing how to operate one. The MPC was stable. You turned it on, it worked, and you made music. No headaches. For me, a few of the features that I loved to use where:
    • The “16 Level” function - This allowed you to assign one sound to all pads, and then ether pitch shift them or have different velocities. This was very useful for programming 808 kicks (bass music) or performing snare rolls.
    • The Swing and Shift Buttons: The MPC Swing became is what added the feel to certain beats. It was so popular, that many modern computer sequencers have a MPC swing emulation. The shift button was also important, as you can shift sounds to get the laid back or sloppy feel, without falling out of pocket.

    Thank you for recognizing the significance of the MPC to our music history, and writing about. Also, it was good to see you in this class. When you get a chance, check out my site: darrinjackson.com. You can go straight to the blog by typing blog.darrinjackson.com

    Darrin.

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