Akai MPC

{{short description|Music workstation}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox instrument | name = Akai MPC | image = Akai MPC60.jpg | caption = An Akai MPC60, the first MPC model | names = MIDI Production Center, Music Production Controller | classification = Music workstation | inventors = Roger Linn | developed = 1988 }} The '''Akai MPC''' (originally '''MIDI Production Center''', now '''Music Production Center''') is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modify them and play them back as sequences.

The MPC was created by the American engineer Roger Linn, who had designed the successful LM-1 and LinnDrum drum machines in the 1980s. Linn aimed to create an intuitive instrument, with a grid of pads that can be played similarly to a traditional instrument such as a keyboard or drum kit.

The MPC had a major influence on the development of electronic and hip-hop music. It led to new sampling techniques, with users pushing its technical limits to creative effect. It had a democratizing effect on music production, allowing artists to create elaborate tracks without traditional instruments or recording studios. Its pad interface was adopted by numerous manufacturers and became standard in DJ technology.

==Development== [[File:Roger Linn-MusicTech Summit 2010-CROPPED.jpg|thumb|The MPC was created by Roger Linn (pictured in 2010), who also made the LinnDrum. |250x250px]] By the late 1980s, drum machines had become popular for creating beats and loops without instrumentalists, and hip-hop artists were using samplers to take portions of existing recordings and create new compositions.<ref name="Aciman-2018">{{Cite news|last=Aciman|first=Alexander|date=16 April 2018|title=Meet the unassuming drum machine that changed music forever|work=Vox|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/16/16615352/akai-mpc-music-history-impact|access-date=2018-05-11|archive-date=21 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221091206/https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/16/16615352/akai-mpc-music-history-impact|url-status=live}}</ref> Grooveboxes, machines that combined these functions, such as those by E-mu Systems, required knowledge of music production and cost up to $10,000.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /><ref name="Sonic State" />

The original MPC, the MPC-60, was a collaboration between the Japanese company Akai and the American engineer Roger Linn. Linn had designed the successful LM-1 and LinnDrum, two of the earliest drum machines to use samples (prerecorded sounds).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/22/linn-oberheim-drum-machines|title=Hey, what's that sound: Linn LM-1 Drum Computer and the Oberheim DMX|last=McNamee|first=David|date=2009-06-22|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-02-09|archive-date=26 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026233316/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/22/linn-oberheim-drum-machines|url-status=live}}</ref> His company, Linn Electronics, had closed following the failure of the Linn 9000, a drum machine and sampler. According to Linn, his collaboration with Akai "was a good fit because Akai needed a creative designer with ideas and I didn't want to do sales, marketing, finance or manufacturing, all of which Akai was very good at".<ref name="Sonic State" />

Linn described the MPC as an attempt to "properly re-engineer" the Linn 9000.<ref name="Sonic State">{{Cite web |title=Feature: Industry Interview — Roger Linn |url=https://sonicstate.com/articles/article.cfm?id=71&page=3 |access-date=2018-05-13 |website=Sonic State |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124155738/https://sonicstate.com/articles/article.cfm?id=71&page=3 |url-status=live }}</ref> He disliked reading instruction manuals and wanted to create an intuitive interface that simplified music production.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> He designed the functions, including the panel layout and hardware specification, and created the software with his team. He credited the circuitry to a team led by the English engineer David Cockerell. Akai handled the production engineering, making the MPC "more manufacturable".<ref name="Sonic State" /> The first model, the MPC60 (MIDI Production Center), was released on December 8, 1988,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Solida |first=Scott |date=January 24, 2011 |title=The 10 most important hardware samplers in history |language=EN-GB |work=MusicRadar |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/the-10-most-important-hardware-samplers-in-history-361471 |access-date=2018-05-13 |archive-date=2 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702035529/https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/the-10-most-important-hardware-samplers-in-history-361471 |url-status=live }}</ref> and retailed for $5,000.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> It was followed by the MPC60 MkII and the MPC3000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Paul |date=June 2002 |title=The return of Roger Linn |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/return-roger-linn |access-date=2018-12-16 |website=Sound on Sound |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330183456/https://www.soundonsound.com/people/return-roger-linn |url-status=live }}</ref>

After Akai went out of business in 2006,<ref>{{cite news |title=Akai Professional MI launches bankruptcy proceedings |url=http://www.kanalog.jp/news/local/entry_16076.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112023246/http://www.kanalog.jp/news/local/entry_16076.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 12, 2006 |access-date=December 7, 2005 |publisher=kanalog.jp}}</ref> Linn left the company and its assets were purchased by Numark.<ref name="BBOY TECH REPORT-2012">{{Cite news|url=http://www.bboytechreport.com/2012/11/02/interview-roger-linn/|title=INTERVIEW with Roger Linn|date=2012-11-02|work=BBOY TECH REPORT|access-date=2018-05-13|language=en-US|archive-date=8 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808024401/http://www.bboytechreport.com/2012/11/02/interview-roger-linn/|url-status=live}}</ref> Akai has continued to produce MPC models without Linn.<ref name="Sonic State" /> Linn was critical, saying: "Akai seems to be making slight changes to my old 1986 designs for the original MPC, basically rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic."<ref name="BBOY TECH REPORT-2012" />

== Features == thumb|right|An MPC2000 Instead of the switches and small hard buttons of earlier devices, the MPC has a 4x4 grid of large pressure-sensitive rubber pads which can be played similarly to a keyboard.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> The interface was simpler than those of competing instruments, and can be connected to a normal sound system, without the need for a studio. According to ''Vox'', "Most importantly, it wasn't an enormous, stationary mixing panel with as many buttons as an airplane cockpit."<ref name="Aciman-2018" />

Whereas artists had previously sampled long pieces of music, the MPC allowed them to sample smaller portions, assign them to separate pads and trigger them independently, similarly to playing a traditional instrument such as a keyboard or drum kit.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> Rhythms can be built not just from percussion samples but any recorded sound, such as horns or synthesizers.<ref name="Aciman-2018" />

The MPC60 only allows sample lengths of up to 13 seconds, as sampling memory was expensive at the time and Linn expected users to sample short sounds to create rhythms rather than long loops.<ref name="BBOY TECH REPORT-2012" /> Functions are selected and samples are edited with two knobs. Red "record" and "overdub" buttons are used to save or loop beats.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> The MPC60 has an LCD screen and came with floppy disks with sounds and instruments.<ref name="Aciman-2018" />

== Legacy == {{Multiple image | align = | direction = vertical | total_width = 180 | image1 = DJ Shadow tim festival.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = DJ Shadow created his landmark 1996 album ''Endtroducing'' with an MPC60 MKII. | image2 = Kanye West Coke Live Music Festival 2011 (6314648600) (cropped).jpg | caption2 = Kanye West performing with an MPC2000XL in 2011 }}

Linn anticipated that users would sample short sounds, such as individual notes or drum hits, to use as building blocks for compositions. However, users began sampling longer passages of music.<ref name="Milner-2011">{{Cite book|last=Milner|first=Greg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x-faxiGMNWoC|title=Perfecting Sound Forever: The Story of Recorded Music|date=2011-11-03|publisher=Granta Publications|isbn=9781847086051|language=en|access-date=7 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124448/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=x-faxiGMNWoC|archive-date=9 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In the words of Greg Milner, the author of ''Perfecting Sound Forever'', musicians "didn't just want the sound of John Bonham's kick drum, they wanted to loop and repeat the whole of 'When the Levee Breaks'".<ref name="Milner-2011" /> Linn said: "It was a very pleasant surprise. After 60 years of recording, there are so many prerecorded examples to sample from. Why reinvent the wheel?"<ref name="Milner-2011" />

The MPC's ability to create percussion from any sound turned sampling into a new art form and allowed for new styles of music.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> Its affordability and accessibility had a democratizing effect; musicians could create tracks without a studio or music theory knowledge, and it was inviting to musicians who did not play traditional instruments or had no music education.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /><ref name="Trew-2017" /> ''Vox'' wrote that the MPC "challenged the notion of what a band can look like".<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> The 4x4 grid of pads was adopted by numerous manufacturers and became standard in DJ technology.<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> As of 2018, the MPC continued to be used even with the advent of digital audio workstations, and used models fetched high prices.<ref name="Aciman-2018" />

''Engadget'' wrote that the impact of the MPC on hip hop could not be overstated.<ref name="Trew-2017">{{Cite news |last=Trew |first=J. |date=January 22, 2017 |title=Hip-hop's most influential sampler gets a 2017 reboot |language=en-US |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/22/akai-mpc-live-mpc-x/ |access-date=2018-04-03 |archive-date=19 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519174516/https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/22/akai-mpc-live-mpc-x/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The rapper Jehst saw it as the next step in the evolution of the hip hop genre after the introduction of the TR-808, TR-909 and DMX drum machines in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/features/my-precious-the-history-of-the-akai-mpc|title=My Precious: The History of The Akai MPC|work=Clash Magazine|access-date=2018-04-03|language=en|archive-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815140027/https://www.clashmusic.com/features/my-precious-the-history-of-the-akai-mpc|url-status=live}}</ref> The producer DJ Shadow used an MPC60 MKII to create his influential 1996 album ''Endtroducing'', which is composed entirely of samples.<ref name="Rule">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.solesides.com/dj-shadow-mdj-shadow-keyboard-october-1997.html |title=DJ Shadow + Akai MPC = History |magazine=Keyboard |location=New York |volume=23 |issue=10 |date=October 1997 |access-date=March 16, 2013 |last=Rule |first=Greg |pages=51–60 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223043722/http://solesides.com/winblad/shadowkeyboard1097.html |archive-date=February 23, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The producer J Dilla disabled the quantize feature on his MPC to create his signature "off-kilter" sampling style.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Helfet |first=Gabriela |date=2020-09-09 |title=Drunk drummer-style grooves |url=https://www.attackmagazine.com/technique/beat-dissected/drunk-drummer-style-grooves/ |access-date=2022-01-24 |website=Attack Magazine |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124003352/https://www.attackmagazine.com/technique/beat-dissected/drunk-drummer-style-grooves/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After J Dilla's death in 2006, his MPC was preserved in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aciman|first=Alexander|date=2018-04-16|title=Meet the unassuming drum machine that changed music forever|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/16/16615352/akai-mpc-music-history-impact|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Vox|language=en|archive-date=21 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221091206/https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/16/16615352/akai-mpc-music-history-impact|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Camp|first=Zoe|date=2014-07-19|title=J Dilla equipment will be donated to Smithsonian Museum|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/55953-j-dilla-equipment-will-be-donated-to-smithsonian-museum/|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Pitchfork|archive-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124003352/https://pitchfork.com/news/55953-j-dilla-equipment-will-be-donated-to-smithsonian-museum/|url-status=live}}</ref> The rapper Kanye West used the MPC to compose several of his best-known tracks and much of his breakthrough 2004 album ''The College Dropout.''<ref name="Aciman-2018" /> West closed the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards with a performance of his 2010 track "Runaway" on an MPC2000XL.<ref name="Caramanica">{{cite web |last1=Caramanica |first1=Jon |title=Lots of beats, but no drum in sight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/arts/music/13beatmachine.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513112950/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/arts/music/13beatmachine.html |archive-date=13 May 2024 |url-status=live |website=The New York Times |date=11 February 2011}}</ref>

==See also== *Drum machine *Groovebox *Sampler

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite magazine|title=Akai MPC2000|page=39|magazine=Future Music|issue=56|date=May 1997|publisher=Future Publishing|issn=0967-0378|oclc=1032779031}}

==External links== * [http://www.rogerlinndesign.com Official Roger Linn site]

{{Linn Electronics}}

{{Akai}}

Category:Akai synthesizers Category:Samplers (musical instrument) Category:Music sequencers Category:Sound modules Category:Music workstations Category:MIDI controllers Category:Hip-hop production Category:Japanese inventions Category:Musical instruments invented in the 1980s