MPC Renaissance Music Production Controller: The next generation models of Akai’s much-loved MPC range have arrived. With the most impressive hardware and software specs to date, the MPC Renaissance – and the soon-to-launch MPC Studio and MPC Fly – are packed new features.
The AKAI MPC Renaissance is the new flagship model, pairing up familiar and clear hardware control – 16 backlit pads and notably a massive 16 Q-Link controllers – with incredibly powerful production software.
MPC Renaissance Music Production Controller: A Modern Classic?
While it’s ushering in a new level of functionality, the Renaissance pays homage to the past by including the awesome Vintage mode, which allows you to switch the sound bank’s character to emulate the likes of the mighty MPC3000 and MPC60. Fans of the series will also be blown away by the eight pad banks available to use – the most any MPC has ever carried.
With two XLR-1/4” combo inputs, a dedicated turntable input, a four-channel USB 2.0 audio interface, a two-port USB hub and two MIDI ins and four MIDI outs, the new model will be able to integrate seamlessly with any studio setup.
The 64-Track sequencing software – configured for both Mac and Windows – has been designed to immediately map and if necessary reconfigure any VST plugins, and comes equipped with more than 6GB’s of sound (including those from the MPC3000). You can run the software standalone, or as a VST, AU or RTAS plug-in, so regardless of the DAW you’re using, you’ll be able to hook up to your current rig seamlessly.
Alongside the MPC Renaissance, the AKAI MPC Studio and AKAI MPC Fly have yet to be launched, but we’re expecting the Studio to be a scaled-down version of the flagship model while retaining the core feature set. As for the MPC Fly – which we know will be for iPad2 – considering AKAI’s involvement with the likes of Numark’s iDJ Live DJ controller and Synthstation ‘app-controller’, we’re betting on a powerful, portable version of the new software. Certainly, the MPC pads and Q-controllers will lend themselves perfectly to touch-screen operation, and considering the entire sound library – including the vintage models – would only take up a maximum of 6GB, we’re hoping we’ll be able to run the production software literally ‘on the Fly’, hopefully with the full 64 tracks.
