Will the akai series survive?

[Greg Savage]

Now that native Instruments has dropped studio is there a future for ren?

I made a detailed post about it here

http://diymusicbiz.com/maschine-studio-2-0-vs-the-akai-mpc-renaissance/

this isn't a question over which is better, the question is which will survive and last for the long haul from a flagships perspective

 

[thedreampolice]

Well Akai will not run out of money, they are part of the conglomerate that owns Akai, Nemark, Alesis, Maudio, AIR so they are not going anywhere but I do think the AKAI name has run out of steam a bit. And man NI knows software better than anyone. I still havent found pads better than the MPC2000 but the Maschine MK2 is really close. So personally I think NI has this one in the bag.

 

[Fade]

Very good article!

I agree that Akai lost this one. They've had tons of success with the MPC line over the years but now with Maschine and the controller + software package, NI has it on lock down. I can't say that Akai should just continue with the traditional MPC because it wouldn't work - nobody is going to use that type of hardware anymore since there's the software alternative. I think Akai has to either admit defeat and realize that their time is up, or try to come with something very unique that can beat NI. But that would be near impossible.

 

[Formant024]

this isn't a question over which is better, the question is which will survive and last for the long haul from a flagships perspective

who knows... my bet right now is on maschine.
I think people are jumping the bandwagon though, without even knowing what either really can do (and how they could achieve the same differently). I wouldnt consider either one of them a flagship since there's nothing really premium about both of them. The os wont define a flagship either though that is what currently defines which product is better the other and not the hardware.

Also, we're in the hiphop realm here, what do most people get out of those flagships that couldnt be achieved through other means or workflows ? Hiphop isnt really science and doesnt require the level of attention you'd find in the techno genre. This is also determined the succes of maschine because their os also appeals to those producers/dj's. Look at the stage presence of maschine, lots of big names in the techno scene running traktor sets accompanied with one maschine vs. virtualy none mpc's seen in hiphop or other shows.
In general, the maschine integrates in a lot more plots than the mpcontroller Ren which does kinda remind me of how i consider the mpc2kxl a utility of all sorts.

Im not saying neither can present you an improved workflow, yet for both i dont see what would work faster or better compared to the possible workflows already available without needing a maschine or mpcontroller Ren.

 

[Greg Savage]

Well Akai will not run out of money, they are part of the conglomerate that owns Akai, Nemark, Alesis, Maudio, AIR so they are not going anywhere but I do think the AKAI name has run out of steam a bit. And man NI knows software better than anyone. I still havent found pads better than the MPC2000 but the Maschine MK2 is really close. So personally I think NI has this one in the bag.

Good point, didn't think of Akai's backing on this. I forgot about that huge company that swept everyone into the hat

Very good article!

I agree that Akai lost this one. They've had tons of success with the MPC line over the years but now with Maschine and the controller + software package, NI has it on lock down. I can't say that Akai should just continue with the traditional MPC because it wouldn't work - nobody is going to use that type of hardware anymore since there's the software alternative. I think Akai has to either admit defeat and realize that their time is up, or try to come with something very unique that can beat NI. But that would be near impossible.

Thanks for the kind words. Yea, I mean... right now, i'm not sure what they could muster up without constantly being behind. Unless they just focused very hard on consistently updating their os and marketing the **** out of themselves. the series. I think they shot themselves in the foot with years of commitment to their customers. It brings a lot of doubt whenever they release something

So far they've been listening though, so we'll see

who knows... my bet right now is on maschine.
I think people are jumping the bandwagon though, without even knowing what either really can do (and how they could achieve the same differently). I wouldnt consider either one of them a flagship since there's nothing really premium about both of them. The os wont define a flagship either though that is what currently defines which product is better the other and not the hardware.

Also, we're in the hiphop realm here, what do most people get out of those flagships that couldnt be achieved through other means or workflows ? Hiphop isnt really science and doesnt require the level of attention you'd find in the techno genre. This is also determined the succes of maschine because their os also appeals to those producers/dj's. Look at the stage presence of maschine, lots of big names in the techno scene running traktor sets accompanied with one maschine vs. virtualy none mpc's seen in hiphop or other shows.
In general, the maschine integrates in a lot more plots than the mpcontroller Ren which does kinda remind me of how i consider the mpc2kxl a utility of all sorts.

Im not saying neither can present you an improved workflow, yet for both i dont see what would work faster or better compared to the possible workflows already available without needing a maschine or mpcontroller Ren.

Exactly, that's what I was pointing in my article. They targeted a diverse group, akai didn't.

 

[Ozmosis]

The Ren being a software MPC is cool, but Maschine hass soo much more flexibility. IMO 10 years ago instead of developing the 1000 and 500 Akai should have gotten into software when "Fruity Loops" and Reason were growing in popularity, and beat NI to the punch. To late now lol...

 

[Formant024]

Well, ever since akai pro's been bought they dropped the aim for niche products with the 4k being their last real flagship (the Z-engine/boreas). The 1000 was a succes (disregarding its shortcomings, bugs, pads), a lot of people got into producing around that time and it looks like Akai set their productline to be semi entry level and controllers.

Also if you look at the mpc line after the alesis/numark takeover you can pretty much conclude that those machines were based on the same engine/hardware, from the 1k to the 5k there basicaly isnt much difference among those mpc's. Just a cheap exploit and they didnt have much choice since the same engine(hardware) ran over pretty much the same OS because they did not have the brains in their team that could keep developing the OS (they shouldve paid JJ).
Overal they cut on production and development costs, low input, high return.

They've set their standard since then and the gen x of mpc products isnt going to be much different, its controllers based on new software. New software due to lack of a good inhouse software team, they just couldnt keep developing so they had to start fresh (and still not innovating).

With NI its all about the software and the OS in their hardware, the hardware is good but in the end it just boils down to a processor that drives buttons, knobs and displays which is hardly a challenge or a point of innovation for any OEM these days. By this you can tell that for a big part, the takeover on aka pro has lead to huge setback.

 

[DJ Wax-Turtle]

im going with the MPC Ren. That Maschine looks like a toy and most of the features are the same probably.
And i need a Audio Interface anyway.

 

[thedreampolice]

Toy?

 

[FanRan]

still gonna rock with my 2000xl. had a maschine and sold it. my homey has the ren and it looks dope but I'm still in love with the XL.

 

[thedreampolice]

I love the XL, it has so much vibe to it, but chopping samples is so slow it makes me want to gouge my eyes out.