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I realize that most of the reviews on this machine are 2+ years old, so I am going to talk about it now - post updates and such. I purchased this to accent the MPC-X for my travels and I have to say that this has actually taken more of my time than using the X. You see, while out in the world, its easy to be taken away by real life. Time is of the essence and the ability to chill at home and make beats can become sparse if studio work is not your full-time job. With that being said, the MPC Live has replaced my cell phone game playing time during my down times. Imagine this: You are in the waiting room of a doctors office or you have some down time in your work vehicle. You might pull out your cell phone and play Angry Birds or some sort of game to kill some time. Now, I reach into the same bag, pull out a fully functioning MPC-Live (No plug needed) with not only 10 GB of sounds pre-loaded, but a 500gb Micro-SD card with nothing but drums and other sounds that I literally swap out of my MPC-X and bang out. Fully featured effects, XY control, chopping up samples, the whole nine. My cell phone loaded with more music than a cell should have plugged in to sample. Youtube as well. Doesn't matter. The 1TB SSD that I put into the Live has 1000's of sounds loaded as well and make everything borderline instantaneous. If I don't get a chance to finish, Save the beat on to my Micro SD and voila, pop it into the X when I get home and continue where I left off. Track out my sounds and tether it to my computer to record into my Studio 4. No eight outs needed, simply explode the tracks during export and it saves each track as an individual wav file that you can drag over to Studio 4 or Pro-tools and they are automatically tracked out. Easy as pie. I love this machine!!

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This product is everything and some .. I'm loving it.... and I love zZounds so much for letting me upgrade my setup without all the money up front ... sampling is a breeze for me know ... before I was sampling through a program then dragging it over to Mpc software.. dnt have to do that anymore ..

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As a gear head- I've had many samplers including the MPC2000XL which I regretfully sold a very long time ago- the concept of having the MPC standalone again is amazing!! Especially in a time where I really wanted to get away from being tethered to a laptop or computer which has been the trend in the industry lately that I'm glad AKAI decided to step back from after the Touch and MPC Renaissance. The MPC is reborn-- the LIVE feels great!! Lightyears ahead of it's ancestors before it and IMO- even it's computer tethered counterparts today like maschine and push. Everything from the RGB pads to the super responsive touch screen/ with a ton of features literally at your fingertips just makes you want to play with it NONSTOP. Features like Pad Perform gets you making melodies right away without even having to plug in a Midi controller- definitely making it easy for you to get started on a song in no time. I've already sampled some my favorite drums machines and synths in my collection right to the unit- sounds fantastic!! It's been so refreshing to go standalone- I use it as my main sequencer to control my hardware synths. I couldn't be happier without the laptop. I'd also like to thank zZounds for helping finally get one- My customer service agent Fransico did an awesome job- thank you for all your help you are awesome!

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I got this unit in July and still learning how to use it. I have never used an MPC before. The mac pro video series has a tutorial that skims the basics, after watching that I started messing around with it. The MPC forums have a lot of valuable information to help you get started. If you buy this unit the only thing you MUST also buy is the MPC bible from the MPC forums. It dives in depth and will turn you into a master. Now to review this unit let me begin by putting out the most important gripe by many others, The software is still in Beta mode and some features are not yet available. Trust me the features in which are available will keep you busy for the next year at least. The Live has a battery and you can use it anywhere. The build quality reminds me of the Ableton Push very solid! It comes with a lot of sounds but you must remember that this is a sampler so the sounds are unlimited. The inputs on the back are 1/4 inch dual phono jacks unless you have a turntable and ONLY then can you use the RCA's via phono preamps. You will need a mic preamp if you want to use a mic. May I suggest buying a Tascam DR-40 or other mini recorder with a 1/8" stereo jack to dual 1/4 inch phono jacks to make a portable rig to get your mic sounds into the Live. without needing power. The wifi and blue tooth are not active yet but will be soon. The Live works very well and if you never have used MPC like me, you will be able to have a lot of fun learning it as you make music with it. This unit is deeper than you could imagine with all the onboard Fx and instruments. If you are reading this you should buy one for yourself only if you want a portable studio that rocks and you are willing to learn to use the Live.

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The mpc live is so good its one of the best mpc made i have been using the mpc since the 3000 this is a major improvement in workflow and the sound content is off the chain you will be able to make great music with just the sound and software that came with the mpc it has all the plugins you need to finish your song i recommend this if you want a standalone situation but if not needed you can get the mpc touch and be fine or if you don't need a touch screen the mpc studio will do the same thing as the other mpc akai products are great!!!!

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Overall, the MPC Live is the best music making product I have purchased since my Roland Fantom X6 in 2001. As a Music Producer, it is important to have an easy way to create, organize and manipulate sounds in a mobile format. The MPC Live is the solution to the most common computer-based producer problems because of its flexibility. The MPC Live can adapt to virtually any style or genre, and there are many ways to enhance your music making experience.

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I had the mpc 500 and the 1000 and moving to this was fairly ez. I'd say the touch screen is better than the lcd line display I'm used to and the workflow is nice. Only things I'm not crazy about is it's a freaking dust magnet with it's rubber feel coating. Also when plugged in I get a noise so I have to unplug and go to battery to be able to work on it, not sure if there is something on my end to fix that but I'll be looking into it. Otherwise a very capable piece of gear.

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My first MPC..if you've never had one..you're missing out..I admit it was a little intimidating..but 1-hr of dedication..had me in the groove..2-days later, laying out 6 tracks, and sampling..Still havent sequenced a full song yet..and added effects..But im editing sounds and samples.I love the portability..the connection options...its darn near perfect.

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Friend of mine was in a terrible accident while he was healing in the hospital his MPC LIve shipped.We had a fantastic experience learning this amazing piece of equipment together and it really allowed my buddy to take his mind off his pain. One day later after jamming out in the burn unit my homie was able to go home and enjoy his new MPC Live;special powers this thing possesses

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Man oh man i tell ya this thing here i cant explain but the stuff this thing is capable of the videos on youtube dont even show the true power of the mpc live only thing im pretty mad about is i cant run vst instruments on standalone but i can live without it and use my vsts on the 2.0 software for now hopefully akai can put that into a future update but for now im fully satisfied with it this is way better then the mk3 maschine but dont get me wrong i tryed the mk3 its pretty dope too but mpc live is the champ for now

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Man oh man i tell ya this thing here i cant explain but the stuff this thing is capable of the videos on youtube dont even show the true power of the mpc live only thing im pretty mad about is i cant run vst instruments on standalone but i can live without it and use my vsts on the 2.0 software for now hopefully akai can put that into a future update but for now im fully satisfied with it this is way better then the mk3 maschine but dont get me wrong i tryed the mk3 its pretty dope too but mpc live is the champ for now

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Crash crash crash not able to save not useful at this piont untill akai fix all the bugs this thing is useless my bke beat thang works better then this and trust me the beat thang crashes alot too

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