Akai Professional MPC One+ Standalone Drum Machine, Beat Maker and MIDI Controller with WiFi, Bluetooth, Drum Pads, Synth Plug-ins, Touchscreen, and Native Instruments Integration

I know drum machines and DAWs pretty well, but I am songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and singer, not so much into pure electronic dance music (techno, house,...). But I love Kraftwerk, New Order, ..., Depeche Mode, which was the reason to buy this instead of a standalone drum machine (to sprinkle in sequencer and keyboard support). This is an excellent and very powerful standalone version of a DAW/Midi controller/Sequencer/sampler, and goes far beyond a drum machine (while covering it more than sufficiently). The sound quality and number of features is impressive, and one realizes quickly that Akai really understands what musicians need and could use (even more exotic functions). I was positively shocked that one for instance can add to each drum sound or sample up to four independent effects (from a great selection). Once knowing how to find your way around, it is so much faster than working on a computer. The ease of use becomes greater and greater thanks to the multitude of ways/combinations of using the touch screens, buttons, and dials. But only if one is familiar with terminologies and the tasks involved, which takes a while - since there are so many ways to accomplish a task. A few terms are unique and unusual when comparing to the usual DAW industry terms, but it's not a big deal. If you buy this as a beginner, this technology requires in general some intense learning, so do not expect that much can be done 'plug-n-play' unless one is a quick learner and understands the used terms quickly. Tutorials on Akai and Youtube are plentiful, and many are very good. Unfortunately, the user interface on many videos is different from mine, maybe since I am using an updated version of the software, so this complicated things a bit for me until I played with the menu and features. Here two little concerns: 1) Sampler and sound editors are included that can sample up to 20 min. So, in theory, one could write an entire song with bass, guitar, vocals as samples/tracks, and then arrange a song, but I frankly haven't seen any tutorials on this. Probably since mixing/mastering is still best done with a DAW using plugins and VSTs that are specialized and more powerful. I assume it is possible to actually do an entire song, and the memory/processor powers should in theory be sufficient to do so. But also see my 2nd point. 2) The preloaded samples, instruments, and sounds are mostly for modern and 100% electronic music. There are only a few complete (acoustic) drum kits preloaded (or classics like TR808, TR909). But pages over pages dance/house/hip hop/... kits with 6-7 drum sounds (1-2 kicks, 1-2 snares, 1 handclap, open/closed hihat, maybe 1-2 toms or a cymbal) and 8+ samples of some synthesizer sounds, vocal bits as heard on rave parties, etc. So, Akai targeted a certain clientele in my opinion, and somehow tried to 'lure' people who like to copy/make some dance music with a few clicks of a button. This is not meant to be critical, but the machine can do so much more. It for instance could easily double as a live recording device out of the mixer, or for rehearsal recordings. I definitely plan to use it for songwriting and publishing. I know that I will have to import a few more drum kits, and find a few more instruments to cover my style of music, which is alternative e-rock/e-pop based on early 80ies sounds.

Love this product. Great for beginners. It's a lot more fun too, compared to a DAW.

The best among any other stand alone machine. By far.

This thing is really good at getting your beats and ideas down. Very responsive, and fast. Easy enough to record a sample, or import one, and chop it up, slow it down, whatever you need to do with it. I am still learning my way around it, but it is very intuitive to use. People say that it is a daw in a box, and it is that, and more. It’s just got a different workflow compared to the daw’s I have used in the past, but not very difficult to learn. I have yet to try and piece together a full song on it, but I will update my review if need be. If you’re on the fence definitely get one. They are great.

Akai is top notch as you probably already know. This one is mobile if you get a battery and additional external storage. There are YouTube videos on this set up. Otherwise it is a high quality unit to compliment your studio for any level.

Product arrived with open box but still in nearly perfect condition. I was disappointed with that especially when buying a new item but customer service was able to help. A lot of fun to use and plenty of sounds included with it. Pretty easy to learn how to do everything and self explanatory.

Much better than the Electribe 2 or the Digitakt 2. Solid build and stuff just works. You can add a 2 TB internal drive or use SD cards or just use the internal storage. The stock drum sounds sound great and it comes with a pretty good assortment of other sounds. The manual however, is terrible... 700 some pages and not well organized. But there are some pretty good videos on the web. If it weren't for the manual, I would give it 5 stars.

After half a year, this continues to be the bargain electronic device of all time. New to MPC's of any form, this is an iconic music producing device. It is a complex product, requiring only a modest effort on your part to draw out a myriad of musical possibilities. There is extraordinary teaching/learning support documentation available and an infinite number of professional quality add-ons that you will never outgrow. MPC ONE+ is exceptional if you already own a MIDI controller. Multiple alternative forms of the MPC are available.