AKAI Pro Launched Force Standalone Clip-Based Groove Box!

Groove-Box With Sampler, Synths, Effects, Multi-Touch Display & More!

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Shortly after New Year, a new product from Akai Pro leaked. Initially it was thought that it was a new APC controller for Ableton Live, but now it turns out that it will probably be a new standalone clip-based groove-box workstation. If one can trust the leaked information on a French shop page today, Force has a similar internal engine as the MPC Live.

So you can sample, edit samples and play them back like on a groove-box. Force will also feature the new introduced instruments in the MPC Software 2.3. For samples, a 16GB internal memory is available, which can be extended by an optional internal SSD/HDD. 10GB of sounds are already integrated in the system. Also, you can probably integrate and use Force in Ableton Live. So also a kind of APC controller. A price is not yet known but the shop wrote a price of 1578€ and mid February delivery.

On the same time, AKAI Pro will probably ship MPC Software 2.4 with a new synth plugin! In a week we know more about it

Akai Pro Force

Official News

Force blurs the lines between contemporary music production solutions and the latest technologies available for DJ performance, a first among the industry standards. By merging clip triggering, step-sequencing, sampling, but also in-house synthesis engines, not to mention the latest-generation touchscreen, all in one stand-alone performance equipment, the Force combines the essential features to offer ultra-intuitive ergonomics and allow you to give free rein to your creativity. 

Force embeds a matrix of 8×8 trigger pads with RGB backlight, a 7-inch color touch screen, 8 touch-sensitive potentiometers with individual graphic OLed display, 2 audio inputs, 4 audio outputs, not to mention the MIDI and CV Gate connectivity . All this end to end leaves the user unprecedented creative freedom, since it even goes to emancipate a complementary computer.

The very essence of Force consists of a workflow focused on the use of the clips, which are at the origin of your creative performances. Choose multiple modes such as plugins, MPC-style drum tracks, but also audio tracks, Keygroups, MIDI tracks, and CV tracks to set your clip type, then customize them with step sequencer and performance pads , and add notes via the edit window or the smart-scales, chords or progressions modes.

In addition, Force has advanced real-time timestrech capabilities and pitch modulation with quality equivalent to current music production software, effects plug-in from AIR Music Technology collections, and TubeSynth synthesis engines. , Bassline and Electric. Another synth, Hype, extends this list, a synth based on presets and macros accumulating several synthesis engines in one plugin, easy to use. Force can also record up to 8 stereo audio tracks.

Force includes more than 10GB of embedded sounds, from the most famous collections of premium content like SampleTools by CR2, MSX Audio and Sample Magic. With 248 kits, 16 demo projects, more than 2,500 loops and 500 designs, the Force library opens the doors to the best sounds for your creativity.

As of March 2019, Force will also include deep integration with Ableton Live in controller mode. This feature will include visibility and full control over the Ableton clip array, touch control of mix parameters including crossfader assignment, and control of Force settings on the Ableton Live workspace, via the screen. Touch and Force Q-Link knobs.

In addition, March 2019 will also mark the integration of Splice into Force. Splice Sounds powers the creativity of producers around the world with access to millions of high-quality, royalty-free samples, sounds, presets and loops, covering almost every genre of music. With the integration of Splice, Force users will have immediate Wi-Fi access to their own Splice library directly from the touch user interface – perfect for ultra-fast auditioning of sounds to be integrated into their project.

Features

  • Standalone – no computer needed
  • Matrix of 8×8 RGB pads for triggering clips
  • 7-inch multi-touch screen
  • 1 push encoder wheel for navigation and selection
  • 1 crossfader A / B
  • 2 combo inputs Xlr / Mic Jack / instruments / line
  • 4 TRS outputs
  • MIDI In / Out / Thru minijack (minijack to 5-pin adapters included)
  • 4 configurable CV / Gate outputs
  • Remix, merge and produce with 6 different programs for complete audio / MIDI / CV sequencing
  • Performance modes including drum MPC, notes, smart note suite, chords and chord progression
  • MPC Sample Editor
  • Automatic detection of BPM, real-time time stretching and pitch modulation
  • 8 Q-Link touch-sensitive potentiometers with individual graphic Oled display
  • 4 powerful and fully customizable synthesis engines
  • 16 GB of internal memory (including more than 10 GB of sounds included)
  • SD card slot and 2 USB 3.0 ports compatible with USB storage devices or MIDI controllers
  • 2.5 “SATA connector internally (SSD or HDD) for an extension of the internal storage by the user
  • 1 Type-B USB port for connecting to a Mac / PC computer
  • 1 TRS headphone output
  • Weight and dimensions: 3.87 kg, 350 x 389 x 72.5 mm

Akai Pro Force is available on 5th of February 2019 in the US, later in February in Europe. The U.S retail price will be $1499 USD.

More information will follow here: AKAI Pro

NAMM News 2019

2 Comments

  1. This thing us amazing as the street ptice has dropped significantly. If you are considering buy this, make sure to read the LATEST reviews as the feature list initially was pretty small but this gas had a ton of HUGE updates. The firmware updates are free and added everything that was missing at launch and a ton more. Including ssd-disk based streaming… yeah samples of any length ! Full ableton integration , many more instruments and just a ton of great stuff… last update was 3.2 as of Nov 2022, but my guess is even more are in the works!!!

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