AKAI FORCE | ELFA | RRP $1899
It feels like the age-old debate between hardware and software is still a hot topic when delving into the depths of music production. Very few manufacturers have been able effectively blur the lines between these two worlds creating a seamless workflow in the creative hemisphere for both studio and live music makers. Akai Professional is a name synonymous with music production and has been for decades, specifically in sampling, sequencing and beat making in electronic music production. With the introduction of the MPC-60 sequencer-sampler workstation in the late 80’s, the MPC family has gone on to achieve godlike status for its contributions in the recording studio (as well as a live instrument) solidifying itself in the history books as a vital studio tool, with a particular influence in the world of hip hop and later on, a myriad of other electronic and contemporary music styles.
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As music production has changed, so too have the demands on the technology which we rely upon to create, regardless of the music being made. One thing is for certain though, we’re not looking for more complexity in our studio environment, but rather, simplicity, anything to facilitate our ideas getting out as quickly and effortlessly as possible. When introducing a new piece of gear into the fold, particularly one to potentially hold the position of centrepiece, its ability to seamlessly integrate into an existing setup is paramount, which brings me to the piece of gear on review – the Akai Pro FORCE.
MPC
Although not exactly the new kid on the block (released in early 2019), FORCE has seen some major firmware updates since its initial release, and without wanting to seem hyperbolic, has become an entirely different beast within itself through these updates, the latest of which was recently released, Firmware 3.5 Beta.
At a glance, FORCE may seem like another desktop-sized “standalone workstation”, and I’m sure some will be thinking ‘Like we haven’t seen one of those before,’ but in fact FORCE takes this concept and expands upon it in an entirely new way. Aside from the intuitively laid out and customisable physical interface, FORCE’s true power comes from its capabilities within the engine, but more on this a little later.
The expansive 8×8 clip launch matrix is striking with its RGB LED pads, offering a sleek and tactile feel which instantly makes you want to play. The variety of performance modes ranging from 16-pad Drums, Notes, Smart Scales, Chords and Progressions are all nicely outlaid and instantly playable. The eight 360-degree touch-sensitive knobs located above the pads are assignable for macro control with incredible responsiveness and streamlined workflow. The encoder for display navigation and push selection, five knobs for gain, mix and level and lastly the 56 backlit function buttons all add to the feeling of a legitimate studio tool, tying its intuitive layout and physical functionality together. The 7” full colour capacitive multi-touch display is also really great to use, with the graphics and interface being both visually impressive and a breeze to navigate. This is even more noticeable with some of the new functionality and workflow options within main mode in the 3.5 Beta Firmware update, making navigating to plugins and FX within the XL Channel Strip incredibly easy.
Aside from the obvious inspiration and tech shared from the MPC, FORCE stands tall in its own category of standalone workstation. The sheer number of surface control from the pads, assignable knobs and function buttons allows for incredibly efficient production capabilities, but the wealth of connectivity really expands the realms of possibilities with seamless MIDI integration which includes MIDI Learn (a user requested update) for connecting external MIDI controllers with ease. The analogue I/O is convenient for patching in mics and line level instruments on the fly or permanently patched, a must-have functionality for both studio and live use. Another exciting addition is the extensive I/O expansion over USB, which is up to 32 in and out for USB class compliant devices. Connecting a USB compliant mixer, for example, is all too easy, allowing FORCE to act as a central destination in an existing studio setup with numerous instruments all being able to be connected simultaneously, and integrated with onboard virtual instruments of FORCE. This capability lends itself to an incredibly fast and efficient studio workflow, making it simple to add effects processing from FORCE to external instruments, and being able to commit these sounds in a project to quickly build an arrangement, all without the use of a computer.
I mentioned power under the hood earlier and FORCE has got this in spades. Refreshingly, Force is a true testament of how a professional music company can legitimately listen to customer feedback and requests and actually implement these, with its handful of firmware updates having forced itself to stay relevant to new and existing users alike.
The arrangement view, when introduced in an earlier update, was an absolute gamechanger and really pushed Force well within the realms of a DAW. Being able to clearly see and build an arrangement of a song, with added macro functionality for quickly zooming in and editing waveforms for example is still stuff we take for granted in a DAW, but being able to do this level of quick editing on a hardware unit is bloody handy!
This, paired with Ableton integration, has truly taken FORCE into entirely different territory, with the ability to import and export Ableton Live projects with ease, taking complex Ableton Live sessions and splitting them out over FORCE’s physical interface to play live or expand upon in the studio, FORCE makes like work of this type of workflow. All this paired with disk streaming has allowed for a one stop shop for studio related tasks, with the ability to also expand to an external SSD or HDD drive, easing the load on in-built storage and RAM. With the ability to record audio and MIDI, write automation and effects then export all of this as stems, and a stereo mixdown or Ableton project file makes FORCE a true powerhouse in the studio. The feeling of being able to simply insert plugins directly onto tracks, load up virtual synths, set up send and return pathways for effects and additional processing, as well as assignment macron knobs with master effects for on the fly mangling of an entire mix just feels like a professional studio in a desktop sized unit, it’s nuts!
With the latest 3.5 Beta firmware, some tasty updates have been introduced. Sample layering has expanded to eight layers, taking sampling capabilities and compiling even more unique sounds going deeper and richer than ever before. Not only this but the MPC’s stem splitting capabilities have also been brought across to FORCE, for some seriously incredible sample manipulation, amazing for a wide scope of music production styles, beat making and more. Other exciting updates include individual drum pad export for expanded drum kit control, duplicating clips and different tempo per row. This gives users a far deeper level of control within the one session and streamlining a lot of previous workflow issues.
There really is so much ground to cover with FORCE, several articles worth to say the least. What I found particularly inspiring about this beast of a unit though was despite how incredibly powerful it is, the amount of buttons, knobs and pads lay atop its surface, I didn’t feel overwhelmed or lost. Of course a bit of online tutorial scrolling always goes a long way, a bit of R.T.F.M. is always recommended, but its intuitive physical layout and ease of screen navigation made for a very user friendly experience, and rather than thinking about how to use it, I was able to focus on what was most important, creating. It’s clear that Akai has no intention of leaving this beast of a workstation behind, keeping both existing users inspired as well as potential new users enticed by its power in the studio and live on stage.
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