Akai Professional MPC Renaissance | Music Production Controller with 9GB+ Sound Library Download (24-bit / 96 kHz)

I love this machine! I am a long time MPC user who began on the 2000XL. I also have owned a 2500 and 4000. This is by far my favorite machine of the bunch. It solves every single problem I had with the 2500 and 2000XL. Now I have virtually unlimited sample time, my samples are easier to edit and chop, and I don't have any sample cutting out during complex programs. On the 2500 my sample would cut out if I had either a long sample or too many 1/32nd note rolls going on during my sequence. Also, I don't have to play back my song 100 times to record 1 track. I can bounce out high quality WAV's of each track in my song in 1 click. Don't believe the negativity surrounding this machine. I would highly recommend using this machine with an Apple Mac Pro or Macbook Pro (which is what I use). I cannot testify to it's integration with Windows based machines. Also, the price is right on this machine! Thank you Akai for coming through with this product. Also, their customer support is great! My beats have stepped up to another level thanks to the MPC Renaissance.

I’m very happy with the purchase. It was delivered in a timely manner!!!

Good deal. Went on sale, and Amazon did a price adjust before it was delivered (did have to contact customer service) without any hassle. Also had a problem with package contents, Amazon also corrected the problem with no hassle at all. Now....the MPC itself is the perfect combination of hardware and software. If you've ever had an MPC and loved it....If you ever used a software sequencer/DAW....this is the perfect mix! Don't know how to really explain it, but it combines everything...sequencing, vst, sampling. Still could use some other "advanced" features when it comes to exporting, but all can be worked around. Also works great within Pro Tools as an instrument and transport control. Can do a lot of track routing in Pro Tools too. A lot of what you can do takes time to figure out, just do a web search or mess around with things. I'm pretty sure I've only done the basics with it, but I like to keep it simple anyway. I'm also an Akai guy, but it works well...just don't think it'll work well on a low spec PC/Mac.

These MPCs should have a lifetime warranty. It stopped working after 2 years. AKAI doesn't want to take responsibility since it's beyond the one year warranty period. There was no accidental damage. The unit just stopped functioning on its own. It's going to cost me $300 to replace the main board to get it fixed. It's not fair for the consumer to buy a ticking time bomb. If you buy any AKAI products be sure to buy the extended warranty and renew it before it ends because their products may fail one day for absolutely no reason and AKAI will just shrug their shoulders. This is partially a rant against Akai, but my review is justified in the fact that the unit stopped functioning and is deserving of a one star rating no matter how great it was prior to it malfunctioning.

I cannot say I love it, because I've only had it for a week, but so far so good. I initially had a beat thang, and it was horrible, also some of the sounds were not royalty free. The sound files for this are a lot better. I like a stand alone machine, but this has proven to be worth my money. I enjoy the sound bank, and the updates. So far so good. I'm impressed by the machine. Also the MPC University tutorials are a lot better than the beat thangs tutorials. I still have a song that will be uploaded to youtube that was made from my beat thang before it crashed, but now that I have a MPC I'm in a better mood, because I feel as if I'm in better hands. It is made well and the software and hardware function well together. The beat thang just was too good to be true, and sadly I'm waiting for my refund as of now. Anyways, I love the MPC so far, and I wanted to wait a little before I wrote this review, but as I was going through the tutorials I was so impressed that I decided to write this review now.

I bought this a while back only having ever used sofware. The Mpc Ren. even though im still just a beginner at it, is a powerfull usefull tool to compliment growing skills. I love it so far! just wish you didn't have to have it plugged to a computer do..well anything. Oherwise a great product so far, even though i probly shouldve started off with something less expensive.

Just because when it did decide to work, it was a monster. The other half of the time it would wimp until it crashed the software.I was going to give it one star but it's so hard to pinpoint if it's the device itself or if it's software wise, the latter known for not being Akais stronghold. Regardless, people put down a grand for something like this and in return there should be no MAJOR faults (bugs are find but not being able to create any music at all is another story), so 2 stars seems appropriate.I'd like to note this is after the 1.7 software upgrade, a fresh Windows 7 install, and fresh drivers; same results. My advice would be to rape the hell out of the everything this has to offer to make sure if something is faulty, you catch it before the 30 day return period. That way you save a grand and not end up with an expensive 20 pound (No joke) coffee coaster.On another note, THIS IS NOT A DAW. It does not have the same learning curve as a DAW and it will just crush your spirits if you dive into the Renaissance with that mentality. This thing is much more powerful but it bites back like a wolf and doesn't have room form many mistakes.Conclusion: I'd stay away from this unit, even if it did work, i think the MPC ren just falls behind a lot of it's competitors. Any DAW with a simple controller is more reliable then this, given the workflow isn't as quick, but given mine crashed every other 10 minutes I'd take that with a grain of salt.