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Published: 13 February 2020

Having now spent quite a few hours using the Akai Force I thought I would post a story so far report.

Initially, I spent a lot of time auditioning the built-in demo tracks which are excellent and give a good idea of the sonic possibilities available in the box. Obviously, the instant gratification offered by well-crafted demos gives you and the rest of the family, of course, a chance to have a play! All in all, when I was finally able to get my teeth stuck in, I'm really enjoying this new tool and its potential. On a very basic level, it's great as a pure drum/bass backing sequencer, it fills a void that I have been looking to fill for some time. I've tried various tablet apps over the years without really finding a system that I felt comfortable with as a serious contender. Admittedly, I only have Android devices that have not been particularly well-served in this department, with Apple winning the day with music apps. I'm not going into the Android/Apple what's the best argument here and besides, I still don't believe an app on any platform was going to win me over anyway.

I know that the Force has its critics but I have to say I think it shines in many areas and I see it as a long term investment and a tool, I might go on to say musical instrument that I'll use a lot. It's more than just an MPC as it offers a lot more performance potential, having 64 pads rather than the usual 16 on an MPC, offering much more scope for tuned instruments.

Obviously, the fact that it is a stand-alone unit and is an excellent sound playback source. The onboard plugins are really great and there's good potential for expansion too.

Although it is by default geared towards EDM genres, certainly going by the demos and included drum sounds, I can see that it has more to offer. There are a number of kits available to buy with other genres in mind and of course custom kits can be created with ease. I experimented with recording guitar lines in realtime through the onboard effects and was really impressed with the results. It was also great for recording vocal lines. I can see that it has great potential as a sketch pad for developing song ideas into a full-length guide template that could be mixed exported to WAV and imported into your DAW to create a finished piece.

It appears that the promised arranger/song mode could be just around the corner too.  A beta version was on demo at the recent Winter NAMM show. It will be available free to all Force owners during Q1 according to Akai. It seems that they will also deliver a new instrument plugin with this update in the form of a drum synthesizer. This was also demoed at the show. It's certainly looking promising for Force users. Akai launched their new MPC (MPC One) at NAMM so it's reassuring to know that the Force is still being actively developed alongside newer products and it was intimated that the Force is seen as a long term product and there are many more exciting updates in the pipeline.

I guess with all of these tools it really comes down to is will it actually become an essential part of your writing process. A lot of what I've written is an overview of the features I can see have potential but in the real world we'll have to see how I'll use it in the real world.

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Published: 19 December 2019

Force of nature!

I've for some time considered the potential of a playback sampling trigger unit like the Native Instrument Maschine or similar. I've normally come to the conclusion that, although I like the idea of triggering samples and sounds, I wasn't sure that I could put it to use. I've also thought that some kind of stand-alone sequencer/production system to develop ideas, as well as use as a live playback unit, would be great. At the beginning of the year, Akai released their latest development following the MPC format in the form of the Force.

>> Akai Force <<

Along with the features I've previously mentioned it adds a lot more, including a comprehensive stand-alone production environment with a built-in drum machine, synthesizers, sample playback and more besides. There's also been a number of software revisions, adding even more useful features. Akai has also talked about adding a linear song mode in a future update and I understand that there's a beta program in progress already...watch this space. The fact that the Force does not require a computer to operate is probably one of its most compelling features compared to most of the competition.

Up until recently, the price was a little too steep to justify taking the plunge but since there seems to have been a  price reduction of over 20% it became a bit more sensible. Andertons to the rescue again and in stock and delivered the next day (today). I've yet to work out whether this will be permanently studio based or perhaps floating between the house and studio - we'll see on that for the moment.

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Published: 03 December 2019

Just in case there is anyone desperate enough to swing by here, I thought I ought to make a post. It's been over a year since I last posted anything, so this is just an update to let you know what's been happening.

Well - not a lot musically actually, although there have been the odd moments of creativity but not a great deal to show for it. The main reason for my lack of activity here has is because my (limited) available time has been devoted to the completion of a house extension which, as always, is taking a lot longer than I would like. Basically, I had the main shell built by a builder which has left me with the job of completing everything internally from plumbing, woodwork to electrics, plaster boarding, minor building jobs, etc. etc..  Although it has been a long process, for me it has one distinct advantage: allowing me to implement new ideas and design changes along the way that I might have otherwise just made do with. Of course, there is another reason I should have perhaps mentioned first of all and that's the small matter of costs! Well, there is a significant cost saving in doing this myself of course and if I wasn't doing this work then we would most likely not be having the build done at all. I'm working on the electrics at the moment and have just started drylining the main room.  I can mix and match jobs as well - so I can put my electricians' hat on one minute and switch to chippy, plumber, builder, etc. next. The job is coming along but there is still a huge amount to do but I just have to focus each job at a time and be patient. The only job that I intend to sub out will be the skim plastering very near the end.

My earlier studio build was perhaps a great learning experience in preparation for this although, in many ways, the studio was a more technical challenge than this. That said, I did need to do a lot of research in terms of planning/building control and regulations for this project. I did all of the planning and build drawings for this job, so I had to get myself up to speed with the process. All-in-all, I'm very pleased so far with the way things have gone and it's something that I seem to enjoy at the same time. I had to employ a structural engineer to sign off my design to ensure that it satisfied building control and, more importantly, didn't fall down!

In terms of music/studio, I have just been keeping things ticking over and ensuring that the studio systems/software are updated. There have probably been two updates to Cubase since my last post and the latest v 10.5 was only released a short while ago.  I still enjoy finding out what the latest version brings to the table and I like to keep things up to date so that, when I can devote more time to music, I have the latest and greatest available. I am planning to build a dedicated desk for the studio, replacing the ad-hoc setup I have now. Although functional, the current setup consists of an adapted dual keyboard stand with some additional pieces of wood to stand the monitors, etc. on. It works better than it sounds but it's time to make an improvement in this area.

Anyway, that's enough for now - turned into a long post in the end.

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Published: 18 September 2018

OK, so I didn't get around to posting an update on the P6 immediately as I thought. That's possibly a good thing really as it's better to give a new piece of hardware more time to establish itself in the setup. Especially with a controller keyboard like this, which has fundamentally changed my workflow.

All in all, the P6 is settling into its role well and although the keyboard doesn't have the best feel overall it is a compromise between a piano and a synth feel. I'm certainly not using the controller to its full potential but I'm gradually using it more and more as time goes by. I'm not a big synth sound tweaker but I have found the tactile filter/envelope control really nice, resulting in me tweaking sounds a bit more.

The transport controls are excellent and I'm finding these great and I use these more often than not. I also now very rarely use a mouse for fader and pan movements, with the motorised fader and the small mixer sliders getting a lot of use. With the latching when the current channel volume is reached it's really usable.

I can understand the few criticisms I read before purchasing the P6 and I was, and am still, not entirely convinced with the look and feel of it.  But, for me, I can't see any other controller offering the same level of flexibility of control. I'm using the mouse a lot less for tracking and general mix operations now. I have experienced the occasional glitchy connections but its never been a deal-breaker.