Akai MPC 3 Software Desktop Version Coming Soon ! Public Beta in May 2025

LostInFoundation

I suspect they are trying to make Maschine improve ☺️

trusampler

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/212004#Comment_212004

I'm also a Maschine user and I'll post on both forums when I see either company make progress, You don't get to dictate what users post on forums. You understand that right ?

Beatsandmore

I tried maschine 3 times own studio for 3 years. Bought mk3 and maschine + and returned in 2 weeks.. I dont like the software and thr workflow is vastly different.. maschine + is nice solid but not worth the price ag all to me .. I still own kontrol 61 mk3 and trying my best to like it... everyone likes what they like but I was raised on the MPC and love the old and new workflow

djadidai

for you yes, for me, the mpc workflow is way too complicated and restrictive, one of the M+ biggest strengths is the workflow, the ease of use, it’s like an onion with so many layers, it’s easy to get started with and it’s a very deep and complicated instrument when you start digging, but workflow wise there is nothing that compares to the M+. As soon as one understands the structure and how everything is ”connected” there really are no limits.

Flexi

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/211665#Comment_211665

I have one on the desk for setting up projects, two with a DJ mixer for performing.

Flexi

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/212190#Comment_212190

Actually Maschine is very limited, that is the whole point, it is a groovebox with a very fast workflow for a reason, and part of that is the simplified feature set, MPC is much more geared towards the hardware DAW replacement, especially the Force.

MaikR

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/212193#Comment_212193

And here we go again…

iNate

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/212190#Comment_212190

MPC 3 does streamline the workflow to a decent degree, but at the end of the day it's like switching from Pro Tools to Ableton Live. Whoever gets you first will have a massive advantag because you have a significant familiarity bias when trying something after becoming comfortable with a competing - but quite different - solution. This is normal.

The big issue with MPC Software right now is the lack of VST3 Support. It's really a big issue. Also, Akai needs to allow us to set a different drive for installing content. Being forced to install 30GB of Expansion Content and Instruments onto your system drive is really bad for some users - who may only have 256GB SSDs in machines like MacBook Air/Pro Base models.

I did like the MPC Studio 2 as a controller for MPC Software (and the MPC Software had good Templates for Maschine Controllers and other 3rd party MIDI Controllers), but the workflow was a bit too "vestigial" and unnecessarily complicated.

A lot of this is due to MPC going form Hardware to Software, and not the other way around - as Maschine has (for the most part… since the Hardware was just a controller for the software).

The Akai Force will never really be able to replace Ableton Push because they don't have Ableton Live. The whole point of a Push is Live. Otherwise, you'd just get an APC64 and use it with whatever DAW includes mappings for it (e.g. Bitwig Studio, or whatever else exists).

Stephen Bish

As a long time NI user I gave up on Maschine a couple of years ago, moving to MPC Live mk2. My Machine Mk3 and Jam have been sitting in their bag unused since. I found this thread searching for an update on a release date for MPC3 for desktop and was quite surprised to find the info on a NI forum. I know there is a bit of collaboration going on and I hope it helps both platforms.I have purchased pretty much all the plug ins that interest me for MPC but have not bothered with the NI ones. I own them already for desktop.

Hence my big interest in MPC3 for computer. Also, while I never really understood or gelled with the MPC3 workflow, on computer, I managed to get stuff done with it in stand alone. MPC3 however, for a non traditional 'Beat maker" but more a DAW user, MPC3 is way way more useable. At least for me personally. I never even bothered to try to learn the computer version of MPC2. It just looks like a dogs breakfast to me. As such I would be really keen to get onto the MPC3 Betta test team. Give the perspective of someone new to the software, rather than someone changing from 2 to 3. I would be really interested to hear how to contact Akai to put my name forward.

Finoallafine

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/216053#Comment_216053

100% the lack of VST3 support coupled with the NI switch to VST3 forced my migration to FL Studio.

When MPC3 comes out I'll definitely buy it but will probably stick to FL now. Probably use MPC3 to access my old projects now that they'll load with VST3 versions of NI plugins

GoKeez

Great news! Looking forward to wirelessly adding expansions and instruments. Hopefully a lot more designed by NI.

iNate

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/222782#Comment_222782

Yea. One thing I did like about MPC 2 is that - IMO - The Vault 2 was a better "Factory Library" than the Maschine 2 Factory Library - especially since Akai is a bit more Hip Hop-centric than Native Instruments tends to be. They tended to have better Keygroup instruments in their expansions, as well.

I do think I prefered the Sequences + Tracks way of building tracks to Clips. I just didn't like the general UX and workflow within the software.

Also, as I've stated, they had a ton of really good templates for third party controllers - though they seem to have intentionally broken this in the 2.10 update to push people to buy the Studio 2 controller, instead.

The Red Accent colors EVERYWHERE is very tiring for your eyes, though… as humans are more sensitive that that color (fairly obvious [evolutionary] biological reasons for this).

At this point, I tihnk I'd prefer something like Serato Studio to MPC Desktop Software.

If I wanted a DAW that felt more like a groovebox without the clutter of something like Cubase/FL Studio/etc., I'd just get Reason. It's great for beat making.