Published in the January 2008 issue of DJ Times Magazine
Volume 21 - Number 1

MPC-500: Portable Production

One of the main features of the “Digital Music Revolution” is its emphasis on portability. Major manufacturers have invested heavily in portable audio interfaces, software, and “all-in-one” units that allow the mobile DJ or producer to remain productive on the road, or wherever inspiration strikes. And even if you’re not a DJ traveling across country to the next big gig or a producer en route to the studio, portable gear has become a space-effective means of building a powerful home rig at a relatively moderate price.

Earlier this year, Akai threw its hat into the portable arena by introducing the MPC-500—the first, truly mobile MPC in the family of world-renowned sampler/sequencers. For the $599 (MAP) price tag and compact size, this unit includes the main tools you’ll need to capture your samples, create your sequences, add effects, save those creations, or import your work into your favorite DAW (i.e., Cubase, ProTools, Logic, etc) or software-based sequencer.

This model runs on six AA batteries, which is pretty impressive alone. The unit can run for over four hours continuously before you need to pop in another set of batteries. An A/C power jack is included, so feel free to plug into a wall for juice when available. Once you get to the studio or venue, finding power usually isn’t the biggest problem, but being able to use the unit to load sequences or samples from your hard drive before you get to your destination can be a huge time-saver. Also, the casing is surprisingly solid—very necessary for a portable unit.

Current MPC users will notice that this unit features 12 touch-sensitive pads, which is a departure from the usual 16-pad layout on MPCs, but makes sense due to the size of the unit. Not to worry much, though—it still offers 32-voice polyphony like the other models in the series. Users have reported that the pads on the MPC-500 aren’t as touch-sensitive as other models, but response can be adjusted to your style and taste using the “12 Levels” feature. The LCD screen is another feature to which current users will need to adjust. The LCD shows two lines of text on the screen at a time, so editing can be a little challenging. However, once you get used to it, it doesn’t really affect your workflow much. Even though some features were compromised, the sequencer isn’t one of them—the MPC-500 sequencer handles 48 tracks of 44.1/16-bit audio and 16 MIDI channels along with a 100,000 note max event capacity.

Once you have created your sequences, take advantage of the on-board effects to “tweak” your work. EQ, compression, reverb, delay, flanger, chorus, bit-grunger, phase-shifter, and tremolo are mixed with individual “dry” signals via two stereo pairs of effects processors. The unit also has a master effect processor which adds EQ and compression to the overall sequence or song. Like many popular computer-based programs, you can save your dynamics settings as “effect sets” for future use. A Q-link slider is also included, which allows the user to adjust level, tuning, or the low-pass filter cut-off frequency, while triggering samples.

The MPC-500 also includes the expected inputs and outputs. It features MIDI I/O, so you can use the unit as a master to “trigger” other MIDI-friendly gear in your setup, or “slave” it to your audio/MIDI interface, so it plays when you hit record in your DAW. As for time code, MPC-500 uses MIDI clock to sync to external devices. For DJs, feel free to sample your favorite catch phrases or sounds through the switchable mic/line input. The headphone jack is present and accounted for, as always. The 500 also includes a USB port, so you can connect the unit to your PC as an external drive making file-sharing a breeze. WAV files and standard MIDI files are both supported by the MPC-500. I suggest digging into the manual regarding compatibility with your computer’s operating system.

This unit is built with a compact flash card slot for storing your individual sequences or entire songs. The drive supports flash cards from 32mb to 2gigs of storage capacity. As a rule of thumb, purchase as much memory as you can afford. You don’t want to lose that perfect sequence you’ve worked on for hours on the bus or train only because you ran of out disk space! The unit ships with 16mb of RAM, but can be expanded up to 128mb. Sequences and songs are saved in RAM while you’re working, so I suggest upgrading if possible. A great feature of this unit is that the data saved on the CF card can be loaded into the MPC-1000 or MPC-2500, allowing interoperability between the different models! You can actually leave your MPC-500 safe at home, and just bring the compact flash card to the studio, assuming they have either of the two models mentioned above.

All in all, the MPC-500 is a great value for the money. Of course, early users have reported a few “bugs,” so I suggest visiting the Akai website regularly or browsing the numerous forums on the ’net dedicated to the MPC for updates, advice and work-arounds. Creating a unit that is portable, powerful, affordable and runs on batteries for a practical amount of time is a difficult undertaking, but, as always, Akai has delivered.