bmanic wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 7:59 pm I've been fighting ignorance. Hence the banging of the drum. People seem to be so easily impressed by simple hardware numbers or this and that.. without actually knowing what makes a synthesizer a synthesizer or a dedicated sampler a proper dedicated sampler. Even users that only rely on presets, will in fact benefit from all the tiny bells and whistles of a synthesizers or samplers capabilities due to 3rd parties being able to create better preset/sample packs. Thus the "tiny" details matter.
So if somebody throws out hyperbole, I will respond so as to leave a record of actual facts and to temper the hyperbole. The current MPC product lineup, while pretty damn awesome, are very far from perfect and definitely not in the same category as something like a Korg Kronos.
Then again, we are speculating on a yet not released product. Who knows, maybe AKAI will deliver version 3.0 of the firmware at the time of the 61 Key launch and it'll indeed be as capable.. but I wouldn't count on it. The Kronos is a Kronos due to many different reasons and features.. pretty much none of these something that AKAI has ever explored before so the comparison is probably quite silly. Hence the original reply.
The Kronos is great but there are things the MPC does better that has nothing to do with synthesis. If you are sequencing other hardware the MPC is just better suited for that. You get more tracks than the Kronos (though I believe the Kronos has more audio tracks) and you can connect as many devices to the machine as your USB hub allows. The MPC can record more simultaneous tracks than the Kronos and with the recent update if you connect it to an audio interface you can do as many as 8 tracks (the Kronos does 4 if I'm not mistaken).
The sample editing in my opinion is superior on the MPC. Not only do you get more loop modes, but with the recent updates you now have a tail that you can add to the sample. You have things like lazy chop. On top of all the sample editing functions the MPC has while the Kronos' sampler editing features are relatively rudimentary in comparison. If sample slicing or mangling is your thing the MPC has more features and is easier to use than the Kronos imo. The MPC let's you chop your sample as you sample into the machine. The Kronos doesn't do that (nor will it likely ever as that is not its focus).
I understand sample synthesis is your thing but that's not really important to everyone and trying to paint the MPC as weaker than the Kronos in the sampling area is ignoring what it does exceptionally well (sample editing).
The MPC is not a "Kronos killer" however with the features it has in-terms of sequencing and sampler editing, and number of tracks, CV etc it absolutely curb stomps the Kronos. It just depends on what you are looking for out of a workstation.
