![]() There’s more of a difference between the models on the audio input side. However, there are also both quarter-inch and mini-jack headphone connections on the front panel (thank you!) with a level pot that controls the main stereo output volume too. The main audio output section on the rear is only slightly expanded compared to MPC Live, with eight TRS outputs instead of six. This also put things within easy cable reach of the generous eight CV outputs, four MIDI outputs and two MIDI inputs. It ended up on the desk with my synths, where it turned out to be quite at home given how much less focused I was on the computer while using the MPC. I tried it on the heavy-duty music stand that normally houses a Push 2 or Maschine, but this wilted under the weight. While the Live and Touch tucked naturally between my keyboard and screen, this required a bit more thought. It’s certainly an imposing workstation, almost console-like with its wrist-rest. The MPCX evolves the classic form factor of previous flagship MPCs, looking like a concept-car version of the MPC Renaissance. The Live model takes its design from the MPC Touch. The MPCX doubles as a USB controller and audio/MIDI interface for the MPC2.0 DAW or plug-in using exactly the same user interface, with projects able to move between the two environments. It has the same onboard processing and storage systems as its baby brother, but greatly expanded controls and audio and instrument connectivity. The MPCX doubles as a controller for the MPC2.0 software.Like the Live, the MPCX runs stand-alone, differentiating it from the MPCs of recent years which were pure controllers for the MPC software. The new MPCs, and the MPCX in particular, combine these elements into a single, portable, purpose-built production hub. Our modern project studios are a tangle of peripherals: a laptop and DAW, audio interface and mixer, MIDI and CV interfaces, MIDI input devices, control surfaces and monitoring controllers. Rather the latest MPCs represent a new approach, or maybe the renaissance of an older one. ![]() ![]() It’s not so much that the MPC platform itself has gone through a revolutionary change, in fact its core workflow has stayed largely the same. In my April SOS review I said the MPC Live was a breakthrough device I may even have allowed one ‘game-changer’ to slip through the marketing-speak filter. Could the MPCX make you rethink your whole approach to studio and live music production?
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