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He disliked reading instruction manuals and wanted to create an intuitive interface that simplified music production. Linn described the MPC as an attempt to "properly re-engineer" the Linn 9000. According to Linn, his collaboration with Akai "was a good fit because Akai needed a creative designer with ideas and I didn't want to do sales, marketing, finance or manufacturing, all of which Akai was very good at". His company Linn Electronics had closed following the failure of the Linn 9000, a drum machine and sampler. Linn had designed the successful LM-1 and LinnDrum, two of the earliest drum machines to use samples (prerecorded sounds). The original MPC, the MPC-60, was a collaboration between the Japanese company Akai and the American engineer Roger Linn. Grooveboxes, machines that combined these functions, such as those by E-mu Systems, required knowledge of music production and cost up to $10,000. Add to these an improved friendly and intuitive user interface thanks to the graphic LCD, two MIDI ins and 32 MIDI channels via the two MIDI outputs, and options for multiple audio outputs, multi-effects, SMPTE Time Code and even Flash Rom memory, and you have a dependable "switch on and work" solution to computer sequencer headaches.The MPC was designed by Roger Linn (pictured in 2010), who also created the LinnDrum.īy the late 1980s, drum machines had become popular for creating beats and loops without instrumentalists, and hip hop artists were using samplers to take portions of existing recordings and create new compositions. It also features the original MPC60's intuitive transport and locate controls, the unique NOTE REPEAT function, plus new additions such as four bank keys to effectively provide 64 pads, multi-program playback, multi-track recording, simultaneous playback of a second sequence, Next Sequence key, Track Mute key, TimeStretch, Slice Sound, Resampling, plus folder file management. The MPC2000XL inherits many of the major features of the original MPC such as the legendary "feel" and "groove" so that you can be sure that your beats and sequences just swing. The Akai Professional MPC2000XL MIDI Production Center combines a 64-Track MIDI Sequencer and a 32-voice Stereo Digital Sampler, with 16 velocity and pressure sensitive rubber pads, providing rock solid sequencing and drum programming combined with powerful sampling facilities in one convenient and portable desktop unit.
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