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The Akai Professional MPC has come a long way since the game-changing MPC60’s release in 1988. By far, the new MPC XL comes in as the most powerful model in its history, with its mammoth 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM and enough included instruments and sounds to fuel anyone’s creative fire.
And who better to show us the ropes of this latest flagship MPC than John Yancey, aka Illa J?
The younger brother of the late J Dilla—a legend inseparable from the story of the MPC, particularly the MPC3000—and an accomplished rapper and MPC-based producer in his own right, Illa J reminisces about the magic of the old-school MPCs, some of the more modern MPCs and what makes the XL special.
“All of my mentors that produce use the MPC. It’s amazing to see how far it’s come, from very limited sampling time to the point now where you can pretty much do everything,” says Illa J. “It’s basically an SSL board mixed with an MPC. It really is an amazing piece of equipment. This is a full studio right here.”
In this walkthrough, Illa J gives us a play-by-play demo of what the Akai MPC XL has in store for producers and beatmakers of all styles and workflows. “My favorite new feature is the Channel Command,” he explains. “Usually, if you wanted to adjust something on a specific track, you have to go to the mixer and the effects page. But now, I can just go straight to Track FX, Outputs or Submixes. It makes the workflow a lot easier.”
Pictured: Akai Professional MPC XL Standalone Production Workstation
Then, of course, there’s the vast palette of sounds that take advantage of the incredible power under the XL’s hood. “You have so many plug-ins in the MPC,” he enthuses. “One of my favorite new plug-ins is Analog Dreams—got all types of basslines, pads and synth leads.”
Adjusting parameters on those plug-ins is easier than ever with the MPC XL’s 16 inline knobs, just below its giant touchscreen. Illa J elaborates: “Every parameter on the page is right here. It enables the workflow to be that much faster. I can just twist the oscillator instead of having to jump through the Q-Links to go to specific pages.”
Less menu diving and page flipping—more creating on the fly. Who wouldn’t want that?
Check out the full video to learn more of Illa J’s MPC XL tips and tricks, and how it can be a catalyst for your beatmaking, songwriting and producing flow.