With the unprecedented release of the MPC60 in the late 1980's, Akai single-handedly changed the course of music production. By enabling digital samples to become the basis for composition, the MPC opened the door to an infinite realm of musical possibility, and subsequently set the standard for beat production.

Ten MPC models and 20 years later, Akai has come a long way since their first 12-bit 40 kHz sampler with its internal 3½" floppy drive, and Akai's latest release, the MPC5000, is being heralded by gear-heads, musicians, producers and critics alike as the perfect MPC.

The time has passed when MPCs were used strictly for beat production, and Akai has taken this notion to heart with the MPC5000. This hit machine has that legendary MPC feel and it rolls with a greatly expanded feature set that makes it the most powerful and versatile production center ever created. As the first MPC to include eight-track streaming hard disk recording, a 20-voice, three-oscillator analog synthesizer with arpeggiator, a new sequencing engine with 960 PPQ resolution, pad and track muting and mixing, 64 continuous sample tracks and 12 Q-Link controllers, the MPC5000 enables producers to compose, record, and mix entire songs on a single unit. There is even a new FX engine with 4 FX buses and 2 FX per bus to give tracks the depth and richness of a studio recording.

The MPC5000 features a 64-voice drum/phrase sampler with 64MB memory - expandable up to 192MB. With a huge backlit LCD hinged display screen (it's twice the size of the MPC2500 and MPC1000), waveforms appear crystal-clear for precision editing. Integrated Chop Shop 2.0 now supports stereo chops and Patched Phrases, and the MPC5000 is also the first MPC to include Random and Cycle sample playback in addition to velocity Zone Play.

Need some synth? The MPC5000 is bigger and badder than any MPC before it and brings it with a virtual analog synth that eliminates need for external modules or buggy software based synthesizers. How about some scratching? With the onboard turntable preamp, DJs can plug right in and record directly to the new 8-track, direct-to-disk recorder and then mix it all down with the internal sequenced programs and any input thru material. Add the optional CD/DVD drive and you can then burn an audio or data CD or your mix. Over 650MB of premium-quality sounds from Loopmasters are included to get you up and running with pro-quality production in seconds. All of this production power makes the MPC5000 the biggest player in the biz, because Akai knows that no matter what people say, size does matter.

• 64-voice drum/phrase sampler with 64MB memory built-in. Expandable up to 192MB RAM
• Three-oscillator virtual analog synth engine with built-in arpeggiator
• Over 300 Virtual Analog synth presets included
• Eight tracks of Direct-to-Hard Disk recording
• Over 40 all new effects available within a modular 4-bus effects processor
• Master compressor and equalizer
• 960 ppq resolution
• Built-in hard disk drive
• Optional CD-R/DVD drive
• USB 2.0 port for computer connectivity
• CF Type-2 card slot (up to 2GB)
• Chop-Shop 2.0 - slices a stereo loop into individual samples with automatic pad assignment
• Patched Phrases - creates multiple splits in looped samples to ensure proper tempo sync without changing pitch
• Continuous Sample Track - ensures samples play in perfect sync no matter where you start the beat in a loop
• 12 Q-link controllers for internal automation, external MIDI control and quick parameter editing
• 240 x 128 hinged backlit LCD
• 10 built-in analog outputs, plus 8 ADAT-optical outputs and stereo S/PDIF IO
• Powerful new multimode filter
• Two MIDI inputs and Four MIDI outputs
• Turntable phono inputs with RIAA pre-amp
• XLR / 1/4" combo jacks with selectable mic/line levels
• Sample library provided