No technology has made as profound an impact on music creation and performance as sampling, and no other equipment manufacturer has made as significant a contribution to the art of sampling as Akai Professional. Akai's S900 sampler started a musical revolution and was quickly followed by the hugely popular MPC Series music production centers. That rich heritage continues with Akai's new and incredibly capable MPC2500 Music Production Center. Whether you're a composer, songwriter, or performing DJ, the MPC2500 has just what the doctor ordered to take your music to the next level.

A Comprehensive Music Workstation

With an inviting user interface and 16 great-feeling velocity and pressure sensitive pads, the MPC 2500 is a 32-voice drum/phrase sampler with up to 128 MB of RAM and extensive editing controls. Add to this twin onboard effects processors with a send for outboard effects, real-time Q-Link controllers, plus 10 outputs and an S/PDIF digital output, the MPC2500 Music Production Center is, quite simply, a monster.

Working with the MPC2500 is a pleasure, thanks to its 240 x 64 dot angled, backlit LCD display, which makes keeping track of your work easy. For creating custom sounds, sample recording takes place at the instrument's main page (eliminating the need to dig through nested menus), and editing provisions are extensive. The instrument's new Chop-Shop function can analyze a drum loop, detect the various beats within, and map the various segments to the pads-enabling you to quickly and easily create drum kits. With its Patched Phrase function, sampled phrases can be automatically synchronized to the sequencer's tempo without altering the sample's pitch, and the Continuous Sample Track enables long sampled phrases to be played with sequenced performance data. Further, samples can be reversed and time stretched.

The MPC2500's control, effects, and interface capabilities really excel. The four Q-Link controllers (two sliders and two knobs) facilitate extensive real-time control and, when combined with the Audio Input Thru function, input signals can be manipulated on the spot-something performing DJs will really appreciate. The MPC2500 provides 4-pole filters (twin 2-pole filters) for each of the instrument's 32 voices, and the two onboard effects processors make it easy to add reverbs, delays, and other effects. Since internal sounds reside in flash memory, they can easily be swapped for new sounds via compact flash cards (a 32 MB card is included) or the optionally available CD-ROM drive. Similarly, you can also expand the MPC's onboard sound palette by adding an optional 2.5-inch hard drive.

Sequencing and Output Control

The MPC2500 sports a 100,000 note / 64 track MIDI sequencer that can be assigned to internal programs or four separate MIDI outputs for a total of 64 independently addressable MIDI channels. Song mode supports 20 songs, with 250 steps per song, and the unit's grid editing screen for the drum track makes music creation and editing an intuitive process. Combined with 10 analog outputs plus an S/PDIF digital output, the MPC2500 facilitates nearly unlimited possibilities for exercising control over the various sound elements the unit produces-making it a "must have tool" for both stage and studio.