Just read on the Denon DJ community site that Denon LINK will support the Akai Force -- this is amazing! See here: denondjforum.com/t/link-port-on-the-akai-mpc-force/11977 This means that you will be able to use the Force alongside traditional DJ equipment and sync it all up with one cable. I can't wait, I admit I was never a big Denon fan....but they are making such advancements with their product, maybe it's time to give them another shot?
I agree, I was a little skeptic with Denon and the controllers they have had in the past but they are definalty starting to give Pioneer a run for their money. Laidback Luke supporting Denon was huge and sparked my interest for sure. And now I am in the market for some new gear and I may invest in a Force and Denon setup.
i would read this first... getsatisfaction.com/akai_professional/topics/-mpc-live-ability-to-assign-midi-channel-and-input-port-or-controller-to-specific-tracks
Lol, well I purchased it and still have yet to sink the time into learning it -- definitely a lot to learn, the thing is a beast. But for those that take the time to master it, I am sure it is incredible!!
@@BlakeHeart cool. What i couldn't find online was anyone actually using it as part of the DJ workflow/live producer. either they were using it as a computerless DAW, or else just saying how great it is. I wonder, is that way there has been such a massive price drop in under 12 months? Are they phasing it out already?
The problem is I don't know what tf I actually want. I had a good time composing and arranging in Logic… two decades ago. Now I want to develop myself as a songwriter and live performer. I saw a used Force and a used MPC One at Guitar Center yesterday for less than 600 each: finally within my budget. I've seen SnowMetal using the Force. I figured it was more suited to my goals, despite my having zero interest in learning Ableton Live. For over half an hour I struggled and failed to setup a simple 808 or rock drum kit, match tempo with the radio, and record a clip that was in sync and neither two beats nor eighteen beats. I can't tell if the thing was unintuitive or just plain broken. Maybe the One is more my speed? Perhaps it was foolish of me to think I could just jump into a completely different workflow. For various mental health reasons, right now I cannot make music on a PC. I use Reaper on Windows, and various things on iPhone, and I never really get anywhere. GarageBand Mobile seems to be the closest to a familiar workflow, but I keep getting tripped up by how much iOS sucks. 😮💨
As a DJ, I am excited to get this level of production without a laptop and software. The hassles that come with software and laptops is annoying. I prefer hardware. Fewer updates to crash your set etc. Also, you have to buy a new laptop about every 3 years. That adds up. Secondly, I'm a guitar player. No keys. So integrating live instrumentation is difficult. The built in looper may help. As long as there is a way to preview in headphones. The functionality of the Force is unparalleled at this price point. You are right, you can do the same in other ways but you will be spending more or not getting all the options in one place.
I like how you explain the Akai force. on the simple side of things I love how powerful it Is and how compact it Is giving you power to carry It around and just plug It in when you get an Idea. :) a complete studio we can fit in a back pack
I can understand why as a DJ you first looked at pioneer..I had just bought S9 and looked at DJs 1000 and sneered at mpc live....but after geeking..ate my words...wow I learnt a lot in year lol and Denon and Akai are now owned by Inmusic...so those bad boxes gonna talk nice together😉
Yeah, I am curious to see how things play out over the next few years...and I haven't put the time into playing with the Force and hooking everything up, I need to get around to that. I have had to travel for work so it's been a little hectic!
@@BlakeHeart I slapped this together yesterday....its not as easy as just using standard Dj stuff but is far better for making a complete idea...an hour long idea😉...don't work too hard, enjoy your toys lol ruclips.net/video/smfEa8zg4M4/видео.html
I love you and your channel! 🙏🏽 and I love your view on the Force! I can’t wait till mine gets here! I have the Push 2 and MPC Live. But this things smh yes! Keep up the good work on your RUclips! (Watched the whole video by the way!) ☺️ stay blessed my friend!
...now if only I put the time into learning how to use it, lol! It has been collecting some dust, with me playing with it from time to time. Did you buy one?
@@BlakeHeart Indeed! And I have the same problem. I like it better than my TR-8S, my two drum machines currently and its a bit more intimidating. The things that will make it IT, I hope come around soon. Last update was a plus but I thought it would come with ALS full integration and then arrangement/song mode soon.
Thanks, I love talking about this stuff, always pondering about gear and technology, it's good to get the conversations out of my brain and out there for the world to listen to :)
3:35 Actually standalone music production boxes (no laptop required) have been around for a while -- nothing new here. Checkout Korg EM-1, or Roland SP808.
When this came out - I thought that this was going to potentially work through Link with the Denon, it does not, and that does not exist. It will work sync with Ableton Link, which you can sync with Serato and play your Denon through HID to sync. It's not that standalone production boxes haven't existed, it is that it is a pain in the butt to use them in a DJing situation because syncing becomes a nightmare -- not that it's not doable, but it takes work...
Hola sabes si linkea con rekordbox? lo quiero para utilizar como el DJS 1000, tengo el push 3 pero no es lo que busco, tu crees que el Akai Force me servira, el link en como el DJS 1000 y si tiro sampler y bases estaran sincronizados? muchas gracias por tu video y por tu atencion. !!!
Hells yeah. I see this as a totally different way of tabletop hardware production with a touch of MPC without totally being an MPC I think it will have more ease of use that an MPC .and 64 pads of samples on screen at 1 time. I had to preordered it yesterday. My pioneer sp16. Is still a crippled unit. The Force is what the pioneer was supposed to be
I had to look up what a QY700 was - very interesting stuff, looks like there are still a few out there in the world too. What did that retail for originally? I read somewhere it might have been like $2200 in today's dollars...just curious?
Blake Heart ... I‘m showing my age here, but in the 90s, the only hardware sequencers worth their value were MPCs & the under appreciated QY series. If you wanted a rock solid hardware sequencer that you could rough sketch / compose tunes on ... it would be very similar to the Force but in a hardware that was all bitmatrix and looking like a giant GameBoy screen. This UK triphop artist Tricky talked about making beats on it while riding the trains in London, and how he’d swap the internal midi sounds for studio gear when he was in the studio. Akai Force is prob the best refresh / expansion of that idea that I’ve seen yet. Side note the QY700 never broke out as popular machine, but for me, it was my MAIN sequencer till at-least 2012.
I have no interest in being a d.j., although I used to many years ago. I pre ordered it immediately, because of the speed I can put tracks together. For me, it's an abbreviated, express version of the mpcx, plus. . I almost..bought the live to compliment the X, and this is just a couple hundred more, which made it very easy to justify the purchase. Chord progressions is another reason, very powerful features. Can put high quality tracks together, very quickly.
Very cool, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I just can't wait to get this in my hands, see how I can use it -- and to see Just Blaze's video which Akai will hopefully publish soon (if they haven't already) to see how he's using it out there in the world!
@@BlakeHeart I have been trying to find out as much as possible on this unit, live I used to use Elektron gear in a band with two Guitars, Keys and vox, but it became a little cumbersome and the load times between tracks was too long, so I recorded and edited all the tracks to stereo backing plus a few one shots and loops and put it all into an SPD-SX and we just play over the top and trigger a few things, so looking at this unit I would have to look at a scene as an individual song which I would place track length stems in the clips and then change tempos between songs I guess, but it doesn't appear to be able to scroll past 8 clips down so you would have to change projects if you were playing more than 8 songs, all the demos I've seen treat one song as one project so far.
Wow! So I ended up here looking at more expansions for my akai mpc live and your video was very informative because I have chosen my next setup to be the denon dj media players (currently using roland dj 808) and I'm a producer turned dj (because hey its fun performing not only your stuff but everyone else!) and clearly I want more stand alone stuff because its a major hassle to keep everything synced and in time. You saved me because I wanted to add something for the remix side of things and now the facts about the Pioneer Dj 1000 would definitely not be a great addition to my setup. I could add Ableton because I do use that for productions but again setting that up and making it work seamless for me is a big time killer. Since I already know the work flow of Akai's machinery I will be going with the FORCE! Thanks for this very detailed video!
You are welcome, have fun with it! I am still digging into mine...just can't seem to put the dedication into it that I need to in order to figure it out and how I want to personally use it!
I agree 100%. The only thing I hope for is that AKAI releases SDK/wrapper that allows VST plugins/effects packs to be used because that's all that's missing at this point. Regardless, this is definitely a leap forward. Edit. I mean either a dev kit so existing plugin makers just have to use their library to compile plugins for the akai or a wrapper/converter. Either-way, Akai must understand that people want to leverage the existing effects and synths out there with the force.
that will never happen unless its a partner like air FX. Imagine the support issues when X plugin that someone developed is messing up your force. Also thats why it will hook to live so all the plugins can be accessed there. There will probably be a flatten feature to bring the track that was processed back into standalone just like the MPCs work.
Owen Sands , er, no , they can do like Apple and have a federated plugin store or some kind of program where only approved and signed plugins can be added. You realize they already have this since the AIR is just had their plugins deployed across the Live the X and the force ... so your assertion is incorrect as they already have a third party partner doing this. Next should be Waves.
@@JCooperAudioSystems right they are partners. They aren't going to let just anyone add plugins unless they are an actual partner imo. Maybe they will get more partners that dev plugins but there are only enough for 16 instances anyway on the unit which means its fairly limited in that regard.
Owen Sands what I wrote was that Akai should release a plugin conversion kit or a virtual vst host for their force. Then you could have both approved and non approved vst’s running. This is what you can do now on a DAW - if they want to compete they have to open up the platform. Partnering is a first step but open sourcing the SDK for their plugin format wouldn’t hurt. The future is open.
I understand your concern with stability but I would love to make my own sound widgets or use what other devs have created. Look at Reaktor or Max for live. Tons of very stable downloadable patches and modules / effects etc.
No idea...but this would be one expensive midi--controller. Why not grab the Akai Fire that was built for FL? Seems like that would be the best fit, and much more economical!
Still wondering if i can play some longer loops. Someone talked about missing ability of streaming audio from ssd or so. I do not understand the limit. If i want to have my whole dj set consists of my own tracks, that will be splited into like 8stems like 8bar loops and i will have like 12tunes which means 12x8 loops at least and i want to mix them live like a dj set. Nobody was able to answer me, if i can use it like “standalone” alternative for ableton clips and scenes even if the loop will be lets say 1minute long or so. Still do not understand how to do proper djing with this and if it is possible somehow. I miss some video about it. Most of the live djs like Worakls, Ben Bohmer or other deephouse or techno djs / live performers use ableton. But macbook, ableton, controller, soundcard - you need big stage, enough space, multicables.. force is like 2x stereo out, 1x DC 230V and you can play... would be really crazy if it can fully replace ableton djing.
From my research, the processing power can get in the way but I don't know this first hand. I read that you want to make sure your stems are shortened, i.e. possibly not the whole 6 minutes of the underlying drums, but rather predefined clips that you are using -- which most people using it like you would be doing anyway since you are working on creating your track live. You can only have 8 tracks going across in a single project and there is no way to seamlessly switch to another project. That means you can only DJ from one project file, so you are absolutely limited to the 8 tracks across. Here's a good thread on it -- getsatisfaction.com/akai_professional/topics/using-akai-force-instead-of-ableton-live-for-dj-sets Sorry I can't offer first hand use information for you, good luck!!!
I'd love to hear what you think of the AF seven months after making this video ('What this means for DJs and Live Performers: the AKAI FORCE') . Possible follow-up video?
The truth, I still haven't spent the time diving into it - it's intimidating and I don't have a lot of free time. I still have hopes and dreams for it and even though it is currently collecting dust, learning the insides and outs of the force is on my to-do list for sure. I have pondered selling it, but I just think that potential is there and not that many people are screwing with it, so there's a lot of it untapped -- once I get to spend some real time with it, and feel that I am ready, I will make more videos...
@@BlakeHeart I boxed mine up for a few months for similar reasons. Then a few weeks ago I decided to give it one more shot. I haven't stop using it since. For me it was training my brain to use the rather wonky, counter intuitive UI/workflow. But once I got comfortable with the fundamentals, the thing has become an extension of my brain. I'm not playing/djing out with it yet , but I'm getting closer.
the amount of exciting I had about the force was crazy -- the amount of dust it has collected since I got it is embarrassing...I really haven't dug into it, I need to, I want to, I refuse to sell it, some day I will make more videos about it and on it...
I think the link in back of force is for pioneer link? If you want to hook em up you can use ableton link and turn on in serato, I got mpc live in sync with 1210😂
Pioneer's link is proprietary, meaning it only talks to other Pioneer units...but there are ways around that apparently. I don't have experience with it. But the fact that Denon is going to offer their Link to recognize the force is huge....
@@BlakeHeart I like new denon but kinda ....now don't hate me lol..not big fan of that stuff, just personal still think its awesome lol, I like 1210s...so I got 2 x 1210 mk2 on serato, 2x mpc lives and S9 mixer using Ableton link..but heck that's big, you ain't taking that out, and what I've learned from MPC is clips can be any length, so think favorite bit of track....seems no brainer, here's hoping crossfader is good enough lol
@@BlakeHeart so you open ableton...and I don't use it..EXCEPT FOR CLOCK....LINK....but its open and click, but you click on ableton link...then do same in serato and on mpc and everything is clocked to ableton..and then you midi out from mpc to midi gear lol
Great video,well-researched just by mentioning SP-16 and DJS-1000. I am in a simmilar situation that i am looking for a live setup that will work without any Laptop around.At the moment the planning was Denon SC-5000 M (turntablist here),Reloop RP-8000 for the scratches and the sole fact that with an instrumental scratch LP alongside with the tone-shifting capability that the RP-8000 has pretty much makes it sound and work as a synth rather than a turntable.A 3-Channel or 4-Channel analogue mixer alongside with either Akai MPC Live or Akai Force.But for quite a while I was really thinking for SP-16 because it just sounded cool and when it worked,it worked amazingly,but with 16 second of sampling time (it might be 32 but I might be wrong,anyway anything under a whole minute is depressing) can't be taken that seriously. Now the only thing I would consider much more is Akai MPC Live.It pretty much does what the SP-16 couldn't,with only problem being that it can be slower to apply FX and filters while on live performance,which can be a deal breaker,but the sampling capabilities really makes it tempting. Now the whole linking thing is not going to be solved soon.The problem is the software on each unit,pioneer being the most distant from all the other companies is the last that will actually do anything about it,which is actually understandable.Denon even though comes from the same company that owns Rane,Akai,Numark and M-Audio it doesn't seem that any of those companies have simillar software to the point that linking connection would be possible with no issues.The only company so far that has direct collaboration with Akai is Numark with NS 7 flagship series that had the MPC pads,yet Akai didn't even bothered to have a pre-mapping selection for their DAW softwares to connect NS7 right in.So linking a standalone unit that runs an Akai production software to a DJ software limited standalone unit like the Denon players....I don't know I don't think we will see it soon without massive requests for it. It's good to notice that currectly the live performance DJ scene has its chance to get a direct lighting through Serato Studio, a DAW software that is directly aimed at DJs and actually it has hardware support mostly on DJ hardware units rather than the typical MIDI controllers that we usually see.Now in case that Serato decides that a dedicated controller for Serato Studio is pointfull for their customers they might release it,probably the first version won't be a standalone unit but who knows,it might eventually become something simillar to MPC Live based on the Serato Studio software and focused on DJ's usage and thus being optimal for live performance.
Wow, you did your home work too... When it comes down to it there's far from a perfect solution - even the force has issues with processing power if you load long songs/stems, you really need to edit down to smaller stems before you can rely on this for a whole set. I know that I need to get some more videos up of the Force but the truth is I have never made the time to truly get to know the hardware...but I am still holding onto it like a fool because I want to get to know it...
@@BlakeHeart Well good luck with it.Force requires quite a lot more time compared to Live,first of all because it has more feature but also because it is a relatively new consept and not much have been discovered yet,meanwhile in MPC Live,from the knowledge of previous MPC alone we know a lot of tricks to mess around. For our own good USB is there and as far as i know you can use USB storage and use song from there as playback sampler (again it requires proccessing time to load the USB storage). Another thing that you might find interesting is the Elektron Octatrack that has a whole simpler layout and interface since it is based on a stepsequencer and you can buy a lot more time with things made on that kind of samplers,at the cost of flavour though.I don't think Octatrack can ever get the same flavour in the same time if compared with something like Force or MPC Live. Finally Boss RCs are something that DJs really haven't used enough and it might has a place on live performances as well. I don't know i am really fascinated with the concept of live performance and i think DJs nowadays have really underutilised the technology we get.RP 8000 is a synth under cover,yet everyone is bothered with Rane 12,which is amazing piece don't get me wrong,but it only brings qualities of life rather than new concept or any way of expanding the art. Looking forward for your update on Force.
I’m coming back to these comments - and it really hit me when you say djs nowadays have really underutilized technology. I started looking back at Traktor, Kontrol S8, remix decks, stems and realize how I didn’t understand it when it all came out OR I couldn’t see how I as a DJ could use it. I just watched a Moldover video on the F1s and remix decks and it was awesome. It was from 2012, almost 10 years ago! Anyway, re-read this comment and had to reply!!!
I think it depends on the type of track. I think an official demo said 8 audio, 8 midi, and 128 drum tracks. So maybe that could be limiting to some people that wanted to do exclusively audio tracks.
Do you think the design would have been superior with an MPC style tilting screen? Edit: I’m also concerned about the 2GB of RAM for DJs playing lossless files. Other than those 2 things, I’m amped.
I think a little tilt to the screen might have been nice, like with CDJs, but I don't think it's a big deal that it doesn't have any. I have also seen other people concerned about the 2GB RAM, but there's just nothing like this, so I can't wait to see what I can do with it!
it uses mpc software... the midi in is a complete fail... check out the mpc forum before you buy... you have been warned... akai is impossible to contact
Thanks, I appreciate your feedback and published your comments re: the midi issue, which were originally blocked by RUclips. It's definitely important for people to know some of the potential hiccups they may run into, thanks for taking the time to leave your comments!
I think the Force looks really dope but for how i DJ I can already achieve what i would want to do with Remix Decks. And yes, i know that the Force is a whole new beast and i'll probably eventually buy one but yeah. It's kind of nice to have everything on one screen.
Yeah, I never really grabbed onto the remix decks the way I should have, I know that, which is why I kept making sure to bring that up in the video. I think the big thing is to be able to do crazy stuff with just the Force and possibly a set of Denon 5000's and a mixer with NO computer....people are trying to get back to hardware, so I think this is another way to get there...
@@BlakeHeart For sure! I really du your video and I'm super grateful for the fact that you looked at the Force with a DJ's point of view. I too believe that the Force is not only going to be an awesome tool for producers but DJ as well. Like I said in my comment above, i do feel like i can do a lot with Traktor's remix decks but i have also been toying with the idea of going back to Serato DJ pro and that sampler or whatever they call it just plain sux!! The Force will be a welcomed piece of tech in my future rig, that is for sure. Thanks for the awesome content, i shall subscribe for sure.
Its a money maker , for a one man show scenario at a small club or restaurant . . Lay your drums , lay your bass , lay down some guitar riffs , don't forget the keys , grab the mike and its show time .
Yes, completely!!! I think it's going to change the way we all look at creating music...regardless of genre, this thing can do so many different things!
This idea that has been promulgated for so long that dj's somehow need to be able to mix other people's tracks with their own live on a device like this is ABSURD. Most major producers that create their own music just play it from a file as is with the normal live tweaks as needed. Not to mention the audio quality differences that are extremely apparent when going from a recorded piece of music to something coming live out of a box like this. Plus, sorry to break it to you but your music is most likely not on par with 99% of the artists tracks that you play, so good luck with that. Just make your own music on it and play it out somewhere.
Mac Joseph hah, I wish!! Just spent money I didn’t have in the Force, definitely can’t buy the Prime 4 right now! Maybe I can find a way to get them to send me one to play with 😉
All this is will do is glorify those hip hop-is same same same sounding finger tapping head nodding dog hoppers dun dun tee tee dun dun tee dun kppooosh...and back again`( sighs ) so yeah its for non musicians AKA DJ's.. I think its a fun toy for ppl who are not creative artists but want to copy and sample and play dumb beats over and over then I think this is a great toy. Replace your decks and use the slider yayyyy....Wow this girl does keep reporting herself over and over - yes you summed it up in the first 3 mins :) Peace out
Just read on the Denon DJ community site that Denon LINK will support the Akai Force -- this is amazing! See here: denondjforum.com/t/link-port-on-the-akai-mpc-force/11977 This means that you will be able to use the Force alongside traditional DJ equipment and sync it all up with one cable. I can't wait, I admit I was never a big Denon fan....but they are making such advancements with their product, maybe it's time to give them another shot?
I agree, I was a little skeptic with Denon and the controllers they have had in the past but they are definalty starting to give Pioneer a run for their money. Laidback Luke supporting Denon was huge and sparked my interest for sure. And now I am in the market for some new gear and I may invest in a Force and Denon setup.
i would read this first...
getsatisfaction.com/akai_professional/topics/-mpc-live-ability-to-assign-midi-channel-and-input-port-or-controller-to-specific-tracks
But link is only supported if you use Denon Sc5000 and x1800 in serato mode. In standalone mode it’s not possible
Hey, @Blake Heart Can I use this controller as a MIDI controller for FL Studio DAW?
Great review, thanks. Much better than most gear review on youtube. Subbed. Liked. Commented. Good luck with your channel!
can the fader of the Akai Force be used as the the fader of the Electron Octatrack?
i have been waiting for this type of technology for 20 years. I dreamed it. and have waited for it... hurrah!
Lol, well I purchased it and still have yet to sink the time into learning it -- definitely a lot to learn, the thing is a beast. But for those that take the time to master it, I am sure it is incredible!!
@@BlakeHeart cool. What i couldn't find online was anyone actually using it as part of the DJ workflow/live producer. either they were using it as a computerless DAW, or else just saying how great it is. I wonder, is that way there has been such a massive price drop in under 12 months? Are they phasing it out already?
The problem is I don't know what tf I actually want. I had a good time composing and arranging in Logic… two decades ago. Now I want to develop myself as a songwriter and live performer.
I saw a used Force and a used MPC One at Guitar Center yesterday for less than 600 each: finally within my budget. I've seen SnowMetal using the Force. I figured it was more suited to my goals, despite my having zero interest in learning Ableton Live. For over half an hour I struggled and failed to setup a simple 808 or rock drum kit, match tempo with the radio, and record a clip that was in sync and neither two beats nor eighteen beats.
I can't tell if the thing was unintuitive or just plain broken. Maybe the One is more my speed? Perhaps it was foolish of me to think I could just jump into a completely different workflow.
For various mental health reasons, right now I cannot make music on a PC. I use Reaper on Windows, and various things on iPhone, and I never really get anywhere. GarageBand Mobile seems to be the closest to a familiar workflow, but I keep getting tripped up by how much iOS sucks.
😮💨
I personally found the force challenging to figure out. Stick with it, there’s a learning curve to anything but if you don’t give up you’ll get there!
You can do usb to your computer on your DJ software via Ableton Link
As a DJ, I am excited to get this level of production without a laptop and software. The hassles that come with software and laptops is annoying. I prefer hardware. Fewer updates to crash your set etc. Also, you have to buy a new laptop about every 3 years. That adds up.
Secondly, I'm a guitar player. No keys. So integrating live instrumentation is difficult. The built in looper may help. As long as there is a way to preview in headphones.
The functionality of the Force is unparalleled at this price point. You are right, you can do the same in other ways but you will be spending more or not getting all the options in one place.
Really great points, thanks for adding to the conversation!
I like how you explain the Akai force. on the simple side
of things I love how powerful it Is and how compact it Is giving you power to carry It around and just plug It in when you get an Idea. :) a complete studio we can fit in a back pack
I can understand why as a DJ you first looked at pioneer..I had just bought S9 and looked at DJs 1000 and sneered at mpc live....but after geeking..ate my words...wow I learnt a lot in year lol and Denon and Akai are now owned by Inmusic...so those bad boxes gonna talk nice together😉
Yeah, I am curious to see how things play out over the next few years...and I haven't put the time into playing with the Force and hooking everything up, I need to get around to that. I have had to travel for work so it's been a little hectic!
@@BlakeHeart I slapped this together yesterday....its not as easy as just using standard Dj stuff but is far better for making a complete idea...an hour long idea😉...don't work too hard, enjoy your toys lol
ruclips.net/video/smfEa8zg4M4/видео.html
I love you and your channel! 🙏🏽 and I love your view on the Force! I can’t wait till mine gets here! I have the Push 2 and MPC Live. But this things smh yes!
Keep up the good work on your RUclips! (Watched the whole video by the way!) ☺️ stay blessed my friend!
Thank you!!!
BRAVO! Finally someone understands why this is special!
...now if only I put the time into learning how to use it, lol! It has been collecting some dust, with me playing with it from time to time. Did you buy one?
@@BlakeHeart Indeed! And I have the same problem. I like it better than my TR-8S, my two drum machines currently and its a bit more intimidating. The things that will make it IT, I hope come around soon. Last update was a plus but I thought it would come with ALS full integration and then arrangement/song mode soon.
Great review and insight, Blake! You nail so many points I also share with people.
Thanks, I love talking about this stuff, always pondering about gear and technology, it's good to get the conversations out of my brain and out there for the world to listen to :)
Great to the point video
3:35 Actually standalone music production boxes (no laptop required) have been around for a while -- nothing new here. Checkout Korg EM-1, or Roland SP808.
When this came out - I thought that this was going to potentially work through Link with the Denon, it does not, and that does not exist. It will work sync with Ableton Link, which you can sync with Serato and play your Denon through HID to sync. It's not that standalone production boxes haven't existed, it is that it is a pain in the butt to use them in a DJing situation because syncing becomes a nightmare -- not that it's not doable, but it takes work...
Hola sabes si linkea con rekordbox? lo quiero para utilizar como el DJS 1000, tengo el push 3 pero no es lo que busco, tu crees que el Akai Force me servira, el link en como el DJS 1000 y si tiro sampler y bases estaran sincronizados? muchas gracias por tu video y por tu atencion. !!!
You make great points! Very good review! Thank you for sharing this!
Hells yeah. I see this as a totally different way of tabletop hardware production with a touch of MPC without totally being an MPC
I think it will have more ease of use that an MPC .and 64 pads of samples on screen at 1 time. I had to preordered it yesterday. My pioneer sp16. Is still a crippled unit. The Force is what the pioneer was supposed to be
Interesting comments, thanks for post them!
I’m late to the game, but totally agree. Did all my best music projects on a QY700 and this gear is exactly that and more. So exciting.
I had to look up what a QY700 was - very interesting stuff, looks like there are still a few out there in the world too. What did that retail for originally? I read somewhere it might have been like $2200 in today's dollars...just curious?
Blake Heart ... I‘m showing my age here, but in the 90s, the only hardware sequencers worth their value were MPCs & the under appreciated QY series. If you wanted a rock solid hardware sequencer that you could rough sketch / compose tunes on ... it would be very similar to the Force but in a hardware that was all bitmatrix and looking like a giant GameBoy screen. This UK triphop artist Tricky talked about making beats on it while riding the trains in London, and how he’d swap the internal midi sounds for studio gear when he was in the studio. Akai Force is prob the best refresh / expansion of that idea that I’ve seen yet. Side note the QY700 never broke out as popular machine, but for me, it was my MAIN sequencer till at-least 2012.
Found an biography where he talks about it... www.moon-palace.de/tricky/press_pmt2.html
Also worth noting. It’s pretty possible to beat match techno / house on vinyl with the Force... feels a bit janky right now, but it’s very doable.
I have no interest in being a d.j., although I used to many years ago. I pre ordered it immediately, because of the speed I can put tracks together. For me, it's an abbreviated, express version of the mpcx, plus. . I almost..bought the live to compliment the X, and this is just a couple hundred more, which made it very easy to justify the purchase. Chord progressions is another reason, very powerful features. Can put high quality tracks together, very quickly.
Very cool, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I just can't wait to get this in my hands, see how I can use it -- and to see Just Blaze's video which Akai will hopefully publish soon (if they haven't already) to see how he's using it out there in the world!
I am looking forward on you doing a demo on all these ideas.
Lol, me too...but I imagine there's going to be a steep learning curve for me to get where I want to be, no problem, I got it!
@@BlakeHeart I have been trying to find out as much as possible on this unit, live I used to use Elektron gear in a band with two Guitars, Keys and vox, but it became a little cumbersome and the load times between tracks was too long, so I recorded and edited all the tracks to stereo backing plus a few one shots and loops and put it all into an SPD-SX and we just play over the top and trigger a few things, so looking at this unit I would have to look at a scene as an individual song which I would place track length stems in the clips and then change tempos between songs I guess, but it doesn't appear to be able to scroll past 8 clips down so you would have to change projects if you were playing more than 8 songs, all the demos I've seen treat one song as one project so far.
Wow! So I ended up here looking at more expansions for my akai mpc live and your video was very informative because I have chosen my next setup to be the denon dj media players (currently using roland dj 808) and I'm a producer turned dj (because hey its fun performing not only your stuff but everyone else!) and clearly I want more stand alone stuff because its a major hassle to keep everything synced and in time. You saved me because I wanted to add something for the remix side of things and now the facts about the Pioneer Dj 1000 would definitely not be a great addition to my setup. I could add Ableton because I do use that for productions but again setting that up and making it work seamless for me is a big time killer. Since I already know the work flow of Akai's machinery I will be going with the FORCE! Thanks for this very detailed video!
You are welcome, have fun with it! I am still digging into mine...just can't seem to put the dedication into it that I need to in order to figure it out and how I want to personally use it!
3.1 is out now ! Halelujah
Right, I still need to update but looks awesome!
I agree 100%. The only thing I hope for is that AKAI releases SDK/wrapper that allows VST plugins/effects packs to be used because that's all that's missing at this point.
Regardless, this is definitely a leap forward.
Edit. I mean either a dev kit so existing plugin makers just have to use their library to compile plugins for the akai or a wrapper/converter.
Either-way, Akai must understand that people want to leverage the existing effects and synths out there with the force.
that will never happen unless its a partner like air FX. Imagine the support issues when X plugin that someone developed is messing up your force. Also thats why it will hook to live so all the plugins can be accessed there. There will probably be a flatten feature to bring the track that was processed back into standalone just like the MPCs work.
Owen Sands , er, no , they can do like Apple and have a federated plugin store or some kind of program where only approved and signed plugins can be added.
You realize they already have this since the AIR is just had their plugins deployed across the Live the X and the force ... so your assertion is incorrect as they already have a third party partner doing this. Next should be Waves.
@@JCooperAudioSystems right they are partners. They aren't going to let just anyone add plugins unless they are an actual partner imo. Maybe they will get more partners that dev plugins but there are only enough for 16 instances anyway on the unit which means its fairly limited in that regard.
Owen Sands what I wrote was that Akai should release a plugin conversion kit or a virtual vst host for their force.
Then you could have both approved and non approved vst’s running.
This is what you can do now on a DAW - if they want to compete they have to open up the platform. Partnering is a first step but open sourcing the SDK for their plugin format wouldn’t hurt. The future is open.
I understand your concern with stability but I would love to make my own sound widgets or use what other devs have created. Look at Reaktor or Max for live. Tons of very stable downloadable patches and modules / effects etc.
Awesome rant - watched until the end - You just got another subscriber - Keep it up! 🤗😁👊
Thank you, much appreciated!!!
@Blake Heart Hey, can I use this controller as a MIDI controller for FL Studio DAW?
No idea...but this would be one expensive midi--controller. Why not grab the Akai Fire that was built for FL? Seems like that would be the best fit, and much more economical!
Still wondering if i can play some longer loops. Someone talked about missing ability of streaming audio from ssd or so. I do not understand the limit. If i want to have my whole dj set consists of my own tracks, that will be splited into like 8stems like 8bar loops and i will have like 12tunes which means 12x8 loops at least and i want to mix them live like a dj set. Nobody was able to answer me, if i can use it like “standalone” alternative for ableton clips and scenes even if the loop will be lets say 1minute long or so. Still do not understand how to do proper djing with this and if it is possible somehow. I miss some video about it. Most of the live djs like Worakls, Ben Bohmer or other deephouse or techno djs / live performers use ableton. But macbook, ableton, controller, soundcard - you need big stage, enough space, multicables.. force is like 2x stereo out, 1x DC 230V and you can play... would be really crazy if it can fully replace ableton djing.
From my research, the processing power can get in the way but I don't know this first hand. I read that you want to make sure your stems are shortened, i.e. possibly not the whole 6 minutes of the underlying drums, but rather predefined clips that you are using -- which most people using it like you would be doing anyway since you are working on creating your track live. You can only have 8 tracks going across in a single project and there is no way to seamlessly switch to another project. That means you can only DJ from one project file, so you are absolutely limited to the 8 tracks across. Here's a good thread on it -- getsatisfaction.com/akai_professional/topics/using-akai-force-instead-of-ableton-live-for-dj-sets
Sorry I can't offer first hand use information for you, good luck!!!
they make it really difficult to install the expansions packs, =,(
You mean the MPC ones? I have never tried, but good to know!
@@BlakeHeart you need the MPC 2 software to install them onto the force, I had to ask akia to send me a demo version so I could open the expansions
Thanks Blake, im subbing
Thanks for subbing, much appreciated!
I'd love to hear what you think of the AF seven months after making this video ('What this means for DJs and Live Performers: the AKAI FORCE') . Possible follow-up video?
The truth, I still haven't spent the time diving into it - it's intimidating and I don't have a lot of free time. I still have hopes and dreams for it and even though it is currently collecting dust, learning the insides and outs of the force is on my to-do list for sure. I have pondered selling it, but I just think that potential is there and not that many people are screwing with it, so there's a lot of it untapped -- once I get to spend some real time with it, and feel that I am ready, I will make more videos...
@@BlakeHeart I boxed mine up for a few months for similar reasons. Then a few weeks ago I decided to give it one more shot. I haven't stop using it since. For me it was training my brain to use the rather wonky, counter intuitive UI/workflow. But once I got comfortable with the fundamentals, the thing has become an extension of my brain. I'm not playing/djing out with it yet , but I'm getting closer.
Hey blake this videos a year old now, how has it been since, did you get on with it well
the amount of exciting I had about the force was crazy -- the amount of dust it has collected since I got it is embarrassing...I really haven't dug into it, I need to, I want to, I refuse to sell it, some day I will make more videos about it and on it...
Bloody hell pull your finger out of your ass. Now is the time.
The Force is a computer tho its runs off the Akai mpc software
I think the link in back of force is for pioneer link? If you want to hook em up you can use ableton link and turn on in serato, I got mpc live in sync with 1210😂
Pioneer's link is proprietary, meaning it only talks to other Pioneer units...but there are ways around that apparently. I don't have experience with it. But the fact that Denon is going to offer their Link to recognize the force is huge....
Can you explain what you mean re: ableton link and serato using MPC live? Or point me to a video, thanks!
@@BlakeHeart I like new denon but kinda ....now don't hate me lol..not big fan of that stuff, just personal still think its awesome lol, I like 1210s...so I got 2 x 1210 mk2 on serato, 2x mpc lives and S9 mixer using Ableton link..but heck that's big, you ain't taking that out, and what I've learned from MPC is clips can be any length, so think favorite bit of track....seems no brainer, here's hoping crossfader is good enough lol
@@BlakeHeart so you open ableton...and I don't use it..EXCEPT FOR CLOCK....LINK....but its open and click, but you click on ableton link...then do same in serato and on mpc and everything is clocked to ableton..and then you midi out from mpc to midi gear lol
Great video,well-researched just by mentioning SP-16 and DJS-1000.
I am in a simmilar situation that i am looking for a live setup that will work without any Laptop around.At the moment the planning was Denon SC-5000 M (turntablist here),Reloop RP-8000 for the scratches and the sole fact that with an instrumental scratch LP alongside with the tone-shifting capability that the RP-8000 has pretty much makes it sound and work as a synth rather than a turntable.A 3-Channel or 4-Channel analogue mixer alongside with either Akai MPC Live or Akai Force.But for quite a while I was really thinking for SP-16 because it just sounded cool and when it worked,it worked amazingly,but with 16 second of sampling time (it might be 32 but I might be wrong,anyway anything under a whole minute is depressing) can't be taken that seriously.
Now the only thing I would consider much more is Akai MPC Live.It pretty much does what the SP-16 couldn't,with only problem being that it can be slower to apply FX and filters while on live performance,which can be a deal breaker,but the sampling capabilities really makes it tempting.
Now the whole linking thing is not going to be solved soon.The problem is the software on each unit,pioneer being the most distant from all the other companies is the last that will actually do anything about it,which is actually understandable.Denon even though comes from the same company that owns Rane,Akai,Numark and M-Audio it doesn't seem that any of those companies have simillar software to the point that linking connection would be possible with no issues.The only company so far that has direct collaboration with Akai is Numark with NS 7 flagship series that had the MPC pads,yet Akai didn't even bothered to have a pre-mapping selection for their DAW softwares to connect NS7 right in.So linking a standalone unit that runs an Akai production software to a DJ software limited standalone unit like the Denon players....I don't know I don't think we will see it soon without massive requests for it.
It's good to notice that currectly the live performance DJ scene has its chance to get a direct lighting through Serato Studio, a DAW software that is directly aimed at DJs and actually it has hardware support mostly on DJ hardware units rather than the typical MIDI controllers that we usually see.Now in case that Serato decides that a dedicated controller for Serato Studio is pointfull for their customers they might release it,probably the first version won't be a standalone unit but who knows,it might eventually become something simillar to MPC Live based on the Serato Studio software and focused on DJ's usage and thus being optimal for live performance.
Wow, you did your home work too... When it comes down to it there's far from a perfect solution - even the force has issues with processing power if you load long songs/stems, you really need to edit down to smaller stems before you can rely on this for a whole set. I know that I need to get some more videos up of the Force but the truth is I have never made the time to truly get to know the hardware...but I am still holding onto it like a fool because I want to get to know it...
@@BlakeHeart Well good luck with it.Force requires quite a lot more time compared to Live,first of all because it has more feature but also because it is a relatively new consept and not much have been discovered yet,meanwhile in MPC Live,from the knowledge of previous MPC alone we know a lot of tricks to mess around.
For our own good USB is there and as far as i know you can use USB storage and use song from there as playback sampler (again it requires proccessing time to load the USB storage).
Another thing that you might find interesting is the Elektron Octatrack that has a whole simpler layout and interface since it is based on a stepsequencer and you can buy a lot more time with things made on that kind of samplers,at the cost of flavour though.I don't think Octatrack can ever get the same flavour in the same time if compared with something like Force or MPC Live.
Finally Boss RCs are something that DJs really haven't used enough and it might has a place on live performances as well.
I don't know i am really fascinated with the concept of live performance and i think DJs nowadays have really underutilised the technology we get.RP 8000 is a synth under cover,yet everyone is bothered with Rane 12,which is amazing piece don't get me wrong,but it only brings qualities of life rather than new concept or any way of expanding the art.
Looking forward for your update on Force.
I’m coming back to these comments - and it really hit me when you say djs nowadays have really underutilized technology. I started looking back at Traktor, Kontrol S8, remix decks, stems and realize how I didn’t understand it when it all came out OR I couldn’t see how I as a DJ could use it. I just watched a Moldover video on the F1s and remix decks and it was awesome. It was from 2012, almost 10 years ago! Anyway, re-read this comment and had to reply!!!
Btw, I still haven’t dug into the force yet but this 3.1 update seems incredible! Should definitely cut down processing/load times.
The issue is the amount of tracks. 8 is limiting, i thought it could handle more by scrolling but apparently not. Maybe Im wrong.
I thought it could handle more by scrolling too -- like 128 or something. We need more demos!
I think it depends on the type of track. I think an official demo said 8 audio, 8 midi, and 128 drum tracks. So maybe that could be limiting to some people that wanted to do exclusively audio tracks.
What does 8 tracks means? Nobody can explain this in normal terms.
Do you think the design would have been superior with an MPC style tilting screen?
Edit: I’m also concerned about the 2GB of RAM for DJs playing lossless files. Other than those 2 things, I’m amped.
I think a little tilt to the screen might have been nice, like with CDJs, but I don't think it's a big deal that it doesn't have any. I have also seen other people concerned about the 2GB RAM, but there's just nothing like this, so I can't wait to see what I can do with it!
@@BlakeHeart Same! Thanks for the response! Was craving content on this machine and your video got me hyped(: Cheers!
You don’t need as much ram when using hardware and software that’s made for each other, the ram is utilized much better.
it uses mpc software... the midi in is a complete fail... check out the mpc forum before you buy... you have been warned... akai is impossible to contact
Thanks, I appreciate your feedback and published your comments re: the midi issue, which were originally blocked by RUclips. It's definitely important for people to know some of the potential hiccups they may run into, thanks for taking the time to leave your comments!
I think the Force looks really dope but for how i DJ I can already achieve what i would want to do with Remix Decks. And yes, i know that the Force is a whole new beast and i'll probably eventually buy one but yeah. It's kind of nice to have everything on one screen.
Yeah, I never really grabbed onto the remix decks the way I should have, I know that, which is why I kept making sure to bring that up in the video. I think the big thing is to be able to do crazy stuff with just the Force and possibly a set of Denon 5000's and a mixer with NO computer....people are trying to get back to hardware, so I think this is another way to get there...
@@BlakeHeart For sure! I really du your video and I'm super grateful for the fact that you looked at the Force with a DJ's point of view. I too believe that the Force is not only going to be an awesome tool for producers but DJ as well. Like I said in my comment above, i do feel like i can do a lot with Traktor's remix decks but i have also been toying with the idea of going back to Serato DJ pro and that sampler or whatever they call it just plain sux!! The Force will be a welcomed piece of tech in my future rig, that is for sure. Thanks for the awesome content, i shall subscribe for sure.
Cheers :@)
Cheers!
how do you connect a turn table to the force
I haven't done this yet...but there is no ground, so if you need one you will need an adapter. If you have a newer turntable, you should be ok.
Blake Heart video on this would be cool
JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAAAAA...Niños enteraros bien de las cosas..animo con alegrias....
Its a money maker , for a one man show scenario at a small club or restaurant . . Lay your drums , lay your bass , lay down some guitar riffs , don't forget the keys , grab the mike and its show time .
Yes, completely!!! I think it's going to change the way we all look at creating music...regardless of genre, this thing can do so many different things!
And deal with people walking up to you requesting Usher all night long.
A ver si evolucionais...viva el Disc Show Man como yo lo digo....
This idea that has been promulgated for so long that dj's somehow need to be able to mix other people's tracks with their own live on a device like this is ABSURD. Most major producers that create their own music just play it from a file as is with the normal live tweaks as needed. Not to mention the audio quality differences that are extremely apparent when going from a recorded piece of music to something coming live out of a box like this. Plus, sorry to break it to you but your music is most likely not on par with 99% of the artists tracks that you play, so good luck with that. Just make your own music on it and play it out somewhere.
Can’t push it must FORCE it!!!!!
Review the new Denin DJ Prime 4!! Everyone is talking about it!!
Mac Joseph hah, I wish!! Just spent money I didn’t have in the Force, definitely can’t buy the Prime 4 right now! Maybe I can find a way to get them to send me one to play with 😉
Don’t worry most purist aren’t going anywhere in life.
All this is will do is glorify those hip hop-is same same same sounding finger tapping head nodding dog hoppers dun dun tee tee dun dun tee dun kppooosh...and back again`( sighs ) so yeah its for non musicians AKA DJ's.. I think its a fun toy for ppl who are not creative artists but want to copy and sample and play dumb beats over and over then I think this is a great toy. Replace your decks and use the slider yayyyy....Wow this girl does keep reporting herself over and over - yes you summed it up in the first 3 mins :) Peace out