Akai MPC Key 61 Michael Jackson's Thriller
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- Опубликовано: 1 май 2023
- David Coate's rendition of Michael Jackson's Thriller on the Akai MPC Key 61.
#akaimpc #davidcoate #michaeljackson #gregphillinganes #quincyjones
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www.davidcoate.com
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That was dope
Phenomenal
Why thank you! It was very fun to do, esp. since the goal was not to precisely match the original.
Damn amazing I had no idea it could replicate a hit as thriller I’m getting one soon
Right! The Thriller vibe does generally fall within the "beat maker" category (Linn drum machine), so it makes sense that Key 61 might be a good tool for the song. However, I am pretty convinced that you could throw any style at this machine! Check out my cover of Stevie Wonder's Isnt She Lovely. Vocals, everything was done on the Key 61. I wanted to see if it could replace an entire computer based DAW.
I have this keyboard as well and love it. Great job on the remake!
Awesome! Taking a stab at Thriller was fun. Quick and dirty of course, but I wanted to experiment to see how the process would unfold. I'm really impressed with the keyboard. I think that we underestimate the power of music tools that make songwriting, composing, etc. easier and more fun!
Hold up, These stock sounds? cause if so thats all i need to know
@@DETERMINOLOGY not all are stock. The Fabric XL library has most of them.
@@dccarsonmusic ima have to check that out
Yep. Just stock sounds. As a matter of fact, there are tons of other great sounds I could have used, but I wanted to see how quickly I could do this so I wasn't terribly selective.
Just subscribed. This was a great video. You should have a list of the presets you used or save templates of these songs to put up for sale like they do for the Roland Fantom. I would definitely purchase it. As you said, finding the sounds on this keyboard takes a while.
Here are the presets: Acoustic Kit TL Pimp Live Kit, Percussion Kit Cowbell Agogo Kit, Percussion Kit Conga Kit, Odessy Classic Bass, Hype Analog Brass, and Fabric XL Edge
Hi David, Great demo 👍👍👍
I Have the key 61 and MPC-One too. To find sounds much quicker I made expansions myself per category (piano's, brass, choir, bass etc) with a short example of the sound when I scroll over it. It takes some work but realy helps a lot speeding up the flow of the composing proces. Plugins are already categorisized but have the boring loading time
Great idea and thanks for mentioning! As I mentioned, I am very new to the MPC world so I am just figuring things out as I go. I've only used the MPC software version a couple of times, but I am noticing a search tool there. Maybe someone in the MPC community knows more about that.
That was very good for an hour’s work.
Thanks! Of course one could spend many hours on a production if the purpose was a master quality recording, but I wanted to see how quickly this could come together without butchering it. 😂 I'm sure the video part took way longer.
I totally agree regarding Finding sounds very Challenging to say the least.
I had mine for about 3 months now. & just recently took it out on a Blues gig The Organ was Speaking really nice as well as the Eps and Killer Piano. The Sounds Are Amazing🔥
Glad to hear you're enjoying it! I agree- the organs are very nice. I like the fact that the drawbars are accessible on the touchscreen. When playing live, I have multiple sounds set up on individual tracks, and consequently haven't found a way to get to the organ drawbars quickly enough.
@@davidcoate8946 Hmm,
Did you try by hitting Edit because it takes you straight there
Also you can create a shortcut as well. It's on RUclips👍🏽
@@puresoulg . Yes I know about the edit button, but that's one too many steps with my live setups. I didn't know about the shortcut idea- I'll check it out. Thanks!
Great video.!!! Can you show us how you did the first song before Thriller.?
Thank you! Oh, if you mean the intro music, that's just one of the demos on board the keyboard. I haven't looked at the MIDI tracks or patches, but the music itself is super simple of course.
Nice! Subbed. Bass line was a tad loud, but youve given me inspiration to do some 80s tunes. What does the kb use for storage? Ive seen other vids where it takes a second or 2 to load a sample when switching(i see the load bar top right on screen). Thats a tad long to load imo.
Its on sale right now for 1,500. If i didnt recently nab a korg nautilus and a roland fantom 06, id grab one right now. Ill check again in a few months for any sales when these boards are paid off.
Keep making vids, looking forward to seeing what you accomplish with the akai. Now on to tinkering with these boards of mine....
Thanks for the encouragement! Load time is not an issue for me since I am mainly using sequences just for composition. For live use I have just been loading up a few tracks with go to keyboards- grand piano, pad, strings, rhodes, B3.... Instant switching back and forth. I made a few drone pads as sequences which is also pretty cool. Using this thing live with some percussion etc. sequences is cool too.
Do you think this would work as a modern recreation of an old ESQ Mirage, EPS, ASR10 and fair light type deal? I only have room for one more big keyboard and I was thinking get a super deep synth but I love sampling so much more not going to make any kind of beats for rap but more noisy vaguely industrial vibe.
I also wonder how well it’ll mix and work as a controller for my vintage Roland, and Korg synths
Wow, great questions! I remember those keyboards back in the day. I would think so since it has such a vast library of sounds, modern and old school. Akai is of course known for sampling, although I probably won't get to that for another year. Hahaha!
Controller. Hmmm.... The keybed is not stellar, although its not too bad. What I have noticed is that the vertical excursion of the keys seems less than other keyboards although I mainly play weighted 88 key systems which is an unfair comparison. On the other hand, this 61 key keyboard flys with fast B3 runs. Actually, I am using it as a controller because it fits nicely under the production desk which is a game changer for editing on a DAW.
Hope this helps!
Brilliantly done. 🎉 what about guitar and choir voices?
Thank you! Well, as I mentioned in the video my goal was expediency and not to try to duplicate the original. Just enough so the music would be recognizeable. The muted Strat part that I played is similar to Paul Jackson Jr's track, but it was just one of the stock patches on the MPC. So for example, I could have plugged my Strat into the MPC but instead went for expediency.
Great video. I agree that there needs to be an easier way to filter through. Sounds. They need a search engine that allows you to search per instrument. which they kind of have, but it’s really diluted in how it works. There are so many on the stock keyboard, that it’s tough to understand what you’re looking at when you do finally do a search.
On top of that, they also need to stop focusing on one area of music. Meaning that… they need more acoustic drums, they need more guitars and acoustic basses. They need to make this a more rounded instrument for all musicians for all genres of music . The good thing is, they made it very easy to import your own library into the unit. Essentially be able to make your own plug-ins with the sounds that you want in them. So that you can then make your own way of sorting.
But, you shouldn’t have to leap through hoops in order to do that. The amount of plug-ins and effects is staggering in this unit. The fact that it has its own harmonizer and guitar/bass amp simulation is pretty amazing. along with a suite of tools to master on it if you really want to. I do wish they had an iPad app that mimicked the PC software. other than those few things, it’s an incredible workstation. Something that Akai hasn’t done a great job advertising.
Because if they had, they would’ve sold a lot more units. Especially if everybody knew all of the features building into it. It’s essentially a portable DAW in a small box. Would love to see them put a rechargeable battery in it that would last 12 hours or more. As is though, it’s small enough that I can use rechargeable battery that I have and take it to the beach or anywhere else with me. To get that extra inspiration to write.
In any case, great video. I would love to talk to you about MIDI sometime. As I want to use the drum software that I have in my iPad to create my drum beats and import them over to the MPC key 61. I don’t have any great experience with MIDI though. So any help would be awesome. Thank you again.
Nick, your comments are spot on and so helpful! As you know, MPC has been around for a long time and much of the institutional knowledge and evolution of this keyboard appears to revolve around beatmaking, hip hop, and related genres. Even just the addition of a keyboard (ergonomically) thrust it into a sea of new possibilities of sounds and styles of music. So yes, it would serve the broader music community better if designers approached the concept of the Key 61 with this in mind! That's one of the reasons that I have been attempting to throw many different styles at it to see how flexible it is. In one sense, it is super flexible because its a sampler, but by the same token I want to make music quickly without fooling too much with technology. :) Your example of creating drum parts in your iPad is a perfect example. Almost anything played on the Key 61 pads will sound drum-machine-like, and not like a real acoustic drum kit part. My guess is that the fastest way to do this would be to create an audio (wave) file of the drum part and then import that into the Key 61. iI imaginie that others have more to say on this subject. Thanks again for reaching out!
@@davidcoate8946 like you, I generally want to get to sounds quick and not have to jump through hoops to get to the creative process. Because the longer you hesitate, the easier it is to lose the magic in your head, that originally made you sit down and want to record. So, through the MPC Key PC software that came with the keyboard, you can easily create a batch of sounds as if it is a sound pack. A gentleman on RUclips that creates videos, has sold me a few of those sound packs that he has created from high-quality instruments that he’s recorded.
I have a great pack of studio drums, acoustic/electric basses and acoustic/electric guitars that he sent me that are incredible. Perfect for rock. It’s nuts how good they are. The problem is, I lost his contact info to figure out how he creates those sound packs. Because, if I knew, I would create a bunch of my own. as I have a ton of East West sounds that I bought years ago, that sound better than anything I’ve ever heard. They were recorded at Abbey Road Studios and have a variety of real instruments recorded, that I would love to import to the MPC Key.
Not to mention, there’s a guy on eBay that I bought a bunch of sounds from that does nothing but copy all of the sounds from different keyboards. Their entire sound set, that I would love to copy over. The good thing about the MPC key is that you can save projects as templates. Which means, you can load up the best drums, keys, bass, guitar and any other instrument that you use to make a song… Save it out as a template and have it load when the keyboard turns on an empty sequence with those sounds loaded up. Which makes a very quick way to start writing and recording music.
Not only that, the sounds will save with the EQ/effects that you attached to them in those templates. So you can make them sound as perfect as you want… essentially master those sounds, so that when you record, that recording is going to sound perfect from the start. Meaning that there will be less work on the back end. Like you, I want the easiest way to start recording that sounds great and takes the least amount of effort to start on that creative process. Because, as you know, the ideas seem to disappear as fast as a appear in your head. Lol.
In any case, it’s great talking to you about this stuff. If I find out how to make those sound packs, I will let you know. I’ve been diving in deep to learn this keyboard inside and out lately. It is an amazing piece of tech. It just takes a lot of time to learn it’s intricacies. Once you do, you realize exactly what they packed into this little keyboard.
Great information! Thanks. I didn't know about that template idea. It would be helpful to have RUclips videos on this sort of thing because so many of them are geared to just beat making and not necessarily taking full advantage of this incredible machine!
Could this be done with the new Akai MPC Key 37?
Thanks for the video.
One would think so right? I haven't looked at the specs but probably the only notable difference is a smaller keyboard. I prefer the 61 keys for live playing but kudos to Akai for providing a small alternative!
I have my MPC Key 61 connected to the Akai Force which syncs flawlessly. The clip-based sequencing on the Akai Force is much easier than on the MPC Key 61. I am hoping that Akai could update the MPC Key 61 with a clip-based sequencer using the pads on the MPC Key 61 which would be amazing. Having both machines connected give so much versatility in creation and the MPC Key 61 offers a fantastic key bed and use of the touch strip is just so customizable.
Good to know! I haven't used clip-based sequencing yet on the MPC Key 61, but I'm sure others like you have. Sounds like your setup is amazing!
@@davidcoate8946 Akai MPC Key 61 does not have the clip-based sequencing. Only the Akai Force has it and it is super easy to use! The Force blows the MPC Key 61 away when it comes to creating songs.
@@manofsound9098 MPC has clip launching on tracks in rows of four. In the track view in the main window, look to the icon to the left of MIDI in track type.
I have the Key 61.....I chose Depeche Mode's 'I just can't get enough' to remake. I haven't had time to record the vocals yet, which I'm going to do all on the Key61, but it's done an amazing job of recreating the synths that Vince Clark used. It's funny, because I have the original track running as one audio track, to which I've tracked the tempo and done the remake, it's funny how the old recording (possibly done on 16 track 1" or 24 track 2" tape) sounds so dull compared to the AKAI. I must finish it. I also have a TASCAM Model 24 hooked up to the Key 61 with just a USB lead and it allows you to use real faders when mixing.....it's an awesome setup.
Very cool!
Hi David,
Excellent videos and review so far of the key 61 -- I am planning to get one for myself.
As a (very amateur) piano player I was a bit concerned about the keys on this workstation but it sounds like they are fairly easy to get used to and the other advantages of the key 61 far outweigh this relatively minor drawback i.e. the keybed compared to a higher priced workstation like the Fantom series or a fully weighted controller keyboard.
Side question -- what are the brands of the two way monitors visible in the video?
Thanks -- and keep up the good work on the videos!
Thank you Allen. I'm definitely having fun with this keyboard! It's not perfect, but Akai has checked off so many boxes with it. Plus, as I mentioned, I am new to the MPC workflow which others have been immersed in for years. The touchscreens are Acer. They are relatively inexpensive, and I selected them along with Presonus Studio One for a "virtual console" approach. Over the years we have had huge hardware consoles in here and I used this more minimalistic approach which is also more future proof.
Hello accidently came across this. Nice job on the track. I don't have the keyboard but do have mpc live 2. I use it to create eveything from blues to metal to new wave to ballads. It suits me more than a DAW and I use it exvuldivly for production and record my instruments directly into the mpc.
@@DarminDeflern Very cool! Thanks for sharing this.
Cool video, nice studio... Intro mix between voice & background music with just a room mic made initial dialogue less clear though! Otherwise very neat!
I know, right? Hahaha! Apparently I don't have enough attention span for my own video productions. I'm more of a music production guy anyways. 🙂
👍#059
Akai desperately needs to stream samples and instruments from SSD. Not only to demo them but also for live playing.
Very true! The sample loading time can be a real problem. As a workaround for live playing, I'm just loading up various presets on tracks and then muting individual ones as needed. Pretty cool in conjunction with sequences also loaded up in the same project file!
The problem is the mpc converts the loaded 16/24 bit samples to 32bit float to work on it efficiently in the memory. I don't think it's possible to do this on the fly.
Not bad.... a little stiff... but it shows it can be done on the akai mpc 61
Get a better vocal mic