The Best MPC for Beginners [2020 Reviews]

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products

If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the Best MPC for beginners is, then I strongly recommend the Akai Professional MPC Studio Music controller

I am sure you will agree with me when I say…

Music production especially Hip Hop is a bit difficult and daunting

Or is it?

Well it turns out that you can become a better producer by using any of the best mpc for beginners reviewed in this article.

This is because the Akai Mpc drum machines and samplers are some of the simplest and easiest ways to get started in music production.

And as a beginner you want to make sure that you get something that is really of high quality and gives you that level of creativity that you desire.

In this article, we will be looking at the top 5 best mpc for beginners, what you need to consider before you make a purchase and how to get the best from your newly acquired beat machine.

Our Winner After Careful Research

Akai Professional MPC X

IN A HURRY? HERE’S OUR TOP PICKS…

Image

Title

Rating

Akai MPC 1000 Drum Machine

Akai MPC Touch

Akai MPC Renaissance

History of the Akai Mpc Drum Machine

If you have been anywhere near the hip hop music production scene, then you know that the Akai drum machines and samplers are the leading beat making machine in the industry.

They have been dominating in the music production (especially hip hop) scene for years when they first came out in 1984.

They can be used in most music genre but are especially used in sampling in hip hop.

Here are some benefits of using a drum machine when producing

  • It makes your workflow so much easier as it is more comfortable to get started

  • It has a lot of sampler functions that make for easy automation, customization and special effects

  • It helps you get the timing of your beats easily

Things to consider before making a purchase

1. What is your budget?

This is probably the most important question you need to ask before you buy an MPC.

As a beginner you want to make sure that you get something that is of high quality and will also last for long time

You need to think ahead. While it may be convenient for you right now to get something cheap and with less features, you should remember that later on you may need something more advanced.

As a rule of thumb, you want to get something that is in the middle. Not to expensive and not too cheap either.

2. What will you be using it for?

While the Akai Mpc samplers and drum machines are basically for  use in the studio, they are also very good for live performances.

They have even been used by some DJs during their shows.

So you need to know exactly what you want to use it for. If it’s going to be used solely in the studio for production then you need to take that into consideration and get something that supports just that.

3. What are the features you need?

A good Akai MPC drum machine will come with different features.

Depending on the purpose for which you are getting it, you need to consider the features that come with it.

This point has to do with the one mentioned above. If you are using them just as drum machines and samplers then you need to make sure that they have those features.

4. What sound are you looking for?

This is one factor that you need to consider.

Different mpc machines have different sounds that they produces. Some are vintage and warm, while some are gritty with a lot of bass.

It is simply a personal choice. You go with what feels right and what you prefer.

There is no hard and fast rule here

Our Top 5 Best MPC for Beginners

1. Akai Professional MPC1000 Drum Machine

Best MPC for BeginnersBest MPC for BeginnersBest MPC for Beginners

This is probably the most common and widely used drum machine in the Akai series.

It is a pattern based and linear 64 track drum machine that has 32 midi channels

It is also a 32 voice drum and phase sampler with 128 RAM memory making it very fast and easy to deal with.

It has velocity and pressure sensitive pads that makes your programming and sequencing job so much easier.

It has 2 onboard effects processors and 1 main out effects processor that gives you so much creativity when being used.

It has 2 Q link sliders that helps with real time control and performance

It has a built in flash drive and USB port for storing your files and also for easy setup.

It comes with analog and digital inputs, a headphone output and 2 MIDI ports. This helps to give you options when hooking it up to your other equipment.

2. Akai Professional MPC Renaissance

This is one of the high powered Akai MPC drum machines that comes with lots of features.

It comes with 9 gig of unique sounds that gets your creative juices flowing immediately.

It has 16 MPC pads and 16 touch sensitive Q-link controls that helps increase the effectiveness of your workflow.

It comes with an XLR ¼ input port and also has turntable inputs which helps you import samples from wherever you please.

It comes with it’s own 4 channels USB audio interface that lets you easily record your audio.

It has 2 MIDI inputs, 4 MIDI outputs and S/PDIF I/O that lets you stay connected to as many extra gear as you want.

3. Akai Professional MPC Studio

The Akai Professional MPC studio is more than just a drum machine.

It has been upgraded and designed to feel better and look more professional.

It is a USB powered digital workstation, which weighs less than 2 pounds making it very portable and easy to carry around.

It has large knobs, scroll wheels and an aluminium wheel that improves the experience when using it.

It has 16 MPC pads and 4 control knobs that gives you as much options as you need when producing.

It comes with 7 GB of sounds making it easy for you to use it out of the box.

4. Akai Professional MPC Touch

This is one of the more advanced models in the Akai series.

It has a 7 inch color touch display screen that makes navigation dn use very easy.

It has 16 velocity  sensitive pads with backlighting that helps in making the beat making process very enjoyable.

It has a 2 in and 2 out audio interface, a step sequencer with touch interface and a XYFX control that lets you easily add effects as you go.

It has a unique phrase looper that allows you connect any instrument and easily create a loop

It has a pad mixer for setting the levels and also for stereo panning and adding effects

It has a unique sample edit control that helps you trim, chop and process your samples without stress.

5. Akai MPC 2000 Sampler

This is a polyphony 32 voices MIDI control sampler that makes chopping and sampling very easy.

It is a 16 bit device with 2 MB memory that can be expanded to 32 MB.

It has built in floppy disk with an SCSI interface.

It supports sample data from the S1000 and S3000 samplers and lots of unique libraries.

It supports .Wav files and has 16 velocity pedals for quick and easy beat making.

How to use an MPC Drum Machine

Here is a YouTube video showing you how to get started making a beat with an MPC drum machine

Conclusion

Getting one of this bad boys is sure to take your beat making skills to another level.

All you need to do is to make sure that you get a drum machine that is of high quality and will last for a long time.

All the products listed in this article meet this criteria.

If you have any comments leave them in the box below

All images were sourced from Amazon.com

Written by Uche Ibe

Uche Ibe is a passionate Singer, Studio Engineer and Blogger. I enjoy teaching people how to sing and helping them become better singers. When I am not singing, you can catch me at the Tennis court.

4 Comments

Leave a Reply
    • The MPC One won’t be a tempting option for those who already own an MPC Live or MPC X. It’s an alternative to what Akai has already put out, not a replacement. So, the MPC One could be a good solution for those just getting into standalone workstations, or have been on the fence for price reasons.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Best Midi Controller for Logic Pro in 2020

The Best Multitrack Recorders in 2020