TURNTABLE LAB

the lab review

OVERVIEW
The MPC-500 is Akai's latest entry in their legendary MPC line, and it's their most portable and affordable unit yet. Not only is the MPC-500 the smallest MPC yet, it also has the ability to run on 6 AA batteries, which automatically makes this the go to choice for dj's and producers who travel a lot (think of all that airport downtime). The 500 shrinks down the MPC-1000 frame with a smaller overall size, slimmer profile and a streamlined group of features. You are still getting Akai's professional level recording + sampling features, sequencing functions, and programming ability, just in a smaller package.

FEATURES
The Akai MPC500 is a compact, portable, full-featured music
production center featuring a 48-track, 16-channel MIDI sequencer
combined with a 32-voice drum/phrase sampler. The MPC500
supports 16-bit/44.1 kHz sample rates and provides upward of
128MB of RAM. The unit's MIDI sequencer supports the SMF
(standard MIDI file) format, while the sampler accepts WAV files. Like
all Akai MPC units, the MPC500 provides velocity sensitive pads (12)
for triggering sounds and the unit includes Akai's legendary 12 Levels
function—where one sound can be assigned to all pads with varied
level or tuning per pad. The MPC500 provides numerous onboard
effects plus two stereo effects sends and a Master control. For transferring work to other Akai MPC models, a Compact
Flash storage card is included for use with the internal CF drive. The
MPC500 includes a USB port for use as a slave connector with a computer.
Memory expansion is available.

reviewed by the mgmnt 09/19/2006

key features

- Akai's smallest MPC yet
- runs on 6 AA batteries or AC adaptor
- pattern-based and linear 48-track sequencer with 16 MIDI channels
- 16-bit / 44.1kHz sampling
- 32-voice drum/phrase sampler with up to 128MB RAM
- velocity and pressure sensitive pads for expressive programming
- 12 Levels function: one sound on all pads with varied level or tuning per pad
- built-in Compact Flash drive and USB port
- support for standard WAV files and MIDI sequences
- built-in Analog Audio I/O, headphone output, and MIDI I/O
- internal sounds in Flash
- 4-way sample layering and velocity switching per pad
- 1 lowpass filter with resonance per voice
- on-board effects: 2 stereo effects and a master effect
- memory expansion available separately

includes

- compact Flash card
- AC power adapter

related items

Akai MPC1000 Sampling Production Studio

The big brother.

Akai MPC2500 Beat Production Station

Bigger brother.

filed under

• dj equipment - sales + specials view category
• samplers + effects view category