Akai MPX8 SD Sample Player - SonicLAB Review

[@openchallenge]

I've had my eye on this since it was announced. I've needed a simple samples without latency solution. Thanks for covering it.

[@bobbycressey]

Thanks for the fantastic review. I know it's an old piece of kit at this came out 6 or so years ago, but this thing may be just the thing for my unique needs. I appreciate the depth of your review and the way you were able to break down what it's capable of.

[@VVVHHHSSS]

Agreed, dude. It's so cheap too.

[@mthiselton]

That's a lot of information given in 8'53 not like some of the 1 mph presentations around on You Tube. Very helpful.

[@jaKthemighty]

another great review Nick, and it was interesting to hear your thoughts on the lack of 'computer-less' samplers.

[@thanosbikos7966]

Excellent review! Very thorough and detailed, you answered all my questions and more. Thank you! Looks like an interesting unit. I think I will give it a try

[@kiskadar69]

Akai MPX8 cons: 1. You can't turn the pressure sensitivity off for the pads. 2. No "choke" function. Nice would be a function that enables me to hit one sample and stops it automatically when I hit the next one. 3. The loading times for kits with long samples is terrible. You had to have multiple MPX's to solve this problem when playing live, so that you could play one song, while the other MPX could load and be ready for the next song. 4. The documentation says it has 30 MiB of sample RAM, but many MPX8s can only load up to 15MB of samples. 5. The MPX8 has USB but does not register as a drive unit so you have to take the SD card out and insert it into a card reader. 6. Even the latest (v1.0.01) firmware does not support MIDI Running Status. Running Status is not just a convention, it's part of the core MIDI specification. Every MIDI receiver should understand Running Status or it will risk misinterpreting the incoming data. This is particularly true for 5-pin DIN MIDI connections (which are not obsolete).

[@Synthematix]

Thanks for reviewing this mate, ill have to get one of these to add to my volca bass to add some vocal samples.

[@mCKENIC]

GREAT review as always Nick! Really nice demo tune too :) I would have KILLED you for something like this in the mid 90s! This with some sequencing (iPad and hub as you said) looks like a really powerful, portable set-up. Cant believe the price!!!

[@OttosTheName]

Good thing I saw this, was just about to buy the SamplePad from Alesis but this suits my needs much better. Also very nice review!

[@finwhite5993]

you know this is video is from the future as it says "September 2103"

[@Synthematix]

One thing I love about USB powered instruments is theres no Polarity issues

[@sonicstate]

Its not instant no, depends on how much RAM the samples you are loading take, but for a full load I would imagine several seconds, will try and do a test on that. Regarding kits, again, depends on the size of the samples etc. but up to 99 is the quoted number.

[@raptorekpl]

Reviewed "September 2103" :) Bless you Nick, quality review as usual. All the best!

[@patricks.jodoin6421]

This was an excellent review. Thank you!

[@ShanesQueenSite]

Really enjoyed the video. My unit only came yesterday so I am still playing around with it. I would love to see a video how SD samples are assigned to each pad.

[@csnodgers9025]

How do you like it after a year of use ?

[@parasiteunit]

Just pulled the trigger on one of these. Will be most interested in using it as a looper and as a "brain" for a MIDI drum pad. Audacity is going to get used a lot to drop things down to 16bit on my (ever growing) sample library

[@AABattery]

Nice review and demonstration! As always. Good to hear about stereo capability. I would have bought it if it was battery powered. Maybe in a few years...

[@IllogicGate]

Same, rigging up a 9V battery with an LDO shouldn't be too hard, but it would have been great to just have a 9V holder in the unit.

[@chriswigman7753]

Very useful little unit, glad to see it reviewed here. It'll find its way into the hands of many, many electronic (and not so electronic) music performers. Liked the quick jam as it immediately proved the potential of the unit but one thing... BITWIG SHIRT?! YOU TEASE US MR. BATT!

[@KWHCoaster]

In Canada, the ESX-1SD and EMX-1SD saw a recent price drop to $399 Cdn at all retailers a few months ago and is now listed as discontinued. No word on "+" version like the XL, Kaossilator PRO and KP3, so I grabbed the ESX-1SD and EMX-1SD while I could.

[@L77kim77l]

Brilliant review, thank you!!

[@filipzawadzki9424]

Great presentation, only complain is that you didn't say anything about output sound quality, if it's not noisy or a bit, would be nice to know your opinion.

[@MarctheDarc]

Pity with no battery operation, feels like they missed a trick there. Something i missed clarification on; is there any limit to the amount of samples internally beyond the size vs. available sample-ram? And can it stream samples directly from SD-card, or will they need to be loaded into internal memory before use? Hope you see this. Thanks for a very nice review of a seemingly extremely nice unit! Think i need this for fun. And it's a cheap way to have a panic-unit if your live-set crashes.

[@tonymann848]

Very thorough review thank you!

[@KWHCoaster]

Although still listed on the Korg U.S. site with Buy Now available, Sweetwater's site says "If you were looking for the Korg Electribe ESX1SD, it is no longer available." same for the EMX1SD. No matches on Guitar Center's site either. So, not just discontinued in Canada.

[@MrKeys57]

Very good presentation! will get it in a couple of days!

[@SunnyBear]

So this was made in September 2103 you say...?

[@DieMasterMonkey]

"demise of the hardware sampler?!" [Looks at the SP-404 he uses almost every single night]. Why them's fightin' words mister. ;)

[@maciekomis]

i'm buying this. thanks!

[@AlexanderCanwell]

really great review, thank you

[@blondi_80]

Excellent vid, are you able to do one of the mpx16, I like the way u show how the device works and ur demo...excellent..

[@alessandrofarisato8053]

I need some help. I loaded some sample, but every time I put them, it says sound file error. I can’t resolve it, and I even check if they were WAV but everything seems perfect, so I don’t know what to do

[@sonicstate]

From what I remember, it's very fussy about the file format

[@kiskadar69]

WAV file parameters: 16 bit, 48000/44100/32000/22050/11025 kHz, mono (also stereo interleaved with fw v1.0.01). Broadcast Wave Format metadata cannot be included. In case of a problem, the WAV should be saved with the free Audacity program.

[@alessandrofarisato8053]

@@kiskadar69 thank you

[@kassie2k4]

hey those are clips from the kaoss pad quad review, gosh that song really sounds so nice

[@edwardscruggs6555]

Very clear explanation! Thank you!

[@EchadLevShtim]

This is the type of piece that will accompany a rc505 for all the bells and whistles beyond its 5 track loops. Which is funny because one of the rc505 factory presets wastes bays on One Shots, lmao. This alongside it would be close to a frankenstein mpc.

[@juanbustamante]

Is there any unit similar to this one better now in 2017?

[@morrisman64]

Great video thanks

[@slimysoyboy]

Could you do a review on the mpx 16 please?

[@futurewillow3269]

So if I wanted to load a sound clip from a movie I could do that with this?

[@Liveimprov]

Even better, it can load TWO sound clips from a movie. Even from two different movies, if you dare.

[@HazeAnderson]

This is pretty much what I use my MPX8 for ... to fire off movie quotes! xD

[@fmanuel2174]

amazing rewiew..very good job!!

[@fabiovsroque]

Nice review, very usefull, thanks.

[@SteveCookeGB]

I almost got to ordering the MPX8 until I realised it didn't have a battery power option. That seems a major omission. I had in mind that it would be a fun addition to my live set-up, allowing quite visible sample hits (I would have held up the unit so people could see me doing that), but that kind of mobile approach would only work with a battery-powered unit.

[@hannibalbarkas1350]

8 years later, new tech : usb power bank hehe

[@IllogicGate]

Very interesting. Kind of like the sampler section of the KP3, but better. I might get one of these after I sell my KP3 (I only really need reverb and delay), to help with my lack of sufficient synth amount :3

[@farukcobain]

Can we play a full song with ? im guitar player and just prepared some backing track the wole song without the guitar that i will play live. My question is can i play like a set with 8-9 Song if i load it in the Akai ?

[@lanzer____3066]

Hi, does this one allows you to change the tempo of the loop?

[@wthhue7427]

Excellent demo, thanks for sharing this nice little piece of equipment with us, just one question though. How does this differentiate loops from one shots? It seems to me that any one shot could also be a loop if you looped it, and visa versa.

[@Fieldeluxe]

Justin Bryant You choose the trigger mode of each pad yourself, in the sample editor.

[@wthhue7427]

Michael Field awesome thank you. I must have missed that part in the video the first time. Excellent demo BTW, thank you for sharing this equipment.

[@JoelBouchillon]

....any why did that keyboard disappear around 5:17 ?

[@ENICIO69]

Hey sonicstate, do you guys had the chance to get your hands on the mpx16? Really want to get your information on this product. Grtz

[@johakim4]

Pls can you show step by step how can we load the wav sampler on the unit

[@djilyaz]

Cool, looks like a fun gadget!! How about tempo changes? Any internal seguencing at all?

[@leegreveson]

pity it couldn't have four banks like on an MPC. Agree that it should be battery powered or at least have a separate PSU socket rather than use up the USB connectivity option. That said, the simple arrangement Nick produced showed it was quite capable as a live device.

[@timtrack]

Good review! I've had my eye on this for a while, for one-shot effects/cymbals and whatnot in a live setup. One thing i wonder is: Can you mount the unit as a disk (like the Octatrack) via USB and load over samples directly to the SD-card, or do you have to plug the SD-card in to the computer?

[@kiskadar69]

You have to plug the SD-card in to the computer.

[@Degenerative1]

What we need is one of those a metal case and eight outputs. They would sell like hot cakes. I have an mpc 2500. I use cubase so I only use the mpc as a sampler really .

[@kristofferpalm2306]

I just got one and when Im loading my own samples from the SD card into the mpx8 there is some kind of wierd "buzzing" noise at the end of every sound but only when I play them in the akai not in the computer. Anyone know what it could be?

[@mikefamilyman]

+Kristoffer Palm sounds like some kind of bug

[@Vazmusic]

Great demo. How do I get my sounds on the SD slot? Can I just drag sounds onto the SD and then put it in the Akai?

[@looneyburgmusic]

+Vinnie Zummo Yes. Don't use any folders. Every sample needs to be in the Root directory of the SD card. You can use "long" names, but the MPX seems to like "8.3" names better. The editor doesn't "talk" to the MPX-8 directly, your SD card has to be in your computer for the software to work and set up pad sets, then you put the card into your MPX.

[@Vazmusic]

+looneyburgmusic Thanx so much for the response.. So...You have to set up the pad kits in your computer? Can I for example, Upload ten samples or so from my computer to an SD card reader plugged into my computer. And then take the SD card out of my computer and put it in the MPX8SD and make a kit out of it? Or does the kit need to be created in your computer? Sorry I am so bad at this stuff.

[@looneyburgmusic]

Vinnie Zummo You can do either. Using the editor on a computer is *so* much easier though.

[@Vazmusic]

+looneyburgmusic Thanx!

[@Vazmusic]

+looneyburgmusic Can U please tell me the exact model SD card I need to buy? I want the most memory possible in an SD card which I believe is 32 gigs? Please tell me exactly what to ask for when I order the card. Thanks so much.

[@KWHCoaster]

It includes an AC adapter for the USB cable, so no laptop/PC needed for power.

[@alexjofer]

I think the start samples of the end song it was made by me!

[@RahimX]

better claim your royalties lol

[@alexjofer]

Yep! Lol

[@Depuratumba]

Hi Nick! thanks for the review, I've been waiting for videos of this product for a loooong time... I have a few questions, if you could ask them: can you change between kits seamlessly and if you can't, does it take long? does the number of kits depend on the available space? cheers from buenos aires!

[@tonymann848]

Looks pretty cool for the price

[@dinogoldie9716]

Does it allow you to play a single sample chromatically across the pads/via MIDI controller? Does it have any onboard sequencing/recording capability to record patterns/performances? Does it have any onboard processing such as lowpass filter? Is there any difference between this and the MPX16 (other than number of pads obviously)? Why no battery power?

[@kiskadar69]

1.No 2.No 3.Tune and Volume and Reverb 4.Yes 5.?

[@3rnestoddm]

BUT HOW THE HEOLL DO YOU RECORD?????? :(

[@miamigroove]

You cant record samples with it. It only will playback previously recorded samples.

[@prptbs]

is it possible to sync the samples in loop mode or you have to trigger each of them in perfect time?

[@H4NDCRAFTED]

No batteries ? but I guess it has bus power, which can vary in reliability. What does this have over something like a second hand sp404 ? Velocity pads I guess. But then if you are going to use bus power from a laptop, then you may as well be using software and a controller ? I still don't understand the market ?

[@BrenainnJordan]

Great review! Quick question: Can you assign different samples for different velocity ranges? For example if I wanted to trigger a soft snare sound when tapping a pad softly, and a heavier snare sound when tapping harder?

[@kiskadar69]

No.

[@IllogicGate]

Yeah, USB is 5V, that's why I have the LDO (voltage regulator). I just prefer a 9V because it's basically 6 AAAs, except you don't have to make sure you have a 6 pack of AAAs ready all the time xD

[@BenjaminV1954]

Does anybody know how hard it is to push down the pads? I want to get either this or the mpx16 for my wife who has muscular dystrophy. Are there any similar devices that don't require a computer? I think it actually has enough memory for what we need it for but if not can you plug it directly into a sampler?

[@Geo-wc7jc]

Ben Voiles hey man hope you’re wife’s doing ok.

[@fimpson]

to use it with the iPad you could connect it with the midi I/O via camera connection kit and then power the akai with usb, couldn't you?

[@NateGrant]

so is it 2.5 minutes per Kit? or 2.5 minutes overall. I need this to play a BUNCH of long one shot samples from an SD card. I'd just like to have them all in different kits. I don't need any of the extra features, just want to fire off prerecorded audio.

[@firstnamelastname364]

+Natedawg1647 overall

[@parasiteunit]

Think this unit is exactly what I'm looking for... Got an old Yamaha DD 65 doing nothing, as my E5000 ultra is a touch cumbersome to lug around and setting up everything on it isn't very streamlined (an LCD screen and an infinite jog wheel? - modern yeah?). This combined with a few ways of dropping sounds into it (SD card or via PC, or just direct PC to SD card dump)... Suspect even if there's comparability issues (Linux user - always one isn't there) with the software... The direct to SD dump would be a work round. Also, using it as a controller for beats to give it a more drumming feel... All good... Cheers

[@funkygroove8245]

Great vid but i didn't heared ANYthing about saving the sound you are making on this sample player? Isn't that possible????

[@BLUESFANAAT1977]

Hello Is this handy to use in livesituation. With a popband fir downers, lifters, swooshes, etc.. Can you play two buttons at once? And how tactile is this? Would love to use a device with lots of tactile optiobs to get a 'live' feel and not just to on and off Regards Niels

[@Scyber_Official]

no audio input for sampling & can only use samples which have been preloaded on an SD card (which still requires a computer). kind of a bummer, but then again it's only $100. get 2 of these & you'll have yourself a mini MPC

[@HazeAnderson]

And then day comes when you fill your sampler up and need to offload the samples you've made. Yep, you'll put them on a computer. 😂

[@RazetheDemon]

Haze Anderson wireless SD card.

[@grantcoffman2698]

Hello, First I think youre reviews are great and thank you. heres my question, I play electronic drums live and i would like to just play loops and samples while i play drums. ill just use my left hand to press the buttons then continue to play, is this practical for me? thank you

[@FollowTheFrequencies]

You should consider getting an old Yamaha DD-5 off ebay, along with this. DD5 has midi out, so you could incorporate four pad triggers into your drum kit, without having to use fingers to trigger the mpx8. Just a thought, hope it helps. Ive had an old DD5 since childhood, and used this method myself as an adult with other samplers.

[@PolarTrance]

If put a midi keyboard in to this can I play the sample's pitch? Like if I load a string section can I then play chords with it via a midi keyboard?

[@PolarTrance]

+midnight plush Well that is dissapointing... I guess I'll just have to get the Korg sampler thing (not volca)

[@Simon-sly]

Is it possible to fade a sound, either by tapping the pad again or pressing 'stop all' (+ -)?

[@minuteofarc]

For some reason when I load a sample and select ‘loop’ it doesn’t properly loop in time. Like it turns 4 beats per measure in to 3.8ish. Any fix for this?

[@SackOfTroll]

New to sample pads. Could you hook this up with ableton or fl and use the samples as a beat?

[@Nebuloid1]

Question : are there multiple sample banks that I can switch between ? Or just 1 with only 8 samples at a time.

[@lucaswojatschke3883]

We are looking for a cheap way to resample our PlugIn Synths, so we don't have to take the macbook with us, just for 7 or 8 patches that are not even being modulated or tweeked live. Is this good for doing so? Is it reliable? Or should be better go for the MPX16? Or something completely different? I'd like to take the Korg MicroSampler instead, but can't find it anywhere being sold...

[@benedictjohnson8071]

Akai don't have a hardware MPC at all on the market right now! It's either USB controllers or these things

[@kylejoe8393]

i am curious if you plug this into the pc via usb if it will also act like an interface with a DAW like plugging any instrument or pedal into it

[@alicito7047]

Hi, Thank you for this very educational video. I would like to ask you if I can play Midi tracks with this Akai ... I mean, that is, you can listen to midi from SD card? 😊

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

it cant even play midi from a sequencer properly as it drops notes if it is just one hit drums better to put short loops into it

[@ernsthaft-schmutz8759]

This is by far the most screwed up, unstable firmware I've ever come across with/to, making the mpx8 and 16 unusable as instruments. I highly recommend everyone who might think this could be a no-brainer solution for the sampler gap in their setup to look up the threads on the official akai support forum (eventhough they seem to delete negative feedbacks occusionally you will find a LOT about its uselessness here), muffwiggler, gearslutz, sequencer.de or any other studio/audio/instruments related forum! I thought it could not be that bad and at least do simple tasks without randomly crashing and skrewing the SD-card, oh how wrong I was! Avoid like a plaque!

[@lorenmax9460]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nX3Fq6R7hNRqb6s

[@superawesomehappytime7822]

How do u get samples cause im getting one tmrw and I'm totally confused i watched this guy and his sample was pacho and i want that sample so can someone tell me plz

[@superawesomehappytime7822]

The sample is popcho btw

[@brysongbg]

SuperAwesome HappyTIme do you know the name of this 4:51 i asked but no answer.. i know i have heard it elsewhere.. plss i cant even shazam because its slightly different than the one i heard

[@JoelBouchillon]

What's that keyboard behind you ??

[@BioSoftStudios]

M-audio axiom air 49/61

[@JoelBouchillon]

...and then the keyboard reappeared at 6:44.

[@g-prodigy2356]

1980sCoverband its another angle

[@Liveimprov]

4:21 glitch in the matrix spotted

[@Aliketr]

Came down here to see if anyone else noticed

[@Synthematix]

its aimed at djs mate for jingles, drops and fx

[@Desmaad]

I think it may only need 6V; it does get it's power from USB.

[@musicwithmatt6531]

@4:31 how long did it take to load your custom sample?!

[@1samwhich]

This....and also can you swap new samples from your SD card into previously used individual pads while the unit is playing with no disruption of sound? Thanks for another good review 😊👍

[@kiskadar69]

The loading process takes a long time and the MPX8 can't do anything else while loading. You had to have multiple MPX8's to solve this problem when playing live, so that you could play one song, while the other MPX could load and be ready for the next song.

[@KGoesLouD]

How long does it take to upgrade the firmware? I'm running it now but I'm at 30min into the process already. Is this normal?

[@MrSpreewizzy]

I have a vestax vci300 mk2 when vestax is in record mode how do you get the fx from akai sampler to record with vestax? is it even possible?

[@BioSoftStudios]

Is it possible to import your samples in the unit and use the unit as a sound module or is it one pad/key per sample?

[@BioSoftStudios]

never mind then

[@AJC19811]

Is this any good people say has lag and the midi not so good but I’m interested in one ass don’t seem be any lag when people use on KZbin videos

[@Liveimprov]

I dont find any lag, haven't tried midi. It's interesting as a finger drumming kit, none of the complaints about slow loading times affect it if you use it like this - since drum kit sounds are all short.

[@RadiumZ1]

anyone know how to preview a name of the samples that are assigned to the pads without triggering them? Like hold a button down then choosing a pad which makes it silent to just read the name?

[@kcat80]

but it doesn't take batteries or use a power/plug adapter and has no sequencing? so you are gonna have to bring more kit and or possibly a laptop right?

[@Liveimprov]

it's just an 8 pad sound FX or drum hit instrument. It doesn't do anything technical other than play a sound when you hit a button, like a keyboard or guitar. It's a sound-producing instrument, not a sequencer-type unit. Those typically cost more. But you could plus a sequencer into this and trigger the pads via midi. This unit is cheap $-wise so it does 1 thing basically

[@zw5647]

Is there any way to make it monophonic/ like I want the currently playing one shot sample to stop when another is triggered?

[@kiskadar69]

No, it isn't.

[@HazeAnderson]

Those are called "mute groups" by the way ... the Volca Sample has two slots that are dedicated mute groups but that's all it offers. My only recommendation for a work-around is to edit the sample and re-upload.

[@Phleemflam]

dose it have tempo when u play loops ?? plz i need with this

[@djmastermixer8743]

Good night takes me doubt, I can use the mpx akai without this turned on the computer, only using the memory card, thanks.

[@elkaoss1586]

Hi.. Can you help me I have the akai MPX8 .. I can't make it work whit the samples what I have to do..? Can you up load a video to show me how you make it work.. akai mpx8 firmware. I am beginner on this . And I have a windows 7 computer ..! Thank you