This thing rocks

A review of the Akai MPC Live II. Is this everything you need?

[@Zhamin444]

I constantly come back to this video. Not so much for the Akai review, although it was great, but for his enthusiasm in music and all the great tracks heard throughout. It inspires me to do things even though I personally have no desire to use one of these devices, which is fantastic. I don't typically comment on videos, but felt as though I should considering the amount of times I've watched this video. Thank you for all the years I have graciously been able to listen to your music. Keep doing you.

[@Pogomix]

That's awesome. Thanks so much man. :)

[@davide2.07]

Me too!!

[@Dewane1511]

Well said !

[@Kmoxyy]

Honestly I'd love to see you release an album using, almost entirely, this new piece of tech you got. You look very happy using it like playing an old childhood favorite game, like you mentioned, and small things like that spark enjoyment and therefore creativity in the same vein.

[@Pogomix]

Love this idea!

[@insideoutproductions7231]

Yes pogomix, I have an mpc live and would love to see / hear an album or projects you make solely on the mpc live 2. It’s always appealed to me hands on hitting pads and for creativity I can take it anywhere as you said, not feeling like an office job for creativity. The mpc is an instrument in itself because you can ‘play’ the machine as in finger drumming or routines. Thanks, you continue to inspire me musically and creatively 👍🏻

[@RedstoneMiner18]

Doit​@@Pogomix

[@simplenamed5173]

"Can I make the music I want to by just using this box?" We both know you can do just about anything with sound Pogo. Love the video.

[@user-dy1tl8hg6t]

yeah. However... you really need to spend the time to master using the hardware. its easier to get most of a song together on an MPC over a DAW but the fine tuning can take a while until you really master it. I have found a great middle ground though by using it as a digital instrument in Logic Pro. I take in on the road and record a pattern or build a drum kit then when i get home i can record with it live on my computer..

[@zayasan6289]

@@user-dy1tl8hg6t Well that is your opinion.

[@1anre]

@@user-dy1tl8hg6t it doesn’t need a separate power supply to power it while on the road?

[@reddeadryan78]

@@1anre No, the live 2 has a built in battery and speaker. 12345678 is correct, too. Also, The MPCs bread n butter is the sampler, it's been widely used as an instrument for hiphip since the 80s, specifically for sample based producers.

[@middknight5202]

“Appointment with your creativity” so true

[@FATNINJABABY]

Hard to watch Pogo's videos when he keeps TEASING us with these beats 😭 Hopefully we get a song with'em at some point; until then, I pray 🙏

[@t0xcn253]

damn you aren't joking, it's rough

[@mandmaofficial]

It’s been 2 years. With only one song of these stellar beats. How do you think I feel? 😂😭

[@JADWrity]

Can tell you're enjoying the process when you're tapping on the side of the machine! Seems almost like the hand-designing a building equivalent of the digital music world, gets you into the flow of the creative work.

[@flippityflurp6118]

Highlights of my favorite beats/previews: 0:08 0:45 2:21 3:57 5:38 6:02 8:21 8:51 9:15 10:58 12:55 16:30 16:40

[@Onio_Saiyan]

I’m not that much of a creative type, but there’s something about hearing and seeing a passionate person do and talk about what they do is a great feeling.

[@Neacail]

"making an appointment with your creativity" i feel like this all the time working from home as a graphic designer. the ipad with the pencil liberated my creative sense when i was able to pick it up and create stuff to an almost finished level on a couch or on the go. devices like this are evolving our creative capabilities. thanks for the awesome vid!

[@benbrooker]

10:58 was a major vibe!!!

[@djsoo]

This has been my exact experience with my MPC Live 2 that I bought 6 weeks ago as well. 15-years on Ableton and this has been the hugest breathe of fresh air and completely rejuvenated my love of making music - something that had started waning in recent years.

[@Ayo.Ajisafe]

I know the feeling man. And I've been wanting one for ages. But i realized that I'd be going backwards. So i got the Push 2. And I'm really happy with it. However, it's inevitable that when i get some spare cash, I'll get one of these badboys.

[@djsoo]

@@Ayo.Ajisafe honestly, i like that it does less. I was getting choice paralysis with ableton just due the sheer amount of options and just getting burnt out on the workflow in general. It's been nice to have a change and as mentioned in the video, the hands on feel and divorce from a computer/laptop has been awesome. I still plan on finishing most of my tunes in Ableton, but you are perfectly capable of finishing up a full tune from start to finish entirely on the MPC.

[@Ayo.Ajisafe]

@@djsoo Oh I know MPC can do everything. I just wasn't ready to go backwards in the sense of completely throwing away my whole investment into Ableton. I also felt that Ableton would encourage me to use my instruments not just sample. MPC can obviously do all of that too. But its learning from Scratch. I'd prefer to get the MPC just to have fun with rather than as my main production centre.

[@Ayo.Ajisafe]

But it's the most beautiful piece of gear I've ever seen. And super powerful.

[@wm1573]

@@Ayo.Ajisafe MPC is not only about sampling tho. It has a ton of synths and instrument's inside and live 2 has inst inputs too. Not to mention all the expansion you could buy. But I get what you mean

[@smithsmithy7149]

I always get excited when I see a Pogo notification!

[@Sefibid]

MR. ANDERSOOON.

[@The_Caledonian]

it's because all his videos are high quality productions

[@jay.ostojic]

ME TOO x3000!!

[@LostJeffukulele]

OMG! PoGo of Crowder and cease and Desistney Fame?

[@Kal_El1994]

Pogos voice is liquid caramel.

[@tsuobachi]

I started writing and producing in 1997 on an mpc 2000. 32 seconds of sampling time, no fx, just a sequencer and some sample pads and a step filter. I wrote 11 albums in the first two years. Then I bought more hardware and kept going. Then around 2001 I switched from hardware to computers and something died inside me without my notice. Then in about 2012 I started dabbling in hardware again and I remembered that it used to be fun to make music. Computers had killed the fun. Now I use a hybrid approach. Hardware is a pita in a lot of ways, but it's fun an immediate. Software is great for editing, tracking, mixing, and mastering. That's how I do it now and it works very well. Nice to see you get into hardware as well.

[@prospectnyc]

I love my MPC Live 2! I've sampled most of my favorite synth sounds from my hardware and plug in synths, as well loaded up all my favorite drum samples. The portability of this thing makes it so much fun to make music anywhere - bed, couch, car, floor, kitchen, wherever. Yes, there is a bit of prep work to do if you like having your own sounds but the pay off is worth it. It brings out things/ideas in me that likely would not come out when using a computer - even though the sounds are the same. The Q links + filter/FX assignments makes this an amazing performance tool.

[@RobotnikUnit]

"I'll see you guys in the next video, whatever that may be" It better be the 🔥🔥🔥 you were dropping throughout this video

[@marialuzascenzi6115]

kisses and hugs from a long time fan of Buenos Aires :)

[@Tomato.toothpaste]

I absolutely love hearing how your mind decides to piece your music together. Very beautiful.

[@janfelixbergmann3819]

I really hope you are well. I really enjoy your content and hope you return one day. These were some of the best reviews and opinion pieces I have ever seen and the way you shared your talents were so giving. Best wishes.

[@Twistededgemedia]

This is exactly the reason I bought one of these, even though I have a dedicated music pc so no email or Facebook etc, the production process slowly became uninspired and stale. This machine has opened up new doors for me, new styles of music, new workflow and a hands on interaction I never had with a PC. The PC still has its place for post, but all my ideas are generated on this remarkable machine now.

[@stefanpaulson]

Thank you for sharing. Love 13:05. Sounds fantastic. Great video 👍

[@ronpaizley9349]

Glad I found this video again gives me hope with my mpc & with the day job how many times have I said " I'm tired of feeling like I'm making an apppointment with my creativity" & yout tracks are fly as hell !!! Will be following again

[@tcideh4929]

As usual you have such a creative spirt even in how you describe your experiences. Its honestly so soothing and insightful to listen to your thoughts and opinions on games, hardware and music.

[@achron2074]

Absolutely stellar review. Thank you Nick for taking the time to give us your thoughts. It's definitely convincing and makes me want to get one now too... I'm actually quite suprised about how well you are able to make organic sounding, full fledged music productions on the device, when you are so proficient at using a DAW.

[@newdevonp4522]

I've been listenin to ya forever man- And i danced to every small bit of music in this, they're all incredible! It's really interesting to hear you talk about your past and get so in-depth to the process- It really engaged me as a viewer to learn more about you and listen. Keep being awesome!

[@philjohnston1064]

Best MPC video I’ve seen. Lots of different styles of music and a real honest insight in to workflow. Thanks!

[@NekoWinters]

Can I just say thank you for having such great consistency with your audio quality even for just when you're talking, it's so warm and welcoming 🙏😊

[@SoundmanCH]

I just discovered your channel while I was looking for MPC videos, since I want to get away from my computer to make electronic music. This video is superb! Everything you say and show is resonating with me. I was not sure whether to buy the Live or the X, but now it’s clear and I will go for the Live. What could be better than sitting outside and make some beats! I love your video and your tracks are simply outstanding! Thanks a lot for taking your time and effort to produce this, for me the best demo/review I will ever see, and endless fun to watch!

[@LexOnTheWeb]

So cool to see you got yourself an MPC Live II. I recently got an MPC One and it’s been so great to get away from the computer. It really feels like you’re just focusing in on the music and sampling and getting away from all the hundreds of options of VSTs or crazy bells and whistles you get with a traditional DAW. Limitations can spark creativity, but you can also do so much with one of these little boxes. Can’t wait to make some plunderphonics.

[@Pogomix]

Definitely. That's my gripe with Omnisphere. It sounds amazing and the value for money is unbeatable, but have fun scrolling through 9000 patches when creativity hits.

[@wm1573]

@@Pogomix I always thought omnisphere is the thing that will make you awesome, but it's easily the least used synth for me

[@JosephDartJr]

This came at the perfect time. I've started traveling a lot and have been looking for something like this to take with me. Thanks for these videos, I really enjoy checking them out. Loved the headphone review; super clean.

[@ImPrettyDumbBut]

I’m not interested in music production but this is still really interesting to me

[@csharp57]

I was the same way. I'm a musician that needs inspiration to practice daily. I ended up creating so many music ideas. I guess I'm a producer now 😄

[@CRJessen]

I never really knew how these kinds of machines work. Thanks so much for this.

[@mandmaofficial]

10:58 Petition for a full version of this.

[@guyunger]

been listening to you music for well over a decade now, still so excited anytime you upload just anything

[@CorianderGames]

The warmth in your videos Pogo, Omg I can't handle how good your videos are and those beats are so incredible, please turn them into a full album in the future, I listen to your work almost everyday and you always make me feel better, just know that you helped me a lot of times, you're so awesome man

[@stevenruiz2095]

Love hearing ya talk. I can see how much thought goes into your process and it is very inspiring. Cant wait for whatever it is you put out 👏

[@Pogomix]

Thanks very much man!

[@Cont0rt]

i wish so many other artists i listened to made videos like this...

[@bluetv6386]

Pogo giving us a Ricky Tinez moment! Two different styles but two gentle and sensitive souls.

[@roymoxley2587]

This unit has no limits of creativity back in the 90,s to have a machine like this to do remixes would have been amazing I am a much older Dj we could only dream back then to have this

[@pikab2001]

All the new music you have created is soooo beautiful!!! Wow its been a while and I love anything new from you! I look forward to a future album! This machine looks amazing.

[@damsen978]

Ok, i actually hope you can make a song out of 2:25, i like the deep sound of it, sets a great mood. Reminds me of the PlayStation 1 era soundtrack.

[@VoidPlugger]

literally making the same comment, so good i really want this as a track

[@eelexa]

Me too

[@wildone106]

All these snippets are dope AF

[@ojeezy316]

Sound like a beat em up first level

[@fluffhead2863]

WARNING: Video and music may induce emotional chills and/or tears of amazement and joy.

[@mandmaofficial]

You’re not wrong! 😂😭

[@alicesmith8134]

its so enjoyable to watch you talk about stuff you're passionate about

[@furofu]

i was scared to see what you looked like, as most people who make music don't look or sound how i expect them too. but you blew me away! you look and sound EXACTLY how I was hoping you would TwT

[@Chillabytes]

I got an MPK mini as a gift recently. Having only produced with my DAW, and never using external hardware or keyboards before, even that little thing intimidates me. Watching this video definitely urges me to spend some time getting familiar with what it can do. Awesome review!

[@MasDouc]

DAW's suck ass when you finally release yourself to hardware based music creation. And then when you go modular you're really off the deep end.

[@78fenderPbass]

Great stuff! Love how fresh it all sounds with the little vocal bibs and bobs. Inspiring!

[@williamdelahunty3677]

Love gear reviews that aren't paid adverts. Thanks for the info

[@brycem.4062]

Loved the sound of that song at 9:30 reminded me of a glass animals song for some reason

[@BingsBuddery]

New subber, this video sold me on your channel.. The way you speak about the DAW process almost becoming like an appointment for creativity really hit the nail on the head for me, as it is exactly how I feel about it at this point.. It sometimes feels very laborious to go into the studio, power up all the gear, and setup the recording environment... I NEED something more quickly accessible and tactile, but with enough power and functionality that I don't feel necessarily limited being out of the DAW space.. I have been eyeing the OP-1, Elektron products, and MPC Live units for some time, but just havent made the leap as each option is quite costly. Thanks for the insights, and I look forward to perusing more of your content!

[@TheInterruptionBand]

It’s awesome to see someone like myself trying a new way of creating music outside of a computer. When I started creating a hardware synth and sequencer setup to work with or replace my laptop, my whole workflow just became so much more fun and efficient. Crazy to hear the music you make on the MPC still sounds exactly like the stuff you would make in a DAW, seems like such a capable device!

[@chadpescod-realtor3308]

I've never seen Pogo before, but I see a lot of love from his tribe here which is awesome. Pogo seems to vibe with positive people.

[@user-ik8vy1rg8f]

Love the quality of your videos brosef. You're an inspiration.

[@Josh6957992]

I love how much you enjoy this lol. It's fun to watch folks be passionate.

[@KrisJoshJones]

Such a cool, classy looking machine, love the snippets of work featured in this vid

[@Pogomix]

It is! Just be sure to get it used. The RRP is a heart attack.

[@hilmeathar1114]

We need this album to come out soon!!!

[@Lumiverse.]

A tangible DAW. I love hearing your passion for this device.

[@tribalbaroque]

Hi Nick. Been a fan for many years. Sent you a message thanking you for the inspiration. My favorite piece in this is at 1:07. I make music very differently from you, but your music and work ethic inspires me. Thank you. You also have beautiful hands and a lovely speaking voice. I'm listening while drawing. Thank you!

[@tarrychenko]

man, you nailed to a tee things i've been thinking about lately! thank you! So eloquent and I love your choice of metaphor throughout! I had a very similar kind of catharsis switching workflows to maschine and teenage engineering

[@tarrychenko]

if you wrote a book about the music production process from your perspective, i think a lot of people would be very interested to read it

[@HotelEdenMusic]

Your music is really fun, and your review is inspiring!

[@JulianClarkFilms]

fingers crossed for Okeh Ska to be released! Sounded great.

[@andrew16skate]

Them chops always get me in the feels

[@CuttaMuzik12]

Thank you for this video! So inspiring while I’m sitting here with my newly live 2. I’ve gone from logic and Maschine to the mpc because of the feel , knock in sound, and inspiration.

[@SacredMagic13679]

You inspire me to make music, Pogo. Never change.

[@TheRulerOfPenguins]

Your skill and craft in music making is so premium 👏🏾

[@JulesKennedvitch]

This is super precious. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@IlliyaVjestica]

Your music 🎶 lifts me every time I hear it, love the behind the scenes. What you said recently about social media was so on point to my thoughts.

[@MaRkoMadafaka]

i love your music and i’m so happy i’ve found your production channel!

[@Kyle-wb7wx]

This was the video that convinced me to get one! Thank you!

[@Whytho2000]

damn thats so cool. Im not a music artist, but I can appreciate it, and its easy to understand it when youre talking about it. Thanks Nick!

[@arielkinney4629]

So cool Nick! Love the “behind the scenes” videos.

[@rickardohman1165]

“I’ve always had a very thorough dislike of homosexuals, I’ve never liked a grown man acting like a 12-year-old girl. I’ve always found that to be quite disgusting.” - Pogo

[@arielkinney4629]

@@rickardohman1165 ???? Not quite sure what that had to do with my comment but ok

[@FeverDreamTheOneAndOnly]

@@rickardohman1165 where did you hear him saying that?

[@heywhohithelights]

PLEASE NICK!!! We NEEEEEDDDD that track @ 1:46 Moody King

[@yeast4529]

Really nice tunes in this one

[@juteparadisechillmusic345]

Superb music man, everything so smooth and sweet with that Todd Edwards sample chop vibe. Love it.

[@thestatpow5]

This tactile you keep talking about has a more precise nomenclature: Haptic feedback! it's what makes hardware synthesisers much more fun than VSTs.

[@EnochLight]

Fantastic review - really cool to see you get into the MPC Live 2! Just a brilliant workstation groovebox - and it's only getting better! Everytime you turn around, Akai is releasing an update that offers even better features. There is literally nothing else like it on the market (with the exception of Maschine+ taking a stab).

[@frontier9]

Very happy to see the contemplative style of this review - good feeling playful beats/tunes too

[@hilmeathar1114]

This is amazing, we need all these songs to come out as soon as possible. Really digging that second and third song!!!! Love that Funimation sample

[@TheMadsC]

This video almost hurts to watch, because EVERY single song you made sounds insanely good, and they are only snippets! I know I probably won't be able to listen to these tunes for a while, that is if they will even ever be released. Great review and beats! Hope to hear most of these some day.

[@mikecorreia9544]

As a producer who started with all equipment being software, I’ve recently branched out to different hardware and hardware instruments. I truly believe that the “limiting factors” of hardware like this are the perfect conduit for creativity. I say this due to the innate nature of software being almost limitless in what you can add in, remove, chop, etc. hardware hones in on what’s important for our creative gestures and puts you into a flow state unparalleled to what a DAW offers. Not to say that software is bad but more so that experiencing hardware is a thrilling proposition.

[@robinr22]

Yes and no, for me. One of the limitations of the MPC is how painful it is to enter and edit notes. With the best will in the world, I can't see how it taking an hour and 4 thousand button presses to shift my hi-hat back one beat across my whole track adds anything to my creativity. It is very easy to get things started and get a four bar loop going on an MPC. It is not easy to finish anything because anything more than a simple four bar loop and it becomes a nightmare. Obviously, you could finish it by hooking it up to a laptop but then why not just use Ableton in the first place? This is why I'm selling mine.

[@mobydyson9580]

You are amazing and I am so glad I found you on KZbin.

[@wolfunplugged]

thanks - this was very informative and inspiring! after having played around with the mpc studio black in connection with the PC I now pulled the trigger and bought the MPC live 2. standalone, portable...we'll see now where to the voyage goes...

[@TheBanhagel]

Nick, you're a genius..thanks for sharing this

[@ComplexAutist]

Love that glitchy house sound you have, still rocking my mpc live (OG), which due to various customisations, its like no other. Its more of an instrument to me now!

[@sampro4569]

To me, MPC has always had the upper hand on software. It is more an instrument than a production centre. The older MPC models from the 90s and early 2000s are honestly special and unique machines that help evolve ones sound and also forces you sometimes out of your comfort zone until you feel comfortable again

[@thetree7403]

it's always endearing to see someone discover the joys of hardware music production

[@IrrationalRecreation]

Going DAWless is both liberating and challenging. The great thing about the MPC series is that you can use them standalone or as controllers with the bundled MPC DAW software on your Mac or PC. Lovely pieces of kit.

[@Artersa]

I’ve not heard of you before this, but I really appreciate what you’re saying about making music apart from a computer and DAW. Outcome oriented hit me really hard lol.

[@NathanStathan]

I hope to hear 6:03 as a full track at some point. Literally music to my ears 🥰. Another great video as always pogo 👌

[@iwantthathat3355]

Me too I really like that part

[@Shamanix01]

Agree ! :)

[@t0xcn253]

Thanks for not having the utter lack of musical personality that so many producer-tubers seem afflicted with (coughAndrew Huangcough) your style really shines in all these examples!

[@joelou]

Always nice to see DAW people come around to gear.

[@BigMemoire]

And I love listening to you and your Music Nick! :D

[@sonidojamon]

Top notch video production and product showcase! Instant sub!

[@A1MadeTheBeat]

Pogomix, first time seeing one of your videos and this was thoroughly impressive. As far as the insert effects on the sampler, you were questioning why you would need that. The greatest tool you have on the MPC and Force units is the AiR Lo-Fi plug-in. Put the Lo-Fi plugin on the sampler insert, adjust the parameters (to vintage equipment specs) and you just turned the MPC Live sampler input into an SP1200, MPC60, ASR-10 sample engine (crunch and all).

[@kazuhakaedehara2881]

This video is just soooooo well made like what???! The way the review part is broken up by the music parts is just heavenly yyyy!!! Would love to hear an album of tracks such as the ones in this video!!!

[@ryantrammell6185]

You speak like a poet. Describing making an appointment with creativity and the parallel of gardening and making a song. Beautiful stuff.

[@_couteaux1697]

yooooo i used to listen so often to the songs with the film sounds a long time ago on youtube! nice to rediscover you, you made it so far and you still got that pogo sound i instantly recognize, you even use samples from those songs in this video

[@YMilkshake]

Loving the regular uploads, good job mate ^^

[@valley_robot]

I have 3 albums on Spotify that use mostly the MPC one , so it’s perfectly useable to make full tracks , it has a piano roll , virtual analogue synths and a drum machine , automsampler, audio and midi tracks , CV ,track mutes etc the list is very long, this replaced most of my gear late last year and I won’t be going back to a room of gear anytime soon

[@waynemurray7085]

Great tutorial dude. I have an MPC Touch which i have not touched in ages. You have inspired me to get it out of the cupboard as I think I have been missing out.I may even upgrade to this version.Happy music making Peace.

[@DoctorNemmo]

Yup, I have the previous version, totally recommend it. The built-in battery in it makes it a brilliant tool.

[@CoLD.SToRAGE]

RE: Music 2000 - it’s always heart warming when people take the time to name drop the products I’ve designed in the past, especially as a touchstone on their creative journey. As for the AKAI I’ve toyed with the idea, it’s a great bit of kit and it does get you away from the desk! 😄