3. Getting Started ............................................................................................................................ 13
Unlocking Your MPC Software ....................................................................................................................... 14
Features .................................................................................................................................................... 15
Top Panel ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Starting Up ........................................................................................................................................... 22
Creating a Drum Kit ............................................................................................................................ 23
Recording a Drum Sequence ............................................................................................................. 25
About Programs ............................................................................................................................................. 60
Menu ................................................................................................................................................ 70
Trim Mode ................................................................................................................................................... 143
Chop Mode .................................................................................................................................................. 155
Program Mode ............................................................................................................................................. 168
Pad Mute Mode ............................................................................................................................. 185
Pad Mute ..................................................................................................................................................... 186
Pad Group ................................................................................................................................................... 187
5
Pad Mixer ...................................................................................................................................... 188
Anatomy of an Envelope ............................................................................................................................... 232
Track Group ................................................................................................................................................. 242
Program Mixer ............................................................................................................................................. 248
Bit Reducers .................................................................................................................................. 291
Other .............................................................................................................................................. 292
Trademarks and Licenses ................................................................................................................ 300
8
Introduction
Thanks for choosing the MPC Touch. Fusing Akai Professional’s legendary MPC layout and workflow
with the power of your computer, MPC software is an unrivaled instrument for music production.
Introducing a new approach to music production with an ultra-fast and super-intuitive workflow, the
Touch is powered by a radiant 7” color multi-touch display. Literally grab and pinch waveforms, draw
midi events, adjust envelopes, chop samples, add effects and precisely set your controls using your
fingertips. Combined with the classic MPC feel, sound and vastly improved pads, the MPC Touch
embodies the best elements of our past while taking music production tech into the future.
Welcome to the MPC family.
Akai Professional
System Requirements and Product Support
For the latest information about this product (system requirements, compatibility information, etc.) and
product registration, visit akaipro.com.
For additional support, visit akaipro.com/support.
9
About This User Guide
This manual should help you get familiar with using the MPC Touch to control your MPC software.
For consistency, the terminology throughout is based on the MPC parameter names.
We also used specific formatting to indicate particular topics of significance:
Important / Note / Tip: Important or helpful information on a given topic.
Names of buttons, controls, parameters, settings, and other options are written in bold characters
throughout the manual.
Examples: Press the Play Start button.
Turn Q-Link Knob 4.
Tap the Mute button.
The Velocity ranges from 0 to 127.
Set the Sample Play selector to One-Shot.
Click BPM, and then use the numeric keypad to enter a 120 as the tempo.
Some parts of this manual refer to other relevant chapters or sections, which are cited in bold, italic
blue characters. Click the text to skip immediately to that section.
Examples: Read the Important Notes section before proceeding.
For more information about installing the necessary drivers and software, please see
the Installation section.
To learn more about using send effects, please see General Features > Effects >
Send/Return Effects.
10
Important Notes
• Read the included Safety & Warranty Manual before using the MPC hardware.
• Before getting started and connecting devices to the MPC hardware or turning the hardware on/off,
make sure all devices are switched off.
• Before installing the MPC software, make sure your computer meets the system requirements
described at akaipro.com. This applies whether you’ll use MPC software as your host software or
as a plugin.
• Before connecting the MPC hardware to your computer, install the drivers and software. Visit
akaipro.com to download the latest versions. Refer to the Installation section for more information.
Setup
1. Installation
To download and install the required drivers and MPC software:
1. Go to akaipro.com and register your product. If you don’t have an Akai Professional account yet,
you will be prompted to create one.
2. Download the MPC Software Package.
3. Open the file and double-click the installer application.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Note: By default, the MPC software will be installed in [your hard drive] \ Program Files \ Akai Pro \
MPC (Windows®) or Applications (Mac® OS X®). A shortcut will be created on your Desktop, as well.
11
2. Connection
Here is just an example of how to use MPC Touch in your setup. Items not listed under Introduction >
Box Contents of your included Quickstart Guide are sold separately.
Power
Computer
Drum Machine
Powered Monitors
12
3. Getting Started
1. Power on MPC Touch.
2. On your computer, open the MPC software.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to authorize your version of MPC. For more specific instructions,
see the following section, Unlocking Your MPC Software.
4. In the MPC software, click the Edit menu, and select Preferences. Click the Audio tab and select
the sound card you want to use. Click OK when you are done.
5. Remove the protective film from the MPC Touch display, and start making music!
Important: To view the MPC software User Guide click the Help menu and select MPC Help.
Important Note for Mac OS X Users:
If you want to be able to use other apps on your computer as you are using the MPC Touch display,
please do the following:
1. On your computer, open the System Preferences.
2. Select Mission Control.
3. Check Displays have separate Spaces.
4. Close the System Preferences.
13
Unlocking Your MPC Software
To unlock the MPC software:
1. Connect your MPC Touch to a USB port on your computer and to a power source.
2. Power on the MPC Touch.
3. Open the MPC software.
4. In the dialogue box that appears, click Unlock Now.
5. Enter your information in the window that appears.
6. If your computer is connected to the Internet, click Unlock Now, and enjoy your MPC!
If your computer is not connected to the Internet, follow these additional steps:
7. Click Use Web Form.
8. The window that appears will have your name, serial number, and software ID number. Click Save Details to save this information as a .txt file, or copy the information from each field into another file
of your choosing.
9. On a computer connected to the Internet, go to authorizations.akaipro.com/MPC, enter the copied
information, and click Unlock My MPC.
10. Copy the unlock code from the window that appears.
11. In your MPC software, go to the window from Step 5 and click Enter Code.
12. Enter your name and the unlock code generated by the webpage.
13. Click Unlock, and enjoy your MPC!
14
Features
This chapter explains the features and functions of your MPC hardware.
Top Panel
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1
2
4
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4
12 1314 15 16 17
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1. Display: This full-color multi-touch display shows information relevant to MPC Touch’s current
operation. Touch the display (and use the hardware controls) to control the MPC software. See the
later Display section to learn how to use some basic functions.
2. Display Brightness +/–: Use these buttons to increase/decrease the brightness of the display.
3. Data Dial: Use this dial to scroll through the available menu options or adjust the parameter values
of the selected field in the display.
17191820
15
4. Q-Link Knobs: Use these touch-sensitive knobs to adjust various parameters and settings. The
knobs can control one column of parameters at a time. The lights above the Q-Link Knobs indicate
the currently selected column. Press the Q-Link button above them to change which column of
parameters they currently control.
5. Q-Link Button: Press this button to change which column of parameters the Q-Link Knobs currently
control (indicated by the lights above the Q-Link Knobs). Each press will select the next column.
Press and hold Shift and then press this button to select the previous column instead.
6. Pads: Use these pads to trigger drum hits or other samples in your software. The pads are velocitysensitive and pressure-sensitive, which makes them very responsive and intuitive to play. The pads
will light up different colors, depending on how hard you play them (ranging from yellow at a low
velocity to red at the highest velocity). You can also customize their colors.
7. Pad Bank Buttons: Press any of these buttons to access Pad Banks A–D. Press and hold Shift
while pressing any of these buttons to access Pad Banks E–H. Alternatively, double-press one of
these buttons.
8. Note Repeat/Latch: Press and hold this button, and then press a pad to trigger that pad’s sample
repeatedly. The rate is based on the current tempo and Time Correct settings.
Press and hold Shift and then press this button to “latch” the Note Repeat feature. When latched,
you do not have to hold the Note Repeat button for it to be activated. Press Note Repeat once more
to unlatch it.
9. Full Level/Half Level: Press this button to activate/deactivate Full Level. When activated, the pads will
always trigger their samples at the maximum velocity (127), regardless of the amount of force you use.
Press and hold Shift and then press this button to activate/deactivate Half Level. When activated,
the pads will always trigger their samples at half-velocity (64).
10. 16 Level: Press this button to activate/deactivate 16 Level. When activated, the last pad that was hit
will be temporarily copied to all 16 pads. The pads will now output the same note number as the
initial pad, but a selectable parameter will be fixed at values that increase as the pad numbers
increase (e.g., Pad 1 is the minimum, Pad 16 is the maximum), regardless of how hard you press
them. In the window that appears, use the Type selector to choose the parameter: Velocity, Tune,
Filter, Layer, Attack, or Decay. See Operation > General Features
> 16 Level to learn more.
11. Erase: As a sequence is playing, press and hold this button and then press a pad to delete the note
event for that pad at the current playback position. This is a quick way to delete note events from
your Sequence without having to stop playback.
16
12. Shift: Press and hold this button to access some buttons’ secondary functions (indicated by gray
writing). Alternatively, double-press the desired button.
Double-press this button to see which buttons have secondary functions—the buttons will flash for a
few seconds.
13. Menu/Browse: Press this button to open the Mode Menu. You can tap an option on the Menu
screen to enter that mode, view, etc.
Press and hold Shift and then press this button to view the Browser. You can use the Browser to locate
and select programs, samples, sequences, etc. on your computer as well as in the current project.
14. Main/Track: Press this button to enter Main Mode in the display and software.
Press and hold Shift and then press this button to enter Track View Mode in the display and software.
15. Undo/Redo: Press this button to undo your last action. Hold down Shift and press this button to
redo the last action you undid.
16. Copy/Delete: Press this button to copy one pad to another. When the From Pad field is selected,
press the “source” pad (the pad you want to copy). When the To Pad graphic (of all pads) is
selected, press the “destination” pad. You can select multiple destination pads, and you can select
pads in different pad banks. Tap Do It to continue or Cancel to return to the previous screen.
Press and hold Shift and press this button to delete.
17. –/+: Press these buttons to decrease/increase the value of the selected field in the display.
18. Play: Press this button to play the sequence from the audio pointer’s current position.
19. Play Start: Press this button to play the sequence from its start point.
20. Stop: Press this button to stop playback. You can double-press this button to silence audio that is
still sounding once a note stops playing. Quickly pressing this button three times will act as a “MIDI
panic” and shut off all voices and stop all audio processing. You can also press this button to abort
the loading any files that are being loaded (e.g., if you select a project or program by accident).
21. Rec: Press this button to record-arm the sequence. Press Play or Play Start to start recording.
Recording in this way (as opposed to using Overdub) erases the events of the current sequence.
After the sequence plays through once while recording, Overdub will be enabled.
22. Overdub:
Press this button to enable Overdub. When enabl
ed, you can record events in a sequence
without overwriting any previously recorded events. You can enable Overdub before or during recording.
23. Tap Tempo: Press this button in time with the desired tempo to enter a new tempo (in BPM) in the
software.
Press and hold Shift and press this button to switch between the sequence tempo and master tempo.
17
Display
Here is some general information about how to use the MPC Touch display:
Tap a button or option to select it. Use the
Data Dial or –/+ buttons to change its
setting or value.
Double-tap a button to access advanced
editing options. In some cases, this will
show a numeric keypad that you can use
to enter a value (an alternative to the Data Dial or –/+ buttons). Tap the upper-left
part of the display to return to the
previous view.
x2
18
Spread two fingers to zoom in (into a section of a
waveform, for example). Pinch two fingers to zoom out.
The upper edge of the display shows the
toolbar, which contains information about the
current view (often the name of the current
track, sequence, audio pointer position, etc.).
Tap an item to select it.
The lower edge of the display shows various
buttons that you can use in the current view.
Tap a button to press it.
To return to a previous view, either tap outside
of the window currently in the display or tap
the left arrow () in the upper-left part of the
display.
When the left-most button at the bottom of
the touchscreen shows an upward arrow (),
it means there are additional buttons you can
use when you press and hold Shift. Press and
hold Shift to show the secondary buttons, and
any of them, if desired. Release Shift to return
to the previous buttons.
19
Rear Panel
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1. Power Input: Use the included power adapter to connect MPC Touch to a power outlet.
Alternatively, you can power MPC Touch via the USB port only, but the display will be disabled.
2. Power Switch: Turns MPC Touch’s power on/off.
3. USB Port: Use the included USB cable to connect this high-retention-force USB port to an available
USB port on your computer. This connection allows MPC Touch to send/receive MIDI and audio
data to/from the MPC software.
You can power MPC Touch via the USB port only, but the display will be disabled.
4. Rec Vol: Turn this knob to adjust the volume of the inputs.
5. Master Vol: Turn this knob to adjust the volume of the outputs and phones output.
6. Inputs: Use standard 1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS cables to connect these inputs to an audio source (mixer,
synthesizer, drum machine, etc.). In the software, you can select whether you want to record either
channel or both channels in stereo or in mono.
7. Outputs: Use standard 1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS cables to connect these outputs to your monitors, mixer,
etc.). In the software, you can select whether you want to record either channel or both channels in
stereo or in mono.
8. Phones: Connect standard 1/8” (3.5 mm) stereo headphones to this output.
20
9. MIDI Out: Use the included 1/8”-to-5-pin adapter and a five-pin MIDI cable to connect this output to
the MIDI input of an external MIDI device (synthesizer, drum machine, etc.).
Important: Do not connect audio devices (e.g., headphones, monitors, etc.) to the MIDIOut. Use
the included 1/8”-to-5-pin adapters to connect MIDI devices only.
10. MIDI In: Use the included 1/8”-to-5-pin adapter and a five-pin MIDI cable to connect this input to
the MIDI output of an external MIDI device (synthesizer, drum machine, etc.).
Important: Do not connect audio devices (e.g., headphones, monitors, etc.) to the MIDIIn. Use the
included 1/8”-to-5-pin adapters to connect MIDI devices only.
®
11. Kensington
Lock Slot: You can use this slot to secure your MPC Touch to a table or other surface.
21
Quick Start / Tutorial
This chapter should help you to familiarize yourself with some basic MPC features. To get the most out
of this tutorial, we recommend reproducing each of the described steps.
The display on your MPC Touch reflects what it is controlling in the software, but due to space and
character limitations, the hardware display is slightly different (e.g., parameter names may be
abbreviated, the layout may be different or spread across multiple tabs, etc.).
Important: MPC Touch’s Q-Link Knobs control one column of parameters at a time. Whenever this
manual instructs you to use the Q-Link Knobs to adjust parameters, you can use the Scroll Knob
(above the Q-Link Knobs) to move through the different columns.
On the following pages we will create a short song to show you important aspects of using the MPC
software in conjunction with the MPC Touch.
Starting Up
Make sure you have completed all of the steps described in Introduction > Setup. This includes:
• Installing the necessary drivers and software.
• Connecting your MPC Touch to a power source using the included power adapter and powering it on.
• Connecting your MPC Touch to your computer with a standard USB cable.
• Open and unlocking your MPC software.
22
Creating a Drum Kit
Let’s start by making a simple drum kit.
Press Shift+Menu/Browse to show the Browser. Then, use the touchscreen to navigate to where your
drum sounds are located:
• To view the files and folders on your computer, tap Project in the lower-left corner.
• To view the pads and the project’s sample pool, tap Samples in the lower-left corner.
• To move to the previous folder, tap the up (∧) button in the upper-left corner.
• To move through a list, swipe up or down. To move more quickly, use two or three fingers.
• To skip to the top or bottom of the list, swipe left or right (respectively) with two fingers.
• To select a file or folder, tap it.
• To enter a selected folder, tap it once more or tap Open.
• To load a selected sample file, tap it once more or tap Load. This will load it to the currently
selected pad (lit green) and the project’s sample pool.
•To load an entire folder of samples, press and hold Shift, and then press Load All. This will load
all samples in the selected folder to the project’s sample pool.
•To preview a selected sound, tap Play () at the bottom of the touchscreen.
Viewing folders in the Browser. Viewing files in the Browser.
23
There are two ways to load samples in this mode: using the Project tab or the Samples tab. Let’s try
each of them.
First, load a bass drum using the Project tab:
1. Make sure the Project button in the lower-left
corner of the touchscreen is marked red. If it
isn’t, tap it.
2. Press Pad 1 or tap Pad 1 in the touchscreen to
select it. The pad will be lit green.
3. Use the techniques listed above to find a bass
drum sample you like.
4. To load it to the selected pad (Pad 1, in this
case), either double-tap it, or tap the Load
button in the lower-right corner. Now, you can
press Pad 1 to play the bass drum sample.
The Project tab in the Browser
Tip: To load an entire folder of samples, press
and hold Shift, and then press Load All.
Next, load a snare drum using the Samples tab:
1. Tap Samples at the bottom of the touchscreen.
This lets you view the pads and project’s sample
pool.
2. Press Pad 2 or tap Pad 2 in the touchscreen to
select it. The pad will be lit green.
3. Use the techniques listed above to find a snare
drum sample you like.
4. To load it to the selected pad (Pad 2, in this
case) double-tap it. Now, you can press Pad 2 to
play the snare drum sample.
The Samples tab in the Browser.
To create a simple drum set, repeat the above steps for other pads. We recommend loading a closed hihat and an open hi-hat.
24
Recording a Drum Sequence
Now that your drum kit is set up, let’s record a drum sequence.
1. Press the Rec button to activate Record Mode.
2. To start the actual recording, press the Play button. The pre-count will count one measure before
the software starts to record. We recommend recording only one sound (pad) at a time, especially if
you are not familiar with playing drums on the pads.
3. Play a simple bass drum pattern. The note events you just recorded will automatically be placed in
the grid (in this case, on 16
recording will enter Overdub Mode automatically; the sequence plays again from the beginning and
keeps looping, allowing you to record further notes. Don’t stop the recording!
4. Play the snare drum part, then a hi-hat part.
5. When you’re done recording, press the Stop button.
If you start recording again on this sequence, keep in mind that the pads you play in your new recording
will automatically replace existing notes played with the same pads. To prevent this, you can start again
from Step 1 but press the Overdub button instead of the Rec button. Overdub lets you record additional
note events over the existing Sequence.
The Undo button functions differently while in Record Mode. Normally, pressing Undo will undo just the
last event. When there is an event to undo, the Undo button will be lit solid. While recording, the Undo
button will flash. In this case, pressing Undo will erase all events from that recording (i.e., since Play or Play Start was pressed).
th
notes). The initial measure length is two bars. After the two bars, the
25
Organizing Samples
We recommend doing some renaming of your programs and samples before going further.
The collection of drum samples you loaded earlier (and their respective pad assignments) are arranged
into a program. When you load this program in the future, you will be able to use all of the samples that
belong to it.
Let’s rename the exisiting program as we’ll want to create more programs later on.
To rename a program:
1. Press Main to enter Main Mode.
2. In the Program section in the lower part of the touchscreen, tap the cursor icon on the right edge.
3. Use the virtual keyboard that appears to enter a new name (e.g., “Drums”), and then tap Do It.
Renaming a program in Main Mode.
26
To rename your samples, let’s use your computer. In the Project Information panel, right-click a sample
name a sample (e.g., “1980Kick1”) and select Rename. Use your computer keyboard to rename the
sample (e.g., “Bass Drum”). Repeat this for the other samples in the program. This will help keep your
program organized as you add more samples to it.
The Project Information panel in the software.
Now would be a good time to save your project.
To save your project, using your computer, click the File menu and select Save Project. Alternatively,
press Ctrl+S (Windows) or +S (Mac OS X).
27
Editing Note Events
In the grid, you can see your recorded notes (or note events) as a sequence.
To enter Grid View, press Main, and then tap the grid icon on the left side of the touchscreen.
In the Grid View, you can do any of the following:
•To zoom in or out, tap the magnifying-glass icon in the upper-right corner. Then, in the grid, spread
two fingers apart or pinch two fingers together. You can do this for each axis, horizontal or vertical.
• To select all notes for a pad, press the desired pad.
• To select a single note, tap the select box in the upper-right corner. Then, in the grid, tap the note.
• To move the selected notes, tap Nudge at the bottom of the touchscreen, and then use the Data
Dial or –/+ buttons to shift the notes left or right.
By default, you can position notes only by quantization values, defined by the Time Correct value
(see below).
To change the position of notes without restricting (“snapping”) them to the grid, tap and hold
Don’t Snap in the lower-left corner of the touchscreen, and then use the Data Dial or –/+ buttons
to shift the notes. In this case, each nudge is equivalent to 4 ticks.
The Grid View with Pad A02 selected.
28
• To adjust the start point or end point of the selected notes (without changing their position), tap
Edit Start or Edit End at the bottom of the touchscreen, and then use the Data Dial or –/+ buttons.
•To transpose the selected notes up or down, tap Transpose at the bottom of the touchscreen,
and then use the Data Dial or –/+ buttons.
•To adjust the velocity of the selected notes, tap Velocity at the bottom of the touchscreen, and
then use the Data Dial or –/+ buttons.
•To show or hide the velocity lane, tap the up (∧) button in the lower-right corner of the
touchscreen to show the velocity lane below the grid. Each note’s velocity is represented by a
vertical bar. The higher and more red the bar is, the higher the velocity is.
Tap the up (∧) button once more to show a taller version of the velocity lane after which it will turn
into a down (∨) button, which you can then tap to hide the velocity lane.
Adjusting velocities in the Grid View.
29
•To open the Timing Correct settings, press and hold Shift, and then tap TC at the bottom of the
touchscreen. See Operation > Modes > Main Mode to learn about these settings.
•To open the metronome settings, press and hold Shift, and then tap Click at the bottom of the
touchscreen. See Operation > Modes >Main Mode to learn about these settings.
•To switch to the previous or next track, press and hold Shift, and then tap Track – or Track +
(respectively) at the bottom of the touchscreen.
•To mute or solo the track, press and hold Shift, and then tap Mute or Solo (respectively) at the
bottom of the touchscreen.
30
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