// THE VERGE — LINUX & OPEN SOURCE
Exclusive details about Akai’s MPC Sample Key
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The open-source MPC Sample Key won’t be focused on chopping up drum breaks.
The open-source MPC Sample Key won’t be focused on chopping up drum breaks.
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Akai teased its new MPC Sample Key on Instagram earlier this week, and said it plans to open-source its software so the modding community can hack it to their hearts’ delight. While there’s no word yet on when the device will launch or how much it will cost, The Verge has received exclusive images of the upcoming instrument that offer some details about its feature set.
While the Sample Key shares many of the same controls as the MPC Sample — including the three context-sensitive encoders, a large main encoder — it seems designed for pitched sample playback, rather than chopping up drums. In fact, the “chop” button from the MPC Sample is missing entirely from the Sample Key.
The dedicated pitch and mod wheels are another clue there. But there are also buttons for changing the octave range of the 25-key keyboard, as well as ones labeled “chord” and “arp.” Presumably, those enable a chord playback mode and an arpeggiator. While using an arpeggiator to play back drum samples can be a fun way to create rhythms, it’s more commonly used for melodic and bass parts. And a chord mode would be basically useless for drums. Those options also appear to replace the chop function from the standard MPC Sample.