Akai MPC and Force now pack extra punch with DrumSynth

Build classic and modern drum sounds in the sampler instruments.

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Akai DrumSynth

The mysterious DrumSynth was first spotted by eagle-eyed Akai fans who tuned into the NAMM demos of the MPC One. Akai kept its lips sealed, waiting until now to reveal the fully-featured DrumSynth, which joins Tubesynth, Bassline, Electric and Hype in the MPC series and Force. Owners of these machines can grab the new instrument for free in the MPC 2.9 and Force 3.0.6 firmware updates, which are available now.

DrumSynth is built around eight drum engines that use FM synthesis, physical and analogue modelling, and sample-based algorithms. Each engine is represented by a drum sound: kick, snare, clap, toms, percussion, hi-hat, crash and ride. The plug-in’s engines can be manipulated with ease with a host of parameters, effects and processors. Transient shaping, tuning, EQ, compression, reverb and delay can all be applied to each drum engine. Check out the full overview below.

Each sound can be tailored, with each drum model featuring its own set of custom parameters. This can, for example, give control over decay, click and punch on kicks; different clap counts and speeds; hold and decay on hi-hats and much more.

All eight engines can be instantly loaded using DrumSynth’s multi-mode. This allows easy mixing and balancing, with the option to save combinations as a custom user preset. Akai has ensured that this is made easier with detailed visual feedback on the screens of the MPC and Force devices.

Akai DrumSynth GUI

Dan Gill, senior product manager says: “The Akai Professional standalone ecosystem is one that constantly evolves, providing the modern performer and producer with unique tools to spark their creativity. DrumSynth is the latest addition to our standalone series of synth engines, empowering users with 8 distinct engines and 9 amazing plugins for the unrestricted power to sculpt any drum or percussion sound imaginable”.

DrumSynth is available for free via firmware update 3.0.6 for Force, firmware update 2.9 for MPC One, Live, Live II, and X as well as software update 2.9 for MPC2 users now.

Learn more at akaipro.com.

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