Wavetables on the Akai MPC: OS 3.9 Turns Keygroups Into a Wavetable Synth

video upload by Keith Crosley

"The Akai MPC just became a wavetable synth! With the MPC OS 3.9 update (and the new MPC 3 desktop software), Akai added oscillators — including a wavetable oscillator with custom wavetable import — to Drum and Keygroup tracks. In this video, I walk through how wavetables actually work on the MPC: enabling the oscillator, installing your own wavetables, the format.json quirk, and a deep dive into sound design across more than a dozen wavetable categories.

To make this painless, I built the KRC MPC Wavetables Collection — 2,156 wavetables preformatted for the Akai MPC, just $10 — and added a free Akai MPC version of my Free Wavetables collection (1,600+ wavetables). Everything in the intro track (besides most of the drums) was made with these.

─── WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ───
How to enable oscillator/wavetable layers in MPC key groups (OS 3.9 / MPC 3)
How to install custom wavetables on standalone MPCs and the MPC 3 desktop software
The format.json requirement (samples-per-frame + frame count) and how to work around it
Designing sounds with up to 8 oscillators, crossfade-as-time morphing, and the mod matrix
A tour of 13 wavetable categories: Bézier, choir, split, polygonal, M-series, microwaved (Waldorf-style), phase distortion & more

─── GET THE WAVETABLES ───
🌊 KRC MPC Wavetables Collection (2,156 wavetables, $10): https://www.wavetables.lol/l/mpc-wave...

🌊 FREE MPC Wavetables — snag the free version of KRC Mathwaves wavetable sampler, then scroll to the bottom of the product page for the Akai MPC version: https://www.wavetables.lol/l/free?lay..."