The best groovebox he's ever played | Akai MPC Key 37 G2 live performance

video upload by Jay Hosking

"Please support my work on Patreon: / jayhosking
A live synthesizer performance using only the MPC Key 37 G2.

To be clear: I bought this synth with my own money, thanks to the support of my Patreon community. So while I recognize that the following praise seems effusive, it's the truth.

I got into hardware through grooveboxes. I started with the Novation Circuit and got more complex from there. The groovebox—sequencer, multiple timbres of synth, drums, samples, and effects—is my happy place. And while many devices have been good, I've never found "the one", that one groovebox that does everything you want it to do. Until now, maybe.

I've played with MPCs quite a bit over the last few years, but this newest generation, and this model in particular, is the one. It's a combination of things: a mature platform with fast loading and workflow; every conceivable sound type I want, from synths to samples to piano; a robust collection of effects, with great reverbs, delays, and ways to mess up a sound; more tracks than I'll ever need for a song; a sequencer without the limitations of 64 or 128 steps; clip launching; simple audio recording in; auto-sampling to capture your own sounds; MIDI in and out via 5-pin DIN and USB; MIDI learn with peripheral MIDI controllers that works flawlessly; USB multi-track audio recording that just works without a hitch; so much more.

And keys. The real secret is the keys, and the way that lends the device to be instantly played melodically, unlike the MPC Live III (which has its perks, too). This feels like the perfect standalone device for me, or the perfect centrepiece to build onto with other synths and hardware controllers. I cannot wait to make more music with this thing.

I know the MPC has a reputation for certain genres of music, but my hope is that through this piece, you'll get the sense that it can be extremely versatile. It sounds great, it feels great, and it performs great. What an inspiring device, and while I'm writing this, all I'm thinking about is getting back to it.

Thanks for listening.

Performed and recorded live to multi-track USB. A click track was used for the quiet moments, and routed separately from the rest of the mix. Full disclosure: some of the finger drumming was just off enough to bother me, so I fixed it (thank goodness for multi-track audio recording!). All sounds and effects come directly from the MPC, though the guitar was recorded in with an external amp modeler. EQ, compression, and limiting were added to the master.

https://jayhosking.bandcamp.com"