It looks like MPC Beats takes the guts of Akai’s existing desktop software and reduces it to the bare essentials, but for the free price, it looks pretty good. For one thing, you’ll still have access to three of Akai’s virtual synthesizers (Bassline, Tubesynth, and Electric) along with 80 effects plugins. On top of that, it comes with 2GB of sample sounds to start. Of course, you can (and probably should) use your own samples as well.
You’re also not limited to Akai’s own plugins. MPC Beats supports third-party VST, and can even be opened as a plug-in in most existing DAWs (I suppose, similar to how Native Instruments Maschine works).
Unsurprisingly, Akai has ensured that MPC Beats integrates tightly with its own hardware, so if you already own, say, an MPK Mini Play, you can dive right in with the hardware pads that immediately correspond to the virtual ones in the software. However, this is not limited to Akai’s own equipment, popular controllers from big brands like Novation, Native Instruments, Korg and many others are also supported.
There are some limitations, of course. Mainly in the amount of tracks you can have. MPC Beats offers eight MIDI / instrument tracks and only two audio tracks. This is more than enough for basic song building, but it may not be long before you want more. Either way, since it’s free, there’s nothing wrong with trying it out and seeing if it works for you.
