Recently, Akai Professional posted a YouTube video showing a sneak peek of features coming to the MPC Renaissance, Studio and Element in version 1.8.2 of the MPC software. As Pete Goodliffe and Geoff Smith introduced the video, I suddenly noticed that the normally blurred wipe board behind them had been left highly visible.
I should state quite clearly that the following is speculation on my part, but, having been involved with various music software companies in the past decade, it is based on experience as well, not just nearly wishful thinking!
At the top of the board, what could be software Alpha version test cycles are clearly visible at the top of the board (ACV5, ACV6, ACV7). ACV could stand for Alpha Cycle Version or, as I believe I’ve heard mention before, AC is the name of their Alpha and Beta test team.
Looking under the month of April, the word “VIP” is clearly visible, suggesting that Akai’s MPC celebrity users are being consulted on a forthcoming project, as they were with the development of the current MPC Renaissance and Studio.
Then, there’s the much more cryptic clues. Between May and June, the word “Kittens” is highlighted on the board with an arrow pointing upwards. Between June and July, the phrase “It Works” can also be seen, with an downwards pointing arrow. Finally, between July and August the word “Sharks” is circled, with an arrow pointing to late August that says “Laser Beams”.
The cryptic clues could be referring to the previously seen prototype of a standalone MPC Renaissance with a built-in IntelCore i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD Drive running Windows Embedded Industry 8.1, which has been lurking around since the Microsoft Build Developer Conference back in April 2014.
The most obvious clue to the future of the current MPC range is that we can also see that v1.9 of the software has been in development since March of this year and will seemingly be released sometime in the middle of June.
It’s been hinted that v2.0 of the MPC software see a new hardware range of MPC’s to accompany it. Whatever happens, as a longterm MPC user and owner of the current Renaissance, I am very excited by the future of the MPC, as it’s looking brighter and more intriguing than ever.