Akai's MPC XL groovebox is the most powerful device the company has ever made

"First of all, it offers four times the processing power of previous MPCs, which is enough to load up to 32 virtual instruments at the same time. This is assisted by a full 16GB of RAM, which is a whole lot in this era of AI tomfoolery. The XL can handle 16 audio tracks simultaneously. In my experience with previous units, this is more than enough for a full song."

"It runs on a proprietary OS and features a 10-inch OLED touchscreen for making adjustments. There are also dozens of knobs and buttons to play with, including 16 knobs that integrate with the display for real-time feedback. The XL features a step sequencer, but this is an MPC. The real star attraction are those 16 drum pads. These pads can be set to trigger samples and hits, but can also be programmed to initiate effects and do all kinds of other stuff. Each pad has four quadrants, one for each corner, and they are all fully adjustable."

"Looking for even more nuanced control? There are two assignable touch-strips and plenty of short-cut keys. It has built-in microphone preamps, phono inputs for sampling, instrument inputs and numerous other connectivity options. This is a true flagship in every sense of the word. It's also very, very large. The MPC may have started as a hip hop machine, but newer models are useful for any genre of music. To that end, it comes with an extensive collection of plugins, samples and effects. These even include some plugins made by rival company Native Instruments."

The MPC XL delivers four times the processing power of previous MPCs, enabling up to 32 simultaneous virtual instruments and 16 audio tracks. The unit includes 16GB of RAM and runs a proprietary OS with a 10-inch OLED touchscreen. Dozens of knobs and buttons provide hands-on control, including 16 display-integrated knobs for real-time feedback. The unit features a step sequencer and 16 multi-zone drum pads with four adjustable quadrants each. Two assignable touch-strips, shortcut keys, microphone preamps, phono and instrument inputs expand performance and sampling options. Bundled plugins, samples and effects include third-party titles and support stem separation and time-stretching.

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