MIDI controllers

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Box opened, product in perfect working order***


The entry-level option to get started with Akai's MPC workflow. Hardware controller for the MPC 2 software, which runs on Mac or PC. Features 16 MPC pads and a new assignable touch strip.

Supplier's Notes:
MPC Studio is a Complete MPC System

MPC Studio brings the total MPC experience to your computer by combining intuitive hardware control and innovative, inspiring software. Load a loop from the library, chop it into samples, lay down a beat, then play instruments over it to add more melodic textures. Add some insert effects to develop your song structure and arrangement, or to build drops and transitions. MPC Studio makes your workflow one continuous stream of non-stop creativity.

Premium Pads for Perfect Production

Pad performance is the top priority for any beat maker. With MPC Studio, you can be confident that every beat and note will be right on time, every time. Velocity-sensitive RGB pads mean maximum expression, whether you're playing soft melodies or booming kick drums with coloured visuals to keep track of your velocities and pad groupings. Switch from Note to Chord Mode quickly and build out your tracks right as inspiration strikes.

Assignable Touch Strip Control and Expression

Create your own signature sounds with the assignable Touch Strip. This fluid controller bends and shapes your sounds however you want. Make that pad synth more mysterious with a swell, control the roll of your hi-hats to fill your trap drumbeat, or make that guitar part more realistic by articulating the strum right where you need it. Assign any of the numerous knobs, sliders, and parameters to the Touch Strip for new and inventive manipulation of any track. Add dynamic and real-time Touch Strip effects for the ultimate live production and performance.

Colour Screen for Vibrant Feedback

When you're locked in the creative moment, the vibrant colour screen ensures you can keep your hands on the MPC Studio and your focus on the music. Whether you need to trim a waveform, browse through instruments, samples, and plugin presets, or adjust parameters on the fly, the screen gives you the visual feedback you need in a moment's glance without having to stop your workflow and reach for your laptop. When it comes to your musical efficiency, every moment matters, and every move needs to help you effectively capture your ideas to finish your songs faster.

World-Class Plugins & Effects

MPC Studio includes an extended palette of sounds, instruments, drum samples, loops, insert effects, and much more to both spark your creativity and complete any music project or task. With over 100 instrument and effects plugins combined, MPC Studio can tackle any style or genre of music with rich, inspiring sound. The modern-day beat making insert effects plugins are powered by award-winning AIR Music Tech. with powerful editing, arranging, and mixing tools including the AIR Vocal Suite. Create, record, and mix the perfect vocals with the Vocal Suite to add everything from pitch correction, to harmonising, to thickening your vocals and audio tracks with the AIR Doubler.

Includes MPC2 Software

Akai Professional's acclaimed MPC2 Software works seamlessly with MPC Studio for the ultimate beat making and music production experience. This cutting-edge production suite and DAW combines 128-track sequencing capability, real-time time stretching, advanced MIDI editing capability, VST compatibility, and numerous plugin instruments and Insert Effects for creating and mastering professional finished songs and tracks. MPC2 software has a dedicated set of plugins to record and produce the perfect vocal recordings with the AIR Vocal Suite including automatic vocal tuning, vocal doubling, and vocal harmonising. Legendary plugin instruments including AIR Hype, AIR Mellotron, AIR Solina, and WayOutWare Odyssey, among others, offer a plethora of world-class sounds and presets to sculpt the perfect master track. A massive suite of modern plugin Insert Effects powered by AIR Music Tech - including a Limiter for finalising tracks - rounds out the infinite music and beat making possibilities.

Includes Loop Content From: Decap, F9 Audio, Mvp Loops, Rawcutz, Snipe Young, and more.

Technical Specifications:
Pads: (16) velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads, RGB-backlit, (8) banks accessible via Pad Bank buttons Knobs
Knobs: (1) 360- push encoder for display navigation and selection
Touch Strip: (1) multi-function 5.5" (140 mm) touch-capacitive controller with LED indicators
Buttons: (39) LED backlit dedicated function buttons
Display: Full-colour LCD
Connections (1) 1/8-inch (3.5 mm) MIDI input, (1) 1/8-inch (3.5 mm) MIDI output, (1) USB Type-B port
Power: via USB
Dimensions (width x depth x length): 12.0" x 6.7" x 1.5"/305 x 171 x 37mm
Weight 1.8 lbs./0.83kg

Notes: Which live performer doesn't know this situation: You build the tension to immeasurable heights, add another filter here, three more effects there, hands go up in the air, everyone's waiting for the big drop and then you realize: You can't find your way out of the chaos you've created!

The sweat on your forehead drips onto your equipment, and in a firework of spraying sparks, your devices and your fans say goodbye forever.

This doesn't have to happen!

With Drop, you can now map your MIDI equipment across devices and easily store different controller positions as snapshots. During performance, you can jump back to these snapshots at any time (JUMP mode) and trigger them. All of this can be quantized and with variable fade time, allowing you to use a snapshot for slowly building tension and automatically have multiple controllers move simultaneously.

A particularly useful feature, is firing snapshots in DROP mode at exactly the right moment, precisely at the end of a pattern of, for example, 8 bars. For this purpose, Drop features an integrated master clock that counts any number between 1 and 32 bars (= cycle). In DROP mode, you can schedule a snapshot to trigger at the end of a cycle, build tension and go crazy on effects until then, and lean back as the snapshot automatically turns the controllers at exactly the right moment, bringing your live set back to solid ground.

Saving and recalling snapshots is quick and simple even during live situations, allowing you to work spontaneously with new snapshots on-the-fly during your performance. The LED buttons always provide clear visual feedback about what's happening. If you want to plan further ahead, you can prepare sequences of DROP snapshots according to your song arrangement in the studio. Then use CHAIN mode to automatically trigger them sequentially on stage. Multiple chains and banks of snapshots are available, allowing you to configure your live set according to a song-by-song structure.

As with our Warp Synthesizer, Drop has two main operating levels: The PLAY level with direct hands-on access to the most important parameters, and the MENU level for studio configuration. The PLAY level is reduced to the essentials, such as the clear progress display (how many bars until the DROP at the end of the cycle), similar to a countdown clock. The buttons can be used for beat jumps, allowing you to spontaneously extend or shorten a break. Also, the number of bars per cycle and the quantization behavior can be changed on-the-fly. Everything is easily and directly accessible without submenus or hidden button combinations.

Mapping is done in the MENU level, directly on the device. No additional software is required, ensuring Drop isn't dependent on outdated operating systems in the future. Copy/paste/move functions and MIDI-Learn help with quick setup. Furthermore, an integrated MIDI monitor allows recording and analyzing incoming and outgoing messages. All possible MIDI commands are supported, including 14-bit CCs (NRPN), Program Change, Bank Select, Aftertouch, Pitchbend, and of course CCs and Notes.

Each controller enables macro mapping by sending up to eight different MIDI messages simultaneously to any MIDI output port. Individual curves can be assigned to each destination. This allows you to control multiple devices simultaneously with one knob, giving you a manageable number of highly expressive controls for your live set.
MIDI messages can also be assigned to snapshots, so that, for example, device programs and banks can be changed automatically in sync with a snapshot DROP.

On the output side, four MIDI In/Out ports via TRS jacks (types A and B) and two USB-C ports are available. Device and host modes are automatically detected, allowing connection not only to synths and grooveboxes but also to external keyboards, two laptops, or other MIDI controllers via USB.

Thanks to the multiple outputs, each connected device gets its own dedicated MIDI port with full data rate and all 16 MIDI channels, plus its own independent MIDI clock. This can even be adjusted individually for each output down to the millisecond, ensuring all devices run in perfect sync. Additionally, there are two CV outputs that can also be used for clock signals or as freely assignable 0-5V CV voltages. If one of the receiving devices accidentally falls out of sync, e.g., by accidentally pressing the stop/play button, Drop offers a quickly accessible resync button that resynchronizes all devices at the beginning of the next bar. As a master clock generator, there's also a nudge function for manual beat matching (DJ-style), or you can simply synchronize Drop to an incoming MIDI clock or a 0-5V clock from your modular system.

Another function is the reception and forwarding of incoming MIDI signals. Via the MIDI merge function, incoming messages can be filtered by channel and distributed to the connected devices. This allows a master sequencer that outputs sequences for all devices on multiple channels to be connected and appropriately routed through Drop. Drop adds the MIDI messages from its own controllers (MIDI merge), so the receiver gets the sum of both signals. You can go even further and integrate an external MIDI keyboard, allowing you to play some of your own notes in addition to the sequencer. Such routing was previously mainly reserved for software solutions, but now you can save having a laptop on stage, as Drop takes over this hub function.
The silicone buttons for snapshots can also be used as a 4x4 clip launcher for Ableton Live integration, parallel to snapshot control. Simply load the corresponding script from below into the appropriate folder on your computer. Drop now offers navigation through Ableton clips with RGB LED feedback, play/stop functionality for clips and tracks, scene triggering, and even the ability to start a scene in sync with a snapshot DROP.

Even without Ableton, the button matrix doubles as a convenient mini keyboard, allowing you to trigger notes on your favorite synth without lugging around extra gear. It includes practical features like customizable scales and transpose functions to enhance your playing flexibility.

Drop can be powered via USB-C, allowing it to be elegantly connected to a laptop with just one USB-C cable. However, an external power supply is also included to effectively prevent the notorious ground loops in branched USB setups. The power supply also contains globally compatible power adapters (EU, UK, US, AU), making it ready for global tours. The package also includes a USB-C cable, a USB-C to USB-A adapter, and two MIDI-TRS cables with 3.5mm stereo jacks.

The solid metal housing, metal faders and encoders, and high-quality soft-touch buttons guarantee long-lasting enjoyment and professional touring reliability.

Notes: Monolit by Lightreft is a cutting-edge, multifunctional MIDI-computer that transforms your music production experience. Designed for musicians who seek precision and flexibility, MONOLIT offers seamless integration with all DAWs and hardware devices, customizable presets, and an intuitive interface for effortless control and creativity.

Whether you're diving into your DAW or jamming out with external hardware instruments, MONOLIT has you covered. An endless library of presets at your fingertipsieach one offering 8 banks, with 8 sliders and 8 buttons per bank. That's a whole lot of control!

For each slider and button, Lightreft present a range of versatile options. You can record MIDI automation, set delay times for slider movements, send notes and LFOs, and adjust various parameters directly within the device. This flexibility ensures that you have complete control over every detail of your setup.

But it doesn't stop there. MONOLIT is as versatile as you are, allowing you to connect other devices like Gamepads, Keyboards, Monome Grid , or any MIDI device you fancy. This means you can take command of your entire setup, all through one sleek, powerful interface. Whether you're crafting the perfect beat, tweaking synths, or anything in between, MONOLIT is the tool that brings your musical ideas to life with ease and style.

Designed and assembled in Japan, MONOLIT is ready to be shipped worldwide.

Specifications

Enclosure: the casing and front panel are made entirely from a single piece of aluminum.

Screen: multi-bright monochrome display 128x64 with a cozy pixel font

Controls: 8 sliders and 13 buttons providing full control

Banks: 8 banks with a total of 64 fully customizable sliders and buttons per peset

Memory: Save, load, and edit presets, and switch between them with ease

Compatibility: MONOLIT works with any DAW or hardware device that supports MIDI

Connectivity: TRS to MIDI, USB-C outputs, as well as USB input to connect external devices

MODES: 4 customizable slider modes and 2 button modes, with more on the way in future updates

Notes: Unlock Limitless Creativity.

Experience the power and versatility of the ultimate MIDI Controller & Looper. Take control of your music like never before.

Redefined sensitivity.

ERAE II reacts from the lightest touch to the fastest strokes, pushing the dynamics to the extreme possible range of musical articulation. Embedding 16.000 force sensors, ERAE II benefits from our patented Force Multi-Touch technology, which offers ultra-responsiveness, down to a very low threshold force.

The most playable surface yet.

ERAE II benefits from 3 years of R&D with our patented Force Multi-Touch technology sensing just a few grams of pressure on a very large playable surface.

A sub-millimetre XY precision both in relative and absolute mode with enhanced sensor linearity for ultra-stable and continuous finger slides.

Complete musical articulation.

Add polyphonic portamentos, slides and after-touch to your musical creative process.

Control multiple sound parameters with a single touch and explore new possibilities on your favourite synthesizers.

Expressive looping.

Record segments of music and play them back with ERAE II's 8-track looper. You can define duration, quantization and BPM, overwrite and overdub expressive features.

Every gesture recorded on the fly is replayed visually, creating a show for the eyes.

Here it is in action: quickly recording a base line then adding a drum sequence. Stop the recording and jam on top of your loops.

Modular mastermind

Multi-dimensional connectivity.

ERAE II features 24 (12 dual) configurable analogue outputs, to be used as CV/Gate, drum triggers, and bipolar modulation CV controls. Bring life to your modular patches, and record intricate loops to be played back on any CV!

Different skins.

ERAE II features a unique skin that connects the sensors to your fingers. This material is designed to provide the perfect gliding sensation, with just the right amount of softness and the organic feel of fabric.

This skin can be replaced in just a few minutes. Our Kickstarter backers will receive a second skin made of black silicone.

Expressive Controller Looper

Erae Touch is a polyphonic MIDI Controller & Looper.

Designed for immersive live performances it will enrich your musical composition and become the master device to control all your hardware synthesizer, modular gear and software instruments.

Built with unrivalled sensitivity and offering infinite configurability.

User-friendly configuration

No more back & forth menu diving.

Setup the tempo, set your scales and launch loops from the settings section with ease thanks to the backlit buttons, the LCD screen and the selection click wheel embedded in the top right hand corner.

The ERAE Lab

Create your own layouts with the free companion software ERAE Lab. It's a simple yet powerful creation software: elements, MIDI settings and styles can be defined and tested in just a few clicks.

ERAE Lab now enables seamless layouts and project management. Drag existing layouts from a project to the compose panel. Browse your project library and pick layouts to create new ones in a few clicks.

Customize your interface with musical elements such as isomorphic keygrids, keyboards, or control elements with fader and buttons.

An open canvas.

This is an open canvas for the most daring. The API is a custom sysex library with messages enabling you to take full control of the ERAE II detection points and LEDs states. (You can already download the full API Documentation here).

A new kind of arpeggiator.

Explore the arpeggio's parameters in 3D. All the arpeggiator parameters (rate, octave range, note length, pattern, steps, velocity) can be mapped to expressive gestures (after touch, slide, portamentos).

Use the aftertouch control to modulate the rate while sliding the same finger to bend the note. Push it even more with MPE!

What's in the box:

Erae Il MIDI Controller & Looper
A Set of 2 skin with fabric and silicon material
60W USB power supply
2x USB cables (Power and MIDI data)
1x MIDI-TRS cable