Akai MPC 3.9 OS turns the standalone MPCs and Force into a full Synthesizer

Akai MPC 3.9: the new firmware turns the standalone MPCs and Force into a full multi-waveform Synthesizer, with no extra plugins required.

Akai delivered a double blow today. With the MPC One G2 and MPC Key 37 G2, they upgraded two existing products with improved hardware. But that wasn’t all.

Akai also released the MPC 3.9 firmware today, which introduces a major new feature for Synthesizer enthusiasts.

Akai MPC 3.9

The new MPC OS 3.9 is a free update and is compatible with all standalone MPCs and Force. It introduces several major features that make the MPCs even more powerful in sound design.

So far, you had to use an MPC plugin if you wanted to create a sound purely through synthesis. That’s changing now. In MPC 3.9, Akai added the option to use oscillators as sound generators instead of samples on the drum and keygroup tracks.

Since the MPC Engine already includes filters, envelopes, and LFOs, it effectively provides a complete Synthesizer without relying on a plugin.

For this purpose, Akai has introduced MPC oscillators with various synthesis and waveform options that can be layered on up to 8 layers. Better: you can combine samples with oscillators for hybrid keygroups. 

Multiple Waveforms/Synthesis 

You can choose between basic and advanced waveforms. The basic waveforms include:

• warm sine oscillator with added harmonics
• digital sine 
• saw square: an analog-modeled oscillator morphable between saw and square waveforms
• digital saw 
• pulse: a square oscillator with variable pulse width

There are also advanced waveforms that include more sophisticated synthesis. First, you have a noise oscillator with a variable filter. Then, you have two FM options: a two-operator FM oscillator and a three-operator ring modulation oscillator.

A single-cycle oscillator produces algorithmic waveforms by dynamically generating source shapes. It also has a dedicated single-cycle oscillator with the option to load small WAV files as a sound source. 

As a highlight, MPC 3.9 also features a mono wavetable oscillator with custom wavetable import. They are stored in a JSON file that defines the wavetable format.

Each oscillator/waveform is also fully tweakable with various parameters. The FM2 oscillator offers modulation amount, FM decay, coarse control, tune, and feedback. The wavetable has controls over the wavetable position and xfade.

And each oscillator also has modulation capabilities. So, as seen, the standalone MPCs are now full-blown synthesizers, which is pretty impressive.

Other Features

Alongside the new Synthesizer features, Akai MPC 3.9 also introduces other major new features. They introduced a new set of arranging tools to improve the editing and song structure workflow.

Then, you can now insert clip matrix rows directly into the arrangement. Big news is the ability to assign individual time signatures to both sequencers and clips. This is a feature many people wanted, and now it’s here, making composing significantly more flexible.

A new version of MPC Software is also available and still in beta. It now includes an arranger mode and can be loaded as a VST3 and AU plugin in your favorite DAW.

Akai MPC 3.9 First Impression

Akai made a very clever move here, as it massively enhances the MPCs with minimal effort. Since the synthesizer architecture is already in place thanks to the samples, there’s no need to develop a separate engine around it. 

Even better: the synth features are available without buying an extra plugin, and I think resource usage will also be less intensive than with plugins. And assigning individual time signatures to both sequencers and clips is also a big deal. Great update! 

The new Akai MPC 3.9 is available now as a free OS update for existing users. Akai MPC Standalone is now available in beta.

More information here: Akai

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