Four Upgrades The Akai Force MK2 Needs In Order To Succeed 

Yes 🙌🏾 all of this, plus RAM and CPU buff, and a Multi-band Compressor effect.

RAM increase. No excuse in todays age for the current offering.

Thanks for making this! My list is very similar to others: - Pop up screen - High end processor and more memory to allow for more than 8 plugin and audio tracks - MPE pads - Another stereo input I would also LOVE a Force Mini with a battery.

Pop up screen deffo! 😊

Yup. All of that. More audio tracks too. With disk streaming, the device is definitely capable of running more audio tracks. I mean, when I go to the trouble of physically modding my Force to have a tilting screen and folks make modded firmwares for the Force to handle things like tempo automation etc. that should be a big obvious sign to Akai as to what they need to do. Will they do it? Who knows.

Here's a big ass Force wish list from Gearspace: -Polarity flip. -Sample combine. -Euclidean sequencer. -Vocal Remover. -Tempo automation. -Real-time sample reverse like the SP-404 mk2. -Quick way to reset values like vol to zero. -More time-signatures. -More LFO's (& free-running LFO's) & destinations in Track Edit. -Different date formats from the browser Year/mm/dd. -More track location tags in the arranger. -Track mute groups= like pad mute groups but for tracks. -Send a submix to another submix. -More audio tracks. -MIDI clock latency compensation. -An frequency spectrum analyzer. -Explode drum tracks. -Names for scenes. -Custom startup screens. -No 30 second sample audition time limit. -Better Time-stretching. -A tilted screen. -Another crossfader. -Load a sample to the next layer. -Let samples in the Audition window play the last pad pressed in a Drum Program seq data so we don't have to load a bunch of samples just to test them out. -Some way to easily transport bars so we can go from bar 1 to bar 2. -Option to set all new samples to stream from disk & to change multiple samples to stream from disk at once. -Change the stereo type (Stereo, L-mono, R-mono, L+R mono) of a stereo sample in real-time in the Track edit. -Being able to copy & paste text & also save common names to the pads (Pad 1=Kick, Pad 2=Snare,...Pad 64=Ruff Sketch). -Track Position Swap (Track rearrange is cool but this is faster - Swap track 2 & 13 in one take). -Copy Track settings to another of the same Track type w/o copying over the clips. -Track Clips copy & paste options: copy or move & paste 1/all/selected clips to another track with the options of keeping the current clip(s) name or converting the name to the new track or even a new custom name. -"Pause Recording" = Start sampling then pause it on the parts you don't want & un-pause it to record the parts you do want in a single take. -Launch Wait = If you press a new launch scene, it won't start playing until the longest clip in the current scene finishes. -Launch Scene Arranger= Setup the order of scenes to play & loop on the fly so we can change it up then let it play out. E.g., Scene 1-2-3-15-16 then its loops or not. Also this should be able to be recorded into the Arranger. -In the clip editor piano roll the out of scale notes should be darkened by default, and hidden or disabled via a configuration option. -Note config assign in track settings for individual tracks.

A wooden calf stretcher is the best Force stand

Better MIDI implementation (especially the mapping, how it is done and saved. Also the sync as slave).

I also think the auto sampler needs a major UI Overhaul. More graphical/ visual aids

Bein' that drums & Percussion is my Main Forte as a musician, I'd like to see support for Odd Time Signatures -I can't find ANYTHING on the market sequencer-wise that offers THAT! I.E. 7/4&7/8, 5/4&5/8, 9/8&9/4 -or even 11/4 or 13/8! THAT'S My BIGGEST Gripe!🤬

For me there is one thing it needs above all of these and that is warp algorithm on par with new push 3 using elastique z-plane framework. Currently the warp on mpcs and force is pretty much unusable.

My wishlist would include - phantom power that works without destroying the soundcard ( I have to use an external mixer to connect a decent microphone). I would like at least another two outputs for external processing

Totally agree, no scene tempo and drum explode are so crippling that I have no option but to switch back to ableton and buy a push. Stemming out Drums takes 20-30 minutes everytime and that adds up to hours a week

TBH, none of these are really "Force mk2" features - they're more like Force mk1 bug fixes, and in the case of the screen tilt, a feature that should have been included from the get-go. Given that some people have hacked the Force to have a tilting screen, it's quite plausible that Akai "could" offer a retrofit tilt screen option (if they cared). I have much higher expectations for a "Force mk2" - significantly more processing power & RAM, user swap-able NVMe drive, 16 wide pads (& perhaps an MPE option), a bunch of the sequencing features found on newer "grid" devices (Deluge/Play/Hapax/Push etc) + some of the tricks from Elektron sequencers, more CV outs, more & better built in synths & effects, proper DJ capability to seamlessly blend DJing & live performance, and an overhauled UI to make the whole thing more intuitive.

A Force XL with a tilting 10” like a MPC X would be awesome.

I would like better time stretching for samples and a visual EQ

My Wishlist.Time Signature selection,Qucikly convert/flatten external midi track to audio.More than anything i would like to see little to no bugs.

For tempo automation, I believe the Mockba firmware unlocks MPC song mode on the Force. Each song is its own arrangement. If I’m not mistaken, songs can have different tempos. I don’t understand why Akai doesn’t expose this natively in the official OS.

Couldn't the first three be addressed with a software update? For me the biggest update and one that would make me consider a upgrade would be more ins and outs

Agree with Program change and pop up screen.

Tempo automation is missing on MPC hardware and software too. Even any free DAW got it, very basic thing.

I appreciate that the majority of your suggestions are software based which can easily be addressed with firmware update (assuming Akai do the work). I would like to see an adjustable screen as well, but more importantly - Force 2 needs at least 4 GB of RAM (no reason to assume it’ll be more than the MPC X SE or Key 61), but a faster CPU would be extremely useful for keeping up with Push 3.

Great points and those would certainly be some excellent additions.

Agreed on all 4 counts, as all 4 have been barriers for me at one time or another. My 5th request would likely be more ram. I rarely use some plugins because of this limitation.

Things for me: - Unlimited tracks and unlimited plugins per track. governed only by CPU + Memory usage rather than an arbitrary number of slots - a full implementation of the step sequencer on the pads. The current one lacks a lot of things (can't change step length?!) and using the touch screen to edit clips is terrible. they should look heavily at how the deluge/hapax do it for melodic sequences. - project queuing. similar to what you said on tempo matching, being able to queue up a project in the background and swap to it without interrupt would be great

Wishlist: Scene Queue to build songs similar to “Next Queue” and “Song Mode” in MPC. 🚀 Also Clips in arranger to help you see where the original content came from. And please better time-stretch/warping or something it’s unbearable right now.

Interesting how most of your wishes are software related. Which means you won't need a mk2 except for the tilt screen. 🙂

All these plus USB audio like what you have with Mpc. Would be a game changer!

100% agree on all of your points! Especially the drum explode!! I never have thought about it because I normally separate my parts before exporting them out to ableton. It would be a time saver to not have to copy the parts to a new track. Tempo problem has been a real pain point from the beginning that they have never even tried to fix. Screen is the top of the list period. I just don't want them to release a new machine that only has a ram bump and a new color way. I think people would lose their minds if that happened. I too would love to have the same footprint as the mpc x, but keep the 64 pads and add MPE, maybe not so many qlinks but enough to cover most things. Definitely having the transport be at the bottom of the machine instead of at the top. Also proper midi cc for the pads, transport, and button functions its needed to be able to program for external footswitch control. More internal ssd space as they keep adding these new plugins and while you can dump the synth files to your customer internal disk the system disk is affected. Maybe allow all content to be moved to the customer internal ssd to preserve the internal disk for system functions only.

Great video topic! A wishlist for me 1- full size pads like the size of a launch control or push, not the 3/4 pad size 2-more ram and better processor that is exchangeable for upgrades 3- MPE 4-better audio warp, like serrato or Ableton 5- Same form factor, I am out if they make the new Force a micro machine. To me this is a center piece not an additional machine that fits in your pocket. I know thats the unpopular opinion, but I like a command center for performance. 6-Tilt screen 7- Better midi implementation for controllers 8- If there is going to be a another Force, please don't cheapen it up! I would pay more for a better device.

I think the Force has everything it needs for being a standalone DJ device, but the biggest roadblock is that creating a whole new proprietary firmware for it is real tough. InMusic owns both Akai and Numark, though... could a dream firmware upgrade featuring Numark ever be in the works?

I dont see why this would need to be a HW upgrade, I think it can all be done in SW

I really hope Akai follows suit with Abletons descision to offer user-upgradeable ram and processor options. That along with exploding drum tracks and the warp function being addressed. Oh, and a Force desktop daw software companion would be epic!!

I would add MUTE as CUE... Solo as a CUE is a diabolically wrong. Soloing is for solo track play, it is the muted tracks that should sent to the cue so they can be adjusted, cued up and unmuted. It used to be like that, but some bright spark at Akai swapped it for selectable option for the solo... clearly someone who never played a single set live. Also - synced muting like on the MPC please, it just gives you a fraction of a second to grab a knob or a crossfader. - Level indicators per track, or at least a clipping indicator - 8 red pixels, that's all we need. - Mixer button to page trough the mixer pages, why not, why have a button and then have to use the screen? - Larger text on clips.

No hardware changes or "Mk2" needed for these, except the screen. It's all software, programming. The first three seem relatively small changes compared to how much the Force has changed since its introduction.

Explode track is great, but from arrangement right? Add some follow actions because Ableton missed that in the new Push. I’m still wrapping my head around all the great things the Force can do now. Great video and videos by way.

I personally need more posibilities with MIDI learn for example scene launch!

8gigs of Ram and an internal battery.

Time signature change, at least have the option for 3/4 on a project level.

Very good suggestions, especially the last point re scteen tilt & mic placement ..item 3 should be explode all channels not just drum parts.

Why would tempo automation be an issue for most electronic dance music ? The tempo is always the same five or take a nudge so do it manual surely 🤔

Yearly release cycle and all they did was add 4 new VST's, while they lost support for most audio interfaces and ignored any UX updates or bugfixes. Just buy a Push 3, they are likely made in the same factory anyway.

I have one complaint well 2 really. A bigger screen like the mpc x has and Force software like the mpc has. But I think the force is one and done. Akai doesn’t really advertise it much or talk about it. I’m surprised they still make it.

Hey! Is it possible to just export drums one by one?

I already own the mpc x if I buy the force would it be overkill? thx

Aren't these mainly Firmware upgrades?

akai needs to make the force mk1 a more usable and stable machine. mk2 is bullshit untill they make akai force mk1 good enough. This thing dont even have per scene tempo automation, and you cant even record stuff in 3/4 in the normal way you could do with any daw without modding the firmware and has a loooots of bugs and not enough ram.