AKAI MPC Stems: Now for Standalone MPCs!
4,8 / 5,0 | 
AKAI MPC Stems is finally available for standalone MPC models! The new feature brings stem separation directly to your MPC. Could this change the way we work with samples forever?
AKAI MPC Stems: Stem separation on your MPC – now standalone
[July 11, 2024] Earlier this year, AKAI Professional released MPC Stems for the MPC 2 software. Powered by technology from zplane, MPC Stems separates samples into four stems: drums, bass, music, and vocals. Today, AKAI finally made MPC Stems available for compatible standalone units, as well. According to the manufacturer, you can seamlessly move stems back and forth between the hardware and software MPCs.
AKAI MPC Stems is compatible with the MPC 2 software from version 2.14 and the following hardware units: MPC Live Series, MPC One, MPC One +, MPC X, MPC Xse, MPC Key 61, MPC Key 37, and MPC Studio Mk2.
The feature is available from the manufacturer’s website for $9.99. If you’ve already bought AKAI MPC Stems for the MPC 2 software, you don’t need to purchase it again to use it on a standalone MPC.
The current MPC line-up is available at Thomann*.
AKAI MPC Stems: Forget everything you thought you knew about sampling
[March 26, 2024] If my editor-in-chief hadn’t put “game changer” on the list of words to avoid at all costs, I think I’d be inclined to use it here. The new MPC Stems feature, which is now finally available for the MPC software, does indeed open up a new world of possibilities that could change the way we produce sample-based music.
MPC Stems extracts up to four stems from any sample: drums, bass, music (chords and melodies), and vocals. And it does it with a smooth integration into the famous MPC workflow, so it’ll feel like a natural way of working with samples pretty soon.
Previously, one had to resort to external tools to extract stems and then import them back to the MPC. MPC Stems makes it possible to sample something off of a record directly to your MPC and then automatically separate it into its components. Just image this feature in the hands of sampling legends like DJ Shadow or Pete Rock!
When you extract stems from a sample, they’re automatically assigned to the same pad and can be mixed and matched as you please. You can adjust the level, pan, and tuning of each stem individually. Moreover, you can of course process and use each stem like any other sample.
What’s more, AKAI MPC Stem also works in combination with the Chop feature. Chop up a sample into a bunch of slices, hit Create Stems, and the slice points will be maintained across all of the four stems. This lets you produce and perform with samples in a whole new way. I do think this is a game changer!
More about AKAI Professional and MPC Stems
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6 responses to “AKAI MPC Stems: Now for Standalone MPCs!”
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will the stems system be available in a app form ? i use impc for ipad will i be able to get a stems app ?
can’t wait to get it
Mental! We do this currently on RX, but only very rarely. In a groovebox the possibilities for remixing stuff, old and new, would be quite fantastic. It depends on whether the software produces ‘fades’ or ‘artifacts’ as to how well it would work, in our experience it’s wholly dependent on the individual sample as to how cleanly separated the parts are. A few years ago we considered that by now, some format of music should exist in 8-32 track separated standard, that you could replay on a hi-fi and amp through 16 separate speakers with bass on one, vocal on another etc. This would be possible now on some sort ultra high capacity DVD format, and would enable you to listen and separate out all the individual parts of the tune, as if you were at the mixing desk. That’d be even better than MPC Stems…
Sounds very crappy. The freeware plugin for Audacity is much better! Sorry Akai …
The MPC is a standalone device and the freeware plugin for Audacity is not working here.
🤣