Akai MPC60

The Akai MPC60 is where the pad-based beat machine begins. Released in 1988 as the first MIDI Production Center, it put a sampler and a sequencer in one box and gave producers 16 pads to play beats by hand instead of programming them step by step.

History

Roger Linn, creator of the LM-1 and LinnDrum, designed the MPC60’s functions, panel layout and software with Akai; David Cockerell designed the sound chip. It sampled at 12 bits and 40 kHz with 13 seconds of memory, expandable to 26 seconds, 16 voices and a sequencer holding 99 sequences, 99 tracks and 60,000 notes. It listed at $5,000. A MkII with new casing and a headphone jack followed in 1991.

Pads and swing

The 4×4 grid of velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads changed how beats were made, and Linn’s swing quantize gave programmed drums a human drummer’s feel. The Alchemist calls that swing “the neck snap” and likes it set around 62 to 63 percent.

Who used it

DJ Premier moved to the MPC60 in the early 1990s and paired it with an Akai S950, sampling into the S950 and sequencing on the MPC, a setup behind his Gang Starr production. DJ Shadow made Endtroducing….. (1996) on an MPC60 MkII, and Dr. Dre and Prince Paul are also cited as users.

Buying one today

MPC60s are sought after but often need work. Test every pad, check the display and its backlight, and confirm the floppy drive works; many owners swap in a floppy emulator. Listings mix in later models (MPC2000, MPC3000, MPC One and MPC Live), so check the model. Akai’s MPC software includes MPC60 emulation if you want the feel without the hardware.