The Akai Force may be the ultimate standalone groove box.
Listen to this demo with vocals.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MUaediPFek


It is quite amazing what a creative individual can produce from this single instrument.

You can expand the built-in voices by connecting external keyboards and sound modules via MIDI.

AKAI Force has released a new OS Update version 3.5.0


https://www.akaipro.com/force-forcexus.html

I don't know much about launchpad-type devices that have proliferated in the last fifteen years. Can anything be done in "real time" as with a traditional synth? Or does everything have to be recorded in advance?

Also, should I assume that she's triggering audio and not MIDI? Thanks!

Hi Ted,

The backing tracks can be built on the fly on the AKAI Force.
Here is a live performance by Neon Vines.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEocbQu8p7U


Here is another Live Looping demo by Neon Vines using an assortment of controllers, pedals along with the AKAI Force.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTVGs0NCMVs

Here is an excellent 1-hour tutorial on getting started with the AKAI FORCE.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BCfk2BVa6A


This covers audio and MIDI tracks, clips and scenes, effects, scale mode, arpeggios, Matrix View and Arranger mode.


The best two devices to expand the power of the Genos 2 are to add an AKAI FORCE and a Ketron EVM module.

The Force is the best platform for generating modern beats on the fly. It is a sampler, sequencer, synthesizer, control surface and a Digital Audio Workstation fused into one standalone device.


The EVM brings Live Styles. The voices on the EVM sound thicker. It is not as refined as the Genos 2, but they sound like a live band. The Genos 2 and EVM complement one another.


For those who do not want to deal with computers and soft synths, the Genos2/EVM/Force offers the best portable hardware alternative to unleash your creativity.

Most music today (And a lot of musician's) use AI to assist with music making, they also sample older music to make loops to use in there mixes as well as using 3rd party loops (Very few create their own loops), and of course they make remixes of older songs of the past.
Originality and pushing the boundary's (Which is what used to happen in music) is pretty much gone (If they cant press a button to get something done for them, they are pretty much stuffed).
Putting the work in is an alien concept to a lot of modern musicians.
Even the arranger keyboard market has pretty much gone the same way (Although this really has been going on for years), in that even though modern arranger have fantastic sounds and features, most uses just want more 3rd party styles (Song styles) rather than trying to create their own setups, which is why pretty much everybody sounds the same these days. (In the old days you could tell a player by their style, now all you can tell is what manufactures keyboard they are using)
Consider this: the home organ heyday was in the 70s & 80s, (Boatloads of new instruments and technology's was released yearly) however, they also started putting more and more easy play features on them (So all the players had to do was press a button) to the point of uses thinking why should they purchase an organ when they could get a single keyboard at a fraction of the cost, and then just press a button and have everything done for them, and from this point on the home organ market collapsed and became niche.
Arranger keyboards have gone down the same path as home organs, in that they have made them so easy to play (Just press a button and everything is done for you) that very few learn to use them in new ways and make there own style, thus just like the home organs, Arrangers are becoming (Although it could be argued that they already have) niche. (New instruments and technologies used to come out yearly, now there are hardly any arrangers left)

Bill

Hi Bill,

I completely agree with your sentiments.

Fewer youngsters are making the effort to learn how to master a specific instrument like the organ, piano, violin, saxophone, oboe, etc. when they can buy a copy of Ableton Live or an AKAI MPC One+ and start making beats just by pushing a few buttons.

While the advancement of technology has made music accessible to a wider audience, it has also dampened their quest to pursue the long journey to become a musician.

I agree with your remarks on how most would pay a few dollars to buy a song style or registration packs with programmed voices rather than building them on their own. This explains the popularity of these 3rd party products.

It takes years of dedication to learn just one instrument like the piano. The audience will always appreciate a performance from a virtuoso like Peter Bence on the piano.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SywaUbg5wU


Here is a mesmerizing performance by Rebecca Winckworth playing the harp while singing “Isle of Innisfree.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh_aO4lT7IU


The audience will always appreciate this level of perfection. This takes years of training.

Having said that, I see one good thing that the advancement of music technology has brought us. It has piqued the curiosity and participation of millions into the world of music production by making the entrance both affordable and addictive.

I hope a few would continue on their long journey after their instant gratification stage.

Technically an Mp3 player could be considered a musical instrument, and at the same time the person operating it would be regarded as a highly skilled musician in the not so distant future.

And that's exactly why I no longer listen to anything beyond the 90's...

The trouble with berating the current generation for wanting pre-canned content is that, let’s face it, WE’RE the ones who started it all!

Until arrangers, keyboards came with no content, just sounds. In fact, earlier keyboards came with knobs and the sound was up to you!

The truth is, no arranger has ever been successful that didn’t provide a TON of ready to go styles and setups. That was one of the things that killed Lionstracs, the fact that you had to do a LOT of work just to get the range of styles a mid level PSR gave you for about 1/5th the price…

The problem with grooveboxes like the Force is that it doesn’t give ENOUGH pre-canned, sorted and categorized, easy to use content..! It’s still like the early days of keyboards. Want to make great music, you got to roll up your sleeves and dig in, audition endless loops to find the right ones, basically spend more time programming than PLAYING.

That’s never been what arranger players are into. Pick a style, hit the OTS, engage one finger chord recognition, and jam blissfully for the next few hours! That’s how it became a popular type of keyboard. Groove boxes need to take a lesson from the arranger. Curate the loops, turn them into ‘styles’ (but for the love of god, don’t call them that!) and a million bedroom noodlers will buy your product!

And a bunch of old fart arranger players too! 😂👨🏻‍🦳