Use this like a practice room: one mission, one picture, a few moves, then a quick drill. The PDF is still your offline book; this is the hands-on version.
Learning Flow
The path: basics first, depth when you're ready
If you follow the numbers in order, you'll go from "where are the sounds?" to arranging and exporting a song. If you already know a step, skip it — the menu below is built for jumping.
Before the beats: know where the cables go and update the box. Firmware is how this machine grows.
Rear panel, left to right here: phones, sync out, MIDI out/in, audio out, audio in, REC GAIN, USB-C, and power. The microSD slot is on the left side of the unit.A working setup in one picture: something to hear it, something to sample, and USB-C for power/data when you need the computer or phone.
Press POWER on the rear panel. Turn up MAIN VOLUME.
For the update, connect USB-C to a computer, power the Sample on, then browse to mpc-sample.local. If that fails, restart while connected or use 192.168.155.1.
Follow the page if it offers firmware. Windows 10 uses Akai's updater app instead.
Charge with a real 5V / 2A source. Weak USB power can mean slow charging or charge-only-while-off behavior.
Try itPower up, press PLAY on the demo, hit pads, then double-press STOP. That double-stop is your emergency silence button — learn it now.
Step 1 · Start Here
Start a new song on open
The Sample opens with a demo or your last work. A new song means a new project: blank pads, blank sequences, same factory library still safe on the drive.
Project menu. This is home for Load, Save, New Project, and SD Card Access.The confirm screen. “Clear everything?” means clear the current work area — not erase the factory library.
Hold SHIFT and press PAD 16 – PROJECT.
Turn the ENCODER to New Project and press the encoder.
If asked, press B3 to confirm. You now have a blank kit and blank sequences.
If the current beat matters, cancel and Save Project first.
Mental modelOn this box, a project is one kit/programs worth of pads plus up to 128 sequences. It feels closer to “one beat workstation” than a full multi-track DAW.
Step 2 · Sounds
Where the internal sounds are — and how kits load
Internal sounds live on the built-in drive. Individual samples come through SAMPLE SELECT. Whole kits come through PROJECT → LOAD.
Samples root. Categories like 808, Bass, Break, Claps, Cymbals, FX — your map of the factory library.Inside Snares. Highlight a file and it previews. Bottom-left shows your path: Samples / Snares.Another folder view. The browser is simple on purpose: encoder scrolls, encoder press opens/loads, B1 goes back.
Load one sound to one pad
Tap the pad you want to change.
Press SAMPLE SELECT.
Use the ENCODER to enter a folder and highlight a sample. Use B3 to toggle Preview, B1 for Back, and B2 to switch Internal vs External/microSD.
Press the ENCODER to load it to the pad. Press SAMPLE SELECT again to return.
Load a whole kit
SHIFT + PAD 16 – PROJECT → Load Project.
Choose Kits.
Press the ENCODER to load kit + four demo sequences, or press B3 to load just the kit sounds.
Try itLoad three different snares onto pads 5, 6, and 7. Play the same simple pattern and feel how much the beat changes from one sound swap.
Step 3 · Sequences
Record your first sequence
A sequence is your loop. Record by playing pads while the loop runs; it overdubs every pass so you can build drums in layers.
Sequence screen. Seq A01, 4 bars, Q = 1/16. The bottom row is your rhythm control room.BPM pop-up. Hold B1 in Sequence Mode and turn the encoder, or tap tempo like a drummer counting in.Armed and recording. Red means the take is live. Empty sequences are dim; filled ones glow.
Press SEQ. Tap a dim pad for an empty sequence.
Set tempo: hold B1 + turn ENCODER, or use TAP TEMPO.
Set length with K1. Set record quantize with B3 and grid/Q with K2. Start with 4 bars and 1/16.
Press SEQ RECORD, then PLAY. Play hats first. Let it loop. Add kick. Let it loop. Add snare.
Press SEQ RECORD again to stop recording but keep playing, or STOP to stop all.
Feel toolsRT Swing on K3 leans on playback live without rewriting your notes. Count-in is SHIFT + PAD 4. Metronome is SHIFT + TAP TEMPO: Off / On / Record only.
Step 4 · Start Here
Save, name, reload — and move files
The machine auto-saves your work in progress, but named saves are how you build a catalog you can find later.
Project page again. Load, Save, New, and SD Card Access all live behind SHIFT + PAD 16.Naming screen. Encoder picks characters, B2 erases, B3 is Do It. Samples and projects use this same naming logic.
To save the beat: SHIFT + PAD 16 → Save Project → name it → B3.
To save one edited sample: SHIFT + SAMPLE SELECT → name it → B3.
To reload your work: Project → Load Project → User. Factory explorations live under Demos and Kits.
To move files with a computer: Project → SD Card Access, copy files, eject safely on the computer, then exit on the Sample.
Do not confuse the resetsReset Factory Settings resets preferences. Reset Factory Data wipes user content from the internal drive. They are not cousins; one is a haircut, one is a house fire.
Step 5 · Sound Design
Sample Mode: the sound-shaping map
Sample Mode is where one pad becomes your sound. B1, B2, and B3 page through parameter groups; K1–K3 always control what the screen bottom says.
Trim page. Start, End, Loop. This is where a loose recording becomes a tight one-shot or a clean loop.
Mix. Volume and Pan. SHIFT+K2 reaches kit volume.Amp Env. Attack, Decay/Release, Velocity Sensitivity.Tune. Semitones, cents, and Warp for tempo/pitch behavior.Play. Mono/Poly, Mute Group, Offset. Mute groups are the open/closed hat choke trick.Filter. Cutoff, Resonance, Type. Includes the MPC3000-flavored Classic filter.Filt Env. Make the filter move over time with Attack, Decay/Release, Depth.
Button
Pages
Use it for
B1
Trim · Mix · Amp Env
Length, level/pan, dynamics shape
B2
Tune · Play
Pitch/warp, mono/poly, mute groups, pad link, offset
B3
Filter · Filt Env
Tone and moving tone
The knob trapThe K knobs and fader are absolute-position controls. If a knob seems dead, look for the little arrow by the parameter and turn toward it until the arrow disappears. You caught the value; now the knob owns it.
Try itPick one snare. Make three versions in your head: trim it tighter, tune it down 2 semitones, then low-pass it until it turns into a knock. That is the Sample Mode workout.
Step 6 · Chop / Pad Play
Chop a break and play the pieces
Chop turns one sample into a kit of moments. This is the MPC religion: find the break, slice it, rearrange it.
Chop screen. The waveform is divided into slices; pads play the slices. K3 chooses Chop Type.16 Levels: Tune. One sound spread across the pads by pitch. Velocity and Filter are the other two flavors.Loop state. The icons near the top tell you if a pad is Note On, reversed, looping, or in 16 Levels.
Select a pad with a break or phrase. Press CHOP.
Turn K3 for Chop Type: Threshold finds hits, Regions 4/8/16 cuts evenly, Manual lets you tap pads while it plays to drop slice points.
Tap pads to audition slices. Use K1/K2 to trim the selected slice; SHIFT+K1/K2 zooms.
SHIFT+B1 extracts a slice to the next free pad. SHIFT+B2 splits. SHIFT+B3 merges. Hold ERASE + pad removes a slice.
Press CHOP again to exit.
Pad Play buttons — the other four weapons
LOOP: tap pad to start/stop looping. SHIFT+LOOP = Reverse.
SHIFT+CHOP: Note On — sound plays only while held. Off means One Shot.
MUTE: pads become live mute switches in any mode. Red = muted. SHIFT+MUTE = Unmute All.
16 LEVELS: one sound across all pads by Velocity, Filter, or Tune. In Tune, original pitch is pad 4.
Try itChop a break into 8 regions. Play the slices out of order until a new groove appears. Then record that as a sequence before you “fix” it.
Step 7 · Sampling
Sample anything: room, records, phone, itself
The Sample is not just a playback box. It records from the built-in mic, rear line-ins, USB audio, and its own output.
Sample Record. Source, length, threshold across the bottom. Tap a pad and you are rolling.Input Config. SHIFT + SAMPLE. Set defaults here so recording is ready when inspiration shows up.Recording. Red means capture is live. Watch meters; red meters mean distortion, not power.
Press SAMPLE RECORD.
Turn K1 to choose Source: Mic, Rear, Rear L/R, USB, USB L/R, or Resample.
Use B1 for monitoring: Off / Auto / On. The speaker mutes itself when the mic is live.
Set K2 Rec Length: Free, or Seq for exactly one sequence pass. Set K3 Threshold so starts trigger clean.
For rear inputs, set level with REC GAIN on the back.
Tap a pad to record. Tap more pads while recording to drop chop points. Tap the pad again or STOP to finish.
Trim it in Sample Mode. Make it permanent with SHIFT + PAD 13 – TRIM SAMPLE. Normalize with SHIFT+B2 on the Trim page. Save with SHIFT + SAMPLE SELECT.
Two superpowersRECALL: SHIFT + SAMPLE RECORD grabs the last 25 seconds of input you almost missed. RESAMPLE: SHIFT + PAD 11 renders the current sequence to one pad; or choose Resample as a source and record the machine performing itself.
Deep · Sequences
Sequence control room
Once you can record one loop, the next skill is conducting many loops: launch them, vary them, automate them, and fix them without stopping the music.
Launch: In SEQ mode, tap another sequence pad while one plays. It queues and starts when the current sequence ends.
Tempo scope: B2 toggles SEQ BPM (each sequence has its own tempo) vs GBL BPM (one tempo rules all).
Automation: Arm SEQ RECORD, press PLAY, then turn K knobs or ride the fader. Your motion becomes part of the sequence.
Erase while moving: Hold ERASE and tap a pad to clear that pad's events in the current sequence. In SEQ mode, ERASE + pad can erase a whole sequence.
Copy: Hold SHIFT + ERASE, tap destination pads, release. Samples or sequences duplicate.
Surgery: SHIFT+PAD 2 Half Seq, PAD 3 Double Seq, PAD 6 Half Speed, PAD 7 Double Speed.
Try itMake Seq 1 your drums. Copy it to Seq 2. In Seq 2, erase the kick on beat 3 and add a fill. Now launch 1 → 2 → 1. You just arranged with your hands.
Deep · Editing
Step Edit + Time Correct: fix the note, keep the feel
Step Edit is surgery on one event. Time Correct is a grid pass over many events. Use Step Edit when one hit is wrong; use Time Correct when the whole pocket needs help.
Step Edit. Events are listed by pad with timing and velocity. This is the microscope.Time Correct. Choose pads, set Q, Shift, Swing, then Do It. Undo is your friend if the soul leaves.
Open Step Edit: SHIFT + SEQ.
Turn the ENCODER to move by steps. Use −/+ to move between events on the same step, or tap the pad.
Move the FADER to nudge timing. Turn K3 for velocity. Press B3 to erase the selected event.
For a batch fix: SHIFT + PAD 14 – TIME CORRECT, select pads, set K1 Q, K2 Shift, K3 Swing, then B3 Do It.
Pocket ruleRT Swing is live and reversible. Time Correct Swing writes into the events. If you're experimenting, play with RT Swing first; commit with Time Correct when it feels right.
Step 8 · Finish
Song Mode: chain sequences and export the record
Sequences are sections. Song Mode is where sections become a record you can hand to somebody.
Song list. Export, Remove, Insert across the top. Sequences stack into an arrangement.Export naming. Name the song file and choose where it saves. External means your microSD world.
Open Song Mode: SHIFT + PAD 12 – SONG.
Tap a sequence pad, then press B3 to insert it into the song list.
Build the order: intro, verse, hook, verse, bridge, hook, outro — whatever your sections are.
Use encoder/−/+ to move in the list. B2 removes the highlighted entry.
Press PLAY for the full song, or highlight an entry and use SHIFT + PLAY to start from there.
Export with B1: B2 for audio mixdown, B3 to flatten the song into a new sequence.
House noteUntil Akai's promised MPC 3.8 project bridge lands in firmware, audio is the bridge: mixdowns, resampled loops, and WAVs on SD move cleanly into the bigger rig.
Step 9 · FX
FX performance lab
Four engines, four jobs. Pad FX is played. Flex Beat warps time. Knob FX is set-and-ride. Compressor glues the whole thing.
Pad FX map. Sixteen effects under the pads, pressure-sensitive. Phaser is highlighted here; yours will follow your hands.Flex Beat. Time-based patterns over the whole sequence: repeats, gates, chops, scratches.Knob FX select. One effect, chosen here, then controlled with K1–K3 while pads stay playable.Color Compressor. Attack, Release, Amount — plus the Color warmth switch. This is the glue knob set.
Engine
Open
Best use
Pad FX
PAD FX
Pressure-played effects over the sequence; up to four at once; B1 latches.
Flex Beat
SHIFT + PAD FX
Chops, stutters, gates. PAD 1 is Empty/home. K1 One Shot vs Loop, B3 quantize, K3 mix.
Knob FX
KNOB FX
One effect on chosen pads while your hands stay free. SHIFT+KNOB FX selects.
Field ruleFlex Beat can distort when the Sample follows external MIDI clock. Run the Sample as clock master when it is in a synced rig.
Try itPlay a plain 4-bar loop. Add Pad FX Delay with light pressure on the last bar only. Then try Flex Beat in One Shot mode so it returns home by itself. Performance is timing, not just effects.
Deep · Menus + MIDI
Menus, fader, MIDI, and sync
This is the back office: what the fader rides, how inputs default, and how the Sample talks to the rest of your rig.
Fader menu. SHIFT + PAD 9. The fader can ride volume, pan, tune, envelope, filter, or whole-kit volume.MIDI Config. SHIFT + PAD 8. Port, channels, pad MIDI, sync in/out, thru, program change, CV rates, takeover behavior.
