Also supplied is a red carry case to protect the MPC Studio during transit, but this misses a trick by omitting a compartment for cables. Power is supplied via USB. Hardly a back panel as such, the rear of the MPC Studio features just a power button, USB port and MIDI I/O on 3.5mm jack sockets. Run the installer and update your MPC Software to the latest version (1.5 at the time of writing) Update to the latest software driver (remember this is different to the firmware) Connect your MPC via USB and launch the MPC Software – if your firmware needs updating, you will receive an on screen alert. Close the MPC app.
With the release of MPC Software 1.5, people were also prompted to update the ‘firmware’ inside their MPC Renaissance or MPC Studio. So, what is this firmware? Basically it’s special software stored directly inside your actual MPC hardware controller which (I assume) deals with any task related to the hardware itself (e.g. power control, screen functionality, etc) – this is different to the ‘MPC software driver’ which is installed in your computer and deals with the USB and audio communication between the MPC and the computer.
When the firmware update was first released many people had problems installing it, to the point where some thought they had bricked their hardware. Akai soon released a new firmware updating application and this should have solved the problems. However it seems some people are still having issues, so if you are one of them, please check out the the official Akai firmware updating instructions. This is a step-by-step guide to updating the firmware and if you follow this exactly, you shouldn’t have any problems. In a nutshell:
- Download the latest official MPC Software installer
- Run the installer and update your MPC Software to the latest version (1.5 at the time of writing)
- Update to the latest software driver (remember this is different to the firmware)
- Connect your MPC via USB and launch the MPC Software – if your firmware needs updating, you will receive an on screen alert. Close the MPC app.
- If you need a firmware update, download the latest firmware – remember, if you previously downloaded the firmware before 8th October you need to re-download the updated firmware application
- Extract the downloaded zip file to your Desktop
- Disconnect any MIDI or audio devices from your computer and disconnect any MIDI cables from your MPC controller
- Exit all applications in your computer
- Connect the MPC to your computer via USB and power on your MPC.
- Run the firmware updater application
- Click Update Now and follow the instructions
- All done!
If it doesn’t work, repeat again from step 7 onwards. If you are still having problems, consider contacting Akai but also check out the various topics at MPC-Forums.com where people are giving advice on how they finally managed to get everything working.
Using Boot Camp (for Mac users only)
Free Akai Mpc Expansion Pack
Akai Mpc Live Ii Review
Firmware Update Megathread (originally started before the updated firmware was released)
Akai Mpc Studio Midi 2.9.48 Driver Download
Good luck!