MPC

This is an AKAI abbreviation that originally stood for “MIDI Production Center,” but has more recently come to be “Music Production Center” with the introduction of USB connectivity. The first device to carry those letters was the original MPC60 in 1988, which was designed by Roger Linn, who was then a product designer for AKAI. This was his “brainchild” from the start, beginning with the functional design, the front-panel layout and eventually the software and hardware specifications. The actually software was completed by Linn and a team of other engineers, while English engineer David Cockerell and his team handled the hardware electronics. The MPC60 was intended to be a powerful sampling drum machine and MIDIsequencer and drew heavily from Linn’s own LinnDrum 9000. Today there are several Akai MPC models, including the 64-track, 32-voice MPC2500, the compact MPC1000, and the battery-powered MPC500.