New Product: Akai XR20 Urban Beat Production Station
Mar 31, 2008 11:55 PM Asher Fulero (Writer)
Somewhat akin to a small
MPC without sampling, the Akai XR20 Beat Production Station ($500; www.akaipro.com/xr20)
is a drum machine with benefits. It has 700 built-in drum, percussion and
synth/bass sounds geared toward "urban" production to play from the
12 backlit pads. The 99 Factory patterns and 99 User patterns become even more
useful when using the Pattern Play feature, which lets you trigger different
patterns from individual pads. Akai's Drum Roll and Note Repeat from the MPC
line are included, and the built-in effects engine offers EQ, reverb and
compression for expanding the available palette. Transport controls, a Jog
Wheel, numeric input and the pads themselves can all act as MIDI controllers or
can be externally sequenced via the MIDI connections. Also, a mic input, main
outputs and separate headphone output and output volume controls help make it
flexible for stage or studio use. Best of all, the whole thing can be powered
by six AA batteries for beatmaking anytime, anywhere.
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