Almost anything can be a sampler now. The iPhone, without any third-party apps, can capture and playback audio, which at it's most basic functionality, is what a sampler does. Of course samplers have long been ubiquitous in the studio—the famed MPC series has been used continuously in hip-hop and electronic music for decades. The Roland SP series of samplers brought a new portability that allowed samplers to be integrated on stages in new ways, allowing musicians to mix in snippets of sound that would have previously required bulky synthesizer setups or layers of effects. Prolific hip-hop producer Madlib famously worked exclusively on an SP-303 for years, using the sampler's limitations to his advantage to create a cascade of singular atmospheric beats.Panda Bear's usage of a pair of SP-303's in his solo work and in Animal Collective is also well-documented—the packaging ofPerson Pitchprominently shows the samplers on his desk, ready for sound-mangling.Now, MPC-manufacturerAkaihas introduced an even simpler take on what a sampler can be. TheMPX8is a slimmed down version of a sampler: eight backlit, velocity and pressure-sensitive pads, MIDI in and out, and the ability to tune and add reverb to your samples. Of course the MPX8 can be hooked up to your computer to edit and import your sounds, but there's a lot of appeal in having a small, easy-to-use standalone device. The ability to load sounds via an SD card further deepens the appeal. Of course, many will say the MPX8 isn't adding anything that can't be done with a myriad of other devices, the aforementioned SP-303/404 included. While that might be true, it's a step in the right direction if large manufacturers are realizing the ocean of possibilities for using small digital media storage as audio playback. Korg hasalreadyfigured out the appeal of having a wide range of portable instruments and now it looks like other manufacturers are following their lead. The MPX8 is available now and is $99. More details can be found over at Akai'ssite.
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