Akai Professional MPC Live III Standalone Music Production Workstation

Manufacturer's Description

The most powerful Akai Professional MPC to date

The new MPC Live III is a flexible and expressive standalone music production center designed for beatmakers, producers, and live performers to bring their creative ideas to life. The system’s intuitive and comprehensive sampling, sequencing, and effects make it an indispensable tool for modern music creation with no DAW or computer required.

We built MPC Live III for producers who move fast. It’s packed with dynamic production tools, responsive controls, sounds designed by the industry’s top sample makers, and the fastest processor of any MPC to date. From basic beatmaking to advanced music production and the most demanding live-performance workflows, MPC Live III redefines the power of standalone.

AN ICON EVOLVES

MPC has been at the heart of modern music—powering iconic records, shaping genres, and defining the sound of a generation. We’ve listened closely to the creators behind that legacy, taking in what you need to stay inspired and keep creating.

MPC Live III is the result: a genre-defying, boundary-breaking production machine built for wherever music takes you. It honors the past, drives the present, and empowers you to shape what’s next.

Unbelievably Fast, Undeniably Slick

Powered by the fastest processor we’ve ever put in an MPC, this complete standalone system gives you all the production, mixing, and performance capabilities you expect from next-gen Akai Pro hardware, while unlocking the full potential of the MPC3 operating system.

Experience dynamic features like Pro Stems Separation and the ability to load up to 32 instrument plugin instances and 16 audio tracks seamlessly. This is creative horsepower without bottlenecks—it’s your flow, uninterrupted.

The Classic MPC Pad, Reimagined

MPC Live III debuts our new MPCe pads: 3D-sensing, ultra-responsive, and designed for more nuanced expression and performance. These pads enable X/Y control of one-shot layers, seamless sample blending, and dynamic note repeats and articulations for more ways to perform and produce with feeling.

Standalone, Portable, Designed to Adapt

MPC Live III is built to break out of the studio. With onboard battery, speakers, and mic, plus deep MIDI and CV control, your full setup goes wherever inspiration hits—no laptop, no limits. Whether you’re programming beats, sampling grooves, layering stems, triggering clips, or sequencing a whole track from scratch, MPC Live III’s got the range to keep up.

Expanded Workflow for the Perfect Drop

For the first time ever in an MPC, clip launching, step sequencing, and assignable performance buttons empower new ways of working—beyond the classic production toolkit. Trigger clips that land on the one. Lock in basslines and grooves that form the backbone of electronic styles.

Whether you're building a live set or dialing in the perfect drop, this MPC is for modern performance.

Features

• Standalone hardware with MPC3 OS (No computer required)
• 8 Core processor (Gen 2) - 4 x the power of MPC Live II
• 8 GB onboard RAM / 128 GB storage
• 16 full-size RGB MPCe expressive pads with new 3D sensing technology
• Onboard stereo studio monitors
• Built-in high-quality studio mic for field recording, vocal takes, and quick sampling
• Internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• 2 x combo inputs with mic preamps
• 16 RGB performance buttons for step sequencing / automation / effects control
• Assignable touch strip controller
• Vibrant 7” touch display
• USB-C port for computer connectivity (ISO and Android apps, seamless smart device audio sampling, and high-speed transfer of up to 24 audio channels in/out of your DAW)
• 8 CV / Gate outputs
• WiFi / Bluetooth (Ableton Link)
  

Specifications

• Digital Audio System
• ADCs: 24-bit @ 44.1, 48, or 96 kHz
• DACs: 24-bit @ 44.1, 48, or 96 kHz
• Digital Signal Processing: 32-bit floating point
• Mic Inputs 1–2
• (2) balanced XLR+1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0.2 / -1.2 dB)
• Dynamic Range: 110.0 dB (A-weighted)
• SNR: 101.8 dB (1 kHz, +4 dBu, A-weighted)
• THD+N: 0.002% (1 kHz, +4 dBu, -1 dBFS)
• Preamp EIN: -131 dBu (max gain, 40 Ω source, A-weighted), -127 dBu (max gain, 150 Ω source, unweighted)
• Maximum Input Level: +13 dBu (XLR-Pad ON), -1 dBu (XLR-Pad OFF)
• Sensitivity: -46 dBu (XLR-Pad ON), -60 dBu (XLR-Pad OFF)
• Gain Range: 59 dB
• Line Inputs 1–2
• (2) balanced XLR+1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0.2 / -1.1 dB)
• Dynamic Range: 110.6 dB (A-weighted)
• SNR: 98.6 dB (1 kHz, +4 dBu, A-weighted)
• THD+N: 0.002% (1 kHz, +3 dBu, -1 dBFS)
• Maximum Input Level: +16 dBu
• Sensitivity: -20 dBu
• Gain Range: 36 dB
• Phono Inputs
• (2) unbalanced RCA
• Dynamic Range: 92 dB (A-weighted, 135 mVrms @ 1 kHz, -1 dBFS, 20 Ω source)
• SNR: 79 dB (A-weighted, 4 mVrms @ 1 kHz, 20 Ω source)
• THD+N: 0.002% (1 kHz, +3 dBu, -1 dBFS)
• Maximum Input Level: +16 dBu
• Sensitivity: -20 dBu
• Gain Range: 36 dB
• Line Outputs 1–6
• (6) impedance-balanced 1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0.03 / -0.18 dB)
• Dynamic Range: 113.8 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N: 0.003% (1 kHz, -1 dBFS)
• Maximum Output Level: +12 dBu
• Output Impedance: 100 Ω
• Headphone Output
• (1) 1/4” (6.35 mm) stereo headphone
• Dynamic Range: 111.2 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N: 0.006% (1 kHz, -1 dBFS, 10 mW/channel into 32 Ω headphones)
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0.03 / -0.19 dB)
• Maximum Power Delivered: +50 mW (<1% THD, 32 Ω headphones)
• Maximum Output Level: +11 dBu
• Output Impedance: 32 Ω
• Pads
• (16) velocity- and pressure-sensitive pas with 3D-sensing technology
• (8) banks accessible via Pad Bank buttons
• Knobs
• (4) 360° touch-sensitive Q-Link Knobs
• (4) Q-Link Knob columns accessible via Q-Link button
• (1) 360° encoder for display navigation and selection via push
• (1) 270° volume control
• Buttons
• (60) dedicated function buttons; red-, amber-, or green-backlit
• Display
• 6.9” / 176 mm (diagonal)
• 5.9” x 3.7” / 150 x 93 mm (width x height)
• Full-color LED-backlit display with touch interface
• CPU
• Processor: Quad-core ARM® processor
• RAM: 8 GB
• Storage: 128 GB, expandable via SATA connections
• Connections
• (2) 1/4” (6.35 mm) Combo XLR/TRS inputs (1 stereo pair)
• (6) 1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS outputs (3 stereo pairs)
• (1) 1/4” (6.35 mm) stereo headphone output
• (2) RCA inputs (1 stereo pair)
• (2) 5-pin MIDI inputs
• (2) 5-pin MIDI outputs
• (4) Stereo 1/8” (3.5 mm) CV/Gate outputs
• (2) USB Type-A ports
• (1) USB Type-C® port
• (1) SD card slot
• (1) power adapter input
• (1) drive bay for 2.5” (635 mm) SATA drive
• Power
• via power adapter: 19 V, 3.42 A, center-positive, Included
• via battery: lithium-ion, rechargeable, up to 3 hours of battery life with typical use
• Dimensions
• 17.2” x 10.1” x 2.6”
• 435.9 x 256.0 x 67.1 mm
• Weight
• 8.6 lbs.
• 3.9 kg