Akai Force
Akai’s Force is many things in one: a sequencer, a sampler and a software instrument host. What’s most relevant for us today is that it includes a fully-fledged arrangement view, where compositions can be created, edited, mixed, then exported as Ableton Live projects, or as ready-to-share stereo files.
The package includes the Force itself, a mains power supply, three 3.5mm MIDI adaptors, and a USB cable. It’s somewhat chunky, weighing 3.87kg, and measuring 350 x 389 x 72.5mm, but maybe that’s an acceptable trade-off given the expansive control surface that’s available as a result – the top panel includes the 6.9” multitouch display, many buttons, a large data dial, a crossfader, eight touch sensitive assignable knobs, each with its own little display, and 64 illuminated, velocity, and pressure sensitive pads. Because of the sheer number of options, you’ll often find that there’s more than one way to perform any given task.
“What’s relevant here is that it has a fully-fledged arrangement view”
The front edge of the Force is home to an SD card slot, 1/4” headphones jack with volume knob, and a cue-level
