Loading Plugin Presets From an MPC Expansion

Akai have created many native MPC plugins for use in standalone MPCs and we are now developing a growing library of custom presets for them.

In our other plugin installation articles we’ve looked at the more advanced ways to install presets into MPC plugins, but without doubt the easiest way to get up and running with custom MPC preset libraries is to load them from within a standard MPC expansion.

Installing Presets as part of an MPC Expansion

Plugin preset expansions are identical to drum kit and instrument expansions, they just contain plugin preset files instead of kits and samples.

After downloading your preset expansion from your File Bank , extract the files to your computer and you’ll see something similar to the following:

The standalone expansion is found inside the ‘Standalone MPC-Force Install’ folder:

The MPC Software expansion installer is found inside the ‘ MPC Software Install’ folder.

At this point the actual expansion installation procedure is identical to the one described in ‘ Installing Standalone MPC Expansions’ and ‘MPC Software Expansion Installation’, so please refer to those articles for the full details.

Now, let’s look at how we can load and use the presets stored in an expansion.

Standalone Expansion: Loading Presets

In the following example I’m going to use our ‘ Crush’ Fabric XL expansion.

In MAIN (or MATRIX in the Force), select the track you wish to load a preset to – it does not have to be set to a PLUGIN type (the loading process will set this for you).

Now go to ‘ MENU > BROWSER > Expansions’ and tap on the ‘Crush’ thumbnail.

On the right side, you’ll see two preset folders, one containing presets for the ‘Fabric XL’ plugin, and one containing the same presets but formatted for the ‘ Fabric’ plugin (Fabric presets will typically use approximately half the memory of the Fabric XL versions).

Decide which Fabric version you intend to use and enter its folder:

Here you’ll find all the presets organised into the type of sound; double tap a folder to enter and make sure you select the PLUGIN filter:

Single tap each XPL preset to hear a preview (requires ‘AUDITION >AUTO’). To load the preset either double tap the XPL file or single tap and press LOAD .

Please note that in an MPC there is no on-screen confirmation of loading.

The MPC will now simultaneously create an instance of Fabric/Fabric XL and load the preset state into the plugin. At this point you can immediately begin playing your preset via the pads or a keyboard.

If you wish to try a different preset, simply load another from the BROWSER and it will replace the previous preset. This can all be performed from the browser without needing to go to any other screen.

To create a second Fabric instance with a different preset, return to MAIN (or the MATRIX in the Force) and select a different unused track. Now return to the BROWSER to continue previewing and loading – the MPC/Force will now automatically create an additional plugin program for this preset.

Using & Saving Presets

After loading a preset that you wish to continue using, go to PROGRAM EDIT :

This is the plugin UI for Fabric/Fabric XL program that you have created, where if you wish, you can further tweak the plugin to your exact needs. At this point, whenever you save your project, this plugin ‘state’ will be saved in the plugin program and recalled when the project is re-loaded.

From this screen you can also save the currently loaded preset to your plugin’s ‘ User’ folder so it can be re-used across projects. Just hit the DISK icon:

From the resulting ‘save’ screen, leave the save location unchanged & hit SAVE. The preset will now always appear in the dedicated ‘ User’ group inside the plugin, found at the bottom of the list of Factory preset groups:

Using Plugin Presets in the MPC Software Expansion

In this example, we’ll be using the Crush Fabric XL Preset expansion.

After installing the expansion into the MPC Software, open the expansion browser (keyboard shortcut ‘X’) and click on the ‘Crush’ thumbnail.

Now click on expand the ‘Presets’ group and click on the version of Fabric you’d like to use. In the MPC Software we’d normally recommend that you use the  Fabric XL version.

You'll now see all the presets, organised into groups based on the sound type:

Single click any preset to hear its preview - this requires ‘Autoplay’ enabled:

Double click a preset to load it to the current sequencer track. The MPC will automatically create an instance of Fabric/Fabric XL and assign the preset to it. Double click another preset to override the currently selected one.

To create a separate additional preset instance, select a different track in the current sequence and upon loading the new preset, the MPC will create a second Fabric plugin instance.

Click on the Launch Plugin icon in the track inspector:

This opens the plugin UI where you can continue to adjust the plugin to taste.

From the top left hamburger menu, you can select ‘ Save Preset’ to save this preset to your User folder.

If you have any problems installing your preset expansion, please get in touch and we’ll guide you through the process.