Installing Custom Midi Progressions in MPCs and the Akai Force

Some of our instrument expansions contain custom MIDI progressions for use in ‘Pad Perform’ mode alongside the existing ‘factory’ chord progressions. In this article we’ll look at how to install these custom progressions in standalone MPCs (including the Akai Force) and the MPC Software.

First, download your expansion from your File Bank and extract the files to a location on your computer. From the extracted files, locate the ‘Progressions’ folder:

Inside you’ll see a sub folder, which in the above example is called ‘ Pad Pimps – Melodic Percussion Progressions’; this contains the custom MIDI progression files and is the folder we’ll need to transfer to our MPC.

Installation: Standalone Mode (MPC & Force)

To install these progressions into a standalone MPC/Akai Force you’ll need to copy all the progression files over to any attached MPC/Force disk (e.g. SD card, USB drive, SATA disk) using the same file transfer methods you would use when transferring expansions. However, this time instead of copying to the ‘Expansions’ folder, you must copy everything to a folder called ‘ Progressions’.

So first, connect your computer to your MPC disk using the same method we outline in this article (e.g. via USB and controller mode, or by physically connecting your MPC disk to your computer).

Now enter your MPC disk. If your disk already contains a ‘Progressions’ folder simply copy the ‘ Pad Pimps – Melodic Percussion Progressions’ inside it:

If there is no ‘Progressions’ folder you’ll need to create it first – or you can just copy the entire ‘Progressions’ folder over from your computer. The progressions will be available in ‘Pad Perform’ the next time you use your MPC/Force in standalone mode.

Installation: MPC Software/Controller Mode/MPC Beats

To use the progressions in the MPC Software / MPC Beats (including controller mode) you’ll need to copy the progressions to a specific location on your computer.

On a Mac, navigate to:

/Users/your username/Library/Application Support/Akai/MPC (or ‘MPC Beats’)

Please note that the user Library folder on a Mac is normally invisible by default. To view it, go to your Home folder in Finder (this is your ‘username’ folder) and choose View > Show View Options, and select Show Library Folder.

In Windows, go to:

C:\ProgramData\Akai\MPC (or MPC Beats)

As with the standalone installation, you simply need to copy the ‘ Pad Pimps – Melodic Percussion Progressions’ inside the existing ‘Progressions’ folder like so:

If a ‘Progressions’ folder does not exist here, either create it or just copy over the entire ‘Progressions’ folder from the expansion download. The new progressions will be available the next time you fire up the MPC Software (or MPC Beats).

Using Your Progressions

For a step-by-step guide to using your progressions, check out our Playing Instruments With 'Pad Perform' article.