“Looping is merely the ultimate extension of overdubbing”: Top insights from the creator of the Akai MPCMost musicians know the Akai MPC as a beat-making powerhouse, but according to original creator Roger Linn, it may also be “the ultimate looper” – even if it wasn’t exactly meant to be one.
In a new video, the legendary electronic instrument pioneer and designer behind the MPC60 walks through how he uses the Akai MPC for live looping.
“If you think about it, looping is merely the ultimate extension of overdubbing,” Linn says. What makes live looping so compelling, he explains, is that it allows the audience to witness the music being built in real time – much like watching a “painting” unfold stroke by stroke.

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Most conventional loop pedals, however, come with two major limitations: they only record audio, which “removes the possibility of live manipulation of the MIDI data after recording”, and they don’t allow switching between different multi-track sequences, which can make performances feel repetitive over time.
That’s where the MPC blows the doors wide open.
“Although the MPC isn’t primarily intended to be a looper, I found it to be the ultimate looper,” says Linn.
He explains that the MPC allows for the recording of drum tracks, pitched sequence tracks, and audio tracks as overdubs in real time, as well as the manipulation of tracks (effects changes, transposition, etc.) and the changing between multitrack sequences – all without ever stopping playback.
“You can create a multitrack loop sequence and then without stopping, create another… then another,” he says. “Then arrange them in real time with manipulations.”
This is something that can’t be done even in major DAWs like Apple’s Logic Pro or Ableton Live.
“Computer DAWs only load a single multitrack sequence at a time,” Linn notes. “This is significant, because it’s tricky to write software that manipulates so much data. So kudos to Akai’s software team.”
Linn’s endorsement is also especially noteworthy given the rocky history between him and Akai. While he collaborated with the company on the original MPC60 back in 1988, later changes in management led to a falling-out over unpaid royalties. That said, the two parties appear to have reconciled recently, with Linn even praising the MPC Live 2 on his YouTube channel last June.
“It is said that the reward is in the journey,” Linn concludes his demo. “So, let audiences see your journey. Thanks for watching.”

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