Free 30-day trial. macOS first. Join the waitlist.
← Export guides

Akai MPC

Keygroup programs for MPC hardware, MPC Software and Force.

What you get

An .xpm keygroup program and the WAV files it uses, in one folder.

Kit Name/
  Kit Name.xpm
  Kick 01.wav
  Snare 03.wav
  ...

The .xpm is XML. It holds the program definition, the keygroup assignments and the envelope and filter settings, and it refers to the WAV files sitting beside it. Keep the folder together when you move it.

Vocabulary

MPC calls this a keygroup program. Elsewhere the same thing is called a multisample or an instrument. They are the same object.

Where it goes

Copy the whole folder onto the storage the MPC reads, which is an SD card, a USB drive, or the internal drive on models that have one. The MPC browser walks the file system, so the program appears wherever you put the folder. Loading the .xpm pulls in the samples automatically.

MPC Software on the desktop opens the same .xpm directly.

Velocity layers

The MPC keygroup format holds up to four sample layers per key. An instrument with more velocity layers than that is reduced on export, so if you are mapping something with deep velocity switching, check the result on the device before you rely on it.

The format itself

This guide covers getting the file onto your sampler. For what is actually inside a .xpm, what else reads it and where its limits are, see the MPC keygroup program format.