Ahhhhh - you neglected to mention you went the used route. There’s no way to know if the previous owner deleted any content off of the internal factory storage, which can cause stability/performance issues. By default, Force comes loaded with content on the internal storage and only leaves a small bit free, so having 2.7 GB free isn’t out of the ordinary.
It looks like all the factory stuff is there, all the demos work so hopefully it is ok. Is there a way to check or restore the factory data?
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No way to check, aside from comparing your entire drive contents - including folder structure and hidden files - to a known Force that has never been tampered with. No way to restore it unless you get a hold of Akai support and convince them to provide you the Factory Restoration image file under the pretense that the previous owner could have deleted some important content. Not sure if they offer tech support to the used market, though. Might be worth a try. But honestly - if it’s not crashing or acting buggy/weird, then I’m sure you’re fine. Well, aside from your Project saving snafu you’re having…
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@darenager Go into ‘menu/preferences/project load/save’ and check the path to your temporary files folder. If it’s on internal drive, go to menu/browse/internal and hit shift and drive info, check to see if there’s any free space. If not, you can possibly delete some files that aren’t necessary but be careful, if you delete the wrong files it can screw up the default stuff that comes with the force.
Also change the path of the temporary files folder from the internal storage to a folder on your SSD. This will keep your internal storage free from temp files.
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@Peter118 - how does one determine what files on the factory internal storage aren’t “necessary”? As far as I know, it’s well known knowledge at the MPC-forums that nothing - absolutely nothing - should be deleted from the factory storage on Force (or MPC).
The ‘temp’ files aren’t “necessary’. You can delete them without any problem.
And the most important is to redirect the temp folder to the SSD
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Regarding your MIDI tracks, Mixer>IO and point that track “Send to” towards the track that houses the samples.
This is about the closest you can get to Exploding drum tracks.
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I think that was because of the Electribe project, maybe the format is slightly different, all the native Force projects I made are saving fine.
I’m getting there a bit with the UI now, quite enjoying it.
Thanks to all the people who gave me a nudge to try one and for the help, I appreciate it 
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I’m just replying to myself. FW 3.2.3 fixed the issue (resampling) with the Presonus Studiolive series. Works like a charm now in compatibility mode.
One thing I noticed today which is a bit of a “fly in the ointment” capturing samples of precise bar length works great when resampling internal loops, bang on every time. However sampling external devices synced to the Force, either via USB, Midi or analog clock the samples are not exactly the correct timing - what I mean is that the sync sent from the Force is not precise, an 8 bar loop is about 400 samples off in the worst case (Midi) and at best (USB) around 300 samples off, analog sync was about 350 off.
I only tested it with a Roland T-8, it could be that it’s response to sync is where the problem lies, but I will test some other devices in the future, and I might try sequencing the T-8 from the Force to see if that yields better results for sampling it.
My Force is on 3.2.3 firmware.
I think the buffer is at 192 samples and there is no delay compensation. So a little offset will occur.
I usually sample loops from synths sequenced from the Force and never had any issue. But some sequencers slaved could need a little editing to remove the initial latency.
See my previous posts from a while back in this thread. Same problem with the MPCs. They don’t capture perfect loops.
I did a few more tests, I think what is happening is both a bit of start lag and jitter on the midi clock, the internal clock is pretty rock solid, I was able to manually sync the Force to a Circuit Rhythm without midi, just starting both devices at the same time and set to the same tempo. This was much tighter than trying to midi sync the two devices, and they stayed tight for as long as I had them running, which was about 30 minutes.
I can work around it by just sampling external gear set to the right tempo, but it does limit the usefulness of the Force in a live setting where syncing gear is a basic requirement. Sadly the CV is not tight either, I have gear with analog clock sync and the same problem occurs. I hope Akai sort this out, I guess that since the Force is so full featured the assumption is that most users will use it on its own, the sync is not useable for me.
Other than this I really like it, the mixer and routing is really cool, although I wish that tracks and drums could be routed to more than 1 submix each, maybe they can but I have not found out how yet. I also wish the cursor keys were more used, like in the step editor etc. Seems a bit odd that the external inputs don’t have mixer channels too.
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The Force has some problems. But i really like the workflow, so i found ways to work around them. Mine is set to master. Then i send MTC timecode to Cubase. I use an external audio interface on the Force, and syncs that audio interface with the Quantum 4848 via Adat. That gives a really tight sync between Force and Cubase. I have an Usamo set up to send midi clock to all other sequencers in my setup. When sampling clips i only have an initial latency, and is rarely noticeable when capturing loops from different gear in a jam.
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Yes it definitely does have a few issues for sure, (to be pragmatic about it, all other gear does too) although overall I really like it, and as you say working around the issues is very much worthwhile because of the stuff it does do very well.
It has been quite interesting that using the Force has made me appreciate other gear that I have more too, for example the Force allows parameters to be mapped to the crossfader like the Octatrack does, but the implementation is a bit different, and a little less immediate but still very nice in its own right. The Force for me strikes a nice balance between a computer DAW and a hardware instrument, I hope that Akai will focus more on fixing the sync and UI issues/niggles rather than just adding more features in future firmware updates.
So far I think I’d say Force has been one of my best purchases in the last few years, even in spite of the aforementioned annoyances. There is a lot I’d change about it, the whole undeletable demo and factory content is bananas IMHO, feels a bit like 90’s Roland grooveboxes in that respect, but there is also a lot I really like about it, and the preset content is easily enough ignored.
I am also highly aware that I am very much only yet scratching the surface of what is is capable of, I have not really delved into the looper or audio tracks and arranger yet.
Oh just remembered, I tried syncing the Force to the Circuit to see if that was any better, and funnily enough it was, with one caveat - upon start for the first few bars the Force fluctuated in speed quite dramatically before settling down, then it seemed to lock in fairly ok if not still quite perfect, but noticeably better than when as master.
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Are you using Ableton?
If so, you could try using Ableton Link to generate the clock to the Force.
I know the Force is generally seen as an alternative to Ableton Live, and for people wanting standalone, but it works really well with it.
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I have Ableton but I don’t really enjoy using it (or any computer DAW really) which is what attracted me to the Force as you mentioned, but I do have a few iPad apps which use Ableton link, I think the Organelle supports it too, so I will look into that, thanks for the suggestion.
The macro’s are awesome. Even if they take a litte bit longer to set up than scenes on the OT. Ive made a template with most used tracks and parameters set up. Using a macro to for example open the filter on two synths via midi, and two more via cv is awesome. And setting the knob up so it returns to default as soon as you let go is so nice in a live jam.
Another problem with slaving the Force is that it cant sample. Even with a very accurate midi clock, it will get small tempo fluctiations that stops recording clips.
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The Force is a funny one-so many small issues and gripes but I think overall it is still an amazing product. I think anything that does as much as this will have some issues-it also has what feels like 100 different ways to do the same thing, so finding your own workflow on it is important.
I’m still really on the fence over whether I prefer the Force or the MPC live 2… I currently have both and am completely torn!! They both have strengths and weaknesses that set them a little bit apart, but at the same time feel too close to each other/similar to justify having both.
Anyone else got a Force and MPC on their set up, and if so how do you combine/split the work. Or did anyone have both and choose one over the other and if so why?
I’ve been having this back and forth for nearly 2 years now and ultimately find that the MPC is most useful to me and integrates best into my setup.
When I go back to the Force and dig in, it’s usually in standalone mode and I really like it. Then, over time, I’ll start wanting to introduce external devices, and I’ll like that for a while too… but before long I’ll hit a point where I think ‘why aren’t you just using Ableton?’, and I’ll go back there and put the Force away.
I’ll be honest, I really dislike the ergonomics of the Force too… it’s way too insistent and demanding of space and a position in my studio. It’s not that much different in size to a Push 2, but a Push 2 integrates itself so much easier/better.
With the MPC (Live 2), I like being made to work differently (than Ableton), and think in terms of Seqs, Tracks, etc.
I enjoy working with it standalone, especially being able to easily move around with it, the speakers are great, as is it being battery powered.
The MPC works and integrates for me really well in the following 4 ways;
#1- standalone workstation.
#2- central/master seq brain (where I can hook it up to my studio via a couple of USB cables and access everything).
#3- as a drum machine/sampler within my main studio setup.
#4- as a keys/synth module within my studio setup (I really like using it like this for its Rhodes/Wurli, Mellotron, Solina, Strings, etc).
So, in comparison, the Force ‘can’ do all 4 roles too, but I only really like it for #1.
The MPC is not as good as the Force for #1, but earns its keep by covering all 4 roles really well.
I still keep the Force though, and hope there’ll be a mk2 that addresses the issues I have with it.
(I realise this is a Force thread too, I do like it, just giving my honest opinion on it 
).
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