RAW MPC

Setup guide

Set up your MPC

Set up the loader with an installer stick. Then add plugins directly on your MPC, online or from USB.

What you’ll need

Check your MPC OS version under Menu → Preferences → Info. If your MPC meets the requirements above, make the installer stick on Mac or Windows.

Verified with RAW. On an MPC One+ running MPC OS 3.9.0, we installed and opened the loader and added a plugin from a catalogue. We also tested the loader on MPC OS 3.9.1. An existing loader installation still worked after returning to MPC OS 3.10.

Alpha warranty notice

RAW MPC USB Creator, RAW MPC Plugin Loader and plugins are early alpha software from Ruminant Audio Works Ltd. They are provided as is, without any additional warranty to the extent permitted by law. We do not promise that they will be error-free, run without interruption, or work with every MPC, computer, USB stick or plugin.

Back up your projects, samples and settings before trying the alpha. Test it away from sessions or performances where you need your setup to work reliably.

Nothing in this notice limits your statutory rights or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded. Third-party components remain subject to their own licences.

Make the stick on your Mac

This is an early alpha. Back up your projects, samples and settings before trying it. Download the signed and notarised universal Mac installer and open the .pkg to install the app. The installer includes the warranty notice.

  1. Plug the stick into your Mac and open RAW MPC USB Creator.
  2. Click Choose USB… and pick the stick by name. Click Write USB… and confirm. USB Creator replaces any folder called autorun. Move that folder off the stick first if you want to keep it.
  3. When you see USB ready, eject the stick in Finder.

To install a plugin with the loader on the first run, click Add Packages… and pick the ZIP or the whole plugin folder before you click Write USB…. Once the stick is written, you can add your own plugins to it in Finder.

Make the stick on Windows

Download Windows x64 Alpha 5. Extract the whole ZIP, then open RAW MPC USB Creator.exe from the extracted folder. Keep the files together. This alpha is unsigned and includes the warranty notice.

  1. Plug in a FAT32 USB stick. To bundle plugins, use Add ZIPs… or Add Folder…. Use the original ZIP if a plugin includes executable files.
  2. Click Choose USB… and select the drive itself under This PC. Click Write USB… and confirm. USB Creator replaces the autorun folder on the selected drive.
  3. When you see USB ready, eject the stick in Windows.

Install the loader on your MPC

Updating from an earlier alpha? Make a new stick with the current USB Creator and follow the same install steps. The installer updates the existing RAW loader.

  1. Load a project and save it.
  2. Plug in the stick. When the MPC asks to install RAW MPC Plugin Loader, tap Install. Leave the stick plugged in until the MPC screen comes back.
  3. Create a Plugin track and open the instrument browser. Choose RAW MPC Plugin Loader under Ruminant Audio Works.
  4. Check that the loader version at the top of the screen matches the version in the release notes for your USB Creator download. The short build ID beside it identifies the exact build. If the install or update fails, check autorun/INSTALL-RESULT.txt on the stick. USB Creator releases

Install plugins online

Connect your MPC to the internet and open the loader. Choose RAW Catalogue for Ruminant Audio Works releases or Open MPC for compatible community plugins.

Use Type and Developer to filter either catalogue, then Prev or Next to pick a plugin. Save your project, tap Install, then Confirm. When the MPC is back, look for the plugin in the browser.

For an eligible RAW-installed plugin, choose the newer release in RAW Catalogue and tap Install. You can also update from USB Files. The loader keeps the registration and archives the previous folder in RAW-MPC-Recovery. To remove an eligible plugin, choose Uninstall in either catalogue and confirm the restart.

Install plugins from USB

Once the stick is written, you can copy more plugins to it without running USB Creator again. Use complete plugin ZIPs or folders made for Gen 1 MPC (ARMv7). If you have a loose .so, keep it in its own plugin folder with its plugin-meta.xml and any skin or other files the plugin needs.

  1. Open the stick in Finder or File Explorer. Look for RAW-MPC-Plugins next to autorun. If it’s missing, make that folder.
  2. Copy each plugin ZIP or whole plugin folder into RAW-MPC-Plugins. You can leave ZIPs zipped. Your stick should look something like this:
USB stick/
├── autorun/
└── RAW-MPC-Plugins/
    ├── My Synth.zip
    └── My Effect/
        ├── plugin-meta.xml
        └── my-effect.so
  1. Eject the stick and plug it into your MPC. If you haven’t installed the loader yet, do that first. If the loader is already installed and the MPC asks to install it again, tap Cancel.
  2. Open RAW MPC Plugin Loader and tap USB Files, then Refresh if needed. Use Prev or Next to pick a plugin.
  3. Save your project, tap Install, then Confirm. When the MPC is back, look for the plugin in the browser.

Plugins you copy this way appear under USB Files. To install a plugin with the loader at the first USB prompt, add it in USB Creator when you make the stick.

If you get stuck

USB Creator won’t accept the stick

On Mac, select the stick in Finder and press ⌘I. Look for MS-DOS (FAT32). On Windows, right-click the drive in File Explorer and open Properties. Look for FAT32. Select the drive itself in Choose USB….

The MPC doesn’t show the Install prompt

Load a project on the MPC, then unplug the stick and plug it back in. If the prompt still doesn’t appear, check for an autorun folder on the stick in Finder or File Explorer. If it’s missing, make the stick again in USB Creator. Check your MPC model and OS against What you’ll need.

The loader is missing after the restart

On a Plugin track, look for RAW MPC Plugin Loader under Ruminant Audio Works.

A plugin doesn’t show up

For USB, check that RAW-MPC-Plugins sits next to autorun and contains the complete ZIP or plugin folder for Gen 1 MPC hardware. Tap Refresh. For either online catalogue, check that your MPC is online.

The loader says the plugin is already installed

Use Loader 0.1.5 or later for in-place updates to matching RAW-installed packages. For a copy installed by another tool, use Uninstall in the relevant catalogue before installing the replacement. If you still see a conflict, get in touch with the plugin name and the message you see.

Get support if you’re still stuck. Tell us which MPC you have, which version of MPC OS it’s running and what you see on screen.

Akai firmware downloads

Akai provides these firmware downloads for general maintenance of Gen 1 MPCs, including the MPC One+.

MPC firmware updates normally leave your projects and samples in place. As a precaution, back them up to a separate drive before updating.

MPC OS 3.9.0

MPC OS 3.9.1

MPC OS 3.10.0

Run a desktop updater

  1. Plug the MPC into power and connect it directly to your computer with a USB cable.
  2. Open the Akai updater you downloaded. On a Mac, open the ZIP first if it hasn’t already been unpacked.
  3. On the MPC, go to Menu → Preferences → Info. Tap Update, then Switch to Update Mode.
  4. When the MPC is in Update Mode, click Update MPC in Akai’s updater on your computer. Keep the USB cable and power connected while it runs.
  5. When the MPC starts up again, go back to Menu → Preferences → Info and check that it shows the version you selected.

If the updater won’t run or the MPC doesn’t enter Update Mode, see Akai’s desktop firmware update instructions.

For a USB update, the MPC’s USB updater reads the .img file directly. See Akai’s USB firmware update instructions.

For other versions, look under Legacy MPC Firmware (Gen 1) in Akai’s Legacy Downloads.