MPCs continue to be used in music, even with the advent of digital audio workstations. Notable users of the MPC include the American producer DJ Shadow, who used an MPC to create his influential 1996 album Endtroducing the American producer J Dilla, who disabled its quantize feature to create signature 'off-kilter' rhythms and the rapper Kanye West, who used it to compose several of his best-known tracks.

Its pad interface was adopted by numerous manufacturers and became standard in DJ technology. It had a democratizing effect on music production, allowing artists to create elaborate tracks without traditional instruments or recording studios. It led to new sampling techniques, with users pushing its technical limits to creative effect.

The MPC had a major influence on the development of electronic and hip hop music. Rhythms can be built not just from samples of percussion but samples of any recorded sound. Linn aimed to create an intuitive instrument, with a grid of pads that can be played similarly to a traditional instrument such as a keyboard or drum kit. The first MPCs were designed by Roger Linn, who had designed the successful LM-1 and LinnDrum drum machines in the 1980s. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modify them and play them back as sequences. The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards.

MIDI Production Center, Music Production Controller

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