AENIMALS
FOR THE AKAI MPC SAMPLE · WEB INSTALLER
Read this first. AENIMALS does not install on your MPC. It goes on the SD card only and runs from the card, in the MPC's memory; nothing on the MPC itself is changed. Switch off without the card (or pick MPC SAMPLE on the start screen) and you have your normal MPC Sample. That said, it's free, unofficial beta software, used at your own risk: if something gets messed up, we're not responsible. Back up your card first.
Your MPC Sample must be on firmware 1.3.0.12. To check yourself: on the normal MPC, hold SHIFT and press PAD 8; it shows v1.3.0.
We check too, twice. The installer reads what your card says about your MPC's firmware and tells you if it looks wrong. Then every time the MPC starts, AENIMALS checks the MPC itself for 1.3.0.12 exactly: on any other firmware it doesn't start (your MPC just starts as normal) and it leaves the result on the card. If AENIMALS doesn't appear, bring the card back to this page: step 4 reads that result and tells you whether you need to put firmware 1.3.0.12 on your MPC.

Where things stand

AENIMALS DAW 1.0 BETA · IN TESTING

Works now: JIANT V10.7 (presets that move, GENE's 25 genres) plus our own GRAIN (granular) and WAVE (wavetable, even made from your pads) engines; audio tracks: record onto pads, browse the card's WAVs, the CHOP room with smooth zoom, WARP to the song's tempo, AUDIO QUANTIZE, 8-bar patterns and quantized recording.

Working on: stereo samples, NORMALIZE, LOOP LOCK, 16 LEVELS, and whatever the testers find.

AENIMALS GROOVEBOX 2.15 STABLE

Works now: the full JIANT synthesizer / sequencer on the MPC: every engine, GEN and the dice, performance FX, the boards (FX, MUTE, LIVE, SEQ tools), the ERASE button, and the living creature screens. No audio tracks.

Working on: fixes only; new features land in the DAW first, then come here.

This browser can't write to an SD card. Open this page in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on a Mac or PC to install in one click. Or install by hand: see install by hand at the bottom.

1Pick a version

2Agree and get the download

3Connect the SD card

Either way works:

  1. Through the MPC: with the MPC on, turn the data wheel to SD CARD ACCESS in its menu and push it. Connect the MPC to your computer with its USB-C cable. The card appears on your computer like a USB drive.
  2. Or with a card reader: take the microSD card out of the MPC and put it in your computer's card reader.

Wait until the drive shows up (Finder on a Mac, File Explorer on Windows), then:

In the window that opens, click the card itself (the drive, not a folder inside it), then Select / Open. Your browser will ask to let this page edit it: allow it.

4Compatibility

5Install

READY0%

6Finish on the MPC

Installed and checked.

  1. Eject the card on your computer first. Mac: in Finder, click the eject arrow next to the card. Windows: click Safely Remove Hardware in the taskbar and pick the card.
  2. When the card has disappeared from Finder / File Explorer, it's safe to unplug the USB cable (or take the card out of the reader).
  3. Through the MPC: press B1 to leave SD CARD ACCESS and go back to the menu. With a card reader: put the card back in the MPC.
  4. Switch the MPC off, then on again. AENIMALS only starts when the MPC powers on with the card in.
  5. After the MPC starts, the AENIMALS start screen appears. Turn the data wheel to AENIMALS and push it. (Pick MPC SAMPLE for the normal MPC.) Shortcut: PLAY starts AENIMALS.
  6. Turn MAIN VOLUME up slowly: AENIMALS starts quiet.
No AENIMALS start screen? The normal MPC came up instead: most likely the MPC isn't on firmware 1.3.0.12 (AENIMALS checks at every start and steps aside). Connect the card again and press Choose the SD card: step 4 will show what the MPC reported.

Next: the DAW operating manual (every button, pad and page) or the GROOVEBOX manual.

Updating later Come back to this page and do the same steps. Your AENIMALS projects (the JIANT folder) are kept.
Removing AENIMALS Delete the autorun folder from the card. Delete JIANT too if you don't want your AENIMALS projects any more.

?Install by hand

For Safari or Firefox, or if the installer can't reach the card:

  1. Download a version: agree in step 2 first, then the downloads appear here
  2. Unzip it. You get a folder called autorun.
  3. Delete any old autorun folder on the card (keep JIANT), then drag the new autorun folder to the top of the card, not inside another folder.
  4. Mac only: in Terminal, run dot_clean -m "/Volumes/YOUR CARD/autorun" to remove the hidden "._" files.
  5. Then follow step 6 above.