Akai Professional and Spitfire Audio have announced a formal collaboration that will see a selection of the UK-based sampling experts’ virtual instruments made available within Akai’s MPC ecosystem.
Announced at The NAMM Show 2026 in January alongside the MPC XL, the new flagship unit in Akai’s iconic MPC line-up, the partnership represents the first formal collaboration between the two brands. The first release will see Spitfire Audio’s Originals Intimate Strings library made available within Akai’s MPC hardware. The much-loved library captures the warmth, emotion and detail of a small string ensemble captured at AIR Studios, combining Spitfire Audio’s renowned sampling capabilities with the intuitive and expressive MPC workflow.
The companies have stated that although the collaboration begins with just the Originals Intimate Strings library, others are set to follow, with further information to be revealed in the near future.
“The brands that form the inMusic family have been with me for most of my professional music career and I’m incredibly excited to be partnering with Akai to distil our approach to expressive, performance-led instruments into a focused, standalone experience. Whether you’re writing or performing, this collaboration gives you the power for intuitive creation and I look forward to bringing more of this to the industry as this partnership grows.” - Paul Thomson, Founder, Spitfire Audio
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Spitfire Audio, bringing Intimate Strings MPC Edition directly into the MPC ecosystem. By giving producers access to these legendary, expressive sounds at their fingertips, we’re unlocking a new realm of emotional depth and musicality in beat making and music production, empowering creators to blend cinematic richness with the intuitive flow of the MPC range.” - Andy Mac, Brand Manager, Akai Professional
