MIDI Production Center - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Akai MPCs are a popular series of electronic musical instrument

Electronic musical instrument

An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....

s originally designed by Roger Linn

Roger Linn

Roger Linn is an industrial designer, mainly of electronic drum machines, and has recently branched out into guitar effects pedals. His products have become underground hits, being used on many famous recordings...

and produced by the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese company Akai

Akai

Akai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...

from 1988 onward. Intended to function as a powerful kind of drum machine

Drum machine

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...

, the MPCs drew on design ideas from machines such as the Sequential Circuits Inc.

Sequential Circuits

Sequential Circuits Inc. was a California-based synthesizer company that was founded in the early 1970s by Dave Smith and sold to Yamaha Corporation in 1987. The company, throughout its lifespan, pioneered many groundbreaking technologies and design principles that are often taken for granted in...

Studio 440 and the Linn's own Linn 9000, combining a powerful MIDI sequencer

Music sequencer

The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...

with the ability to sample

Sampler (musical instrument)

A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...

one's own sounds. Later models feature increasingly powerful sampling, storage, interfacing and sound manipulation facilities, which broaden the use of instrument beyond just drum and rhythm tracks.

History

The original MPC60 was a first result of alliance between Roger Linn

Roger Linn

and Akai to design products similar to those of Linn Electronics. He developed the functional design, including the panel layout and software/hardware specifications. He then created the software with a team of engineers. The hardware electronics were designed by English engineer David Cockerell and his team. Cockerell was a founding member of the synthesizer firm EMS

Electronic Music Studios (London) Ltd

Electronic Music Studios Ltd. is a synthesizer company formed in 1969 by Dr. Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell....

(co-creator of their famous VCS 3 along with Peter Zinovieff

Peter Zinovieff

Peter Zinovieff is a British inventor of Russian ethnicity, most notable for his EMS company, which made the famous VCS3 synthesizer in the late 1960s...

,), and then worked for effects manufacturers Electro-Harmonix

Electro-Harmonix

Electro-Harmonix is a New York-based company that makes high-end electronic audio processors. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. They are most famous for a series of popular guitar effects pedals introduced in the 1970s and 1990s....

.

Shortly after the MPC60's release, the MPC60-II was designed. Released in 1991, the MPC60-II offered most of the same features as the MPC60, with an added headphone output and a plastic housing replacing the original metal one. In 1994, Akai released the MPC3000, which boasted 16-bit, 44 kHz sampling, 32-voice polyphony

Polyphony (instrument)

Polyphony Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophonic.-Synthesizer:Most of early synthesizers were monophonic musical instruments which can play only one note at a time, and are often called monosynth as opposed to polysynth...

, and SCSI

SCSI

Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...

data transfer. Akai developed and released the MPC2000 without Linn in 1997. Akai tried to save money by dropping Roger Linn, the brainchild behind the MPC, to whom they would have to pay royalties on future models. The MPC2000 came with 2 MB of RAM, an optional effects

Effects unit

Effects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...

board, and a 100,000 note 64-track sequencer

Music sequencer

The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...

. The MPC2000 was replaced by the MPC2000XL in 2000. The MPC2000XL added an improved 300,000 note sequencer, a 64-track mixer and time-stretch and resample

Resampling

Resampling may refer to:* Resampling , several related audio processes* Resampling , resampling methods in statistics* Resampling , scaling of bitmap images* Sample rate conversion-See also:* Downsampling* Upsampling...

features. Four limited edition models of the MPC2000XL were released.

In 2002 Akai unveiled the MPC4000, the most powerful MPC ever made (higher bitrate and resolution than the later 5000). The MPC4000 featured 8 assignable outputs, a hard drive and CD-ROM drive. The MPC4000's memory could be expanded to up to 512 MB of RAM, the largest amount on an MPC to date. Only two years after the release of the MPC4000, Akai released the MPC1000, which was the smallest in the MPC product line at the time of its release. It was also the first MPC to utilize CompactFlash

CompactFlash

CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...

memory. Both the MPC2500 and the MPC500 were added to the Akai MPC series in 2006. The MPC2500 is a mid-range MPC with 8 assignable outputs and CompactFlash

CompactFlash

storage. Designed for portability, the MPC500 features 1 MIDI In/Out and CompactFlash

CompactFlash

storage, and can be powered by 6 AA batteries

AA battery

An AA battery is a standard size of battery. Batteries of this size are the most commonly used type of in portable electronic devices. An AA battery is composed of a single electrochemical cell...

MPC60

The MPC60 is a 16 voice polyphonic 12-bit 40 kHz sampler / 99 track sequencer designed in large part by Roger Linn

Roger Linn

after Linn Electronics closed. It was similar to the Linn 9000. Akai released it in 1988. It had 750 kB memory standard, expandable to 1.5 MB. The sequencer is very flexible and powerful, famous both for its "swing" setting, and its easy to use step programming. It had 2 MIDI inputs / 4 MIDI outputs, allowing it to control up to 64 devices. The sequencer itself was offered as a separate product, known as the ASQ10, also released in 1988. The MPC60-II was nearly identical to the MPC60, but it featured a headphone output, and a plastic case, instead of the metal case of the original. It was released in 1991.

Features

16 velocity sensitive pads
2 pad banks (64 voices per program)
sampling rate of 40 kHz (freq response 20 Hz - 18 kHz)
16-bit ADC
Analog-to-digital converter
An analog-to-digital converter is a device that converts a continuous quantity to a discrete time digital representation. An ADC may also provide an isolated measurement...

and DAC
Digital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...

, with data stored in special non-linear 12bit format (for lower noise)
750 kB sampling memory (13.1 seconds), upgradable to 1.5 MB (26.2 seconds) (expansion card: EXM003)
128 sounds in memory, 64 sounds per program, 16 voice polyphony.
2 MIDI inputs, 4 MIDI outputs
20 songs, 99 sequences, 99 tracks, 60,000 note capacity
timing resolution of 96ppq (parts per quarter note)
syncable via MIDI Time Code (MTC
MIDI timecode
MIDI time code , or MIDI time division, embeds the same timing information as standard SMPTE timecode as a series of small 'quarter-frame' MIDI messages. There is no provision for the user bits in the standard MIDI time code messages, and SysEx messages are used to carry this information instead...

), MIDI Clock, FSK24, SMPTE, 1/4 note click.
SMPTE supported frame rates: 24, 25, 29.97 drop, and 30.
8 assignable outputs + 1 stereo + 1 effects send/return
Internal 3½" floppy drive (Double Density 720 kB)
optional 3rd=party SCSI interface (by Marion Systems)

MPC3000

The MPC3000 improved upon the MPC60 by adding 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo sampling, increased memory, 32 voice polyphony, effects

Effects unit

, filter

Audio filter

An audio filter is a frequency dependent amplifier circuit, working in the audio frequency range, 0 Hz to beyond 20 kHz. Many types of filters exist for applications including graphic equalizers, synthesizers, sound effects, CD players and virtual reality systems.Being a frequency dependent...

s, and SCSI

SCSI

. It was released by Akai in 1994. The MPC3000LE (Limited Edition) is identical to the MPC3000, except for its black custom design. It was released by Akai in 2000 and limited to 2000 units.

Features

16 velocity sensitive pads
4 pad banks (64 voices per program)
sampling rate of 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo (freq. response 20 Hz - 22.1 kHz)
2 MB sampling memory (22 seconds), upgradable to 32 MB (officially stated as 16 MB) (6 minutes)
SPDIF stereo input
32 voice polyphony.
2 MIDI inputs, 4 MIDI outputs
20 songs, 99 sequences, 99 tracks, 75,000 note capacity
timing resolution of 96ppq (pulses per quarter note)
syncable via MIDI Time Code, MIDI Clock, FSK24, SMPTE, 1/4 note click.
SMPTE supported frame rates: 24, 25, 29.97 drop, and 30.
8 assignable outputs + 1 stereo + 1 effects send/return
Internal 3½" floppy drive
SCSI

MPC2000

The MPC2000 is a 64-track sampler/sequencer

Music sequencer

The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...

introduced in 1997 and discontinued in 2000. It comes with 2 MB sample memory as standard, and can be expanded to 32 MB. It supports a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, in 16 bit stereo or mono.

Features

16 velocity sensitive pads
Internal 3½" floppy drive
1 single button to access 4 pad banks
2 MIDI inputs, 2 MIDI outputs
100,000 note capacity 64-track sequencer
2 MB sampling memory (upgradable to 32 MB)
Optional effects board (EB16)
Optional 8 outputs and digital I/O board (IB-M208)
SCSI interface

MPC2000XL

The MPC2000XL is similar to the MPC2000 but with many newer features; including four independent pad-bank keys, number of samples stored doubled to 256 on the XL, altering sounds to a different bit depth or sampling rate could be accomplished by resampling, time stretch was added along with other features. In 2004 the 2000XL-MCD version was released, which features a CompactFlash

CompactFlash

card reader as standard in place of the floppy drive or Zip drive

Zip drive

The Zip drive is a medium-capacity removable disk storage system that was introduced by Iomega in late 1994. Originally, Zip disks launched with capacities of 100 MB, but later versions increased this to first 250 MB and then 750 MB....

s used in earlier models. There were 4 limited edition 2000XL SE MPCs created between 2000 and 2003. There were two versions of the SE 1, one with an improved control surface

Control surface

In the domain of digital audio, a control surface is a human interface device which allows the user to control a digital audio workstation or other digital audio application. Generally, a control surface will contain one or more controls that can be assigned to parameters in the software,...

, compatible with growing number of sound libraries and one with aesthetic changes. The Limited Edition SE 2 and SE 3 also had only aesthetic changes.

Features

Multi-Voltage operation (100-240VAC, 50/60Hz, 13W (23W w/ options))
Velocity sensitive pads with chromatic
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...

assignment for key groups
Internal 3½" floppy drive or 100MB Zip drive (upgradeable to a Zip 250MB) or MCD card reader
Memory card reader
A memory card reader is a device, typically having a USB interface, for accessing the data on a memory card such as a CompactFlash , Secure Digital or MultiMediaCard...

(5 in 1 type) with folder support for storage
4 independent Pad-Bank keys
Adjustable angle screen
Time stretch with 18 presets
2 MIDI inputs, 2 MIDI outputs
Note-repeat key
300,000 note capacity 64-track sequencer
2 MB sampling memory (upgradable to 32 MB @ 3 min stereo/6 min mono)
High Density 50 pin (HD50/HPDB50/SCSI 2) SCSI interface
AKAI MPC2000XL sample CD-ROM
Optional effects board (#EB16)
Optional 8 outputs and digital I/O board (#IB-M208)

MPC4000

Released in 2002, the MPC4000 was intended by Akai as a "top-of-the-range" flagship product. Not only was it the most fully featured MPC product yet (building on the MPC60, 3000 and 2000XL), but it also incorporated the sampling engine from the latest model in Akai standalone sampler range, the Z8. The MPC4000 was replaced by the MPC5000 in spring 2008. Note the sentence written inside the Asterisk is wrong and should be removed **The MPC4000 suffered from the poorest timing of all the MPC's though because it made use of a slow internal MIDI communication between the sequencer and the samplers voice engine. This was dropped in all future MPC models MPC1000, MPC500, MPC2500 & MPC5000.*** Update: According to the Litmus test the MPC 4000 internal clock is super accurate. It has the exact same accuracy as the MPC 3000 which is renowned for its tight sequencer. Results show the maximum distance between quarter notes is 4 samples making the MPC 4000 share the title along with the MPC 3000 as the tightest MPC of them all, and one of the tightest hardware sequencers on the planet.

Features

16 velocity and pressure sensitive pads
2 MIDI inputs, 4 MIDI outputs
96 kHz 24bit sampling
16 MB sampling memory, upgradeable to 512 MB
IDE bays for installation of internal hard disk drive and CD-ROM drive.
Optional plug-in boards: Effects board, ADAT
ADAT
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...

board, S/P-DIF & wordclock board, 8 analogue outputs board
SCSI interface

MPC2500

The MPC2500 is the mid-range of the Akai line of MPCs. It has a 100,000 note, 64 track mixer with 64 assignable MIDI channels. It has 16 MB of RAM standard and can be upgraded up to 128 MB of RAM with the AKAI EXM128 stick of RAM. It contains a USB port for computer connectivity. It contains a CompactFlash

CompactFlash

slot for storage of samples, and can be upgraded with a variety of hard drives. The MPC2500 contains 2 MIDI inputs and 4 MIDI outputs. The MP2500 also has the Chop Shop

Beat slicing

Beat slicing is the process of using computer programs to slice an audio file of a drumloop in smaller sections, separating different drumhits...

feature, which can chop a sample into as many as 64 pieces. A CD-R/DVD drive can be added for burning and reading capabilities. Also comes with a 128 MB compact flash card with sound kits. MPC2500 was discontinued in 2009.

Features

USB port (Mass Storage Class)
CompactFlash
CompactFlash
CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...

card reader
16 velocity sensitive pads
2 MIDI inputs, 4 MIDI outputs
100,000 note, 64-track, MIDI sequencer
16 MB sampling memory (upgradeable to 128 MB)
standard effects include: Chorus, Flanger, Bit grunger, 4 band EQ, Compressor, Phase shifter, Tremolo, Flying Pan, Reverb, and Delay.
8 assignable outputs and 1 stereo output.
two assignable Q-link sliders and knobs.
240 x 64 hinged backlight LCD screen.
CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....

/DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

drive CD-M25 (optional)
JJOS compatible

MPC1000

The MPC1000 is a 64-track sampler/sequencer. It comes with 16 MB sample memory as standard, and can be expanded to 128 MB. It supports a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, in stereo or mono. Its features include a USB port, an internal CompactFlash card reader, two MIDI inputs and outputs, and effects and multiple analog outputs as standard. Its sequencer's resolution is 96 ppq.

There have been many reported problems with the pad sensors in the 1000. In the original MPC1000 sensors, a thin square of carbon-impregnated rubber is glued at each corner above a copper coil. When a pad is depressed, this carbon-impregnated rubber is compressed against the copper coil, allowing current to pass through. This moving part can wear out, as the carbon-impregnated rubber sloughs away from the glue and eventually breaks loose.

In 2007, Akai offered a fix for this issue, retailing at 180 USD. The pad sensors design returned to the design of the pad sensors in previous models. This upgrade has been seen to be pre-installed on the MPC1000BK-N and some versions of the MPC1000BK, not the MPC1000 (blue outer casing). Before this change, a MPC1000 user designed, built and sold kits of a pad fix under the name "Nym." Nym's kit is no longer available. By comparison, the more recent Akai pad fix uses better sensor technology (Sensitronic FSRs).

Features

USB port (Mass Storage Class)
CompactFlash card reader
16 velocity sensitive pads
4 pad bank keys
2 MIDI inputs, 2 MIDI outputs
100,000 note capacity 64-track sequencer
16 MB sampling memory (upgradeable to 128 MB)
Effects as standard
Multiple analog outputs as standard
Time stretch and pitch shift
Pitch shift
Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval are called "pitch shifters" or "pitch benders".-Pitch/time shifting:...

(added in OS 2.0)
JJOS compatible

MPC500

The MPC500 is the smallest MPC ever made and is the first truly portable MPC created. It can be run on 6 AA batteries

AA battery

An AA battery is a standard size of battery. Batteries of this size are the most commonly used type of in portable electronic devices. An AA battery is composed of a single electrochemical cell...

but also can be run on a 12V DC plug. It combines a 48-track MIDI sequencer and a 32-voice stereo digital sampler. The MPC500 is the first MPC that only has 12 velocity sensitive rubber pads. It comes with 16 MB RAM but can be upgraded up to 128 MB of RAM. It has a CompactFlash

CompactFlash

slot for storage of samples. One major appeal of the MPC500 is the fact that you can take a project created on the MPC500 and transfer it to any current MPC with a CompactFlash

CompactFlash

reader. The MPC500 has a USB port for computer connectivity. It has one stereo output, making it the only MPC currently in production that does not have assignable outputs.

Features

USB port (Mass Storage Class)
CompactFlash
CompactFlash
CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...

card reader
12 velocity sensitive rubber pads
Stereo L+R in & out
1 MIDI in and 1 MIDI out
4 pad banks
2 x 16 character LCD screen with back light
Standard effects include: Chorus, Flanger, Bit grunger, 4 band EQ, Compressor, Phase shifter, Tremolo, Flying pan, Reverb, and Delay.
Approximately 4.5 hours of continuous use with LCD backlight on.
465.5 sq CM footprint.

MPC5000

With a listed MSRP of $3,500, the MPC5000 was launched at the 2008 winter NAMM trade show. Its main innovations were an 8-track streaming hard disk recorder

Hard disk recorder

A hard disk recorder is a type of direct to disk recording system that uses a high-capacity hard disk to record digital audio or digital video. Hard disk recording systems represent an alternative to more traditional reel-to-reel tape or cassette multitrack systems, and provide editing...

, a 20-voice, 3-oscillator virtual analog synthesizer with arpeggiator, a new sequencing engine with 960 ppq resolution, pad and track muting and mixing, 64 continuous sample tracks. It also has a new effect

Effects unit

(FX) engine with 4 FX buses where 2 FX are available per bus, and is considered by Akai to be its flagship MPC.

In addition, the MPC5000 features a 64-voice drum/phrase sampler with 64MB memory, expandable up to 192MB. The display is 240x128, twice the size of the MPC2500 and MPC1000. Integrated Chop Shop

Beat slicing

Beat slicing is the process of using computer programs to slice an audio file of a drumloop in smaller sections, separating different drumhits...

2.0 now supports stereo chops and Patched Phrases. It is also the first MPC to include Random and Cycle sample playback in addition to velocity Zone Play. As on the MPC4000, a turntable preamp is also included.

The MPC5000 lacks some of the sample editing capabilities of the older MPC4000, and also some of the hardware specs are lower than the MPC4000 (max. 192 MB RAM vs. the 4000's 512 MB, and slightly smaller screen), but with an updated and more stable operating system.
OS 2.0 added many new features including Keygroup's, the ability to load a entire folder without MPC programs, and many navigation shortcuts to boast.
The MPC5000 using OS 2.0 now has the most features of any previous MPC to date, just above the MPC4000.

Comparison

The following table offers a side-by-side comparison of a variety of statistics across the MPC product-line. The specs for the MPC1000 and 2500 refer to the original AKAI operating system, unless mentioned otherwise.

Model	Release Date	Price	MIDI Inputs/Outputs	Audio Outputs	Sampling Rate	Sampling Memory/Upgrade-able	Sampling Time	Storage Method	Pad Banks	Note Capacity	Extra Features
MPC60	1988	$5,000	2 in, 4 out	8 + L/R	12-bit 40 kHz	750 kB / 1.5 MB	(13.1 sec) / (26.2 sec)	Internal 3½" floppy drive	4	60,000
MPC60 MK2	1991	$5,000	2 in, 4 out	8 + L/R	12-bit 40 kHz	750 kB / 1.5 MB	(13.1 sec) / (26.2 sec)	Internal 3½" floppy drive	4	60,000	Headphone jack, Plastic case
MPC3000	1993	$3,500	2 in, 4 out	8 + L/R	16-bit 44.1 kHz	2 MB / 32 MB	(22 sec) / (6 min)	Internal 3½" floppy drive	4	75,000	-LE in 2000 with black case
MPC2000	1997	$2,000	2 in, 2 out	Digital L/R + 8 (optional)	22 or 44.1 kHz	2 MB / 32 MB	6min mono/3min stereo	Floppy/SCSI Interface	4	100,000
MPC2000XL	2000	$1,100	2 in, 2 out	Digital L/R + 8 (optional)	22 or 44.1 kHz	2 MB / 32 MB	6min mono/3min stereo	Floppy/Zip Drive/CompactFlash/SCSI Interface	4	300,000	-Compact Flash drive, Internal SCSI connection, tilt screen
MPC4000	2002	$3500	2 in, 4 out	L/R + 8 (optional)	96, 48 or 44.1 kHz, 16 or 24 bit	16 MB / 512 MB	96min / 64min (16/24 bit)	Hard Drive/CD-ROM	6	300,000	IDE Bays
MPC1000	2005	$1,000	2 in, 2 out	4 + L/R	44.1 kHz	16 MB / 128 MB	136 sec / 24m28sec	CompactFlash/Hard Drive	4	100,000 / 300,000 (With JJ OS Ver. 4.9 or OS2 Ver. 0.x,1.x)	optional HDD
MPC500	2006	$700	1 in, 1 out	L/R	44.1 kHz	16 MB / 128 MB	136 sec / 24m28sec	CompactFlash	4	100,000	Smallest MPC Portable/Can run on 6 AA Batteries
MPC2500	2005	$1,700	2 in, 4 out	8 + L/R	44.1 kHz	16 MB / 128 MB	136 sec / 24m28sec	CompactFlash/CD-Rom/DVD-Rom/Hard Drive	4	100,000	built in 10 analog outs, optional CD drive, optional HDD
MPC5000	2008	$3,500	2 in, 4 out	8 + L/R	44.1 kHz	64 MB / 192 MB	12m48s/38m24s	CompactFlash/CD-Rom/DVD-Rom/Hard Drive	4	100,000	VA Synth, 8 track direct-to-drive recording, 4 FX busses, Hard disk streaming of samples

External links

AkaiPro.com official site
- Akai MPC Tutorial DVD's & Sounds
Roger Linn Design — original designer of Akai MPC series (MPC60/MPC60-II/ASQ10/MPC3000)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.