AKAI Professional MPK Mini– 25 Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with 8 Backlit Drum Pads, 8 Knobs and Music Production Software Included

Product Information

The pads on both machines are illuminated, and both pressure and velocity-sensitive, but Akai has a serious pedigree when it comes to pads, and these examples, derived from the famous MPC product family, offer a greater degree of sensitivity, giving the MPK the edge in this regard. The MPK Mini’s ultra portability and multiple user banks make it an ideal companion not just for laptops, but also for standalone workstations like the MPC, Maschine+ and Deluge, which can all host USB controllers. Highly recommended for anyone with limited deskspace looking for a super compact, totally chilled 25 key midi keyboard.

In MPC Beats the MPK can be selected from the supported controller list, although it took me a while to figure out that I needed to also enable it in the Preferences. The MPK has a built‑in arpeggiator that can be clocked either internally or from an external source. Your journey to a hit song starts with MPK mini and the Complete Music Production Starter Kit is the roadmap to your destination.

Learn to play your AKAI MPK Mini with Melodics - the best way to master all 25 keys and MPC-style pads. If you can stand mini keys this'll do just nicely, they're quite plastic, but that's to be expected. This new keybed delivers dynamic performances and accurate velocity response with a feel that players will certainly appreciate.

And sure enough, we included it as one of our top 25-key choices in our review, The 12 Best Mini MIDI Keyboards for Your Mobile or Home Studio. You’ll also find dedicated buttons to switch between drum pad banks A and B, and select whether the pads transmit program change messages or MIDI cc’s in addition to their regular function as drum pads. Having eight drum pads is a killer feature that makes this keyboard controller incredibly versatile. Assign any function that has a scalar or percentage sort of application, like reverb, delay, or other fx.Overall i was pretty impressed with the Akai MPK Mk3 mini, it fits perfectly into my tiny travel backpack (which has a storage size of 13L) and sits flush next to my 15″ Razer Laptop. The MPK Mini Play is portable, fun to play, with some decent sounds and just enough tweaking to make it interesting.

You can change Arp settings from the knobs instead, but you need to hold the Arp button which is too far away from the dials to operate with your one free hand. Expressive control is handled on the Arturia by a pair of touch strips for pitch bend and modulation, replacing the physical pitch and mod wheels often found on regular synths. Akai meanwhile takes a different approach with a four-way mini joystick control for both pitch and modulation. However, if portability isn’t your main consideration, the Arturia MiniLab MkII is more solidly built and more than gives the MPK Mini a run for its money when it comes to looks, playability, feature set and value.For this reason, we’ll build this in-depth review primarily around the earlier and more widely adoptedMPK Mini MK2. You can, of course, address the whole kit via software, but you’re not really encouraged to do so, something I’ll come onto in a minute. I mostly work with live instruments, but most projects I do these days include at least some software instruments.