Customer Reviews

Akai MPK 49 Controller Keyboard

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, the pads DO suck. MPC's are known for their pads so you'd think Akai would at least be able to put the same type of pad/contact design on their MPK line. Instead they put a bunch of pads with no play that feel like buttons and make the keyboard housing vibrate when you pound them. On top of that they placed the contacts so far away it's damn near impossible to get 127 velocity on the pads without going Full Level. Even my LPD8 feels better than this thing. And even though they look like the MPC1000 pads, the 1000 pads are twice as thick as the ones here. I would have loved for them to have put the 1000 pads on this. At least then I'd be able to play back a chopped loop without feeling like I'm dialing a phone number.

The best part of the controller is the control surface. The transport keys, knobs, and sliders feel great. The LCD screen looks great.

Something unique about the controller is that it has built in MIDI settings that mimic classic MPC functions (16 level, MPC swing, note repeat). Too bad the pads keep you from fully enjoying these features.

The keys are decent but slightly noisy because they vibrate on release. The controller is also one of the few 49 key controllers out there with aftertouch. I prefer the lever-like feel of the Axiom when it comes to using aftertouch but the keys here are not a dealbreaker.

There's also a simple arpeggiator you can use. It's fairly simple in that there are only 5 settings you can use to separate notes in a chord. If you've used a more sophisticated arp (like the one on a Yamaha KX8), you'll be disappointed though.

The MPK is a good controller but Akai could have done way better than this. If you're using this for the keys and control surface it's a decent investment. But if you're thinking of buying this for the pads so you can drum and play back chopped loops, get an MPD instead.

Now when I think of Akai, obviously quality and music productions come to mind. Unfortunately, this does not live up to the name. The biggest failing in this product is the drum pads. YES, THE DRUM PADS! No you might be thinking, 'what could be wrong with legendary Akai drum pads?' First off they are very unresponsive, you have to press down very hard just to trigger medium level midi sounds (yes, i even adjusted the sensitivity of the drum pads and this did not help). I am really perplexed by this, I'll hit down on the pad, and then hit it again with the same pressure and it'll either be louder or softer!!! I traded in my Axiom 25 and honestly, the drum pads on those were much much much better!!! On the plus side, the keyboard action on the piano keys is awesome! It has a slight weighted feel to them so you actually feel like your playing on a professional keyboard. (the Axiom series of keyboards had very light fake feeling piano keys). Needless to say, its alot of fun playing on the piano keys and 49 is good for most songs. The piano keys feel so great and are so responsive to slight pressure and touch that I'm using them instead of the drum pads to make my drum beats. Another great feature is the built-in arpeggiator, which is easy and fun to use when making melodies. There are also 8 knobs and 8 sliders that you can program on the audio program you are using. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to do this. I have Logic Pro and ProTools and I have yet to find out how to program the knobs on the keyboard to correspond. I do think though, that should you learn how to program it to work seamlessly with your recording or music making software it theoretically will give you the feel of a mini mixing board.

All in all 3 stars, I subtracted two because the drum pads were absolutely worthless and its a shame to advertise them as Akai drum pad quality! But what saves this keyboard is the excellent action on the piano keys and the many features it has. Oh yeah, and it also looks great and is very aesthetically pleasing (very cool looking) which is another plus. Don't buy if you are expecting great drum pads. But buy if you are looking for a keyboard with great piano keys and lots of awesome built in features. Lots of time studying and reading the manual will be needed to master all the functions though. High learning curve.

Out of the box, I admit that the pads feel pretty damn stiff. However, as I mentioned in a comment on another review of this product, you can work with this. You can turn up the sensitivity, lower the threshold, or change the pad curve. It's also important to note that the pads do loosen up with use. Break them in!

As for the keyboard, it is on the stiff side. How you feel about this will depend a lot on what you're used to. Striking a key takes about 2/3 the force needed for an acoustic piano, but it feels really different because the force is the same throughout the stroke. This of course is a result of using a spring to provide resistance rather than a hammer, which gets momentum as it moves. It still feels quite good on the fingers, though.

It comes with templates for many different software packages already installed. Number one is for Ableton LiveLite, which is included in the box. I had a little bit of trouble getting a template for FL Studio, but I did find one after not too much effort searching the net.

The quality of the knobs and sliders and wheels is several leaps and bounds beyond the M-Audio Axiom series, although I have to say that the Axiom Pro (which I haven't had a chance to actually touch) may be a totally different story. The basic Axiom stuff feels like it belongs in a toy store when put up next to the MPK line.

I do worry that I maybe should have gone with the 61, but I'll just upgrade if that ends up being the case.

For now, this is one hell of a keyboard, and it comes at an excellent price.

What a freakin great piece of hardware!

First let me say-

I'm coming from a MPC 1000, apparently the MPC1000 and the MPK midi controlers have "terrible, wack, horrible...." pads that are too hard and not as sensitive as the other MPC's.

I think it's a bunch of B.S.

Yeah I've used the MPC 2000XL and MPC 3000, thinking back are their pads slightly softer? Yes. Are the pads magically going to make me program fresher drum lines? NOOOOOOO! Honestly I think underground producers will use any excuse to why their beats are wack. Look at the other great Hip Hop Hardware that don't even have "traditional" pads like the ASR-1O, ASR-X and the SP 1200, Did their hard plastic or non-existing pads stop great beats to be bang out of the units? Nooooo!

Back to the MPK.

I love having a all-in-one unit sitting right in front of me ready for action. I use this controller with Logic 8. You basically map out your drums to the piano keys (in Logic using the esx sample editor), from their you can map out the pads to certain keys(kicks on the right, snares on the left). Since the MPK is not an MPC you will NOT get the heart and soul of the MPC which is the quantization, this is OKAY, I repeat this is OKAY! The MPK is meant to provide the feel of a MPC to use with your DAW. You can find MPC "Grove Templates" with a little searching on the net. These groove templates with provide the necessary swing to make a full transition to software based producing with a hardware "feel".

I haven't programmed the sliders yet so I can't comment on them.

In all this is a great device to transition long time MPC hardware users to step up their game and jump into software. You can have best of both worlds. But don't take my word for it, go down to your local music shop and take it for a test spin, compare the pad sensitivity to the MPC 2500 or 2000xl

Excelente controlador midi, trabaja muy bien con FL Studio, Reason, Cubase.... Tiene demasiadas opciones y las posibilidades son infinitas a la hora de interactuar con secuenciadores, VSTs, Samplers de Bateria o de Synths, etc... Aclaro para los que no tienen mucho conocimiento acerca de estos controladores: Es controlador MIDI, es decir, no trae sonidos propios, se necesita un computador o portátil con el software de audio o secuenciador con el que se quiera interactuar o controlar, por lo tanto el computador o portátil es quien genera el sonido.

A great Midi Controller, it works very good with FL Studio, Reason, Cubase.... It have a lot options and the possibilities are endless when interacting with Digital audio workstations, VSTs, Drum machines or Synths Software, etc.... I clarify something for people that have no any knowledge about Midi Controllers: The MPK49 is a MIDI Controller, i.e., it has no any sounds, you need a computer or laptop with Digital audio workstations or software with Drums kit, VSTs, Synths, etc...

The Akai MPK49 is a controller, so it doesnt come with presets which is fine if you have FL studios or some other software installed onto your computer! It links with your software and completely cotomizable, so if you want your an Abino synth or something in your track, its easy to set and teak the synth sounds through this controller and not on your comp!

Super cool product, I'd recommend it!

As many other reviewers have been saying, the build quality of this product is great. Very sturdy, no rattling or flex. Connection and setup with FLStudio was a breeze (though I did need to hunt down some custom midi mappings). The feel of the keys is in line with what I expected. Decent weight and response (though certainly not as good as full weighted keys would be). The knobs and sliders have a really good feel to them. Perfect level of resistance.

The only disappointing thing was the pads. Out of the box they are VERY stiff and have poor sensitivity (even with the sensitivity and threshold set to their respective max/min). This alone would have cause me to lower my rating to 3 stars, but, there is a fix. After checking around the internets, I found that this problem can be amended with either a ghetto home-brew fix involving electrical tape, or via these pre-fabricated replacement pads: [...]

After upgrading the pads (probably voiding the warranty) the sensitivity is up to par with what I would expect for the $$$. It's a shame that Akai has not recognized this flaw and fixed them at the factory.

This is a great unit for the money. I've had mine for a few months now without any problems. The drum pads are a bit stiff, but I rarely use them so it's not a bother to me. The keys do feel a bit cheap, but they're very responsive. The wheels and knobs are what make this unit though. They really have a great feel and have yet to let me down.

If you're a professional pianist, chances are you're looking for something well above this price point. If you're like me and just need a good, dependable midi controller then this unit does the job well above and beyond anything else I've tried in this price range.

This device is most definitely NOT for any sort or amateur musician. When I bought this, I'm guessing there was either a great commission on the sale, or the employee at my local retailer just didn't know what he was talking about. Most basically, this is nothing more than a MIDI controller, which means you have to provide the programming to get the sounds you want, or you must have the proper types of software on your computer. I have Sony ACID, Finale '08, and several others. Finale will recognize when I play a note, and will notate it almost properly, aside that every note played records as an eighth note, no matter what. Many programs like Sony ACID do not offer much in the way of support for external controls, so this has been quite useless for me so far.

UPDATE from the noob:

Ok, so I'm still not sure if I was misinformed, or just misunderstood the sales person when I got this, but this is finally starting to grow on me. I got this originally to use with loop based software like Sony Acid, Fruity Loops, Etc. but quickly found out this thing sucks for those programs~ it's like trying to put a nail in with a hammer.

I have now upgraded my systems from 32bit Windows Vista to 64 bit Windows 7, gotten a much better quality interface, and been playing with demos of Reason, and Ableton. I've also tried it with Pro Tools, Kinetic, and a few others, but without the proper mapping, I've had little success in getting anything much out of them using this controller.

This is my first MIDI controller, so I can't judge it against any others in nearly any way personally, but I've been told that the 12 pads are too stiff to accurately use. I still maintain that this unit is not for the noob like me, but for someone who is educated in these devices and is able to map the controls, I'm sure it would be an unreal tool and a great addition to any studio.

Great product. Make sure you understand that it is a controller and nothing more. It must be connected to a laptop and an amp but cannot be used as a separate instrument.