Akai Pro MINIAK Virtual Analog Synthesizer with Vocoder

by Akai Pro

Product Features

• Eight voices, each with three oscillators
• Up to eight multi-timbral parts with stereo effects and 40-band vocoder
• Two multi-mode filters, three envelope generators, two LFOs, sample and hold, tracking generator
• Dynamic real-time and step sequencers, arpeggiator, and drum machine/rhythm sequencer
• 37-key synth-action keyboard with velocity sensitivity

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 10.8 x 3.3 inches ; 12 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B002MAAW4U
• Item model number: MINIAK
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,035 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #12 in Musical Instruments > Keyboards > Electronic Keyboards > Synthesizers & Workstations

Product Description

The MINIAK is a powerful performance and production synthesizer. The MINIAK empowers creative musicians with phrase and step sequencing, a built-in drum machine/rhythm sequencer, an arpeggiator, a 40-band vocoder, stereo effects, and a virtual analog synth engine developed in partnership with the world-class Alesis synth team. While the compact, portable synth shines on stage, the MINIAK is also at home in the production studio delivering 24-bit audio resolution. The MINIAK puts up to eight multi-timbral voices at your fingertips, each with three oscillators. You can create interesting and unique sounds and take advantage of the more-than-600 preset sounds and store up to 1,000 programs in the MINIAK. The synth also has two multi-mode filters, three envelope generators, two LFOs, stereo effects, and a 40-band vocoder. On top of all of this sound-melding power, the MINIAK has a comprehensive sequencer with step and dynamic real time phrase sequencing, a drum machine/rhythm sequencer, and an arpeggiator to aid in creating the landscapes and textures you’re after. Rounding out this complete instrument are high-resolution, 24-bit balanced 1/4" inputs and outputs. The MINIAK has a 37-key semi-weighted keyboard with velocity sensitivity for all-in-one performance. It can also be used as a sound source for MPCs, computer software, and keyboards via MIDI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars devastating sonic weaponry, August 4, 2011

By 

Nathan Stueve (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Akai Pro MINIAK Virtual Analog Synthesizer with Vocoder (Electronics)

over the years i've bought and sold quite a few 'budget' (under $1000) synthesizers. the MINIAK (/ alesis micron) is blatantly superior to all of them, despite the fact it's also among the least expensive. don't be fooled by lack of hype, it sounds AMAZING and has a lot of cool features others don't, a spectacular value for the price.

things the MINIAK totally owns:

- excellent SOUND QUALITY. this is a true synth, no ROM based samples, everything is built on a foundation of mathematical soundwaves (sine / triangle / square). the sonic fullness of these basic waves is noticably thicker than comparable synths. the akai (/ alesis) engine is fat, squelchy, can hit hard with humbling force or sound mellow, warm, and soothing, convincingly emulate many classic analog sounds, rip, sizzle, or envelop in complex rhythmic textures like nobody's business.

- miniak's numerous filters sound very rich. you can mix pre/post filter levels in various complex ways simply not possible on the other synths resulting in luscious tonal richness, surely one of the MINIAK's most outstanding features.

- there's a wicked onboard sequencer / drum machine / pattern recorder. if you really got into using the multi mode in combination with patterns and beats this could be operated almost like a groovebox. even if your ambition is more modest it's super easy to bang out solid, totally unique rhythms, sequences, and arpeggios. different elements can be combined and/or layered in fun, powerful ways.

- some might regret the limited number of knobs but once you learn the keyboard shortcuts this synth is actually much faster and more logically navigated than many, editing is a pleasure once you know your way around because anything you want if just a shortcut away. it's very easy to instantly assign the knobs to any parameter just by twisting them in that parameter's edit screen. knobs and mod wheels feel solid and smooth.

granted for someone who just wants to screw around twisting knobs and using generic sounds, maybe it's not the best choice. but for the person who wishes to learn the instrument thoroughly and create unique sounds the MINIAK will definitely reward with depth, ease, versatility, and genuinely impressive sonic quality, for the price an absolutely unbeatable value, in my opinion hands down the present champ in this bracket, a discreet, impressively potent synth, designed by a team from USA.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Entry- Level Synth (EDIT: Button broke) :(, May 2, 2011

By 

Victoria Klovskaya - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Akai Pro MINIAK Virtual Analog Synthesizer with Vocoder (Electronics)

-Teen using mother's account...

So I know quite a bit on synthesis, and wanted to expand my programming skills. Also, I needed something that I could jam out on with friends, etc. For the price I got,this is the perfect entry level synth. It's not too hard to program, but it has a lot of features that higher level synths have. It has pretty much everything you could want for a synth, and even a micro-sequencer. Personally, I prefer just using it as a synthesizer and sequencing on my computer. The one thing about this synth that is bad, is the vocoder. For me, the vocoder presets were just not good enough by themselves. I had to do a lot of tweaking to get them to sound good. Not to mention, for every vocoder patch, I had to get the analog gain wayyyy higher than it was set. Otherwise, no sound would come out of the synthesizer. Besides that, this is a great synth and for the price right now, a definite one to consider if shopping for one.

EDIT: 2/2/12

Yesterday the octave down button stopped working. Trying EVERYTHING, it just won't do anything. I can only go up an octave, so this is probably not good for live performance. It was NEW, so this is quite interesting. I still have the warranty so I shall see if I can get it fixed. Personally, with the metal case and solid controls, the build quality seemed great. Apparently not. If I get it fixed I shall update.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars (Last minute Review) I chose this over a Moog, believe it or not!, February 11, 2012

By 

John P. Runnels "Jonny" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Akai Pro MINIAK Virtual Analog Synthesizer with Vocoder (Electronics)

I know these are all but discontinued, but i thought i would give a good review for those still considering getting one. I bought this primarily as a hobby all in one synth. I am in school right now, and got rid of my gear and wanted something small, and capable (space was a concern, as my old gear took up an entire room in my home). The Miniak perfectly fit the bill. I was an owner of the original Alesis Ion, it was a good synth, but had an insane amount of problems. I really only sold it because of all the internal and external bugs, not the way it sounded, which was really good. Later, i also bought the Micron, it was a decent synth, but i hated the look of it, and the awkward setup, it also had alot of bugs. Now to the Miniak, it is a absolute shame this thing was discontinued, it is amazing, and sadly most people will probably never know. All the major gripes of the Micron & Ion are gone. I could get into details, but i wont, to sum it up, it has all the pro's of the Ion and Micron, but not as many of the cons. Only a few real downsides, the screen is hard to read, and the voices are still only 8, and no USB or Editor with it. DO NOT and i repeat DO NOT pay for an editor, their is free ones out there, and the pricy ones are just the same thing as the free ones with a nicer visual setup. It's capable of bass, and really good at emulating all the old analog gear, it's kind of pointless to review this stuff too much though, try to remember that this is literally the same synth as the Micron & Ion, best to think of the Miniak as the Ion 3.0. The vocoder mic is an awesome upgrade, but if you get one take care of it, i doubt it will be replaceable. The look is incredible, i can't imagine it looking any better, and the keys feel great for such a small synth. The size is awesome, for how much it does, and having full size keys, they really made maximum usage of space, everything feels physically perfect. I had a roland SH 201, it was crap, i actually took it back 3 days later. Had an Microkorg, did the same, i couldn't get past the tiny keys. I have owned everything from Moogs, to Juno's, to Nords, to Viruses. I like to think of myself as a pretty picky synth player, this one has everything you need in a bass synth, plus it pulls off strings and pads as well. I actually was trying to decide between this, and a Little Phatty, and honestly the Miniak won, though it isn't analog, it has 8 warm Voices that emulate analog quite well, and it has noise (pink & white) which the Phatty didn't have, it also has Sample & hold, which the moog also didn't have. I can emulate a minimoog, which the little phatty can't do because it does not have enough oscillators per a voice (you need 3 to emulate a mini well, the phatty only has 2). It's stable, and doesn't have any bugs i can see (the phatty has alot), it also has a vocoder mic and a vocoder, nothing like that on the Phatty. It is cryptic to edit (miniak), but not a problem for me, might be for others though, i prefer less knobs, means less stuff that can break.

Granted these are two totally different instruments (moog & Miniak), but seriously, i was deciding between the two, i had the money to spend on a moog. In the end, i bought a Miniak, XR20 Drum machine, & a used Mint Dave Smith Evolver desktop Analog synth (yes, i said an analog synth, along with the Miniak), a Tascam DP 4 track, a Peavey KB1 keyboard amp, and still spent less than the Phatty. Yeah, i am probably done owning Moogs (i've owned 3 vintage models). A little FYI, all the phatty parts are made in China now, i don't mind that, but i mind when i am spending that much on something. So, It might seem like a silly comparison, but when i can actually get the Miniak to sound more like a Minimoog than i can the Little Phatty, and the little Phatty cost almost 6 times as much, i don't think comparing them is out of the question. I will say the Miniak's oscillators are particularly fat, more so than the Mikrokorg, SH 201, or the nords. It might not sound as good overall as some of the synths i mentioned, but the oscillators are much closer to analog than any of those. The filters are also designed to emulate specific analog instrument filters (Moog, Jupiter, TB-303, Oberheim, etc), none of the other modern VA's to that. So, if your considering one, unless your bad at understanding synth programming and sub-menus, get an Miniak, otherwise sacrifice the sound quality and get one of the others.