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

Product Information

Beginning with the keys; the MPK mk3 mini features a new generation of keybed, with a more responsive feeling and smoother travel. This new keybed still features 25 velocity-sensitive keys and is created to aid in the capture of even the smallest nuances that a lot of players might miss when using something with keys that are a lot stiffer or less weighted.

Contains 1500+ sounds (Complete Music Production Starter Kit consists of MPC Beats, 2GB of audio content and 6 virtual instruments - Tubesynth, Electric, Hybrid 3, Bassline, Mini Grand, Velvet). Akai also suggest that you turn off the internal sounds when using it with your computer, so you don’t get sound out of the keyboard at the same time as using a virtual instrument. It’s essentially turning Local off, which makes sense except that if you want to use the internal sounds with your DAW the speaker is now disabled, and the volume in the headphones drops massively. It’s just strange. On the other hand, Akai has found a cheeky way to work within limitations more effectively than anything else I’ve been exposed to recently. Preset 1 on the MPK mini mk3 is configured to align with MPC Beats. To load the MPC preset, press and hold down the Prog Select Button and press Pad 1. Now, your MPK's pads will line up perfectly with MPC Beats! Classical musicians or music teachers might want to keep a device like this one handy, as well. It’s quite useful for basic MIDI input in an instructional setting, as well as basic typesetting in notation programs like Finale, Sibelius or Dorico.

If you need a backpack-ready controller keyboard, there’s almost too much choice, but Akai's latest is pretty special

Last but definitely not least, in my opinion, one of the biggest and most notable features that have been added to this new generation of MPK is the addition of a tiny digital screen. The Input Ports section in MIDI/Sync Preferences will display all available MIDI input ports in a list. Devices will automatically appear in the list when connected provided that Enable MIDI ports when discovered is set to ON. The inMusic Software Managerwill be saved as an application in your computer's Application or Programs folder. Just open the inMusic Software Manager to access your software and installers at any time! When playing along with the arp you realise that what this needs is a drum sequencer or looper or some way of getting the drums to play so that you can play the keys alongside. Even the lowliest mini home keyboards have a bossa nova or pop drum pattern. This feels like a missed opportunity. However, it does have a Note Repeat button so you can hold the hi‑hat down and sort of play along that way, but it doesn’t lend itself to playing a pattern. Maybe I’m expecting too much from the Mini Play. The sample or kit will populate the pads and can be triggered from the MPK's pads. The MPK's hardware Preset 1 is already mapped to Pad Bank A in MPC Beats. Just press and hold down the Prog Select Button and press Pad 1.

Overall, I believe the Novation actually slightly edges out the Akai. I think the addition of the MIDI out is the main reason why. Overall, they’re very comparable keyboards, with the Akai being a little bit cheaper. A good example of this is playing around with the top end of a highpass filter. You would get a much more fluid movement if you were able to cross what I call the ‘rotary dead zone’ that is physically applied by most knobs/encoders when you reach the end of their rotation (and physically won’t turn any further).One nice feature is the Favourites function which gives you eight slots for saving your tweaked sounds. Each Favourite includes the sound with the filter and effects settings plus the chosen drum kit, and you can recall them on the fly. I think this feature turns the Mini Play into a potentially useful gigging companion. It’s a compact source of playable sounds with a filter and an arpeggiator that could fill a spot in your rig. For the MK3, Akai has added a “Gen 2 Enhanced Dynamic Keybed.” One of the criticisms of the MK2 was that the keys felt cheap and flimsy, so it seems the company is seeking to improve in this area. The keys are still smallish, but they feel more responsive than the MK2’s keys do. As a mini device, theAkaiMPK Mini MK2doesn’t require much power. It draws everything it needs from its USB connection to your computer. There’s no onboard audio or audio out here, meaning that neither model is capable of being a standalone performance device. But, really, if you’re looking for that kind of device, you’re not going to be happy with the limited two-octave span in the first place.