I am about to buy an Akai mpk 88 (or not) and I'd like to have opinions and advices first hand from experienced users with this keyboard MIDI controller.

What DAW do you use?
What do you do with your Akai mpk61 or mpk88?

Is it easy to configure with daw and Vst/i ?

 

I say go for the 88 if your into the weighted keys, anything else the 61 will do. I'm not sure how much integration it has with VST's but I can assure you that it can work well with various DAW's. Everything feels solid (i.e. Knobs, Faders, Buttons) and the shell is made up of the same material as the APC40, which is some sort of light steel. The screen size is a pretty big plus on it too, its a nice bright blue. I don't personally own it, but a good friend has the 61 and I've had the pleasure of using it extensively in conjunction with Live. I personally think they're overpriced, but considering how solid the build is, I wouldn't mine shelling out the dough for an MPK61. Hope this helps, mate!

 

Connectivity is pretty good. Works with most DAWs like Live, Logic, FL, PT. If you're more of a pianist or an expressive player, then I'd go for the 88 key. If you're on the move, then I'd go with the 61 key. However, the synth action keys (the 49 key and 61 key versions) are springy as Hell. Some like it, some don't, but it takes some getting use to. I've never configured it to VSTs, so I can't speak on that. Not a bad investment, overall.

 

I have no personal experience with these two midi keyboards, but I have tested a few others wich have a lot of build-in controllers!!!

My experiences:
The more features you have on your midi keyboard, besides the the ability to play the keys, the more issiues you´ll experience. If you want a controller I would suggest a cheap one like this: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/BCF2000.aspx
I´ve had one myself and it works rock solid!

Midi-keyboard:
Choose a fullranged keyboard with good keys (by example weighted keys) .... and forget all about the fancy nobs and stuff *yes*

Hopefully this is of some use!

Good luck!

 

ghostinthemachine Yes that helps a lot

LiveLogicLoopsTools What a name !!! Why not LiveLogicLoopsToolsSonSampSeqCubStuRea ?

Thank you for your comment. I'll probably go for 88keys 'cause I'm fedup to use transpose all the time with Kontakt libs that uses key switches and so.

Did you used it with a particular DAW yourself?

 

i've had a few 88 key midi controllers and workstations. i think that 88 keys are overkill unless you are doing film scoring or orchestral work or if you need hammer action or fully weighted keys. imho 61 keys is the perfect blend of usability and size.

that being said i have love/hate relationship with the mpk series. there aren't any presets for alot of the major daws. everything has to be mapped and if you want to use the note repeat or arpeggiator, it requires manual setup in the daw first. the keys and pads work out of the box with any daw or vst though. also i'm not a fan of the vyzex editor.

i do love that it has split. i love the pads and the banks for the knobs, faders and buttons.

i use logic pro x primarily and live, pro tools as secondary tools.

i have an m-audio axiom pro and it is literally plug and play with every daw i use. all pads, knobs, faders and buttons. it also recognizes when a vsti is in focus and switches its controls to instrument mode. so instead of knob 1 controlling pan on channel 1, it will control attack in the vsti. and of course of these are fully customizable. the axiom also has a notion of zones (split). there are 4 zones and they can overlap if you like. i do wish it had 16 pads instead of 8 tho.

if i had to pick only one midi controller it would definitely be the m-audio axiom. for its ease of use.

 

phloopy Thank you for your comment. Yes I'he seen that one, and it seems good. Even though it is not so much about mixing, but about remote.
To mix , if I want to touch faders I use my tablet with a free remote program (I'll do a post about this one) it is very sensitive and works well on real time.

 

franknitty69 Very interesting comparison, thank you. But MAudio now belongs to AVID right?
In french Avide = Greedy I have too bad experiences with this enterprise. I wont buy anymore from them.

 

Behringer BCF2000 is not only for mixing, its for whatever you want it to do! *yes*

 

Floopy ahh I didn't knew. I looked again to it, but there are no pads and so. It is not what I am looking for.

 

Ahhh its the pads you need ..... ! Yeah you´re right that Behringer isnt that good at pads ;-) ..... I´ll pass *yes*

 

Not only the pads, but I like the fact that right in front of me I have controls and different way to enter the notes in one device.
Aftertouch etc..

 

I'll consider the name change. I used it with Live, Logic, and Pro Tools. It was seamless with Live. It was good with Logic. I didn't really use it for PT because I'm a shortcut monkey when using that DAW.

 

Avid sold M-Audio.

 

Yes? To who ?

Time later... I found to who:
From Music Radar July 02, 2012,
Avid has announced that it's selling M-Audio, the music technology hardware and software company that it acquired in 2004.
It's being sold to inMusic, the parent company of (among others) Akai Professional, Alesis and Numark. (http://inmusicbrands.com/)

 

good info. i did not know that.

anyways the m-audio axiom air series has 16 pads on the 25 key, but not the 49 or 61...lame. i'll probably upgrade to the 61 key. i have a maschine, so pads are not a deal breaker for me.

 

I agree with phloopy. Get a separate controller. I recommend getting a droid or iPhone and getting the app, TouchOSC. It is a very advanced app for DAW control. It can work as a decent drumpad too. Best of all, phones and tablets are wireless. I use TouchOSC to control Reaper, and I will never buy a hardware controller again. I even have a page setup on TouchOSC to do drumming. TouchOSC is a bitch to setup if you want custom functionality besides what the default layouts offer. But once you understand how it works, you can map Reaper actions to buttons. Midi CC, Prog Change, note on, whatever you want.

So I would say skip the controller part, just buy a decent keyboard with nice action. And use your phone or tablet as a controller!!!
Seriously, google it. There are tons of videos of people using TouchOSC as drumpads, DJ Turntables, ....

 

I Have a android tablet with touch osc and so, but it is ok for faders, but for pad it 's got to much latency.
Besides for some operations, I like circular buttons.

If you have android , try Wireless Mixer, ti is really good and it is free

Code:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bti.wirelessMixer

Then there is touch DAW which is not free but it is good too.

 

Agree the latency on drumpads is a little slow. I can do decent drumbeats on them but nothing too fast. There is circular buttons though, like the jog wheels or pan knobs. But I am not that into finger drumming. I usually just show people for fun. I definitely would use my acoustic set for recordings. And I guess I didn't even look to see who posted this. Of course you have TouchOSC, you're the one that post all the droid stuff!

And if you want ease of use mapping your new pads to your DAW. Buy whichever controller your DAW has a preset for. I know Reaper only has like 5 presets for controllers. And I know FL and Studio One have quite a few presets for controllers. Mapping stuff in Sonar was always hard to me, haven't tried in new X3 though. I always hated mapping shit manually but could never afford any of the controllers on the preset list of any DAW!

 

E X T R E M E L Y happy with my MPK altho, its a 49 key. Brother has a 61, also extremely happy.

Great value, durable as hell, feature filled and looks and feels absolutely awesome.

Works perfectly (of course) in Ableton, along with my APC40, but also use it just fine in Studio One.



Whee... all of a sudden Im an Audiosexual..