All user reviews for the Akai Professional MPK mini

Small, well noted, the pads / knobs and keyboard, Akai.
I have the MPK88 and I wanted a small keyboard for quick sessions, the heavy touch that can be restrictive in some respects, more than I wanted a portable keyboard for some time.

UTILIZATION

Nothing to say, everything is good, I think even the pads a bit above those of the MPK88. One branch and it works ... except .... After the third day and limited movement in my office to the living room (1 floor), the USB cable began to present a false contact, which will now result in a replacement.

OVERALL OPINION

Approximately one week, with the idea I could see the mpk25 (too big), the small korg (bof), ranges and innovation alesis (not so portable it).

I'm crazy, it is aesthetic, hyper reactive, comprehensive and touch is very correct.

I regret the weakness in the usb (recurring problem ...), and you it seems that there is no possibility of power by mains or batteries, while USB is convenient but if seed ... no alternative.
I would do even if that choice without hesitation.

The presence of a single USB port:
- 2 octave keyboard,
- Pads to play sound samples,
- Pots to modulate the sound samples,
in a compact and portable that motivated my choice of MPK Mini.

It has a USB port (mini USB, I would have preferred a standard USB port rather than the mini connector), but the main thing is that it communicates with the USB MacBook Pro.

UTILIZATION

The touch keyboard is suitable for my use, which is to trigger events and typing or short melodies.
For its size, it's a keyboard acceptable, but a keyboard with a touch of piano keys requires longer than the depth of the MPK Mini.
The good idea is to disable the sensitivity of the pads to use a learning module MIDI DJ software and assign an order.

The general configuration is simple, I do not need to select the MIDI channel.

I have not read the manual.

OVERALL OPINION

I use the Mini MPK 6 months, with pleasure, to accompany my control surfaces of DJing.

Its distinctive feature I like most is the all-in-one, and the quality of the pads to play sound samples.

I tested before the small separate controllers Korg NANOPAD (launch pad samples) and nanoKEY (2 octaves keyboard), and I did not love their touch. In addition, these two controllers Nano required to provide two USB ports simultaneously has to offer on the MPK Mini USB port.

The value for money is excellent, and with experience I would do the same choice.

It's plug n play! You put the USB it works (attention to both side Mini USB keyboard is a bit fragile!

UTILIZATION

The touch of the keys is quite heavy which surprises a little for such a small keyboard.
I was looking for a small keyboard to compose my naps and run samples on my rhythm Psytrance.
The configuration is fairly simple (although I have not figured out how to set all)
But then just open a midi track, to put an instrument and play the notes.

OVERALL OPINION

I received it last night and enjoyed myself a few hours.
This is my first keyboard, I'm on the computer music LIVE 8 from 4 months with APC40.
I like the Plug n Play, touch the keyboard, the implementation that is fast price and what it can do for that price.
What I like least, the knobs may be a bit small for my hands from Yeti! If not enough use to be objective on this point.
The price / quality ratio is unbeatable for the possibility of this keyboard.
For now my choice is good! We will see later.

Number of Keys: 25 velocity-sensitive
Pads: 8 velocity-sensitive, light-up MPC-style pads x 2 banks
Knobs: 8 assignable controller pots
Computer Interface: USB/MIDI only
Programs: 4
Octaves: 9
Arpeggiator: Yes
Additional controls: Sustain, Tap-Tempo, CC
Dimensions: 6" x 13.6" x 1.2"
Weight: 2 lbs (shipping weight 2.5 lbs)

I really like this controller because it is small. It's small enough to fit in a computer bag and it's usb powered so you can really jam on it anywhere.

UTILIZATION

Using this product was really easy. I just plugged it into my mac, installed the drivers and it was good to go. The only thing that takes a little bit of setting up is using the pads. The pre-loaded notes didn't match up with the drum kits in reason so I had to manually change the notes so that I could have a more comfortable and usable drum/sample pad. The tap tempo and arpeggiator features both work very well and come in handy. The keys aren't weighted but if you get used to them you can utilize the velocity sensitive feature. The 8 assignable controller pots are useful too. They are the same situation as the pads, you have to set them up, but once you get them working they are really awesome. You can use them to add real time effects to your synth/instrument. I have some assigned to reverb, delay, modulation, phaser, etc. Using the knobs allows you to add any amount of those effects in real time so that you can improvise some pretty cool stuff live.

OVERALL OPINION

I really like this controller. It is perfect for a portable midi controller. Weighted keys, more keys, and a modulation wheel would be nice but aren't really practical for such a small unit. For the price, I can't think of a better midi controller. I've used a few other small midi controllers but got annoyed with all of the wires I had to carry around to get it working properly with my computer. This one is one plug and done. No midi adapters, no power chords, no instrument wires, no pedals. It's small enough to just fit in with my laptop wherever I take it. It definitely has enough features to effectively produce some cool electronic music. I would buy this again if I needed another.

I had gone to buy the keyboard part only ... and for a few dollars extra, there was this lovely shot of the controller, so I took it.
8 pads, 8 knobs, 25 buttons, 1 arpeggiator
MIDI USB (mini USB keyboard itself)

UTILIZATION

The touch keyboard has enough "spring" which surprised me a little early, we expect something more slack.

The manual? not found in mac .. Utility is installed (very well done) and now ... no help menu in this utility so I'm going through because of this ...

OVERALL OPINION

I've had a week and my goal is to use it for the live-act-oriented DJs.

I use the controller with IPAD as touchosc, but I wanted a small annex controller to add voice and controller some additional effects using real knob

It would have been possible to make additional pages with the IPAD, but I wanted to have some real knobs on hand to add a little more fun and life at my gigs.

Initially I was gone for the X1 from Allen & Heath, but I found it too big and did not need a giant dialjog, I stumbled by chance on this controller and I got:

The pros:
- Size
- Price
- The number of functions: keyboard, pads, knobs
- The quality of manufacturing, despite the fact that here it is  all-plastic
- The app configuration 

the -:
- The size of the knobs, too broad and certainly not high enough for my taste. The grip is not perfect. I have changed for better control
- No doc OSX

I have a gig next week and I could see how the controller behaves. For now it seems quite reliable and I have set my configuration as I prefer.

Honestly I still can not really say whether I am satisfied with my purchase, the future will tell me

I have XP home edition and it works fine with me ...
Akai will probably propose a solution in the future (drivers) for this kind of product.

UTILIZATION

Everything is included on this little MIDI keyboard, a real Swiss Army knife for computer music:
knobs, pads, keyboard, ultra compact and small (almost a toy).

OVERALL OPINION

Very pleased with this acquisition, I had a keyboard E-MU Xboard 25 and remained very good but I was looking for something smaller to move, the pads also have finally convinced me, sold one to buy another.
Definitely the best MIDI keyboard for musicians on the go!