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tom808 « Reliable Keyboard »
Published on 07/24/14 at 14:33Akai is know for quality, so this has 49 keys, on left side comes with pitch bend and modulation wheel which are very smooth and comfortable to use. You have 12 pads and modifiers for the pads which is usually used for sampling drums and sound loops, pads are very solid and if you have used any other Akai pads you know their well made. In the middle of the board you have the LCD screen which is clear to see, below you have buttons and knobs to adjust the Octaves tap tempo and setup the sound. On the right side you have 8 faders and 8 knobs to control different effects/parts of your DAW which can be all set up to your needs. This is a USB controller which makes it very easy to plug and play, it can be used for MAC and PC it includes Avid Pro Tools Express which i don't use
UTILIZATION
The basic part of it is the plug in and play keyboard with your DAW, it gets more confusing trying to connect the pads with sounds you need especially if you never used a MPC or MPD pad before, filters and knobs are easy and conformable to use, the selection is understandable and quick to process, this board is my secondary board currently because i found the pads to be uncomfortable over the top of keys, i bought a MPD32 to use for pads and i use a basic midi keyboard all my sounds are form the DAW plugins. The manual is Clear and easy to follow, the keys are good amount of soft i enjoyed them. Overall for a newb the setup might be confusing at first which you have to learn all the parts of it but after some hours you will understand all of it.
OVERALL OPINION
The price is great considering how much this board has to bring, i think personally its too much on a keyboard i like to have things separate like my pads controllers other keyboards but i did really like the Faders and the feel of the keyboard, i downgraded to a basic M audio 25 key and i bought the MPD 32 separately this feels better for me but i still keep the MPK49 for live use, I can had all my patches and settings set in one keyboard that makes it great, so the quality is very high I'm a big fan of Akai products but at the same time i like to keep it simple.
UTILIZATION
The basic part of it is the plug in and play keyboard with your DAW, it gets more confusing trying to connect the pads with sounds you need especially if you never used a MPC or MPD pad before, filters and knobs are easy and conformable to use, the selection is understandable and quick to process, this board is my secondary board currently because i found the pads to be uncomfortable over the top of keys, i bought a MPD32 to use for pads and i use a basic midi keyboard all my sounds are form the DAW plugins. The manual is Clear and easy to follow, the keys are good amount of soft i enjoyed them. Overall for a newb the setup might be confusing at first which you have to learn all the parts of it but after some hours you will understand all of it.
OVERALL OPINION
The price is great considering how much this board has to bring, i think personally its too much on a keyboard i like to have things separate like my pads controllers other keyboards but i did really like the Faders and the feel of the keyboard, i downgraded to a basic M audio 25 key and i bought the MPD 32 separately this feels better for me but i still keep the MPK49 for live use, I can had all my patches and settings set in one keyboard that makes it great, so the quality is very high I'm a big fan of Akai products but at the same time i like to keep it simple.