MPK Mini MK3 25 Key USB, MIDI Pedalboards, 7.08

The device is a little on the small side, but so portable. if you want something to play with and put ideas down on the move this is it!

Ease of use. Integrated seamlessly into my setup.

It was a gift for my child and it is what she wanted and needed

Because Akai makes good products

The AKAI MPK Mini Midi controller is a win for our small studio. This controller is replacing our very old and out dated Yamaha keyboard, saving us room when our studio is finished being remodeled from hurricane Ida. We have yet to truly unlock all of this very small controllers attributes. Here is what we have so far..... 1. Easy hook up. Our DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) Recognized it and installed really fast. 2. Powered with USB cable that was provided. 3. Comes with the following software, MPC Beats, Hybrid 3, Mini Grand, Velvet 4. Pitch & modulation control 5. Sustain pedal input jack 6. Built-in arpeggiator And the list goes on and on. We were put off at first by the light weight and thought it was cheaply made. We were very wrong. One of the only things so far is we wish it had a better manual.

The AKAI Professional MPK Mini is lightweight without feeling flimsy (except for the miniature piano keys themselves). The rubber feet keep it quite stable on a stand next to my workstation. It has no power input (or audio output) besides the USB bus, so, while eminently suited for use with a laptop (or other workstation), is not useful as a controller for a tablet-based synthesizer. Nor do the small keys lend themselves to on-stage playing, at least for those whose hands are accustomed to standard piano keys. I found these two points disappointing, given how obviously portable the device is. As a desktop controller, however, it shines. With the option to use keys or (velocity and pressure sensitive) pads for input, it works well with the (free download) MPC Beats (and was immediately recognized by Apple's Garage Band). This beginner was quickly able, after watching a fifteen minute YouTube video, to record a basic sequence beat with a bass line and play a synth lead atop, with little more effort than would be required for a solo artist with a looping pedal. The joystick combines pitch bend and expression sensibly, replacing two separate wheel controllers, and the parameter control pots feel very sturdy. My largest complaint is with the non-intuitive and rather cumbersome licensing of the sound libraries. On my Mac, the included libraries downloaded and appeared to be applications, but would not launch; a third-party licensing app required creating yet another online account, and I'm not entirely sure it unlocked all the libraries. I would have appreciated an obvious step-by-step guide rather than hunting through online FAQs.

I'm going to start right off by saying that this is going to take some time to learn to use if you haven't used a music production system before. the Quickstart Guide is pretty good and will get you going. You will need to download software to use this with your computer. If you're a beginner, this may take some time to learn about. If you're an experienced music producer and you like creating your own beats and loops then this is definitely your compact system. I played with this for two weeks and like the pad-feel, the keyboard is just right. Lighting of the pads and controls is also a very nice touch. Connects to your computer via a usb port. If you have an apple system, you'll likely need an adapter. The keyboard has 25 notes, but you can use octave down or up buttons and expand the range. You choose the tempo with a tap-tempo button, you set the pace by tapping your finger on it. I don't really like the 4-axis thumb stick as I'd prefer arrow buttons, but it's not a problem overall. The pads are for drum hits, BUT, you can set them for other sounds and are speed as well as pressure sensitive. You can play a series of notes and press the "note repeat" button to have those notes continuously repeat as you add in your beats etc. Lots of fun! SIZE: width is 12 and 1/2 inches. front to back is 7 inches exactly height, from table to top of buttons and knobs is at 2 inches. I like it, and I definitely recommend it.

Quick shipping, great gift for our 8 year old that loves learning about music. We figured out how to use it with various DAWs so he can enjoy it on the Chromebook, mac, or iPads. Can't wait to see what he comes up with once he learns to use it with some of the alternative apps (on Chromebook we can't figure out how to use the Akai provided DAW software as it's meant for pc and macs). Overall a great purchase!

Never recieved the items to know

I got sent the wrong color