A bank toggle effectively gives access to 16 pads in each mode. The pads have three modes, selected with dedicated buttons. The actual pad rubbers do appear to be the same as those on the MPC One, but the mechanism does not feel the same, having a shallower, tappy action. Pads & EncodersĪkai market the pads as “pulled right from our flagship MPC”. I’d never normally expect this on a mini controller, but Novation changed that rule with the Launchkey Mini III. If I was looking for things that are missing, I’d say a regular MIDI output. The only secondary functions are the Arpeggiator settings. One thing I particularly appreciate about the design is that there’s no Shift button. The pads on the other hand do send continuous pressure, and you can even select whether you want this to be polyphonic or single channel. As with the MPK’s peers, aftertouch is not available. The keyboard has been improved and is perfectly playable for me, especially compared with budget mini controllers. This does reasonably well at avoiding accidental crossover between the two (and has the option of bipolar modulation), but I’d still prefer the precision of wheels or touchstrips. One concession is the use of a dual‑purpose thumbstick for pitch and mod control. It’s a solid unit, within a millimetre of a MacBook Air or an NI Maschine in width. The MPK Mini really is the miniest keyboard you can get without sacrificing niceties like knobs, pads and a decent keybed. So how does Akai’s offering compare? Funsize

If you’re in the market for a premium two‑octave mini controller keyboard (and by premium I mean pushing the £100 just over the $100 mark) the MPK is one of the ‘big’ three for me, competing with the Novation Launchkey Mini III and Arturia MiniLab II. This turns the MPK into a turnkey music production package for those that need it. The new model also coincides with the release of MPC Beats, the free but fully featured software engine behind the MPC. The new MPK Mini portable controller punches well above its price tag.Īkai have levelled up their hugely successful portable controller with a display and endless encoders.

Akai mpc mk3