The mpk 88 is out now, and i was wondering if anyone has one, and has some opinion on it?
Im thinking of getting one as I want a hammer action controller, but I cant find any reviews, and no shops Ive been to have it in yet so i cant try it out.
Any views on what the hammer action and build quality is like? i dont really care about pads as i have maschine and i dont use faders.
Or if anyone can recomend a good hammer action midi keyboard at a similar price?
Akai MPK88 - any views?
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- KVRist
- 118 posts since 16 Feb, 2006 from UK
My MPK61 will be getting delivered to me on Monday, the guy on the phone said the build quality of the mpk series was great. I wasn't sure if I was making the right decision going for the mpk instead of the novation mkII but he said the mpks had a much better build quality.
there is a vid of the mpk88 here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqGC0wF-jVI
there is a vid of the mpk88 here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqGC0wF-jVI
We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.
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- KVRist
- 93 posts since 1 Jul, 2009 from New York
Elektroid, I would very much appreciate it if you would post your impressions of the MPK61 once you've taken it out for a spin, as I too am weighing its merits against the Novation.ELEKTROID wrote:My MPK61 will be getting delivered to me on Monday, the guy on the phone said the build quality of the mpk series was great. I wasn't sure if I was making the right decision going for the mpk instead of the novation mkII but he said the mpks had a much better build quality.
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- KVRist
- 194 posts since 11 Apr, 2001 from Burbank, CA
I own an AKAI MPK88.
The good - The keyboard action is very nice. The editor "Vyzex" is very easy to use and unlike many other controllers, it changes the setting in the unit immediately. So you just grab a fader and adjust what you want it to do. If you like the setting than you can program it permanently into the unit.
The unit has all the possible controls one may want: aftertouch, pressure sensitive pads, build in arpegiator, transport controlls, great feeling faders, knobs etc.
The not so good - I did have to have my unit replaced when I first got it. One of the keys was not tracking evenly with the rest. 2. The expression pedal input does not work with Yamaha expression pedals. This might not be a big deal to some but it's a bummer for me. I have a BOSS pedal on order. 3. When you put the controller to external sync, for the arpeggiator, your DAW has to be in play mode. Otherwise the arpeggiator does not play. I wish that MPK88 would just read the DAW's tempo and still be able to play, even if the DAW is not playing.
So, despite few of my issues, I love this board. I think it's the best thing out there at the moment. I've also been waiting for this unit to finally show up ever since the MusicMesse, when it was announced. I must say that I'm pleased with the result!!!
The good - The keyboard action is very nice. The editor "Vyzex" is very easy to use and unlike many other controllers, it changes the setting in the unit immediately. So you just grab a fader and adjust what you want it to do. If you like the setting than you can program it permanently into the unit.
The unit has all the possible controls one may want: aftertouch, pressure sensitive pads, build in arpegiator, transport controlls, great feeling faders, knobs etc.
The not so good - I did have to have my unit replaced when I first got it. One of the keys was not tracking evenly with the rest. 2. The expression pedal input does not work with Yamaha expression pedals. This might not be a big deal to some but it's a bummer for me. I have a BOSS pedal on order. 3. When you put the controller to external sync, for the arpeggiator, your DAW has to be in play mode. Otherwise the arpeggiator does not play. I wish that MPK88 would just read the DAW's tempo and still be able to play, even if the DAW is not playing.
So, despite few of my issues, I love this board. I think it's the best thing out there at the moment. I've also been waiting for this unit to finally show up ever since the MusicMesse, when it was announced. I must say that I'm pleased with the result!!!
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unspeakabledeelight unspeakabledeelight https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=174838
- KVRer
- 10 posts since 28 Feb, 2008
I purchased the Akai Mpk 49 to use with Ableton and NI Komplete 5 and did not like the stiff keyboard action. I felt the sensitivity lacked far too much and even with velocity control i felt rapid vibrating pulsating note playing was impossible. For the type of music i like to workout sensitive keyboard action is life or death. Sorry this review may not help with the 88hammer key.
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Angel Powerlord Angel Powerlord https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=177595 - KVRist
- 112 posts since 2 Apr, 2008
Do you use it in the studio only or also live?AndrewW wrote:I own an AKAI MPK88.
Can you carry it alone? What case are you using?
Such a nice keyboard from the specs but the shear weight scares me ...
Angel
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- KVRist
- 118 posts since 16 Feb, 2006 from UK
First impressions are excellentmenthol wrote: Elektroid, I would very much appreciate it if you would post your impressions of the MPK61 once you've taken it out for a spin, as I too am weighing its merits against the Novation.
Really well built, much heavier than I expected, solid metal base & everything about it just says quality.
Really nice large LCD screen that can be read from pretty much any angle, sliders & knobs nice and chunky and feel like they can take some abuse. Drum pads feel much more sensitive than I was expecting after reading all the complaints of MPK49 users. The fact the pitch and mod wheels light up bright yellow was a pleasent surprise.
Keyboard feels really nice compared to my old radium 61 but it will take some getting used to the semi weighted feel. Also, you can split the keyboard so you can play 2 seperate instruments at once (haven't tried this yet).
I love the dark looks of it, the black & red..I like retro looking stuff, and this feels like its an old Roland analog or something.
Anyway..I haven't really got into exploring it yet but if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.
We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.
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- KVRAF
- 9781 posts since 18 Aug, 2007 from NYC
I didn't realize that this existed until yesterday!!
I still have not had my hands on one, but I'm thinking that if the positive reviews continue, then this will replace my CME UF80. At least, I hope so.
As for the appregiator issue, is it really an issue? It makes perfect sense to me that your DAW has to be playing in order for it to work.
I still have not had my hands on one, but I'm thinking that if the positive reviews continue, then this will replace my CME UF80. At least, I hope so.
As for the appregiator issue, is it really an issue? It makes perfect sense to me that your DAW has to be playing in order for it to work.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 247 posts since 4 Jun, 2009
i heard somewhere ( i think some german video on youtube) that the keys were a little loud, this is a problem Ive had with my juno-g, it can be a little distracting when i cant have my monitors turned up.
Any opinions?
Any opinions?
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- KVRist
- 275 posts since 3 Dec, 2009 from Cologne, Germany
Yepp, I have got this baby last week. The action is very tight and the behaviour of repetition is extremely fast. The keys are heavy weighted. As a physical result there is some noise. But it is not more as on other keyboards with fully weighted keys. I guess the guy in the mentioned video was used to synth keyboards.
When I bought it, I tested some other keyboards, like Fatar Studiologic, Numa, Numa Nano, Doepfer, Yamaha and some others standing around there. Before I visited the shop I tended to Numa Nano due to its weight of 24 lbs and the good reputation of Fatar's keyboards. But the keys there are somewhat flabby. But this one had less noise. The other keyboards I tried were all a about the same (absolutely acceptable) level of noise. The AKAI has the fastest repetition.
The controllers (faders, knobs and buttons) are even tight and to set up them is a breeze.
There is nothing wrong with this device but before you buy it go to your dealer ant try it. Buying a real keyboard (not a 49 key toy) is a very personal thing. This beasts strength is exactly what I need for my locksmith's hands.
Yeah, I love this black beast.
When I bought it, I tested some other keyboards, like Fatar Studiologic, Numa, Numa Nano, Doepfer, Yamaha and some others standing around there. Before I visited the shop I tended to Numa Nano due to its weight of 24 lbs and the good reputation of Fatar's keyboards. But the keys there are somewhat flabby. But this one had less noise. The other keyboards I tried were all a about the same (absolutely acceptable) level of noise. The AKAI has the fastest repetition.
The controllers (faders, knobs and buttons) are even tight and to set up them is a breeze.
There is nothing wrong with this device but before you buy it go to your dealer ant try it. Buying a real keyboard (not a 49 key toy) is a very personal thing. This beasts strength is exactly what I need for my locksmith's hands.
Yeah, I love this black beast.
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- KVRer
- 5 posts since 4 Dec, 2009
Hey Andrew,AndrewW wrote:2. The expression pedal input does not work with Yamaha expression pedals.
Just wanted to post this reply from Akai, which is a response to my concern (echoing yours) regarding Yamaha exp pedals:
"For the expression pedal input, any standard pedal should work out well (with the MPK88), as long as it is not proprietary, and connected to the keyboard before the board is powered on in order to properly calibrate it."
I am not sure if this resolves the problem, but thought I'd pass it on. I am also using a Yamaha pedal and like it a lot... but it just occured to me that it's being used with a Yamaha keyboard...
Any chance Yamaha expression pedals are proprietary for their keyboards only?
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- KVRer
- 1 posts since 22 May, 2006
Yeah weight is an issue ...I had one delivered few weeks ago and its a nice keyboard- not very Logic Pro friendly but you can map yourself pretty quickly o control and there are bundles of buttons.
The key action is OK, I prefer Fatar actions and also the edges of the keys themselves I found were quite sharp - i.e. as you played across the keyboard quickly my fat fingers hurt!- which I just felt they were a bit cheaply made and not finished off..
It went back as I had a note sticking on the board using Logic 9/Mainstage and I could not work it out plus its just too bloody heavy to gig with ...
I am going look around today ...Let you know..
regards
The key action is OK, I prefer Fatar actions and also the edges of the keys themselves I found were quite sharp - i.e. as you played across the keyboard quickly my fat fingers hurt!- which I just felt they were a bit cheaply made and not finished off..
It went back as I had a note sticking on the board using Logic 9/Mainstage and I could not work it out plus its just too bloody heavy to gig with ...
I am going look around today ...Let you know..
regards
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- KVRer
- 3 posts since 5 Feb, 2006
Mine mpk88 came 3 days ago and I still cannot make it work properly in ableton. Very frustrating. There isn't any info in the printed manual, in the pdf, in ableton's manual, in ableton's forum, akai's website...
The build quality is high, the knobs are smooth and firm, the pads - much much better than Remote SL's, the keys are very good, once you gone hammer action there's no turning back. You get the feeling of a hardware synth and a smile pop ups when you sit in front of it. The only thing that really bothers me is a buzzing noise from the chassis or a button or maybe both when I hit (press) the keys in the middle of the keyboard, it's some sort of really unpleasant vibration which is quite loud. I don't want to open it by myself (it's 3 days old!) and I don't want to wait a month or so for the dealer to repair it.
The build quality is high, the knobs are smooth and firm, the pads - much much better than Remote SL's, the keys are very good, once you gone hammer action there's no turning back. You get the feeling of a hardware synth and a smile pop ups when you sit in front of it. The only thing that really bothers me is a buzzing noise from the chassis or a button or maybe both when I hit (press) the keys in the middle of the keyboard, it's some sort of really unpleasant vibration which is quite loud. I don't want to open it by myself (it's 3 days old!) and I don't want to wait a month or so for the dealer to repair it.
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- KVRer
- 5 posts since 4 Dec, 2009
I checked out this keyboard with full intention to buy, but I felt the quality (as in "low") was a serious issue. The keys actually still have the flashing (left-over plastic from the mould) on them! Even the Casio sitting nearby had better quality finishing to their keys than this Akai!
I am really sorry to say I'll have to pass. Akai should know we expect better from them (certainly better than Casio!).
Looks like I'll have to opt for a Kurzweil SP3x... same action as Fatar, but better quality overall, I suspect, even though I'm paying for a few sounds I don't really need.
I am really sorry to say I'll have to pass. Akai should know we expect better from them (certainly better than Casio!).
Looks like I'll have to opt for a Kurzweil SP3x... same action as Fatar, but better quality overall, I suspect, even though I'm paying for a few sounds I don't really need.
