Akai MPK25 25-Key MIDI Controller Keyboard
Get the production possibilities of a MIDI controller with the action and feel of an acoustic keyboard, plus 12 MPC sample pads with the MPK25.
Overall User Ratings (based on 17 ratings)
Submitted May 4, 2012 by mike gervais in klamath falls, OR
"akai mpk25"
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zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This unit does exactly what I expected it to do. I like having keys and the pads they all work fine for me. Its a terrific unit I highly recommend it.
Musical Style:
rock jazz blues
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Submitted May 22, 2011 by a customer from gmail.com
"Awesome! I did my research and bought it and it was worth it!"
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zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
As far as MIDI products, Im set. Next is a Korg workstation!
Sound
AWESOME! Ordered it from ZZsounds, it came with in Id say 3 days if that? Akai makes AWESOME products. The reason I got the MPK 25 and not the 49 or 61 is, one they were both on back order until the end of May and this was around my birthday so April 25th? but I thought about it for a few days and the 25 has everything the 49 does except the faders (and well duh the keys - but you can change octaves, and unless your a piano player you are fine with 2 octaves at a time anyway, I make pop and hip-hop) I also already had a 61 key controller just controller though no mod wheel or anything but I had the keys at least. The keys are semi-weighted which are pretty awesome I think. The pads are stiff though, they do loosen up as you use it orr you can go to ModmyMPC.com and they sell thicker pads with corx that make the pads more sensitive check that out here http://www.mpcstuff.com/mpk25parts.html You can get fancy metal knobs pads everything specifically for the MPK25)or look on youtube there is a million mods (I used a cut of bike tube put a piece under each pad, made them ALOT more sensitive which is awesome) Its awesome above all, I did a lot of research on it before hand, it has the same drum pads is all the Akai keyboards and I like it because I can bring it in bed with my laptop and run it off a simple USB cable making it portable. The one thing I was afraid with going with one with faders is, when you go back to a project you need to reset those faders manually with out accidentally messing up your original setup. So I use the knobs to control software instruments and I bought a Behringer BCF2000 with has 8 MOTORIZED faders and 8 Knobs and 20 buttons, (I work on muliti-projects at a time and I just open up the project and the Behringer's faders move by them selves according to your project!
Above all its awesome, I would still like to have the 49 or 61 but now that I have this the next step will be a Korg keyboard.
Oh and another thing I like that makes me really mad that Akai didn't do with the 49-61-88 that they DID do with the 25 is put the Mod/Pitch-bend wheel to the left of the keys (which was another selling feature over the 40 for me) because the 49-61-88 the wheels are above the keys!! WHYYY?!
Cons: Well there really isnt any, I mean as far as presets I think they could have did a little better job I find myself setting up everything non of the presets are ever set to the right thing, well actually you NEVER know what they are set to. Also the Program Change button isnt very detailed. I feel they could have put more work into MIDI messages coming back to the keyboard and telling you what your doing in your program **this goes for all the keyboards not just the 25**
Features
USB cable and manual.
Ease of Use
Plug and play!
Value
ZZounds.com had the best price!
Manufacturer Support
Never have myself but my buddy did and they helped him out and he was happy.
The Wow Factor
Very sexyy ;)
Musical Background:
Recording Engineer
Musical Style:
Pop/Hip-Hop
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Submitted September 27, 2011 by a customer from ccicomp.com
"Very cool... And more..."
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I really like this controller and feel that I will keep it for a long time... I see myself getting a larger midi keyboard in the future, but still keeping this one as a portable unit... It's just so cool to set it on my lap with my laptop on the coffee table and have all this power at my fingertips... Cool stuff...
Sound
No sound:)... But when Paired with the right software so much sound, its great to have so much control from such a small device....
Features
I chose the mpk25 over the mpk40 because of the size, it fits perfectly on my desks keyboard slide out shelf, and of course the 150$ difference in cost had some bearing... The features are super, it pairs well with the included ableton software and works great with reason... I do wish it had the sliders like the mpk40, but for the small footprint you wouldn't have anywhere to put them...
Ease of Use
As my first midi controller, I have to say it is really plug n play... I was quickly up and playing with ableton and reason and it works great so far with these... Of course I have not utilized all of the features but getting started is a breeze and is closely linked to familiarity with the software that you will be using it with...
Quality
It light and plastic... But that's what you are paying for, something that can be powered via USB and light enough to carry anywhere... It seems sturdy, the knobs have a nice solid feel and the keys have have a good feeling to them, much better than any of the keyboards (cheapos) I have had in the past, not quite piano feeling but getting close... I think overall if you treat it fairly gentle it will hold up well, I mean it's a studio device, though portable, it's not meant to be slung around...
Value
Can't really compare since I have never owned any other... I can say though that for $250 this thing can do a lot when paired with the right software... And fits in nicely with the price of similar products that I have researched...
Manufacturer Support
No opinion on the support
The Wow Factor
Here it's kind of a mix... It looks cool for sure, but sexy is my wife, not my keyboard... As far as creating what I can create with this without it, it would be difficult and a lot more time consuming if at all possible...
Musical Background:
Hobbyist
Musical Style:
Blues, folk, r&b, rock... Whatever mood or environment call for...
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Submitted October 8, 2013 by Dom G in Newport News, VA
"Akai Mpk25"
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I love the midi controller. It's light and easy to transport and also easy to connect. I use fl studios and it works pretty well with it. There is a slight delay/lag when recording but idk if all controller are like that since this is the first one I've used or owned. Two thumbs up though, it's a lot of fun!
Musical Background:
Just started making music and I just play at home.
Musical Style:
Rap, hip hop, r&b, rock, electronic
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Submitted July 11, 2012 by Karim K in San Diego, CA
"Well made, affordable"
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This is my first MIDI controller. I researched competing models from Novation and M-Audio, though I liked that this one had larger drum pads and more of them. I do agree that the drum pads are require a decent amount of force--more than I'd like. You basically hit them as hard or soft as you'd hit a real drum. I've ordered a kit online to alter their sensitivity.
The whole unit feels solidly built, with good quality plastics. My only complaint is that it is supposed to be out of the box compatible with Ableton, and it mostly is. Annoyingly, the eight virtual knobs of the Ableton instrument rack are supposed to be controlled by the first two rows of 8 knobs on the controller, but instead the it's the first and third row of knobs that are mapped, with the middle row controlling track volumes. It's fixable with the software that comes with the controller, which is a complex but very good program with a fantastic visual interface.
Also sometimes turning the knobs when you haven't touched them yet in your session can cause a delay before they start responding accurately in Ableton, though I'm not convinced it is the controller's fault.
It would also be nice if there were 16 drum pads since that's what Ableton uses, so that when you load up a drum kit, you end up with four drums you can't use unless you drag them to the available pads. Not a huge deal but would be nice.
If you do live DJing, I think the Novation SL MkII might be a better choice because it has slider/fader controls. If you want to save a little money and want bigger and more drum pads, I'd choose this one.
Musical Background:
Amateur tinkerer
Musical Style:
Electronic
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Submitted January 26, 2012 by Dennis McGowen in East Wentachee, WA
"Awesome controller"
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zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Fun MIDI controller
Sound
Its MIDI so it makes no sound
Features
Its full of features.........the pads are not to good but they need the mpcstuff pad fix and then this thing comes alive! Seriously the pads are perfect after the mod. The aftertouch thing is waaaaaaaaaay cool when you wanna make your music more dynamic.
Ease of Use
Pretty easy to figure out and I had no issues with it.
Quality
Well the case is plastic but its well built none the less.
Value
This is worth every penny I paid for it but I would still like to see Akai deal with the crappy pads though!
Manufacturer Support
I dont know because I havent had to call them
The Wow Factor
Its pretty and has enough buttons and knobs to make most people go wow
Musical Background:
DJ/Producer
Musical Style:
Electronica
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