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Rating And Reviews: Akai MPK61 Keyboard

61-key semi-weighted keyboard with aftertouch. 16 genuine MPC pads. MPC Note Repeat, MPC Swing, and arpeggiator. MIDI output over USB and bus powered.

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Sound
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Akai MPK61 Keyboard Customer Review submitted September 11, 2011

By a customer from yahoo.com
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Musical Background: hobby
Music Style: hiphop and dance
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VERIFIED BUYER
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Sound: hands down, this a very dynamic midi controller. Akai has really stepped up their performance and durability in this machine. the shipping packagewas very secured and it looked so fresh and new. its very easy with the plug and play and hooks up very easily. the controller is a bit heavy but if it was to ever drop on the floor for any reason it would withstand the impact with its great durabilty. couldnt have asked for a better controller. the 16 mpc triggers pads are what top it off, i can enjoy doing sampling like a standard mpc 1000 with any daw software. would definetly recommend this product. Feature: just need a standard digital audio workstation software and sounds.
7 of 7 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Absolutely Remarkable" submitted March 9, 2012

By Phil N in Uniontown, PA
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Musical Background: Piano/voice at age 5. Self taught guitar. Several bands and studio appearances.
Music Style: Any and all. Music is my life.
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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW
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Sound: The semi-weighted keys are a significant plus. They allow for the most expression with strings/pianos but still have great flow for guitar/synth leads. The pads are also velocity sensitive, but I feel (as most others do) that they are very stiff. I only use them on the "Full Level" setting for drums and samples though. The stiffness in this regard means nothing to me, but may effect some others opinions of the board. Feature: First off, this board will sync with any DAW. I'm set on Ableton, and this board is absolutely flawless with all settings. It took me a little while to figure out how to remap the keys on the board to my specific needs, but even the presets I still find myself using. Endless knobs make not only producing, but dj-ing, a sinch. As mentioned above- the semi-weighed, velocity sensitive keys and velocity sensitive pads are fantastic. Being able to remotely bind all of my pads, knobs, and buttons to whatever I choose is probably the best feature. There are 3 banks for the 8 knobs, 8 sliders, and 8 buttons, and 4 banks for the 16 pads. This makes a total of 136 potentially bindable keys. Ease of Use: The main selling point for this board was when I decided to take my research to the internet. While I was looking for tutorials on the three boards mentioned above, there was a lot of empty space and unanswered questions when it came to the Axiom and A-800. There were very few youtube videos, very few reviews, and I felt like I was taking a stab in the dark buying either of those boards. The MPK- however had tons of YouTube videos, tons of forum Q&A's (both on Ableton websites and Akai websites) and in one situation I even emailed Akai and had a real response in 2 days. (By real, I mean that my question was answered fully, by a real person, and not an automation). Anything I've needed to know about the board- including tutorials and how-to's, I've been able to find with ease. Quality: The board itself feels very-very sturdy. Heavier and bigger than I thought it would be. I wouldn't say it's the kind of board you travel with though unless you have a really good case, The keys and knobs feel like I'll get a lifetime of use out of them, and even if I don't, I've already found videos on how to replace them. I did, however, remove a half of a star for the stiffness of the pads. They just feel too shallow and uncomfortable on anything other than "Full Level". Value: If this board lasts anywhere near as long as I thing it will, then no doubt about it. I felt like I had my money's worth after the first night of toying around. Manufacturer Support: As mentioned earlier, I hadn't even purchased the board yet, and had a very simple question for the support staff. I received a real response in 2 days. Perfect, in my opinion. The Wow Factor: Buy this board, or any of the MPK series. It is absolutely the king of boards in this price range. Overall: I was torn between the Roland A-800 and M-Audio Axiom Pro when I decided to purchase this board instead. Hopefully this review will explain why I chose this board.
19 of 22 people (86.36%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"best midi out there" submitted April 14, 2011

By a customer from hotmail.com
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Sound
Features
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Value
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Musical Background: Engineer, Producer
Music Style: hip hop
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Sound: This is a midi keyboard so it only controls the sounds you have in your software. Feature: The keybed is semi weighted, the pads feel nice to play, the faders and roters are awesome Ease of Use: I use sonar and it can be very difficult to link this keyboard up to sonar Quality: Strong, sturdy, heavy, well built Value: this product is definately worth every penny Manufacturer Support: havent really needed support as of yet The Wow Factor: Its Akai! THE LOOK THE FEEL THE DESIGN! ITS AKAI! Overall: besides not being able to really link up fast with sonar i love this unit.
5 of 8 people (62.5%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Wish I could say something better about this but in my professional keyboard playing opinion, get something else." submitted January 5, 2012

By a customer from boatashoreministry.com
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Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
Manufacturer Support
The Wow Factor
Musical Background: 40 years, keys guitar vocals
Music Style: Contemporary Christian
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Sound: Just a controller, no on-board sounds Feature: The amount of controllers is excellent and they feel for the most part, really solid Ease of Use: Did not keep long enough to learn how to use it. Quality: In my opinion - and I have been playing piano and keyboards for over 35 years - both the keyboard and pad sections of this instrument are low-quality and unplayable. It does not allow for any expression whatsoever. I was all ready to do the pad modification, but the keyboard on this thing is literally a nightmare. The velocity is all over the place and the keyboard is not even full size - the white keys are shorter than they should be. The responsiveness is intolerable. Value: No value to me, but I love Zzounds.com and expect that my exchange for the Roland A800 will go ultra smooth. Manufacturer Support: Did not have the opportunity to talk to support. The Wow Factor: The knobs and buttons are great but the keyboard and pad sensitivity issues make this unplayable. Overall: I was not satisfied with this product and it is on it's way back.
4 of 6 people (66.67%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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