NEW AKAI Controller MPK49

lesterdiamond · Post by **lesterdiamond** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:18 pm

looks cool. note repeat is good, arpeggiator too. but how much?

i'm thinking it'll be somewhere between 300-400

gort · Post by **gort** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:31 pm

bah.. if they ever give me some drivers that makes my MPD24 work on my macbook, then maybe i'll allow myself to take anything they start flossin' seriously. Akai doesnt smell ("taste" removed per request) as good as they used to. why has it been soooo difficult for them to sort out the Uniquest editor or Intel macs? now, they want to stick another piece of fancy plastic in front of me to buy that has more buttons that dont work? sheeeeiiiiiiiit...

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 12:33 am

It seems we still have to wait to have the drum-keys solution properly into one piece... or will akai prove me wrong...

rbmonosylabik · Post by **rbmonosylabik** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 12:40 am

Do the pots send relative?

kugutsumen · Post by **kugutsumen** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 2:26 am

How does Akai and CME compare to eachother in terms of quality.

The CME VX9 (49 keys) at 700 USD has motorized faders the Akai does not.

TerryR · Post by **TerryR** » Wed May 02, 2007 12:39 am

Slightly off topic... I hope Akai writes better Windows drivers for that product than they did for the MPD16. The MPD16 crashes my computer randomly and I was using the driver that was supposed to fix that problem. Stay away from the MPD16 if you use Windows XP!!!

PurpleHaze · Post by **PurpleHaze** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:59 pm

Its cool, but looks like a toy at first

Tone · Post by **Tone** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:03 pm

its been on the market in europe since july. $399 at sweetwater, it does look a step up from the axiom though, and my fader on my axiom broke on the way home from the store too!

hey heres a demo video
http://www.gearwire.com/akai-mpk49.html

blaugruen7 · Post by **blaugruen7** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 9:40 am

i am curious about some fresh user opinions.

how does the keyboard feel?

how good are the pads?

better to forget about the pads and get a remote sl?

arkoenig · Post by **arkoenig** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:36 pm

TerryR wrote:Slightly off topic... I hope Akai writes better Windows drivers for that product than they did for the MPD16. The MPD16 crashes my computer randomly and I was using the driver that was supposed to fix that problem. Stay away from the MPD16 if you use Windows XP!!!

When I asked AKAI about the MPK49, they said it was MIDI class compliant, so it doesn't need separate drivers to work with Windows XP (or MacOS, presumably)

Rogue Scrunt · Post by **Rogue Scrunt** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:02 am

anyone have one of these yet?

do the pads automap to the drum rack????

eclipxe · Post by **eclipxe** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:22 pm

I returned my Remote SL61 and PadKontrol for the MPK49.

After buying Kore I didn't have a need for the AutoMap and 61 keys were a bit too much for my desk (and I didn't like having to use two diff controllers - one for drums, one for keys).

The pads on the RemoteSL are pretty subpar. I liked the REMOTE overall but the MPK serves my needs better. The pads are decent on the MPK49 and while they are as nice as the pK, they are close. The knobs and faders on the MPK are better than the RemoteSL but I don't like the plasticy clicks to the buttons.

The Actualy keys on the MPK are a bit smaller than the RemoteSL but they feel "springier" and I enjoy playing them more.

The pads automap to drum racks...except for the last row

but they do follow your current selection.

Arp and Note Repeat work well and are pretty neat for getting inspired. Using note repeat on the pads then latched arps on the keys when hooking up to Drum Racks means you can usually lay down an entire section in one take. The pK had an annoying issue with Roll where it would send out the full note length for the first note then roll the rest of the notes (which was messy). The MPK49 note repeat is pretty clean and in sync with the tempo. I don't like that I have to change the clock back to External everytime I unplug it. That kinda sucks!

Machinesworking · Post by **Machinesworking** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:59 pm

eclipxe wrote:I returned my Remote SL61 and PadKontrol for the MPK49.

After buying Kore I didn't have a need for the AutoMap and 61 keys were a bit too much for my desk (and I didn't like having to use two diff controllers - one for drums, one for keys)

After having my X-Station killed in transit to get repaired I'm thinking about this Puppy for the same reasons

The pads automap to drum racks...except for the last row :-

What is it about every piece of hardware or software out there having one fatal flaw that makes it annoying to work with?
Honestly this thing is $200 cheaper than a Remote SL, but still won't replace the PadKontrol.... blah! 16 is standard for soft synth drum kits these days Why???

Honestly I liked the Novation keys, I would have bought the SL off you and just used it as a straight MIDI controller.

eclipxe · Post by **eclipxe** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:02 am

Machinesworking wrote:
eclipxe wrote:I returned my Remote SL61 and PadKontrol for the MPK49.

After buying Kore I didn't have a need for the AutoMap and 61 keys were a bit too much for my desk (and I didn't like having to use two diff controllers - one for drums, one for keys)
After having my X-Station killed in transit to get repaired I'm thinking about this Puppy for the same reasons

The pads automap to drum racks...except for the last row :-
What is it about every piece of hardware or software out there having one fatal flaw that makes it annoying to work with?
Honestly this thing is $200 cheaper than a Remote SL, but still won't replace the PadKontrol.... blah! 16 is standard for soft synth drum kits these days Why???

Honestly I liked the Novation keys, I would have bought the SL off you and just used it as a straight MIDI controller.

Yeah - the novation had larger keys, but the Akai is springier and pushes back with more force (which I like).

About the pads - after using it for a week, I'm in love with it. I don't miss the extra column (it is a pain having to move the column over in drum racks) but I don't use more than 4 or 5 at once. I plan on mapping pad-bank D to Mackie Control emu (up/down/left/right/clip launch) and having everything in one controller. I've been very pleased with the Akai - I use the arp and note repeat A LOT more than I thought I would (I love setting the arp up with my hats on the keyboard then banging out a beat with the pads - very creative and easy, no need to set things up first).

Now when I had my padKontrol I sat with it side by side to the mpk49 to compare the "feel" of the pads. I was in love with the pK's feel and would pick it up to play just to feel the pads. I convinced myself that the Akai pads were "close enough" (and they are) but I'm still aching for the pK back. I'm trying to hold out until NAMM to see what's new before I pick one up.

Machinesworking · Post by **Machinesworking** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:32 pm

eclipxe wrote:
Machinesworking wrote:
eclipxe wrote:I returned my Remote SL61 and PadKontrol for the MPK49.

After buying Kore I didn't have a need for the AutoMap and 61 keys were a bit too much for my desk (and I didn't like having to use two diff controllers - one for drums, one for keys)
After having my X-Station killed in transit to get repaired I'm thinking about this Puppy for the same reasons

The pads automap to drum racks...except for the last row :-
What is it about every piece of hardware or software out there having one fatal flaw that makes it annoying to work with?
Honestly this thing is $200 cheaper than a Remote SL, but still won't replace the PadKontrol.... blah! 16 is standard for soft synth drum kits these days Why???

Honestly I liked the Novation keys, I would have bought the SL off you and just used it as a straight MIDI controller.
Yeah - the novation had larger keys, but the Akai is springier and pushes back with more force (which I like).

About the pads - after using it for a week, I'm in love with it. I don't miss the extra column (it is a pain having to move the column over in drum racks) but I don't use more than 4 or 5 at once. I plan on mapping pad-bank D to Mackie Control emu (up/down/left/right/clip launch) and having everything in one controller. I've been very pleased with the Akai - I use the arp and note repeat A LOT more than I thought I would (I love setting the arp up with my hats on the keyboard then banging out a beat with the pads - very creative and easy, no need to set things up first).

Now when I had my PadKontrol I sat with it side by side to the mpk49 to compare the "feel" of the pads. I was in love with the pK's feel and would pick it up to play just to feel the pads. I convinced myself that the Akai pads were "close enough" (and they are) but I'm still aching for the pK back. I'm trying to hold out until NAMM to see what's new before I pick one up.

Cool this is all good feedback. I have Kore as well, and really only need basic MIDI controls. The main advantages to the SL61 are that I actually want 61 keys, and I really like the joystick mod/pitch wheel on the Novation line.
Yet an arpeggiator that syncs to tempo is tempting. Fatal flaw with the PadKontrol is that it has no built in sync options for the rolls. You can simulate this with Lives' arpeggiator though.
Anyway it will be days before I get any money back from USPS, and I need to find one of these in stock locally.