Ableton Forum

Hi all, in the market for a new MIDI controller,. Looking at the Akai MPC series, particularly the 61 and 88. Is there any real difference between them, besides the number of keys and that the 88's keys are fully weighted? Anyone had an experience (good or bad) in using with Live? Thanks all and happy jammin.

Pretty sure that's the only difference.

Not to rain on your parade but the mpk 49 and 61 units have been known to have crappy springs below the keys. What happens is the key is usable but it pops up and makes things look aesthetically unpleasant. It's a known problem constantly discusses on the mpc forums

use to own an MPK 49 traded it in toward an mpk 88 the 61 & 88 have same 16 pads and controls

main differences are gonna be the key # key weight/action and overal size/weight of the whole unit

v00d00ppl wrote:Not to rain on your parade but the mpk 49 and 61 units have been known to have crappy springs below the keys. What happens is the key is usable but it pops up and makes things look aesthetically unpleasant. It's a known problem constantly discusses on the mpc forums

ive got an mpk49. Its brilliant never had any problems with it. Highly recommended

Akai is a great product i use the 25 key and love it great for producing and jammin, never had a problem with it, been about 1 year since iv had it. Cheerz ;D

I have the mpk61 and I couldn't be happier with it. Be prepared to do a little work to get the control surface to work in live, as live's mpk61 preset script isn't very good.

There are alot of things to consider. I have used and had both and it depends entirely on what you are going to use it for and where.

1) The keys on the MPK 88 blow away the MPK 61, I would even say the M-Audio axiom pro is better than the mpk61 as far as key action. Keys on the 61 flat out suck.
2) You are not going to be able to tote around the 88, the thing is heavy! If your requirement is to moblie gig with the gear I would go with the 61.