AKAI Professional MPK mini Plus Reviews

Nice

The drum pad is very nice. There's no delay on the sound when i record the drums. The keys are a little tiny, if you have a big fingers its not suitable for you. But over all its a good midi keyboard.

Brilliant way to get into music production

This is the tool to start a home studio. Get the software & the biggest bundle of expansion packs & get knocking out proper sounding songs same day. Not user friendly so expect YouTube to be your saviour.

Lot's of features in a small package

It does what it needs to do and it works fine. Small and portable.

One thing that frustrated me for a few minutes: if you use a laptop as power source, all midi gets routed through the usb when the laptop is on. This means you can only use it to control a (semi)modular synth through midi when the laptop is off, when it is on but midi has to be routed through your laptop's sound device, or when it's powered by a wall adapter. This is stated clearly and in bold in the manual, but you have to read it first :P

Really well thought mini keyboard

With 3 octaves it's just enough to use both hands when you are doing piano parts. It's smaller brother is on that regard pretty limited. I've also bought it with the software bundle which is jus fantastic value for the money. Everything works perfectly and if I need to complain it would be about keys. They are a bit too stiff for my taste but than again it's cheap MIDI keyboard with mini keys. Definitely recommended especially with the software bundle.

Tons of features

Had the basic mini version before this, and upgraded to the plus as the only thing that really bothered me in the mini that the is only 2 octaves.

Build quality: ⅘ - had the first one returned as the drum pads were really not responsive (I had the same problem with the regular mini, also had to return one of that one) As I read on the internet it is a common problem with AKAI minis, that the build consistency of the drum pads are not so great, so are better, some are worse. The replacement that I got is also not the best in terms of responsiveness, but I can live with it.

It has ton of features, and easy to handle. Got a sustain pedal as well, and it works great with it. The keys have a good feel for them. The chord and scale functions are really handy if you lack enough music theory, or not yet familiar which note is where. It gives you the ability to enjoy playing music earlier, so you remain more enthusiast, and on the long run it help you with learning the scales. So in this regard these are really good features.

Has a joystick, and two wheels, that can be programmed for different features.

All in all it is a really enjoyable midi keyboard.

Great unit

This is a solid midi controller. I don't think there is any competition for this keyboard currently (that also fits my desk).

37 keys. Quality pitch+mod wheels for the best expressive playing (beats touch strips easily). Plus a joystick. Good pads that are very fun to play. Encoders feel just right.

The keys are small or medium sized. I like it because it allows for more keys in a smaller space. In case you are wondering:

White keys are ~8 cm tall, a little under 2 cm wide

Black keys are ~5 cm tall (playing area is 4.5cm, 5mm of slope), about 8mm wide

If you plan to play some Chopin this is not the keybed for you. You will want something that closer resembles a piano. But you need more than 37 keys for that anyway.

For everyone else this should be more than fine. The key action feels good and consistent from left to right. I enjoy playing the keys and I'm not bothered by anything

Overall a great and practical device that I can only recommend.