djdiggla Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 http://www.akaipro.com/mpk49 I've been pretty interested in these... around $400 retail. Talk about the best of both worlds!! If I got new gear I would likely sell my D-5 for this. Here is a review by DJ NickNack at Gigacrate: http://www.gigacrate.com/Articles/?p=258 I recently decided it was time to upgrade from my old stale midi controller. Admittedly, I did very little research. I knew I wanted something that felt solid and had a bunch of knobs and sliders for me to assign. I set my sights on the M-Audio Axiom 61 at first. I liked the idea of having pads, keys, knobs and sliders all on one unit for under $300. I made a trip to my local Guitar Center to have a closer look. It was on sale for $249, which really piqued my interest. After about 2 minutes of toying with it, I quickly realized this device was $249 for a reason…it felt kinda cheap. The keys moved left to right and the entire casing was essentially plastic. Don’t get me wrong, I like this unit, but I was looking for something a tad better. I went and asked my buddy in the pro audio department and he suggested I take a look at the Akai MPK49. I totally forgot that this controller had recently come out and it seemed to fit my loose requirements very well. He brought one out of the back and I pushed on the keys and pads, moved the faders and pots…my initial impression was that this unit was rock solid. The keys had a VERY solid feeling to them. The pads were essentially MPC500 pads. The entire thing had a hefty weight to it and a very solid construction. He told me $350 and I decided to give it a shot. When I got it home, I realized that it doesn’t come with a power adapter. They assume you will be using it with USB. I can’t do that since my computer is about 40′ from my keyboard. I had to hit up Fry’s and buy a 6v 1A adapter. BTW, go to Fry’s not Radio Shack for your power adapter needs. The difference in price is astronomical! $9 vs $25 for the same shit basically. After I got the adapter, I plugged it up and quickly realized there is no power on/off button on the MPK. You have to literally unplug it, power on/off with a strip or leave it on all the time. Yuck. It comes with default mappings for all popular DAW and VSTIs. It was a bitch to set up the mapping for my DAW, but I FINALLY got it kicking (make sure you read the .pdf manuals that come on the CD, b/c there’s no mention of things in the print manual it ships with). You can save up to 30 mappings in the MPK and switch between them quite easily. It’s the setup process that is a pain. It has a Note repeat for the pads, similar to the MPC. So you can hold a pad and it repeats the note according to the time you set 1/4 to 1/32 (sucks it doesn’t go to 1/64 or higher). I found a cool video about a cat explaining the setup and usefulness of this feature… It has an Arpeggiator for the keyboard with a “Latch” mode which allows you to hold/repeat the arp hands free. Pretty interesting, although I am not sure I will ever use this unless I can figure out how to edit the notes and time in the arpeggiator. If I can’t, it’s pretty useless IMO. I also wish they had a 61 key version. It’s not that big of a deal that it’s 49…I mean it’s only missing 1 octave, but it would be nice to see a larger size option available. After about 8 hours of playing around, the verdict thus far is that I am keeping it. That is until something stronger, better faster comes out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phology Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 i want one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 I really wish it was more than just a midi controller--like a MPC with a built in synth... I would never leave home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x2k Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I really wish it was more than just a midi controller--like a MPC with a built in synth... I would never leave home! MPC5000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Crazy... I never realized it had a synth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x2k Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 yep, I dunno how good it is though, it's not been out long and I've not read any reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iexist Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 i dont know if i will need anything else since ive got my mpk49.i dont plan to ever to go straight hardware (i.e., mpc).im more productive with a midi controller and mpk49 has left me fulfilled. now if only i used it more.. bleh....ive been stuck workin on mixes as of late. =P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Face Melt Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 i think the MPC 5000 synth is modelled after the alesis fusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decisive Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 how are the pots and sliders iexist? they aren't great on a 2500 there's too much deadzone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 i dont know if i will need anything else since ive got my mpk49.i dont plan to ever to go straight hardware (i.e., mpc).im more productive with a midi controller and mpk49 has left me fulfilled. now if only i used it more.. bleh....ive been stuck workin on mixes as of late. =P I love straight hardware... something cool about stand alone gear... that said I wish I knew how to use programs and midi controllers--I seriously have no idea where to even start.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
$a!n+ Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I got iExits mpk 49. It's a beast. It's heavy. The pads and semi weighted keys feel great. So do the faders. The appergio is kind of balls as you can't sync it with a external clock. It pretty much makes that part of it useless. For drumming out beats and laying down keys, it's a good all in one controller. I'd rather the mpk25 though. I hate carrying heavy shit around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adolesinz Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 im lost trying to use ableton! id piss myself if i had that id never get anything done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phology Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 i'm looking to get the MPK25 soon. anyone used or have any inside info about it before i order?it seems to be the ideal machine for me. keyboard, pads and portable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kut_class Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 i'm looking to get the MPK25 soon. anyone used or have any inside info about it before i order?it seems to be the ideal machine for me. keyboard, pads and portable. I've got an MPK25. It's a good bit of kit, the pads are quite soft and the keys are nicely weighted. Does what it says on the the tin really. Prob the biggest diappointment is the appegiator / note repete not being sync'd to the midi clock - i didn;t realise this until i just read this thread, by kinda ties up with the fact that note repet / appeg stopped working around the time i played with the midi clock settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phology Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Gave into temptation and ordered it last night! Along with a Digitech Jamman loop/sampler pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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