AKAI Professional is one of the most respected brands in music production hardware. Not only they are present in all categories of MIDI controllers, they have also revolutionized the industry with their standalone MPC series hardware, which allow you to create (or at least lay the basics) of a full track without the need of a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).
The first MPC model, the MPC60 dates back all the way to 1988, which was a revolutionary product that pushed the boundaries of sampling. Notable users of the MPC include producers such as J Dilla, DJ Shadow, Kanye West, and many more.
Fast forward 30 years, and the MPC Live was born, which pushed the powerful sampling capabilities forward by adding a 7” touch display, on which you could edit your samples, sequences, and work on up to 128 different tracks, creating a similar experience that you would get on DAWs.
Now we all know that while DAWs such as Ableton or FLStudio offer the convenience of being able to get everything done on the same display, without the hassle of connecting together various synths, drum machines and FX units, a standalone fan will always compromise on convenience for the sake of physical knobs, drum pads, and real keyboards.
This is exactly where the power of the MPCs really shines, as you can totally work on them without a computer, you get all the physical benefits, and you can record directly to them from any external unit and play further with the sound on the powerful MPC software.
One thing was always missing from the MPCs though, the instruments. Until now, we had to rely on samples, which can be a fun way for creating melodies, but many producers like to work with instruments instead of samples.
This is where AKAI is revolutionizing the industry once again, with the brand new MPC KEY 61, anew standalone MPC, in the shape of a workstation keyboard, with 61 velocity-sensitive keys, with aftertouch. It has the same build quality as the MPC ONE, the chassis is built from hard plastic but it is big, sturdy, and heavy enough to withstand a show on a stage.
In terms of hardware, the most notable add-on is that it doubles up on RAM and internal storage compared to the MPC Live, as it has 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, and also an SSD slot, so basically you can store up to 32 terabytes of samples. The extra RAM is a welcome upgrade for the MPC Key 61, because of the overwhelming amounts of samples producers will work with.
The large 61-key keybed with velocity sensitive keys make it a whole new category of standalone music production hardware, with the purpose of helping producers to capture ideas easily, and to make it even easier to compose a full track without a computer. It runs the same MPC2 software, but it also gives you 25 plugin instruments, with over 6500 presets.
You can instantly browse through different sounds and edit them quickly. You get all the essential parameters for editing each instrument. Furthermore, you can save your edited sound to an empty slot, so you can find it easily later. It just makes finding chords and melodies very comfortable.
The keyboard and pads enable you to play around with samples and instruments at the same time, and preview everything on the Multi-touch display.
The transport controls are taken from the MPC X. They are pretty straightforward, there is nothing too special about them, however they make your workflow much easier when you navigate across the timeline, allowing you to scroll with smaller or bigger increments.
There are physical buttons for Read / Write automation, as well as for MUTE, MIX, GRID, EDIT, SAMPLE EDIT, TIMING CORRECTION, UNDO and the new KEYBOARD CONTROL button - here you can change how the keyboard interacts with the system itself: edit settings for aftertouch, transposing up/down, and many more.
The brand new Touch Strip enables you to use the keyboard on a whole new level, it becomes handy for live performances with real time FX and with the capability of editing parameters on the fly.
There are two SHIFT buttons for convenience, which is a very useful feature for such a large unit with almost one meter of width.
In terms of connectivity, it has everything we would expect from a standalone hardware at this level:
- 3 foot pedal inputs for Expression, FS2, Sustain
- 3 MIDI Ports: THRU, IN, OUT
- 8 CV/Gate connections
- 2 XLR/Jack combo Audio inputs - they can be set to instrument or LINE level signals. They also send out phantom power if you want to record with a condenser microphone.
- 4 Audio outputs
- 1 Headphone output
- 2 USB ports for USB sticks
- 1 USB B port for connecting to your computer
It becomes a powerful tool when we speak about connectivity, as even if it can produce a track on its own, musicians will still want to use it with modular racks, and be able to control other units with its powerful sequencer.
The MPC Key 61 is more than an MPC with a keyboard, as it gives you a full range of fantastic sounds which you can edit. This enables you to be able to lay down the basics of a full track at a ridiculously fast pace, and AKAI has become very good at giving you the tools for editing your tracks easily on the touchscreen and with the help of its intuitive buttons and knobs.
Keep in mind though that while it is a true standalone powerhouse, you still have to learn the MPC workflow. Although its packed with fantastic features, you will still need at least some basic knowledge of music production to get the most out of it.
The MPC Key 61 can give you pretty much everything that a DAW can give you, from more than 100 stunning studio-quality effects, to incredible sampling capabilities, blending it with plugins and instruments, and mixing tools as well, so it really pushes the boundaries of standalone hardware, and it will certainly be a favorite for many music producers. We really hope that AKAI will continue to develop this path, and maybe to see a more compact version in the near future as well, one for the travellers, something like an MPC Key 25.
