this is the Akai MPK Mini MK3 and it's the newest version of one of
the most popular keyboards around $100.
and while Akai has improved a few things,
they could have done more. if you're considering this keyboard you need to
watch this video first.
Like i said, they've improved a few
things and the best features are not what you expect. this midi
keyboard does a few things very well and it may just be what you need. but
it's important you understand what it can do and what it can't do
before you buy it. today i'm going to go through the
notable features of the Akai MPK Mini MK3
and more importantly i'll compare it to a few other popular keyboards
so you can make the right decision. let's get started
if you're new around here, i'm Sanjay C, i have lots of videos about music
production and the latest gear on my channel.
consider subscribing if you haven't already.
i always get straight to the good stuff in my reviews and tutorials.
so yeah let's get to the good stuff first. if you're interested in buying the
Akai MPK Mini MK3 or any of the other keyboards i
mention in this video, i'll put links to them in the video description.
i've also made a dedicated video for the others as well.
first of all Akai has improved the key feel.
this is a mini keyboard so keep your expectations in check.
but this keybed is better than the old one.
the key press feels more intentional.
the MK3's keys feel kinda like the M32 from Native Instruments which i
really love. not as good as the Arturia Minilab
keybed but a little better than the Novation Launchkey Mini MK3.
so yeah pretty good. but don't get too excited. it isn't going to "wow" you.
if you want to be impressed, try the Arturia Minilab MK2.
the joystick replaces the pitch and modulation strips in other keyboards.
i prefer the touch strips on others but some people actually like this joystick
thing. but wait there's lots more to talk about. these
are endless knobs unlike the previous version. so the knobs
match the position of the thing you're changing in your daw.
and they keep turning as much as you like.
the knobs are bigger than the MK2 and feel a lot better. i mean with the
old one i felt like i needed to move them with
my fingertips because they were so short. but these
feel so much better. but they feel a little loose.
not as heavy as the Arturia Minilab. alright so far a couple features that
are better than the old but not the best when comparing it to
the competitors. but wait there's one winning feature on
this keyboard. i'll get to that in a second. the MPK
MINI MK3 looks and feels like a toy in many aspects. it's improved
a bit over the previous version, but not enough. the plastic sides the weight.
now let's be fair, this isn't a premium keyboard. it's
budget. and the Launchkey Mini has a similar build quality.
but once again the Minilab and M32 just feel better - more solid, less flimsy.
i do feel that the other two colors that the MPK Mini MK3
comes in look nicer - the white and black one especially.
those are limited edition and i'll put links to those in the video description
as well. so i mentioned one winning feature on the MPK Mini MK3.
what is it? it's the pads. these are MPC-style pads, and in my opinion feel better
than the previous version of the MPK Mini.
the pads feel like they have more travel. The responsiveness is great,
especially if you're into finger drumming. i think you'll
love them. i say "i think," because well like key feel the pad feel is a bit
subjective. but Akai has a good reputation for pads and makes great pads
even for their cheaper products. and i really like these.
i feel confident when drumming on these. no accidental taps,
and beyond the feel you have access to two banks
of pads. so 16 in total. some people like programming these pads to activate
things like clips in Ableton. you can still do that
on the MK3 by manually midi mapping the pads. it's
not automatically mapped - that's important.
this is not an Ableton clip-triggering, looping, and
performance device like the Launchkey Mini. alright i know
the screen looks interesting and i'll get to that in a second.
i need to cover some extra cool features first. by the way. this video is brought
to you by me and my first virtual instrument -
Sanjay's Rhodes. Sanjay's Rhodes is a high-quality software
instrument recorded directly from my 1975
Fender Rhodes electric piano. and includes some creative presets
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The MPK Mini MK3 really gives you some nice features you
won't find on most other keyboards at this price.
these are performance features - great for playing
live. you've got a built-in arpeggiator which is
excellent. you can play simple arps and even get more complex
with the rate, sequence, octaves, and swing.
this is a great creative tool which can be really inspiring.
and Akai does it really well. but it would have been nice
to have had a midi out port on this keyboard
to use the arps with hardware synths. the Arp feature
on the mpk mini is on par with the Novation Launchkey Mini,
but that keyboard has the midi out. the Akai has got note repeat as well
which is nice for repetitive drum hits. and you can
change the rate as well. very nice. again really fun for finger
drumming. Alright, since we're starting to press buttons let me talk about the
buttons themselves. the buttons feel higher quality, better than the previous
version. but now they make an annoying clicky
sound. the M32 by Native Instruments also does
the same thing. when i'm making music, i don't really want mechanical sounds
coming from the instruments i'm using. OK, let's talk about the screen. the
screen shows you information. but not much... yet.
i say "yet" because i'm hoping that Akai improves this feature.
in Ableton, even though the knobs control devices,
you don't see the name of the parameter you're moving.
same in other DAWs.
the best you'll get is seeing the midi CC's and
values on this screen. and it'll help you select modes and settings for the MPK
itself. but it doesn't give you feedback from your DAW. i mean i'd love
to see what i'm controlling in Ableton. i highly
doubt Akai would include the screen without giving us more, so i predict, i
hope, they give us something more in the near
future. but wait a sec, why am i expecting so much from
this screen? well because Akai has included
program modes and you can actually select your DAW
through the program modes. press the program select button and a pad
to change the keyboard's template from MPC
to Ableton, Logic Pro, FL Studio, GarageBand,
and there are even a few pad settings for some scales as well.
but unfortunately for Logic, FL, and GarageBand,
choosing these settings really doesn't do anything yet.
once again, i'm hoping to actually do something in the future. in Ableton,
you get device control with the knobs which is nice. but again the screen
doesn't show you what you're doing. i feel there's a big opportunity to
improve the screen features so i really hope they do it. and i should note that
the Arturia and Novation keyboards i've showed you
don't even have screens. at this time the MPK Mini doesn't
automatically map to Logic, FL and GarageBand.
so you don't get mixer control or effects
out of the box. it's better for Ableton because you do get device control.
but that's it no clip or scene triggering. you actually have to
manually map your controls. now if i've missed something here, if you guys have
figured this out, please somebody correct me. but Akai
doesn't even have a manual yet to help do this setup. but wait there's
still more! what about MPC Beats well here it gets
better MPC Beats is the new free DAW,
beat-making software, by Akai. it's free for everyone.
the MPK Mini MK3 actually controls things in it,
which is not surprising. i was able to change tracks,
adjust parameters. MPC Beats is still new to me so it took some time to
figure out what i was doing.
but if you do plan on using Akai's MPC Beats,
the MPK Mini MK3 may be a great choice for you.
this keyboard comes with some nice Air instruments. you get Hybrid 3,
Mini Grand, and Velvet. but that's about it. here are my final thoughts.
i know it seems like i had a lot to complain about with the MPK Mini MK3
but this is a decent keyboard for the
price. you get some nice performance features,
and the pads are excellent - if that's what you're going to use.
but Akai could have given us more. maybe transport controls would have been a
welcome addition - play, stop, and record at least. and a more
useful screen and DAW mappings at launch would have
been really nice. i think this keyboard has potential if
Akai can improve on those features. maybe a firmware
update can add some of those in. if this video was helpful to you,
please hit the like button and don't forget to subscribe.
keep making the music that you love, and i will see you guys later!