Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller 

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

Let me start off by saying the keyboard looks and feels fantastic,very professional feeling with the mod wheel to all the buttons. The only thing I can't stand is the pads they have no sensitivity which makes it hard to keep a beat. I really wish they added a power button the only way to turn it off is to unplug the cable everytime. I have had many m audio keyboards and this one is by far better quality and I enjoy using much more

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

So I just got this beauty of a midi controller and this is what I can say from a few hours of use.

A)The keys are awesome, anybody who complains of them being stiff has never played a real piano. I love the way they feel.

B)The pads are in the middle of being just okay and sucking completely. Adjust the sensitivity and threshold and you can get the job done depending on your project

C)The faders & knobs feel great. The faders feel as if they were on an actual mixer, not the cheap rubber you get on M-Audio products. The knobs turn around 360 degrees. Oh and as opposed to other knobs & faders on midi controllers, your DAW actually responds accurately instead of jumping levels.

D) Pitch and mod wheels work perfectly. Transport controls work as well. Only issue is that fast forward and rewind does not snap to grid.

Technical Issues - If you use vista or higher, expect to have driver issues. You can google a solution for it though. There's a few more minor issues, but It could just be my own personal setup. I use Reason and the only thing I can't use is tap tempo. No big deal.

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

This midi controller is great for a lot of things, but the two biggest things to me were this;

It's USB bus powered, and it has so many knobs that can be mapped to different parameters.

The semi-weighted keys were way more than what I expected in terms of quality, but the MPC pads could be replaced.

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

Unless you need a full size keyboard or beat your keyboards to death in performance, this unit will serve you well.
The weighted keys are nice. It was a plug and play accessory for composing in Finale 2012. No issues at all. Because of limited space the 49 key unit fits perfectly between my computer keyboard and the monitor. I rarely perform live, but this unit greatly increases entry speed for composition and editing. The staff at Musicians Friend suggested it along with a few others to fit my needs. They got it right. Being USB powered it can easily go wherever I need to go location to edit and add more thematic material. The key size and ease of controls make it a pleasure to use.
I have several keyboards. This one have a nice feel and is more then rugged enough to take into the field when needed.
For the price it is amazing.

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

This midi keyboard is awesome! I own a Yamaha M06 and the key action on the MPK is much better, I wasnt expecting semi weighted keys on a midi board. Also I love having the large pads. I previously used my Roland MC-808 for drum lines, but the pads were tiny. Okay, I understand your sensitivity issue. Remember the 49 and 25 are based on the MPC 500, which has weak pads. Visit MPCstuff.com to purchase upgraded pads and a sensitivity kit and your in the game. The only reason I didnt give this product a 5 star rating is because of two reasons:1- You cannot use standard Midi I/O with either Bus power or wall wart2- It is impossible to link your transport controls with Cubaseother than those two reason this is hands down the best midi keyboard made to date.

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

To be brief, This keyboard has lots of goodies on it, arpeggiator, plenty of switches and stuff, and the wheels feel nice... HOWEVER:It's really cheap. The knobs and sliders feel like they might break off in your hand, and the keys on the keyboard feel kinda inconsistent, some of them are harder to press than others sometimes, it just feels a little stiff. The Drum pads are pretty much a joke, as another reviewer point out you have to push them pretty hard, if you use them with normal drum machine pad pressure, you'll get like a 20-50 midi velocity, which is pretty quiet, you have to really make a point to hit them pretty firm to get good response. Lastly, I've had this for about 1 month, and the PITCH WHEEL ALREADY BROKE. Was just playing a song and was doing some pitch wheel stuff, and i felt a 'snap' and the spring had broken in it.So basically, I love the keyboard when it's working, but it's built really cheap and that frustrates me, and now I have to fix the pitch wheel, if I even can.

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

This is my first full-on midi keyboard I've ever purchased. I've previously used actual synthesizers to act as midi controllers in the past. I am using this on Reason 5.0 and it does what is expected. However, my only gripes are the Pads and the Modulation/Pitch wheels. The pads are very stiff and flat and are basically rubber buttons. As for the Mod and Pitch wheels, they feel very cheap and have an another buzz when vibrating from the monitors. It's an awesome keyboard for the features but the construction could have been a little better quality.

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

I have had this thing for a year. I only recently started learning this things real potential for last 4-5 months. But once you start getting into this things abilities you eyes will be wide open. I mean what they charge for this thing is crazy (cause it's so cheap). I have known people to sell their MPC2000's just so they can get this thing. When the MPC is a much more expensive piece of equipment. I see why. This thing is just so flexible. I am using it with logic and garage band. With garage band you're a little limited, but throw this thing on Logic and she opens up for you. If getting this set up correctly is task for you, go to youtube. There are plenty of free tutorials for you on there. And if you are looking for something for that new artist in your life, this is the peace they are going to cherish. Just make sure they have a good computer and some good software.

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

I just got this two days ago and want to point out that the other reviewer is incorrect. The pad settings are just for the pads, not the keys.Learning how to program this is a bit confusing, but here is the gem on what I have found so far.Don't try to edit everything in the globals, nor the presets, it doesn't work that way. Inside your preset, if you want to edit something, play a key, pad, move a slider, encoder, or transport button... THEN, click the edit key. Now you have access to the parameters to edit. Editing the pads sensitivity to 16, curve to what you like and threshold to 1 gives you more mpc feel. Threshold to 1 guys.The keys don't use the pad settings. You have aftertouch, velocity, and octave.Also set the gate on your pads using the note repeat button, then edit. Lower the gate to get drum rolls etc.Seems a little counter intuitive at first, but makes sense once you understand it. A better manual is my only negative on this.

Comments about Akai Professional MPK49 Keyboard USB MIDI Controller:

This will be short and sweet...The problem with this keyboard is that the so-called drum pads are horrible, the limited ability to adjust the sensitivity, curve, and threshold of said pads is even worse - the worst I have seen. And here is the final straw: The lousy curve, sensitivity, and threshold attached to the drum pads cannot be adjusted without adjusting the same parameters for the keyboard.That's correct - you read it right: if you adjust anything on those 3 parameters for one, it adjusts the other, also. That sums it up. Akai took what appears to be a very solid, versatile product and destroyed it by being cheap, and not thinking it out. Lousy pads, lousy control of the pads, and lousy logic. Mine is going back today!!!