MPC Keys could be a market disruptor if they...........

The MPC Keys ecosystem is in many ways the most sensible keyboard for the home recording studio. Personally I have one major reservation: the keybed. Now that their parent company has acquired Native Instruments and they has access to midi controllers with great keys, why doesn't Akai follow suit? For serious keyboard players, the keys are just too subpar for excellent dynamics control. The Native instruments Kontrol S Series all have great keybeds. Putting that together with the Akai ecosystem and they are no longer missing any market segment. It will only improve beat making, enable high level EP playing any reasonable level of 'acoustic piano' styles.

Personally, I'd place a better keybed about the tilt screen or e pads. Thoughts?

i think this is a case of "special needs for special people". so those could easyly connect their favourite external keys and have the most excellent playablity while the majority can have a "good enough" experience with a reasonable price for the unit.

The MPC Key 61 is pretty much a standard MPC with an integrated keyboard, so if you are talking about a home recording studio (rather than on stage) an alternative option is to use an MPC Live 3 or MPC XL and add your own preferred control keyboard (which could be 88 key and fully weighted if you want). And with an XL you get your MPCe pads and bigger tilt screen, plus 16 qlinks, more RAM, more outputs etc.

But isn't the idea of the MPC Keys series that you have instant access to the MPC controls?
Look how it is advertised (https://www.akaipro.com/mpc-key-61/):

With the addition of a 61-key semi-weighted keybed with aftertouch, the MPC experience ascends to an unprecedented level of creative interaction and expression, delivering the world’s most powerful and complete standalone workflow.

If I have to use an external keyboard the MPC controls are harder to reach.

That said I'm not a keyboard player. And I have no idea how many would shell out more for a premium keyboard. IMHO a flagship keyboard product should satisfy real players not the average guy with limited skills.

Would it be disruptive and blow away the Nord Stage from the stage? Don't think so.

MPC Key 61 was a flop. If I were AKAI I would simply not bother with another MPC Key 61.

Different keyboardists have a very different idea of what an acceptable keybed is like. For some, if not weighted, it's trash.

Keyboardists who want a good keybed just need to suck it up, and buy a desktop MPC with a separate keyboard of their liking.

MPC key is an all in one dream for producer who wanna focus on a beat without reach another gear or piece of equipment to make the job done.
For convenience, get pads, keyboard, screen all in standalone is the selling point of the 61. Yes you can buy another keyboard and connect to the XL or the live 3, but you need another stand. More space etc . ...

mpc_fan_2022 wrote:Different keyboardists have a very different idea of what an acceptable keybed is like.

this.

I'm sort of surprised that MPC people seem to prefer a happy with the status quo keybed. There are so many people who play keyboards who want the sound quality and ease of writing/recording in an all in one package. At risk of sounding crass or abrasive, it seems narrow-minded or shortsighted to think that keyboardists wouldn't want an MPC or that it couldn't compete with a Nord for gigging. A refreshed 61 would make a very compelling option. The Nord electro 7 with the fatar Keybed (same basic one as what's in the Kontrol S61, but I prefer NI's mods over Nord's) is $3,300. Akai could easily compete with that. Plus the Akai would have the ability to play its own backing tracks and get all sorts of sounds via plugins.

Personally, a large part of the attraction for home recording is the all-in-one aspect of it. If I could minimize my stand and cable runs, I'd be a happy camper. The key61 would be ideal with a Fatar bed. They could even make an 88 key one just like all the other companies do with a weighted keybed. There's so much potential for Akai in the keyboard world. Akai can even compete with the Montage, Kronos, fantom, Genos, etc... With its price and interface, I'd actually think it would exceed them all. I realize havinga. better keybed would increase the price, but there's a lot of leeway considering the price of the competition. Am I missing something?

They need to a MPC-Keys for people who play keys & that can only be done with a Key-72/88 keybed that has weighted keys, People will still fight over the feel of it, but at least they'd have something that feels more an actual piano they got trained on. The 61mk2 could still work just by adding a tilt screen, more Qlinks & ofc, the g2 power boost. If they could make the key have PAT that would be even better.

it's funny, there's a lot of real keyboardist out there that would love a better key bed. I think Akai just feels more comfortable selling to the finger drummers. Don't know why they don't continue to tap Into that market. they could still sell it at a cheaper, more competitive price point and still make a killing.

BLVCK-_-BVSTID wrote:it's funny, there's a lot of real keyboardist out there that would love a better key bed. I think Akai just feels more comfortable selling to the finger drummers. Don't know why they don't continue to tap Into that market. they could still sell it at a cheaper, more competitive price point and still make a killing.

That's what I'm saying. If someone is committed to keys enough to want it permanently attached to their MPC then it would be better to appeal to them & offer better keys as major selling point & some more Qlinks.

Don't make that group feel like they would've been better with a One & MIDI key controller. I think it’s best to keep it separate, but if you're gonna do keys, then do that shit for real!

I think the rest of the system is too good to not compete in a broader market. Very little would have to change in the grand scheme of things. There have been a ton of 'reviews' online that compare it to the legacy brands of the category. Of the ones that mention 'feel' do not like the Akai feel but love the board otherwise. A friend of mine said it would be the Key(s) to the future (no pun).

MPC as a platform is unmatched in functionality by a good margin, but MPC Keys is held back by the keybed. It's no wonder that it didn't take off, but it's a shame because having surveyed the landscape of keyboard instruments, MPC Keys looks very attractive, except for the keybed. And it's even more attractive since more instruments have become available for it. It's almost a dream keyboard for current times, far ahead of everything else on the market.

My current modest set up is a digital piano (ES520) for the keybed only, and a 61-key stage keyboard (CK61) for the sounds only. The action on the ES520 is very decent, but the sounds are weak. The sounds on the CK61 are very decent, but the keybed isn't really suitable for piano/electric piano. I arrived at this two keyboard set up due to lack of suitable single keyboards in the market. I would have spent almost double to get similar functionality in a single keyboard, which is ironic. And still to fill it out, I would need to add a hardware synth and a small mixer. If I added that to my current set up, an MPC Keys with a good keybed would still beat it easily, given the other functionality of the MPC Keys.

I think Akai should survey what is out there in the world of of digital pianos, stage keyboards, workstations, and arrangers, and see how far ahead MPC is already as a platform and how much of the market an MPC Keys with a good keybed could disrupt. MPC is the the tool for beatmakers, but MPC Keys could be the tool for keyboard players, which it almost is. Nothing else out there in keyboard land pulls together VST level sampled instruments, synths, MIDI and audio recording, looping, and a nice interface for ease of use. But it needs the keybed to put it over the finish line.

And adding XLR combo inputs for mic/line/hi-z would make it even more attractive. Keyboard players are often running a mic, often in a duo, and often switching up between keyboard and guitar.

And then there are Virtuoso players like Corey Henry happy taking the Key37 to Church or Bucharest.