By underblu
Sat Nov 04, 2023 1:33 am
This is my first Akai sampler since the S2800 which I foolishly traded my ASR-10 for way back in the day. I never really liked the S2800, as the sound was clean and digital compared to the warmer and more analog sounding ASR-10. Also the effects on the ASR were incredible too. Sometimes you don’t realize what you have until you let it go.
Anyway, I ditched the S2800 for some EMU samplers which was about as close as you could get to a modular sampler synth at the time. Still I was never able to recapture the immediacy of a keyboard sampling workstation until the MPC key 61,
First and foremost, the 61 sounds great punchy, dynamic and vivid. I don’t know why it’s taken so long for there to be a sample centric sequencer /fx/ workstation keyboard so Kudos for Akai for finally hitting the market with this. There’s something nice about having everything together in one box with keys, pads, dedicated knobs and a touch screen. Sitting at this keyboard took me back to the fun I used to have with the ASR-10. For me It facilitates the creative process like no other device out there except for maybe the Maschine Mk3 which I also love although I think I love the MPC more.
A big thumbs up for:
the plugin instruments. Fabric and most of the other synths are stellar. The piano and epiano while not quite the absolute pinnacle of realism imo are still very good. The instrument presets are phenomenal. Adjusting synth parameters on the touch screen is actually fun and beats a mouse or generic knob hands down afaic,
Excellent sequencer with quick note editing right on the touch screen
The chord / progressions option with user library, The fact that you can import your own library makes this an incredibly power tool
Touchstrip, Brilliant, powerful, intuitive creative tool.
Wifi,usb, bluetooth and a decent amount of i/o including convertible xlr 1/4” mic/line inputs
Touchscreen, a big responsive vibrant touch screen makes navigating the instrument so much easier
Build quality is very good relative the price.
Solid but could use an udate:
Sampling engine, while not the easiset sampler to use is fairly powerful. Would love to see a more advanced warp algo even a destructive warp algo as the existing warp introduces too many artifacts on melodic samples afaic. And stems like available withSerato would be a game changer imo.
Workflow, The workflow is not difficult but there are a lot of “quirks”. For instance I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t process samples. -apparently I had to have all slices selected first. Muting a drum track pad in mIx apparently mutes that pad on any other track using the same drum instrument. And I’m sure the more I use it the more quirks I will find.
Serviceable but could definitely be improved
Many of the insert FXs are meh imo. Particularly the compressors, EQs and reverbs. I haven’t been able to get that great vintage character compression that can really make a drum track pop. Although I will say that flex-beat plugin is fantastic. Maybe Akai can release an MPC ready 1176 and CL1b along with a top tier reverb.
All in all though I must say the MPC key 61 is an incredibly powerful and inspiring writing and production tool.
Anyway, I ditched the S2800 for some EMU samplers which was about as close as you could get to a modular sampler synth at the time. Still I was never able to recapture the immediacy of a keyboard sampling workstation until the MPC key 61,
First and foremost, the 61 sounds great punchy, dynamic and vivid. I don’t know why it’s taken so long for there to be a sample centric sequencer /fx/ workstation keyboard so Kudos for Akai for finally hitting the market with this. There’s something nice about having everything together in one box with keys, pads, dedicated knobs and a touch screen. Sitting at this keyboard took me back to the fun I used to have with the ASR-10. For me It facilitates the creative process like no other device out there except for maybe the Maschine Mk3 which I also love although I think I love the MPC more.
A big thumbs up for:
the plugin instruments. Fabric and most of the other synths are stellar. The piano and epiano while not quite the absolute pinnacle of realism imo are still very good. The instrument presets are phenomenal. Adjusting synth parameters on the touch screen is actually fun and beats a mouse or generic knob hands down afaic,
Excellent sequencer with quick note editing right on the touch screen
The chord / progressions option with user library, The fact that you can import your own library makes this an incredibly power tool
Touchstrip, Brilliant, powerful, intuitive creative tool.
Wifi,usb, bluetooth and a decent amount of i/o including convertible xlr 1/4” mic/line inputs
Touchscreen, a big responsive vibrant touch screen makes navigating the instrument so much easier
Build quality is very good relative the price.
Solid but could use an udate:
Sampling engine, while not the easiset sampler to use is fairly powerful. Would love to see a more advanced warp algo even a destructive warp algo as the existing warp introduces too many artifacts on melodic samples afaic. And stems like available withSerato would be a game changer imo.
Workflow, The workflow is not difficult but there are a lot of “quirks”. For instance I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t process samples. -apparently I had to have all slices selected first. Muting a drum track pad in mIx apparently mutes that pad on any other track using the same drum instrument. And I’m sure the more I use it the more quirks I will find.
Serviceable but could definitely be improved
Many of the insert FXs are meh imo. Particularly the compressors, EQs and reverbs. I haven’t been able to get that great vintage character compression that can really make a drum track pop. Although I will say that flex-beat plugin is fantastic. Maybe Akai can release an MPC ready 1176 and CL1b along with a top tier reverb.
All in all though I must say the MPC key 61 is an incredibly powerful and inspiring writing and production tool.