Akai MPC Key 61 Re Reviewed

[@Peacze]

The pads should be on the right side .

[@parisdontlikeyou]

I think The Force has the best workflow out of all the new MPC’s. 64 pads, 8 Q-Links, MPC OS, Clip launching, disk streaming, and an arranger. Unless they make a Force 2. I’m keeping it

[@chrishonmusic7633]

I love my Key 61! I've been playing keys all my life, been getting into production over the past few years. While I can understand MPC heads being kind of underwhelmed by the concept of an MPC with a keyboard attached to it, I see it more as a powerful workstation keyboard with a whole-ass MPC in it, which is kind of crazy! I use it as my main gigging board for gigs where I need a variety of sounds. I'll say the presets are somewhat lacking, but the piano, EP, organ, and synth engines are incredibly powerful and have nice UIs that are a joy to program on, and the effects are great. I agree that there aren't really any good DX EP-type sounds for example, but I programmed one in OPx4 and it sounds good and was satisfying to do it myself. Plus while the plugin programs are limited to 8 per project in standalone, keygroups with single-cycle waveforms as the sample are basically a four-oscillator synth engine that use almost no RAM, and you can have as many of those as you want! For live gigs, I like leaving the QLinks in Program Mode and basically using the first four as macros for each patch; for example on my Rhodes patch I have them set to tremolo depth, chorus mix, phaser mix, and drive. The realtime tweakability is really nice, although I know other workstation boards have similar capabilities. I also really love that I can seamlessly take sounds that I use live and bring them into productions, or vice versa take sounds that I come up with while producing and use them live, all without having to convert any files or export anything. I think it's definitely more exciting for a keys player who's into MPCs than an MPC user who's into playing keys, but it seems like that's the audience they were trying to reach here.

[@joegrant413]

Very happy with the MPC Key 61, receiving mine last August. Really like the muscle memory and having most of what I need in a click or two. Not a keyboard player really, and never had an MPC before, so two of the disadvantages you mention wouldn't apply to me. Only negative is I paid more! But not a big deal.

[@theredfaceofficial]

The Keys is cool and I think it makes sense if you are looking for an MPC and a midi keyboard. It’s a great solution. I’m just not sure why Akai left out the SD card slot? Makes no sense to me. Otherwise a decent product.

[@HubertCopeland-mu3eh]

Do you think we need a MPC Key 49 or a MPC KEY 25 ???for the non-stational producers ,would be dope if it came with battery- portability like the Live, even better if speakers are included...nice video keep up the great 👍 work, Fam, this is what the Mpc community needs to address,if you agree also,let's revv up this topic

[@mastaboog749]

I honestly believe this will never ever happen. They have the MPK Mini series to add a keyboard to your smaller MPCs like the live and One. It would be cool to see but I don't believe the key 61 was actually a big enough seller because of all the issues at first with the software packs and only 4 gigs of ram

[@aqueous5099]

I don’t think they want to cannibalize their lineup, so they will avoid overlap as much as possible. Next time around, they might just have one or two desktop MPCs and several keyboards. Who knows what the future holds though.

[@HubertCopeland-mu3eh]

@@aqueous5099 FYI, Akai is moving towards Subscription Based....instead of an array of hardware, it will make since to create an iconic piece such as the MPC that had a 35 year run,Now with the induction of this MPC KEY, it would make sense, other than spreading thin with multiple hardware, it's not cost effective in the Era of digitalization .....Right???

[@aqueous5099]

@@HubertCopeland-mu3eh I agree. I just think they’ll eventually have to update the computer power and consider new-or classic-innovative implementation of technology to keep up with the standards of music-let alone if it wants to be an industry leader.

[@MJFLIX]

Did you buy it or they sent it to you?

[@kreativetechnologistsaka882]

I have the touch and studio, and I'm not that standalone guy, I am considering picking up a Used X, I have plenty of workstations. The MPC Key 61 just needed faders that would have made the board so Dope!

[@mastaboog749]

I love the JD 08 stand above it! I want to do like 3 stands like that over my MPC one with various modules

[@blades1978]

Hi, why mpc keys and not a simple controller (like keylab 61 or novation SL mk3) with a powerful touch notebook with VST?

[@thetruemrstallings]

I roll with the MPC X (I also have an MPC One, MPC 500, & MPC 2000) and use a Roland XP-10 as my midi keyboard.

[@ccfunk1]

Still using my Live 2. i like it but don't care for many of the plug ins. the only ones that are decent to me are the Solina strings and the mellotron. maybe one or two bass sounds are okay. just my view.

[@locutz]

I'd say this unit is for a dynamic player though .

[@Ka1Gra3]

I definitely used the mpc one for awhile

[@DjSoloDoloWill]

Can you please tell me if you chop in real time using the keys instead of the pads?

[@Bashanvibe]

I was wondering if you were going to get the MPC 61!!!

[@teddybearasaurus]

You got the juno x and this😮🎉

[@gsmith11172]

When did you get this

[@gsmith11172]

You forgot about MPC Studio 2

[@JNo-sk5mz]

Perfect form factor for me, my X is collecting dust. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@musicislife704]

Just ordered mine today what you think bout 61?

[@JNo-sk5mz]

@@musicislife704 Absolutely LOVE IT. Started on MPC 2000, then a 2500, then started using DAWs. Never felt the same, missed the hands on tactile feel of a machine. Had no idea, Akai had advanced so much until my father told me about the MPC software a couple years ago. Worked on that for a while and loved it, ended up inheriting my father's X, and it's great, But you're still connecting a MIDI controller. Got the 61 last year and it's the best of both worlds. Tactile hardware you can touch and manipulate, the great MPC workflow and the ease and convenience of the OS, having many of the same features as a DAW. Have not stopped using it since I bought it. Sampled thousands of drums, built up my sound library and imported my old drums with the SSD I installed. The Plug-Ins, the ability to add them to individual drums sounds and globally is really amazing and intuitive. The included synths are great as well, a lot of the presets sound great, and if you're into tweaking presets and making them your own, you have a massive amount of control over all of the layers that make up each individual sound. Definitely worth the money to me

[@sir0623]

X

[@byrdman6752]

Late review, been out a year

[@musicislife704]

Lol