AKAI Professional MPK Mini MK3

The 25 mini-keys have undergone a complete redesign and cover two octaves, which can then be transposed up or down four octaves. The MPK Mini MK3 comes with a software bundle called the "Complete Music Production Starter Kit", which includes the MPC-Beats software and sound banks, six virtual instruments (including Hybrid 3, Mini Grand, and Velvet), and 2GB of samples. The pads can transmit both note and control change messages via MIDI, allowing DAW or plugin parameters to be altered in real time at the touch of a button. The pad and controller assignments can be saved into two different banks and easily recalled during live performances. The arpeggiator can be set with note duration values ranging from quarter notes to triplets, in binary and ternary time signatures, and offers 7 note sequencing modes. The tap-tempo button easily sets the tempo while the regular pitch and modulation wheels have been replaced by an x-y joystick placed at the top left of the keyboard.

Akai Professional has its origins in the long-established Japanese company Akai, founded in 1929, which initially manufactured electric motors, soon to be followed by high-quality tape recorders and hi-fi products. Since 1988, Akai has also become a household name like no other on the Hip-Hop scene. With the development of its first MIDI Production Centre (MPC for short), created in collaboration with Roger Linn, Akai wrote history by decisively influencing the sound of hip-hop and electronic music, which it continues to do to this very day. Famous exponents of the MPC series include DJ Shadow, Eminem, and Kanye West. Today, Akai is also well known for its robust and versatile USB MIDI controllers, not least of which is the bulletproof APC range of Ableton controllers.