Akai MPCKEY 61

[ElmerJFudd]

[stoken6]

Looks pretty - nice big screen. I'm not in the market. No faders. What's the vertical controller to the left of the 16 pads?

 

Cheers, Mike

[Justin Havu]

Looks like a touchstrip fader, probably derived from their MAX series controllers.

 

Nice looking axe, but MPC's are generally not my thing.

[johnchop]

And there it is. This was rumored a while back.

 

Potentially killer for the DAW-less crowd.  

[Mighty Motif Max]

Now if NI would do this with some of their staple Kontakt instruments onboard...and some faders.

[ProfD]

Of course, if it's real, I'll pick up one as soon as it hits the music store.😁😎

[Fleer]

Me too. Looks rad. 

[Fleer]

https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2022/06/18/akai-pro-mpc-key-61-the-first-keyboard-music-production-center/

Akai Pro MPC Key 61 – The First Keyboard Music Production Center

We haven’t seen an official announcement on this yet, but it looks like Akai Professional is introducing the MPC Key 61, a new standalone Music Production Center synthesizer keyboard.

The MPC Key 61 builds on recent standalone MPCs, but adds a 61-key semi-weighted keybed with aftertouch. Features include 25 built-in virtual instruments, a semi-weighted keyboard with aftertouch, 2 audio inputs, wireless connectivity, 4 outputs, 128 tracks of MIDI sequencing, CV/Gate connectivity and more. 

Features:

25 Instrument Plugins

61-key semi-weighted keybed with aftertouch

4GB Ram / Quad Core ARM Processor – no need for a computer

16 RGB Velocity-Sensitive MPC Drum Pads with Note Repeat

Assignable Touch Strip Controller

2 Mic/Line Inputs with high-end preamps

7” Color Touch Screen with Multi Touch & Gestures

Audio Interface with high-quality AD/DA converters

Accepts Class Compliant Audio Interfaces and MIDI devices

Sounds Button for Fast Browsing

128 Track Midi Sequencer

Onboard Wi-Fi/Bluetooth

4 Assignable Q Link Controller knobs

Pitch Bend/Modulation Wheels

Dedicated Transport Section

4 Discrete Line Outputs

8 Audio Tracks

8 CV/Gate Output Jacks for modular integration

With 128 tracks of internal and external MIDI, Keygroup Instruments, Clip Launching and 8 plugin instruments and audio tracks, MPC standalone has the power to capture any musical production. The color touch display stands up to any task like editing notes on the drum grid, triggering Step Sequencer events, writing/editing automation, and more. And Akai says that the MPC sequencing workflow is “the most advanced and integrated standalone system available for today’s modern music creators.”

MPC Key 61 is a true “sampling production synthesizer” with sampling features from the leading MPC Line, including built-in microphone preamps with high-end converters, combined with Vintage MPC60 and MPC3000 emulation.

The 16-velocity sensitive RGB pads on MPC Key 61 are the same award-winning pads as the MPC One. In addition to the iconic MPC pads are the renowned Time Correct, Swing, and Quantize features of MPC that continue to endure as mainstays of modern music production.

Connect up-to 32 MIDI devices via USB with MIDI Multi, expand your Audio I/O to 32 inputs and outputs using Class Compliant interfaces, or connect your vintage synths using MIDI In/Out/Thru.

For Live Daw-less production, MPC Key 61 also includes 8 CV/Gate jacks allowing you to connect to a wide variety of synthesizers, sound modules, analog modular gear and more. Onboard WI-FI/Bluetooth allows for wireless synchronization with Ableton Link and updating to the latest MPC OS. Two USB-A ports also come in handy for storage and MIDI controllers while an additional SATA storage bay allows for volumes of expandable sounds and tracks.

The MPC Key 61 has an onboard 24-bit Audio Interface, with high-end preamps and AD/DA converters. Individual gain knobs control the input of the combo XLR/TRS ¼” inputs with phantom power for driving condenser microphones. 2 main outputs, 2 sub outputs and an additional headphone output further allow for expansive connections. Capture vocal tracks and then process them with the onboard AIR Vocal Suite, or record guitars, bass, or even other keyboards.

DAW Integration with MPC2 Software

The bundled MPC2 Desktop DAW for Mac and PC supercharges the MPC experience, with expanded track counts and support for 3rd party AU/VST plugins. Run it as a DAW or as a VST/AU plugin in 3rd party DAWs like FL Studio, Logic, Ableton, Pro Tools, Studio One and more.

Pricing and Availability

Official details are still to be announced, but the MPC Key 61 is expected to have a street price of about $1,900.

[Stephen Fortner]

For the price this seems killer if it sounds good. Absence of faders seems odd given that it can mix 8 audio tracks. MPN GearLab may have to get its hands on one to figure all this out, mwah hah ha. 

[drawback]

Not being a pad guy at all, I would have liked to have seen nine faders with a couple of rows of small pad-like buttons above them in that space. Pads seem like a non-musician’s interface to me.

[KuruPrionz]

13 minutes ago, drawback said:

Not being a pad guy at all, I would have liked to have seen nine faders with a couple of rows of small pad-like buttons above them in that space. Pads seem like a non-musician’s interface to me.

Consider the MPC pads in the context of it having 2 mic pres and an A/D D/A audio converter. 

For recording this covers a LOT of bases and one could sing, mic an acoustic instrument, play drums or keyboards without fiddling about or switching things around. 

Add a pair of decent studio monitors and headphones and you've got your entire recording studio. 

That's pretty brilliant.

[Still VanDerGraaf]

This is exciting to me.

If they can make this package work properly and the integration of the parts is good, it could be killer. 

The recording applications are obvious.

Yet it could also make a great hub of a live rig, handling vocals and say a guitar or other mono instrument via the interface. This is the kind of thing I always look for.

I think in 2022 4gb ram is disappointing. 8 would be better.

 

Having said that I used to make good use of the 2mb in my EPS16+, so maybe I should just shut up and be grateful.

 

It's a constant feature of ALL synth/workstation manufacturers though- measly ram and users saying "whaaat?"

[ProfD]

10 hours ago, Still VanDerGraaf said:

Having said that I used to make good use of the 2mb in my EPS16+, so maybe I should just shut up and be grateful.

I have been lobbying for a modern day EPS16+/ASR-10 for several years now.  Akai may have answered the mail.

 

I'll gladly take 4 GB memory and USB sticks over floppy disks and SCSI drives. 🤣😎

[Still VanDerGraaf]

55 minutes ago, ProfD said:

I have been lobbying for a modern day EPS16+/ASR-10 for several years now.  Akai may have answered the mail.

 

I'll gladly take 4 GB memory and USB sticks over floppy disks and SCSI drives. 🤣😎

They were great machines weren't they. 

 

Very interested to see the UK price for this. Hopefully not just the usual straight $ to £ translation.

[stoken6]

1 hour ago, Still VanDerGraaf said:

They were great machines weren't they. 

 

Very interested to see the UK price for this. Hopefully not just the usual straight $ to £ translation.

I'm guessing they'll take the opportunity to price it at a nice round £1999.99. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Baggypants]

18 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Consider the MPC pads in the context of it having 2 mic pres and an A/D D/A audio converter. 

For recording this covers a LOT of bases and one could sing, mic an acoustic instrument, play drums or keyboards without fiddling about or switching things around. 

Add a pair of decent studio monitors and headphones and you've got your entire recording studio. 

That's pretty brilliant.

I expect the pads are also going to be useful for clip launching.

[MathOfInsects]

Following. 
 

Very, very high on my radar. It will need to have crap for action or completely unusable sounds to talk me out of early-adopting.

[GovernorSilver]

Anyone who intends to use this onstage, without a computer... and are not satisfied with just using it as a keyboard sampler...

 

should monitor this page, which shows the plugins that can run in standalone mode.  Maybe it will be updated with new plugins for MPC Key 61.  

 

https://www.akaipro.com/mpc-plugin-instruments-insert-effects

 

 

[miden]

5 hours ago, stoken6 said:

I'm guessing they'll take the opportunity to price it at a nice round £1999.99. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

$4k down here

[mcgoo]

On 6/21/2022 at 2:57 AM, Still VanDerGraaf said:

 

I think in 2022 4gb ram is disappointing. 8 would be better.

... 

It's a constant feature of ALL synth/workstation manufacturers though- measly ram and users saying "whaaat?"

I'm in the crowd saying "whaaat"? Assuming it has a streamlined OS that doesn't require much of its RAM, 4 GB is still very little. You're not going to be loading much in the way of sample libraries into that. To me, that would suggest its target is EDM users, with primary interest in loops, FX and virtual analog modeling VSTi's. 

[allan_evett]

4 hours ago, mcgoo said:

To me, that would suggest its target is EDM users, with primary interest in loops, FX and virtual analog modeling VSTi's. 

 

Sure, that's one group that would be attracted to this instrument.  I like the fact that it's a standalone unit that provides both track-based MIDI sequencing and multi-track audio recording.  I use a MacBook Pro and Logic Pro X as a teaching and remote recording tool and plan to stay with that, but an alternate hardware unit for MIDI/Audio recording is intriguing, especially when my aging, home-based iMac craps the sleeping space, once again.  I briefly tried a Zoom R-20, with its apparently simple, MIDI-like audio track design. Good unit for very basic multi-track audio, but the editing and drum track functions were somewhat kludgy, especially from the small touch panel; the iPad editor is likely an improvement, though I didn't keep the R-20 that long.

 

AKAI appears to have a winner here.  Looking forward to learning more about it!

[ProfD]

IMO, the Akai MPC Key 61 is targeted at the same audience using their grooveboxes. 

 

The KB MIDI controller is now integrated with the MPC instead of being a separate piece of hardware. 

 

IMO, if the Akai MPC Key 61 is a 2nd KB in a live performance rig, 4 GB is enough memory to load up auxiliary sounds and samples. 

 

I remember those days when 4 MB was enough memory to load up gig-ready sounds.😁😎

[Fleer]

SoundOnSound review is live:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/akai-mpc-key-61

[ElmerJFudd]

 

[Dockeys]

Looks like a pretty cool machine. The interface seems very well thought out. I like the way he dragged the layer up and down rather than the usual scroll until you arrive at the key method or holding the shift key and pressing another. 
 

i wonder are there multiple Rhodes cos I didn’t think that basic Rhodes sounded anything like a Rhodes I’ve played or would use. I’d need to have a good basic tone and work with effects then. 
 

i watched another video while ago but it was pretty cheesy with lilies like “virtual drawbars that will quickly take you through mellow jazz, soul stirring gospel, even screaming classic rock and more.”…….urgh who writes these scripts?

 

im sure existing MPC users will adapt to this. Getting keyboards players on board would depend on its ability to use other samples/VST’s. Can’t help but feel it’s another Muse/Creamware effort destined to never reach its potential due to lack of sufficient third part support?

[MAJUSCULE]

They must be reading @ProfD and I's DMs.

 

Looks like a real nice studio hub and potentially very fun live tool as well.

 

In the Sonic State video around 12 minutes, Andy mentions some stuff about SSDs and samples... I still don't know much about computer stuff, but it seems he was saying you could load your own SSD in with TBs of samples? Sounds very interesting, no?

[ProfD]

4 minutes ago, MAJUSCULE said:

They must be reading @ProfD and I's DMs.

Right.  I'm only slightly bummed that Akai didn't see the point in sending a demo unit and NDA to me. 🤣😎

[GovernorSilver]

Loopop's thoughts on this thing vs other workstations

 

 

[stoken6]

On 6/22/2022 at 2:34 AM, miden said:

 

$4k down here

Yep, that's unfortunately how it works.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[GovernorSilver]

 

 

2 hours ago, MAJUSCULE said:

They must be reading @ProfD and I's DMs.

 

Looks like a real nice studio hub and potentially very fun live tool as well.

 

In the Sonic State video around 12 minutes, Andy mentions some stuff about SSDs and samples... I still don't know much about computer stuff, but it seems he was saying you could load your own SSD in with TBs of samples? Sounds very interesting, no?

 

Loopop's review says you can run up to 8 plugins simultaneously.  

 

You can use up to 4GB worth of samples in RAM.  So even if you have more than 16GB of samples sitting on disk, you can only use up to 4GB for live playing.  

 

One complaint I've seen about the current MPC line (MPC Live 2, MPC One, etc.) is lack of streaming from disk.  Disk streaming is not mentioned for MPC Key 61 in any videos or articles I've seen so far on it.  I think that is why Akai is offering the Fabric rompler plugin in different sizes.  If you use the smaller one, you will have more RAM left over to use samples in other plugins.   Presumably, it will load faster than the full-sized Fabric XL too.   Loopop's review shows how long it can take to load another Project - around the 34 min. mark  - maybe one reason it takes so long is he has the other one using Fabric XL.

 

ProfD of course has the seasoning and imagination to navigate around all these limitations.