Although I really appreciate the time and effort it took to make this video, it is really tough to focus due to the variation in volume between you and the music. I have to raise the volume up a bit to hear you, then I get blasted with the music from the keyboards. Try having more of a 60/40 split in volume between you and the music so viewers can hear what you're saying and still hear the music without having to be adjusting the volume a thousand times throughout the video. Keep up the great work buddy.
@@JohnTrasher Yeah buddy, I used to do the same thing on my other UA-cam channel. I make Sim Racing videos, and back in the day I would have the game audio pretty high, so the car engines would be overpowering my commentary until I started using specific audio settings along with recording on separate audio tracks for my spotter, game audio and commentary. It just made it a lot easier for me to mix my audio in post production.
Dude youre missing the best feature of the arturia 10 user modes. Which means 10x times 16 pads and 10x times 3x rotors banks, 3x faders and 3x buttons beneath them.
Thank you for this video. This may be the only video of its type, showing the cons of respected keyboards like this. There's effectively no other way to find this sort of information online. If I'd bought the AKAI with its stiff keys and miserable aftertouch, I'd have been extremely disappointed with my purchase, regardless of the quality of the pads. And Arturia's $500 is too high for something that has pads that are practically just buttons. This has not been an easy hunt.
Yeah i feel you... thats why i bought them both... i owned and sold the keylab 2 times in fact 😅 i may buy it again though, since one guy pointed out that you can have multiple pad banks, if you think of switching the custom presets
As someone new to sound design I think the Akai might be a better option for me, especially considering the price. Velocity and aftertouch on the Akai does appear to be a pain... perhaps this can be adjusted in the DAW after recording? They both appear to be very powerful and dynamic tools regardless. Thank you for this great video!
I just bought my 2nd MPK. I had the MPK261 but sold it and got the MPK249. I know it sounds kind of weird going backwards, but the 249 fits my desk. The 261 didn't...
@@Snarkapotamus I always wanted an Mpk.. but I don't want to buy then a new one comes out...but yeah very good video...the two keyboards I am actually debating which to buy
@@m-chopbeats7526 which one did you end up deciding on getting? right now i've narrow it down to these two and the essential 49 if I wanted to go cheaper
@@wchavez72 Honestly i can only make a wish list for the gear i want lol... but if I had the cash either an mpk49 or 61 model. I have also thought of just getting a cheaper keyboard like an m-audio keystation with an Presonus Atom... same solution keyboard and drum pads on the side
This was helpful it looks like the Akai keyboard velocity response is similar to the controller I already have, the main reason I'm looking for a new one :) Even though I can set different velocity curves it doesn't solve the problem enough.
Excellent video, I hope you can answer my questions, I come from a Roland fantom x8, the keys are with semi-heavy hammer action, but I don't use it much, in summary I use virtual instruments, you think the arturia Mk2 is the most suitable for what I search? That it is robust, resistant and above all the keys are of quality? Theoretically they say that the Mk2 is very good and robust, will it work for me? I would use it only with virtual instruments, pianos and synthesizer sounds and some other drums, I would appreciate your opinion please
I would have kept the Arturia if I wouldnt need a "live-setup" Pad Bank for my Deluge, or if it had been integrated in FL Studio. So unless you are using FL Studio, i would go for the Arturia. (it does work with FL Studio, but you have to manually map everything, which was annoying for me). Qualitywise, keybed was better and more sensitive to different velocity values. And its mostly metal, unlike the Akai. :)
@@JohnTrasher Good morning, the keys of the akai are piano type and what material are they made of? the arturia Mk2 the keys are plastic ?? If it is high-end, they should be made of a more resistant material, can you confirm that please? between both keyboards which is more robust and better to manipulate plugins like arturia v collection, refx etc?
good comparison. Having owned both, I can definitely say the Keylab is the better board, particularly if you are a keys player, however they need to stick to what drumpads are meant to do, which is trigger drums. This is why everyone who is not a keyboard player loves the MPK, they know drums. I can't imagine many people are using the chord modes on the Arturia. They should wipe that and add a note repeat, arpeggiator, larger pads & metronome control, then this board would be near perfect.
@@JohnTrasher You can save more pad banks as user presets on the Keylab. That's what I did and now I have 3 pad banks on the Keylab. I use it with Groove Agent and it works great.
@@JohnTrasher It's easy. Make 3 new templates. In the first you let the notes of the pads like default. In the second and third user templates you change the notes of the pads in Midi Control Center. Save the templates and send them to free/default memory slots of the Keylab. Now you can switch the pads in the Keylab and you can color all three in diffenent colors. I named the user templates Pad Bank A, B and C. It's great. Also I changed the Knob-CCs, so I have now Tune and Volume for every Pad in the 3 templates. Great to work with in Cubase 👍
Great vid! I have a question regarding the trigger pads. Can you use them to trigger different sets of samples on your keyboard or you're just stuck with one scene/set of sounds assigned to the pads? best.a.
Just to make it clear: there is no sound created by the akai/arturia. It only sends MIDI data out, connected to my synths/drumbox. The akai has 4 different storagebanks for the pads, per pReset. Thats 64 different samples that could be triggered in one preset
@@JohnTrasher yeah I get that it doesnt have any built in sounds. It is a MIDI keyboard. So basically the Arturia has one set scene for the samples in your sampler of choice?
@@JohnTrasher i got it, i am dj producer🙌🏼 I currently use ableton and I am undecided on which one can help me the most to produce and that I can also use as a support to play live
@@johnymiranda yeah i understood :) There is maybe the novation sl 49 mk3 best suited for ableton, but from the 2 Keyboards in my video , the arturia is better. If the price difference isnt too much get the arturia
thanks for the comparison, I have a better idea of witch one I'll buy : The Arturia. just one critic --> adjust your mic sound please ! (not loud enough) 👍👍
Since you can see the Arturia's lights (every light source on the keyboard) visibly blinking out of sequence with the camera, does this mean the Arturia's LEDs have a visible pulse, the way a lot of LED sources do? (Such as Christmas lights.) The kind of thing that leaves a trail of individual afterimages when you pan your eyes across it. Very distracting. Would be a dealbreaker for sure. I see the AKAI has no such potential issue.
I like that the akai sounds more like a piano in action where the other one sounds better for synth stuff, I don’t think there is a “better than” as it should depend on what your sonic use is at the time, ideally you have multiple keyboards for their individual characteristics and screw the technical stuff
The Arturia is more of a Plugin-Controller for their own stuff vs the Akai being more versatile because you can make it fit ANY DAW without the need for any Software. My Opinion. Also, the keybed on the Akai reminds me more of a synth-style action than the spongy Arturia thing, but that might depend on personal preference. But all in all, the Akai is my Winner. I chose it over the Novation SL and Native Instruments just because it is not tied to some Software. PS: The drumpads on it are second to none!
cool test I think mpk still good for me as i'm no piano player just guitarist wich like to play basse lines and suchof thingz thanks for your video bro Do any one nows intergretion with cubase ? Imean does it works ?
@@JohnTrasher Thanks. I read an earlier test wich was saying there was no integration. I supposed they made a firmware up date or this kind of things :)
@@irielovmachovsky9848 well, it isnt integrated in fl studio either, but i managed to map the faders and knobs to the Virtual faders as well. Even the buttons can be mapped to shortcuts. I think you could do this with cubase too. It just has no preprogrammed automapping
Can you tell me how you mapped play and control for the Deluge? The play and stop transport controls from the MPK work, but the record doesn't. Thanks! Oh yes, also, do the Arturia transports(particularly record) function for the Deluge??
The keystep pro receives transport controll from the deluge but i dont think the other way around. I mapped one of the padbanks from the mpk to play,rec,undo,redo. Works like a charm
@@DJDru736 The Transport section works if u chose the fl studio global preset and change the midi Protokoll in the mpk (mmu i believe). For the pads i mapped the specific midi note (midi channel 10) and mapped it to the deluge's Transport button. Not sure if u can also map them to the Play Button in fl studio though. Gonna check it
I have the MPK 49 (the first model). Akai dropped support for it so PC and MAC editor software doesn't work and programming it on its surface is a nightmare since there's no bios update. A little bit of attention could have made it great. But it's a piece of crap. I refuse to buy any other Akai controller since they left that model to rot and will likely do the same for this model.
How did you get the aftertouch assign section in the software? I'm trying to assign the aftertouch to the modwheel but I can't seem to do it or have the option to change it anywhere. Do you know of a way to do this? Thanks for the reviews.
Hi Thanks for getting back to me. So basically I want to assign aftertouch to CC1 which usually is the modwheel. I have a older keyboard where you can assign aftertouch to anything but I can't see how to do it on the Arturia keylab MKii's. I don't see a reason why it can't. For example if an organ vst has the leslie speed assigned to CC1, I can use pressure to trigger the speed without taking my hand off to flip the modwheel up. But if a vst doesn't have aftertouch listed in its parameters but it's enabled I can use CC1 to trigger anything. Sorry if that's a bit long, thanks.
@@88mokeyz8k My focus is on quality of keyboard and piano like feel like playing. Author says Keylab is superior although it does not have the semiweighted keys. That surprised me. What do you think?
sorry for beeing late: both keyboards are semiweighted keys. the arturia's keybed is superior and has a more differentiated velocity and aftertouch profile. Pads are better on the akai.
Not bad review BUT dear reviewers PLEASE turn off the sound of plugins when you talk about keybed and demonstrate it. It’s most important to hear how noisy it is (touch it and feel it not imposible through the screen)
Didnt the video help? If you dont use FL Studio and dont use the pads on a Daily basis with Multiple keybindings, go for the arturia, as it has a better keyboard, and this is the main important thing
What do you mean exactly? If they are sturdy? Overall, arturia had better quality in my opinion. Neither are hammer weighted like in a real piano though
@@JohnTrasher i had the akai 249 first gen, never realized how stiff the keys were until i switched to something else and went back to it. Im currently on novation launchkey 49. But now im in between arturia keylab and kompelet control s49. Im looking for a keybed that i dont have to press as deep to get sound from it. both the komplete kontrol and keylab uses fatar keybed but it might be tensioned different
Note that MPK doesn't yet work with Big Sur. They have been terrible at communicating updates. I do love my MPK249, but it's also keeping me from upgrading my OS months after release.
@@JohnTrasher The current Mac OS. Akai tweeted for users not to update their operating system due to incompatibility with their hardware, so I'm waiting it out on Catalina.
which midi keyboard should I get - the Akai MPK261 ($400) or the Arturia MKII 61 ($550) ? Anybody know which one is overall better? I keep researching and can't decide need an experienced user opinion. was thinking maybe get the Arturia MKII and an AkaiMPCstudio($270) for the best of both worlds (full MPC studio software and analog lab)? or would that be stupid to get both? I am a Graphic/3D Artist and need to make music for my videogame.
In short: the arturia has better keys, the akai better pads. If you know how play a piano, the arturia is the better choice, since pads arent that important for your usecase. If you dont have any knowledge/experience in music making, both are overkill, go with the keystep 37 instead:)
@@JohnTrasher Sound and Functionality are what I care about and it seems the Arturia can produce more fluid sounds but I was wondering if the Akai is capable of producing those fluid sounds (with aftertouch and velocity) as well because if so then it seemed like the Akai would be a better overall choice for me if not then it seems Arturia could have the more professional sound. As long as the music I make has that perfect sound I am looking for 400-500$ is worth it to me anything less than these 2 models doesn't seem to offer what I need. do you think that an Arturia MKII combined with an akai MPC studio standalone beatmaker could provide me any more functionality than just an akai MPK261 alone or would I be better off with the Akai alone? or the Arturia alone? This is not going to be a toy for me I plan on creating serious compositions. My videogame is based on a 300 page sci-fi novel that I wrote I'm in this for the long haul and I'm not settling for less. If I have to master all of Vivaldi's works in order to be worthy of owning these keyboards then so be it but which one do you think - Akai MPK261 ($400) or the Arturia MKII 61 ($550) ?
@@CAESAR_IS_GOD_mohammadisaloser remember that both are only MIDI controller. They are no synthesizers and produce no sound! For recording music you need a software called digital audio Workstation (DAW). I use fl studio, others use ableton live etc. The arturia vintage collection plugin sounds good, never tried the akai though. For my music i rely on hardware synths, but that is even more expensive 😅
I have both the Arturia is a better quality and come with 2000 + sounds. The MPK comes with VIP. Each one performs at the same level the pads or a little more sensitive on the Akai they both maps to your DAW. I'm so Glad I have Both.
Hello. This video is still fresh so I think the question pretty much stays . About the midi channel switch : Can we maybe "secrifice" one button layer of PADs to use them for recall channels withe easy giving Program Change to them like in this video bellow ? I find the "MIDI Channel 8:10" calling issue a big big issue in my workflow, which send me towards Arturia keys , but here a video that can maybe change the idea: ua-cam.com/video/Zqmb2ldRIbM/v-deo.html
Interesting. Havent fully tested it, but i dont think you change midi channels this way, because pads are different from the keybed. U could send cc on a specific channel, but for the keybed, there is only the knob turning i am afraid. But i will check it later and update this answer
@@JohnTrasher thanks for the fast reply . Yes sure, give a try please. It would completely the change te game there. so for the MPKmini I believe it is straight forward cus there are major updates and is more interactive with Softs ( like essentials for instance ). By the way . If you can try to understand what this guy in the video is doing and see if is really a channel switch is possible it will finally be clear what buy I must do . Thank you in advance
Good morning, the keys of the akai are piano type and what material are they made of? the arturia Mk2 the keys are plastic ?? If it is high-end, they should be made of a more resistant material, can you confirm that please? between both keyboards which is more robust and better to manipulate plugins like arturia v collection, refx etc?
@@JohnTrasher I’m using logic but my computer won’t recognize the midi at all. What Mac OS are you using? I just got off the phone with akai today and they said it may not work with Monterey
@@JohnTrasher yes sir thanks. I ended having to get a usb 3.0 cord for it to work. Appreciate you. I think I may return tho to get keylab. What do you think?
Arturia had the worst quality keybed on mk1 with 4 keys breaking (flimsy stopping mechanism under the keys).. That has put me off arturia, as good as they are otherwise..
Intro 0:00
Size 0:36
Keybed 1:10
Pads 3:20
Noterepeat 4:34
Chordmode 4:50
Padbanks 5:20
DAW Integration 6:48
MIDI Channel 8:10
Aftertouch 8:46
Control Software 9:25
Conclusion 11:06
Although I really appreciate the time and effort it took to make this video, it is really tough to focus due to the variation in volume between you and the music. I have to raise the volume up a bit to hear you, then I get blasted with the music from the keyboards. Try having more of a 60/40 split in volume between you and the music so viewers can hear what you're saying and still hear the music without having to be adjusting the volume a thousand times throughout the video. Keep up the great work buddy.
Thanks for the Feedback! Gotta lower the synth output in my next ones...
@@JohnTrasher Yeah buddy, I used to do the same thing on my other UA-cam channel. I make Sim Racing videos, and back in the day I would have the game audio pretty high, so the car engines would be overpowering my commentary until I started using specific audio settings along with recording on separate audio tracks for my spotter, game audio and commentary. It just made it a lot easier for me to mix my audio in post production.
Dude youre missing the best feature of the arturia 10 user modes. Which means 10x times 16 pads and 10x times 3x rotors banks, 3x faders and 3x buttons beneath them.
Thank you for this video. This may be the only video of its type, showing the cons of respected keyboards like this. There's effectively no other way to find this sort of information online. If I'd bought the AKAI with its stiff keys and miserable aftertouch, I'd have been extremely disappointed with my purchase, regardless of the quality of the pads. And Arturia's $500 is too high for something that has pads that are practically just buttons. This has not been an easy hunt.
Yeah i feel you... thats why i bought them both... i owned and sold the keylab 2 times in fact 😅 i may buy it again though, since one guy pointed out that you can have multiple pad banks, if you think of switching the custom presets
@@JohnTrasher That one guy was me 😂 Did you tested it?
@@axoplanet6081 hadnt got the chance yet, since i returned the arturia. But will check it out in store next time. But your method should work👍
@@JohnTrasher Ja funktioniert auf jeden Fall. Die MPK Drehregler sind allerdings um Welten besser als die vom Keylab.
As someone new to sound design I think the Akai might be a better option for me, especially considering the price. Velocity and aftertouch on the Akai does appear to be a pain... perhaps this can be adjusted in the DAW after recording? They both appear to be very powerful and dynamic tools regardless. Thank you for this great video!
This video was heavily needed......... I was thinking of an Arturia, but the MPK now has me SOLD!
Glad to hear... i was searching for a comparison myself back in the days 😅
I just bought my 2nd MPK. I had the MPK261 but sold it and got the MPK249. I know it sounds kind of weird going backwards, but the 249 fits my desk. The 261 didn't...
@@Snarkapotamus I always wanted an Mpk.. but I don't want to buy then a new one comes out...but yeah very good video...the two keyboards I am actually debating which to buy
@@m-chopbeats7526 which one did you end up deciding on getting? right now i've narrow it down to these two and the essential 49 if I wanted to go cheaper
@@wchavez72 Honestly i can only make a wish list for the gear i want lol... but if I had the cash either an mpk49 or 61 model. I have also thought of just getting a cheaper keyboard like an m-audio keystation with an Presonus Atom... same solution keyboard and drum pads on the side
This was helpful it looks like the Akai keyboard velocity response is similar to the controller I already have, the main reason I'm looking for a new one :) Even though I can set different velocity curves it doesn't solve the problem enough.
Yeah, it doesnt work for nuanced piano riffs.
Hope fully Akai updates to an mpk3 series...the 2 series has been going since 2014
Yeah that would be interesting
@@JohnTrasher because if anything the mpk mini 25 mk3 has an updated look and newer pads so...
@@m-chopbeats7526 but its a hard market, next to novation, arturia etc
@@JohnTrasher so true... Even m-audio's new oxygen keyboards
@@m-chopbeats7526 Well ill say that the pads on the mpk249 are the best pads I've ever used
Thanks for the video! My friend is asking me which to pick, but I only have MPK249. This might be useful for my friend!
Excellent video, I hope you can answer my questions, I come from a Roland fantom x8, the keys are with semi-heavy hammer action, but I don't use it much, in summary I use virtual instruments, you think the arturia Mk2 is the most suitable for what I search? That it is robust, resistant and above all the keys are of quality? Theoretically they say that the Mk2 is very good and robust, will it work for me? I would use it only with virtual instruments, pianos and synthesizer sounds and some other drums, I would appreciate your opinion please
I would have kept the Arturia if I wouldnt need a "live-setup" Pad Bank for my Deluge, or if it had been integrated in FL Studio. So unless you are using FL Studio, i would go for the Arturia. (it does work with FL Studio, but you have to manually map everything, which was annoying for me).
Qualitywise, keybed was better and more sensitive to different velocity values. And its mostly metal, unlike the Akai. :)
@@JohnTrasher I understand, so do you recommend that I buy the arturia mk2 friend? I think I understand that if not?
@@eduosan both are good, the arturia is better for your use i believe (but also a Little more expensive)
@@JohnTrasher Good morning, the keys of the akai are piano type and what material are they made of? the arturia Mk2 the keys are plastic ?? If it is high-end, they should be made of a more resistant material, can you confirm that please? between both keyboards which is more robust and better to manipulate plugins like arturia v collection, refx etc?
good comparison. Having owned both, I can definitely say the Keylab is the better board, particularly if you are a keys player, however they need to stick to what drumpads are meant to do, which is trigger drums. This is why everyone who is not a keyboard player loves the MPK, they know drums. I can't imagine many people are using the chord modes on the Arturia. They should wipe that and add a note repeat, arpeggiator, larger pads & metronome control, then this board would be near perfect.
Yeah, and if they had added at least a second Bank Option i would have kept it...
@@JohnTrasher You can save more pad banks as user presets on the Keylab. That's what I did and now I have 3 pad banks on the Keylab. I use it with Groove Agent and it works great.
@@axoplanet6081 oh... how did you make this possible? U have to switch the "global" presest right?
@@JohnTrasher It's easy. Make 3 new templates. In the first you let the notes of the pads like default. In the second and third user templates you change the notes of the pads in Midi Control Center. Save the templates and send them to free/default memory slots of the Keylab. Now you can switch the pads in the Keylab and you can color all three in diffenent colors. I named the user templates Pad Bank A, B and C. It's great. Also I changed the Knob-CCs, so I have now Tune and Volume for every Pad in the 3 templates. Great to work with in Cubase 👍
Is there a best of both worlds option? I'd hate to compensate on either
Great vid! I have a question regarding the trigger pads. Can you use them to trigger different sets of samples on your keyboard or you're just stuck with one scene/set of sounds assigned to the pads? best.a.
Just to make it clear: there is no sound created by the akai/arturia. It only sends MIDI data out, connected to my synths/drumbox.
The akai has 4 different storagebanks for the pads, per pReset. Thats 64 different samples that could be triggered in one preset
@@JohnTrasher yeah I get that it doesnt have any built in sounds. It is a MIDI keyboard. So basically the Arturia has one set scene for the samples in your sampler of choice?
Exelente video!
Pero com tanta información quede en duda.
Cual me recomiendas para producción de música electrónica y tocar en vivo?
Ingles si possible por favor!
Pero para producion y toca arturia. Creo que este es mejor. Cual DAW tienes?
Soy alleman! ;) solo hablar pocito espanol
@@JohnTrasher i got it, i am dj producer🙌🏼
I currently use ableton and I am undecided on which one can help me the most to produce and that I can also use as a support to play live
@@johnymiranda yeah i understood :)
There is maybe the novation sl 49 mk3 best suited for ableton, but from the 2 Keyboards in my video , the arturia is better. If the price difference isnt too much get the arturia
Muchas gracias 🙌🏼
thanks for the comparison, I have a better idea of witch one I'll buy : The Arturia. just one critic --> adjust your mic sound please ! (not loud enough) 👍👍
Thank you! Glad it could help
Since you can see the Arturia's lights (every light source on the keyboard) visibly blinking out of sequence with the camera, does this mean the Arturia's LEDs have a visible pulse, the way a lot of LED sources do? (Such as Christmas lights.) The kind of thing that leaves a trail of individual afterimages when you pan your eyes across it. Very distracting. Would be a dealbreaker for sure. I see the AKAI has no such potential issue.
Where in the video? Timestamp?
Ah i know what you mean. Must be some camera recording thing.
I like that the akai sounds more like a piano in action where the other one sounds better for synth stuff, I don’t think there is a “better than” as it should depend on what your sonic use is at the time, ideally you have multiple keyboards for their individual characteristics and screw the technical stuff
Thanks for your input!
A preference for a Cubase user ? Thanks for the great vid.
It has a preset for cubase so i think so yes :)
for FL Studio users, is there a standalone winner between these two?
for me, the MPK.
@@JohnTrasher sweet thanks!
The Arturia is more of a Plugin-Controller for their own stuff vs the Akai being more versatile because you can make it fit ANY DAW without the need for any Software. My Opinion. Also, the keybed on the Akai reminds me more of a synth-style action than the spongy Arturia thing, but that might depend on personal preference. But all in all, the Akai is my Winner. I chose it over the Novation SL and Native Instruments just because it is not tied to some Software. PS: The drumpads on it are second to none!
So the Akai mpk249 would be best with the MPC one then the Arturia keylab 49
Great video, thank you so much
cool test I think mpk still good for me as i'm no piano player just guitarist wich like to play basse lines and suchof thingz thanks for your video bro Do any one nows intergretion with cubase ? Imean does it works ?
It has a preset called cubase, so i guess... :)
@@JohnTrasher Thanks. I read an earlier test wich was saying there was no integration. I supposed they made a firmware up date or this kind of things :)
@@irielovmachovsky9848 well, it isnt integrated in fl studio either, but i managed to map the faders and knobs to the Virtual faders as well. Even the buttons can be mapped to shortcuts. I think you could do this with cubase too. It just has no preprogrammed automapping
Can you tell me how you mapped play and control for the Deluge? The play and stop transport controls from the MPK work, but the record doesn't. Thanks!
Oh yes, also, do the Arturia transports(particularly record) function for the Deluge??
The keystep pro receives transport controll from the deluge but i dont think the other way around. I mapped one of the padbanks from the mpk to play,rec,undo,redo. Works like a charm
@@JohnTrasher how you map the mpk bank to play,stop ect i been looking into it i cant find a way. im using flstudio
@@DJDru736 do you mean the transport (play, stop, Fast Forward) section, or the pads?
@@JohnTrasher yea. on my Akai MPK 261 i only see NOTE, program change and program bank and i cant find a way to do transport for the pads
@@DJDru736 The Transport section works if u chose the fl studio global preset and change the midi Protokoll in the mpk (mmu i believe). For the pads i mapped the specific midi note (midi channel 10) and mapped it to the deluge's Transport button. Not sure if u can also map them to the Play Button in fl studio though. Gonna check it
I have the MPK 49 (the first model). Akai dropped support for it so PC and MAC editor software doesn't work and programming it on its surface is a nightmare since there's no bios update. A little bit of attention could have made it great. But it's a piece of crap. I refuse to buy any other Akai controller since they left that model to rot and will likely do the same for this model.
Well, that sucks, but it should still work as an solely midi controller right?
Which is better please Arturia Essential 49 or M-Audio MKV 49 or Akai MPk 249
In that case the akai
How did you get the aftertouch assign section in the software? I'm trying to assign the aftertouch to the modwheel but I can't seem to do it or have the option to change it anywhere. Do you know of a way to do this? Thanks for the reviews.
Arturia? You cant put a modulartor to another modulator, or am i getting wrong what youre trying to do?
Hi Thanks for getting back to me. So basically I want to assign aftertouch to CC1 which usually is the modwheel. I have a older keyboard where you can assign aftertouch to anything but I can't see how to do it on the Arturia keylab MKii's. I don't see a reason why it can't. For example if an organ vst has the leslie speed assigned to CC1, I can use pressure to trigger the speed without taking my hand off to flip the modwheel up. But if a vst doesn't have aftertouch listed in its parameters but it's enabled I can use CC1 to trigger anything. Sorry if that's a bit long, thanks.
@@DrawAndErase i think in the midi control center you can assign differmt midi cc.. but not 100% sure, as i dont have a mk 2 at the Moment to test it.
I have both 61 key and they complement each other well!
@@user-dima93 the Keylab is made better!
@@88mokeyz8k My focus is on quality of keyboard and piano like feel like playing. Author says Keylab is superior although it does not have the semiweighted keys. That surprised me. What do you think?
sorry for beeing late: both keyboards are semiweighted keys. the arturia's keybed is superior and has a more differentiated velocity and aftertouch profile. Pads are better on the akai.
Not bad review BUT dear reviewers PLEASE turn off the sound of plugins when you talk about keybed and demonstrate it. It’s most important to hear how noisy it is (touch it and feel it not imposible through the screen)
Thsnk you! I wanted to show case the different velocity response
I was to buy one of this two keyboard but i don't know which one will be better
Didnt the video help? If you dont use FL Studio and dont use the pads on a Daily basis with Multiple keybindings, go for the arturia, as it has a better keyboard, and this is the main important thing
are the keys on the akai as stiff as morning wood like the first gen one used to be?
What do you mean exactly? If they are sturdy? Overall, arturia had better quality in my opinion. Neither are hammer weighted like in a real piano though
@@JohnTrasher i had the akai 249 first gen, never realized how stiff the keys were until i switched to something else and went back to it. Im currently on novation launchkey 49. But now im in between arturia keylab and kompelet control s49. Im looking for a keybed that i dont have to press as deep to get sound from it. both the komplete kontrol and keylab uses fatar keybed but it might be tensioned different
For hip hop beatmaking which one is better?
You need a daw for this right? If you use fl studio get akai, if you use ableton (or other supported Software) get the arturia
Note that MPK doesn't yet work with Big Sur. They have been terrible at communicating updates. I do love my MPK249, but it's also keeping me from upgrading my OS months after release.
Big sur?
@@JohnTrasher The current Mac OS. Akai tweeted for users not to update their operating system due to incompatibility with their hardware, so I'm waiting it out on Catalina.
@@harmonizewithme Good to know. Was ready to pull the trigger on this.
@@krazywabbit Same here. I've had the Arturia and mind and it seems to be the right choice as a result.
@@tylerobrien2666 No Problems here with the Akai MPK225 and MPD232 on Mac OS Monterey. Works great.
which midi keyboard should I get - the Akai MPK261 ($400) or the Arturia MKII 61 ($550) ? Anybody know which one is overall better? I keep researching and can't decide need an experienced user opinion. was thinking maybe get the Arturia MKII and an AkaiMPCstudio($270) for the best of both worlds (full MPC studio software and analog lab)? or would that be stupid to get both? I am a Graphic/3D Artist and need to make music for my videogame.
In short: the arturia has better keys, the akai better pads. If you know how play a piano, the arturia is the better choice, since pads arent that important for your usecase. If you dont have any knowledge/experience in music making, both are overkill, go with the keystep 37 instead:)
Also, it may depend on the DAW you want to use... for fl studio, the arturia doesnt integrate so well, while others DAWs work on both
@@JohnTrasher Sound and Functionality are what I care about and it seems the Arturia can produce more fluid sounds but I was wondering if the Akai is capable of producing those fluid sounds (with aftertouch and velocity) as well because if so then it seemed like the Akai would be a better overall choice for me if not then it seems Arturia could have the more professional sound. As long as the music I make has that perfect sound I am looking for 400-500$ is worth it to me anything less than these 2 models doesn't seem to offer what I need. do you think that an Arturia MKII combined with an akai MPC studio standalone beatmaker could provide me any more functionality than just an akai MPK261 alone or would I be better off with the Akai alone? or the Arturia alone? This is not going to be a toy for me I plan on creating serious compositions. My videogame is based on a 300 page sci-fi novel that I wrote I'm in this for the long haul and I'm not settling for less. If I have to master all of Vivaldi's works in order to be worthy of owning these keyboards then so be it but which one do you think - Akai MPK261 ($400) or the Arturia MKII 61 ($550) ?
@@CAESAR_IS_GOD_mohammadisaloser remember that both are only MIDI controller. They are no synthesizers and produce no sound! For recording music you need a software called digital audio Workstation (DAW). I use fl studio, others use ableton live etc.
The arturia vintage collection plugin sounds good, never tried the akai though.
For my music i rely on hardware synths, but that is even more expensive 😅
I have both the Arturia is a better quality and come with 2000 + sounds. The MPK comes with VIP. Each one performs at the same level the pads or a little more sensitive on the Akai they both maps to your DAW. I'm so Glad I have Both.
Thanks!!!!
Happy to help
I prefer Akai mpk249 bcs that’s better
Hello. This video is still fresh so I think the question pretty much stays .
About the midi channel switch :
Can we maybe "secrifice" one button layer of PADs to use them for recall channels withe easy giving Program Change to them like in this video bellow ?
I find the "MIDI Channel 8:10" calling issue a big big issue in my workflow, which send me towards Arturia keys , but here a video that can maybe change the idea:
ua-cam.com/video/Zqmb2ldRIbM/v-deo.html
Interesting. Havent fully tested it, but i dont think you change midi channels this way, because pads are different from the keybed. U could send cc on a specific channel, but for the keybed, there is only the knob turning i am afraid. But i will check it later and update this answer
@@JohnTrasher thanks for the fast reply . Yes sure, give a try please. It would completely the change te game there. so for the MPKmini I believe it is straight forward cus there are major updates and is more interactive with Softs ( like essentials for instance ). By the way . If you can try to understand what this guy in the video is doing and see if is really a channel switch is possible it will finally be clear what buy I must do .
Thank you in advance
Good morning, the keys of the akai are piano type and what material are they made of? the arturia Mk2 the keys are plastic ?? If it is high-end, they should be made of a more resistant material, can you confirm that please? between both keyboards which is more robust and better to manipulate plugins like arturia v collection, refx etc?
Both keys are plastic, the akai's are a little broader/wider, but the arturia feels more premium and are more sensible to various velocity levels
I cannot get this mpk to work correctly. Can anyone help
What DAW? did you chose the correct preset in the settings?
@@JohnTrasher I’m using logic but my computer won’t recognize the midi at all. What Mac OS are you using? I just got off the phone with akai today and they said it may not work with Monterey
The keyboard turns on but there is no midi
@@Thisninjascared i am using Windows 10. You can set the MIDI Out to MIDI oder USB out right?
@@JohnTrasher yes sir thanks. I ended having to get a usb 3.0 cord for it to work. Appreciate you. I think I may return tho to get keylab. What do you think?
Arturia had the worst quality keybed on mk1 with 4 keys breaking (flimsy stopping mechanism under the keys).. That has put me off arturia, as good as they are otherwise..
Maybe they improved the keybed in mk2, never tested the mk1..
sorry, can't hear you... speak louder !
Gee! Now all you have to do is learn how to play.
Yeah i am more a guitarist than Pianist, but knowing how to sequence stuff helps 😅👍
Why I only focus on your belly 😌
😅