The MPK mini is an ultra-compact keyboard controller designed for the traveling musician and the desktop producer. With an array of hardware controls, MPK mini lets you record, compose, and perform with virtual instruments, effect plugins, and DAWs whenever inspiration strikes. This article walks through a number of Frequently Asked Questions about the Akai MPK Mini MKII.
- Akai Professional Mpk Mini Mkii User Manual Pdf
- Akai Professional Mpk Mini Mkii User Manual Software
- Akai Professional
- Akai Professional Mpk Mini Manual
- Akai Professional Mpk Mini Mkii Keyboard Controller Manual
- The Akai MPK Mini MKII packs together the features that have drawn musicians to this controller series for years in an easily portable package made for creation on the go. Built on a 25 velocity-sensitive key design, the Mini manages to also include eight MPC-style trigger pads and a four-way thumbstick controlling pitch and modulation parameters.
- Quick start manual; Akai MPKMINI Quick Start Manual. Laptop production keyboard. Akai MPK mini User Manual 21 pages. To install the Akai Professional MPK mini Editor, open the contents of the disc, double-click Setup.exe, and follow the on-screen instructions. To open the editor, connect the MPK mini to your computer with a standard.
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Summary:
The Akai MPK Mini MK2 is a huge improvement over its predecessor. It won't completely replace a larger keyboard with full-sized keys or even a dedicated drum pad controller, but if you're looking for a compact, portable MIDI keyboard for composing music on the go and/or looking to save space on your desk it's hard to go wrong with this model.
Unless you happen to be gifted enough to be able to play music by ear, there’s no doubt about it: getting a MIDI keyboard controller is probably one of the best investments you’ll ever make when building your home studio for making beats.
If you’ve read my guide on must-have equipment for music production, then this isn’t anything new to you. It wasn’t until I invested in a small MIDI keyboard that the beats I was making slowly started to improve — there’s nothing quite like messing around with the keys and discovering melodies with your fingers as opposed to trying to click things in the piano roll with your mouse.
But if you look at all the options you have, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to choosing the best MIDI keyboard controller for your needs. One of the current best sellers right now is the Akai MPK Mini MK2 — a compact, portable MIDI controller designed for bedroom producers today.
Is this MIDI keyboard the right one for you to invest in, or should you go with another model? That’s exactly what this review will answer for you today.
Let’s get on with it!
Quick Summary
- Small and compact, the MPK Mini is close to being perfect for those who consider portability a must
- Pitch and mod joystick is an ingenious, space-saving feature and is highly usable
- 8 velocity-sensitive drums pads that almost feel like Akai’s signature MPC machine
- 8 assignable rotary knobs that you can use for basic mixing or tweaking synth effects
- Excellent value for money — one of the cheapest 25-key MIDI controllers with full-sized keys, assignable pads and knobs
- As expected, keys are very small and may cause your fingers to feel cramped, especially when playing for long periods of time
- Velocity settings on the keys cannot be adjusted, which may lead to your MIDI notes sounding all over the place
- The MPK Mini has no transport controls, so controlling your DAW means having to reach over to your keyboard or mouse
Key Features
First things first: the Akai MPK Mini MK2 is a small MIDI keyboard controller. And I’m not just talking about the fact that it only has 25 keys — this keyboard is miniature. In terms of length, it’s about the same size as a 13-inch Macbook Air, as you can see in this picture:
MPK Mini and Macbook Air
With this keyboard, everything has been scaled down to maximize portability — and that includes the keys, which is about the size of a penny. So if you’re an experienced keyboardist, don’t expect to play on this thing in the same way you’d be playing on a full-sized piano with weighted keys.
![Manual Manual](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126011268/287129586.jpg)
Triggering chords and playing melodies wouldn’t be a problem (which most likely would be your main purpose if you’re looking at mini keyboard such as this one), but if you have large hands and/or fingers, it would be easy to feel cramped when playing on this especially since the keys don’t really have much weight behind them and can feel a bit springy.
That doesn’t mean the keys on the Akai MPK Mini are bad, though. They’re velocity-sensitive, meaning the velocity will change depending on how hard you hit the keys.
Akai Professional Mpk Mini Mkii User Manual Pdf
It’s worth noting that this tends to be a problem for some people because you cannot adjust the velocity curves on the keys themselves. It’s another reason why you’d only want to get this keyboard if you’re using it to record basic melodies and chords for electronic music, not for playing full-blown compositions and such.
Let’s move on to the pads. The pads on the MK2 is a huge improvement from the first model, which had a lot of issues with sensitivity and build quality. As you’re probably already aware of, Akai is perhaps best known for making the MPC, arguably the king of all drum pads.
While the pads on the MPK Mini aren’t quite on the same level as the MPC, they definitely feel great. They’re made of thick, heavy-duty rubber and have a matte-like surface which makes triggering drum sounds feel awesome.
The MPK Mini MK2 is a compact keyboard, yet the build quality seems to be quite high and I have no doubt about its durability.
Next up are the rotary knobs. They stand at about less than a centimeter tall, which makes it much less likely to break or get damaged when you throw the keyboard in a backpack. These aren’t knobs that turn endlessly, but they’re robust enough for making tweaks to soft synths as long as you program it properly. As with the rest of the unit, they’re quite small and are closely spaced to each other — thus, if something requires two knobs of simultaneous tweaking then you might want to consider assigning them to separate knobs that aren’t placed next to each other.
Lastly, there’s the 4-way joystick that’s meant to replace the typical pitch and mod wheels. This is actually a genius move on Akai’s part — the first generation MPK Mini had no pitch and mod wheels, so the inclusion of this joystick makes it possible without adding unnecessary space to the keyboard. It might take a while to get used to especially if you’re used to wheel controls, but it works.
Bundled Software
The Akai MPK Mini MK2 is bundled with three different software:
- MPC Essentials
- SONiVOX Wobble
- Hybrid 3 by AIR Music Tech
SONiVOX’s Wobble is a pretty one-dimensional software — it’s a synth to allow you to design wobble sounds. Great if you’re producing dubstep tracks, but not much use elsewhere in my opinion. Here’s a quick overview video to show you what it’s about:
Hybrid 3 is a more useful plugin, as it comes with a whole bunch of presets that you can use to produce your beats with. It’s very electronic by nature, but there are a few gems that you could use if you dig deep enough.
The program that we really care about for the purposes of this review is MPC Essentials. While the MPK Mini works right out of the box and is plug and play, setting up this software is necessary if you really want to get maximum use out of the keyboard (for example, triggering one instrument with the keys and another separate instrument with the pads).
But be warned — MPC Essentials is not exactly easy to figure out, especially if you’re a complete beginner to MIDI. For starters, you need to sign up for an account at Akai’s website and input an authorization code to make the software work — I’m not sure why, because the software is pretty damn useless for anyone who doesn’t have the right hardware for it anyway. If you get this unit, I highly suggest you spend the time watching videos on Youtube on how to set it up so you can extract the most use out of it.
How Does The Akai MPK Mini Compare To Other Models?
Now comes the ultimate question: how does the Akai MPK Mini MK2 stack up against other MIDI keyboards? I’m going to compare it to a few other models that’s within the same price range, and give my thoughts on how it differs from the MPK Mini.
Akai MPK Mini MK2 Vs. Novation Launchkey Mini MK2
Out of all the other models, the Novation Launchkey Mini MK2 is the closest thing to the Akai MPK Mini. The main difference is that the Novation Launchkey Mini was designed to integrate very tightly with Ableton Live. So if thats the DAW you’re using to compose your beats, then you might want to consider getting that model instead. They both sell for the same price, so that makes it a bit of a no-brainer.
Otherwise, the two keyboards are almost identical. Both are roughly the same size, both have 25 keys, and both have 8 knobs you can map out to your software. The main difference between the two units is that the Novation Launchkey Mini has 16 pads instead of 8. While 8 pads may be enough for 90% of all users, if you want to have 16 with your compact keyboard for whatever reason then you’d be better served with the Launchkey. Of course, they sacrifice the size in order to make it all fit within the compact body, which might not be ideal for you if you plan on using this to play out your drums live.
One thing that’s notably absent with this compact keyboard are the pitch bend and mod wheels — it just doesn’t exist. Some people might find this to be unacceptable especially at the $99 price point, however, I personally don’t ever use those, so this is a fine sacrifice for me to make.
Akai MPK Mini MK2 Vs. Alesis V25
Retailing for just $89, the Alesis V25 is a full-sized 25-key MIDI controller. No mini-keys that cramp your fingers with this model — the keys are not only full-sized, but also semi-weighted so they don’t feel as springy as other models would. Consider this model if a realistic playing style that resembles more like a real piano is important to you.
![Akai professional mpk mini mkii user manual download Akai professional mpk mini mkii user manual download](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126011268/875161763.jpg)
Like the Akai MPK Mini, it also comes with 8 drum pads. However, it only comes with 4 rotary knobs — so those who plan on using the knobs to adjust synth sounds during a live show, or generally just would need more than 4 knobs at a time, then you might want to look elsewhere.
The Alesis V25 is a lot larger than the Akai MPK Mini — almost twice the size in length at 21 inches. If you’re looking for a budget MIDI keyboard under $100 and prefer to have full-sized keys at the expense of desk space and portability, then the Alesis V25 would be a great option for you.
Akai MPK Mini MK2 Vs. M-Audio Oxygen 25 MK4
Next up is M-Audio’s Oxygen 25 MK4 model. Currently in its 4th version of the series, the Oxygen 25 is another 25-note keyboard that features full-sized keys that people with larger fingers might find beneficial.
It comes with 8 drums pads and 8 rotary knobs, making the Oxygen 25 literally a bigger sized version of the MPK Mini. Unlike the other models however, the Oxygen line of keyboards feature transport buttons which would allow you to press play, stop, and record without the need to reach for your mouse — having transport buttons makes it easier to operate your DAW and compose music, which makes the Oxygen 25 a much more versatile keyboard than the others.
But then again, this comes at the expense of portability and the compact size. It’s almost as long as the Alesis V25 but it’s also a taller keyboard. It’s also the heaviest unit out of all the ones featured on this page so far. Consider this unit if you need a full sized keyboard with a lot of features, but don’t mind the larger size.
Akai Professional Mpk Mini Mkii User Manual Software
Conclusion
Ultimately, the right MIDI keyboard for you is completely dependent on what you need. If you value something compact while allowing you a wide degree of versatility in terms of controlling your DAW, then you can’t go wrong with this model — the Akai MPK Mini MK2 is definitely a steal at under a hundred bucks.
The Akai MPK Mini MK2 is a huge improvement over its predecessor. It won't completely replace a larger keyboard with full-sized keys or even a dedicated drum pad controller, but if you're looking for a compact, portable MIDI keyboard for composing music on the go and/or looking to save space on your desk it's hard to go wrong with this model.
- editor rating
The MPK mini mkII is an ultra-compact keyboard controller designed for the traveling musician and the desktop producer. With an array of hardware controls, MPK mini lets you record, compose, and perform with virtual instruments, effect plugins, and DAWs whenever inspiration strikes. This article walks through the basics of getting to know the MPK mini mkII Editor.
Contents
Getting Started
Before installing and opening the editor, there are a few precautions to keep in mind in order to ensure the most stable communication between the MPK mini mkII and the editor software:
- Keep all other software closed while using the editor to ensure only the editor is using the port for your MPK Mini. This includes your DAW, other editors and even web browsers (yes, even Google Chrome wants to use your MIDI keyboard).
- Connect the MPK mini mkII directly to a USB port on your computer. External USB hubs are a popular way to connect several devices to your computer at once, but they way that they merge and transfer data back and forth can affect the success of the editor and we recommend avoiding it if possible.
Downloading and Installing the Editor
- Download the editor from the MPK mini mkII product page. Click on the Docs & Downloads tab and choose the version for your operating system:
- Find the editor in your downloads folder, right-click and select 'Extract All...' to unzip the folder before installing. If using a Mac, simply double-click on the zipped folder to unzip it.
- Double-click on the installer inside to run the installation. The installer will fill the screen during the installation:
- Click Next and accept the terms of the License Agreement when prompted. Continue to follow the prompts in each window and click Install when prompted. We do not recommend changing any install or folder locations during the process.
- Leave Run MPK mini mkII Editor checked in the last window and the editor will open once you click Finish.
Common Terms Explained
Akai Professional
Before getting started with the editor, take a moment to learn about some of the common terms and symbols you may encounter during the editing process. These are common MIDI terms and will be good to know if you're just getting started with your MPK mini mkII and the world of MIDI and audio production:
- CC or Control Change - This is a MIDI protocol that will send a range of values between 0 - 127. Each knob or fader can be assigned to a CC number which will then send a value of 0 at it's lowest point and a value of 127 at it's highest point and every value in between. For example, the knob K1 is set to CC1 and when turned all the way up, the MPK mini mkII will send a value of 127 over CC1.
- Lo/Hi - This determines the value range of a CC message (as discussed above). Mostly used for encoders like the ones on the MPK mini mkII, this can be used to decide how much of a parameter is changed during the course of the knob's movement.
- PC or Program Change - Also known as a 'patch change', these messages are commonly used to tell hardware or software to switch to a different preset. In some cases, the program change number will be affiliated with a particular type of patch/instrument (piano, organ, etc), but some manufacturers will list patches in any order they wish. Most virtual instrument companies will not follow this standard since their sound sets are unique.For a list of common program change patch assignments, see our guide here.
- MIDI Channel - MIDI data can be assigned to travel over 16 different channels per MIDI port. The MPK mini mkII has one port, the USB connection, meaning you have 16 different channels over which to send the data from the keyboard. In most cases, this will be used to send different MIDI parameters to different areas. For example, the most common use would be sending the pads on the MPK mini mkII to one instrument (i.e. drums) and the keys to another (i.e. piano).If you're interested doing something like this, see our guide on using multiple instances of MPC Essentials to see it in action.
- Toggle and Momentary - There are two ways a MIDI note can be sent: Toggle and Momentary. When using a keyboard, you will most likely be using momentary messaging for MIDI notes. This means an ON message is created when pressing a key, and an OFF message is created when releasing the key. Sometimes when using drum pads or buttons, a toggle style functionality may be desirable. When using a toggle setting, the OFF messages is not sent when the pad is released. Instead, the pad will alternate between sending ON and OFF messages when struck.TIP: Using a button or pad with a toggle function will help control a parameter that needs to stay on after releasing the button/pad. This can be beneficial if controlling something like a solo, mute, or effects ON/OFF switch.
- Clock or MIDI Clock - MIDI Clock is a specific message used to keep two devices in sync with each other, like a metronome. For example, when using an arpeggiator, you will want it to stay in time with the rest your song, and the best way to do that is with MIDI clock. In that scenario, MIDI clock would be sent from your DAW or other software (i.e. MPC Essentials) to your keyboard for the keyboard to follow along, perfectly in time.Clock can be assigned as Internal or External: Internal meaning that the keyboard generates it's own MIDI clock and will follow itself (used when sync with another device is not necessary), and External, used when the keyboard will be receiving clock from an external source. When set to external clock, the arpeggiator will not respond until it starts to receive a clock signal.
Saving Programs and Loading Preset onto the MPK mini mkII
Once you have made your changes with the editor, the assignments will need to be sent to the MPK mini mkII to be stored in one of the program slots. Be sure to follow the Getting Started section before opening the editor and continuing with this section:
- With your changes applied in the editor window, select File > Save to save your changes. This will save a .mk2 file, which is unique to this editor. We recommend creating a folder to store all of your presets so that you have a backup for later.In order to open a preset later on, simply select File > Open and find your preset file. The preset will open into its own separate editor window.
- When you're ready to select Options > Device Setup from the menu at the top.
- In the window that appears, select MPKmini2 from the Output area only, then press OK. It is not necessary to choose an input when sending presets to your MPK mini mkII.
- Choose a program slot to store your assignments by clicking SEND under the chosen Program on the bottom left of the editor.You can also choose SEND TO RAM for an instant upload to the MPK mini mkII, but the program will be lost as soon as the keyboard is turned off/disconnected.
- Finally, on the MPK mini mkII, press and hold the PROG SELECT button and press the pad corresponding to the program of your choice (PROG 1, PROG 2, PROG 3, or PROG 4). This will load the new program. For example, if your assignments were sent to Program 1, use Pad 5 to select Program 1.
Installing the Preset for MPC Essentials
Akai Professional Mpk Mini Manual
If your main goal for using the editor is to set up the keyboard with MPC Essentials, look no further! For most users, simply hold down the Prog Select button and press Pad 6 to select Preset 2 - MPC Essentials. This will line up the pads in MPC Essentials accordingly:
- Pad Bank A - Plays MPC Essentials pads 1-8
- Pad Bank B - Plays MPC Essentials pads 9-16
If this does not work right away, you may have an older model or have already overwritten the preset. But don't worry! We have a preset file already mapped out for you and ready to be loaded onto your MPK mini mkII. See the guide below for a preset download, install instructions and complete walkthrough on using the included sample content with the pads:
What's Next?
Now that you're getting to know your MPK mini mkII and all of the extra content and features, here are a few more guides and articles to explore:
Further Technical Support
Whether you are a customer or dealer, if you already own an Akai Pro product, or if you just have pre-sales questions, the Akai Pro technical support team is available to help!
Akai Professional Mpk Mini Mkii Keyboard Controller Manual
Visit the link below to connect with any of the following support options: online community support, phone support, email support.