Last but definitely not least, in my opinion, one of the biggest and most notable features that have been added to this new generation of MPK is the addition of a tiny digital screen. It’s a clean aesthetic that allows it to look at home in the studio, and I wouldn’t feel ashamed to bust one of these out on the train/plane.Īlso, shoutouts to the small but highly effective decision to add illuminated lights to the text on the Mk3’s buttons, rather than the entire buttons itself (which was a little hard to read in the past). It reminds me a little of a boutique Italian sports car, with the clean-cut angles and sporty red and black. However, there’s something a little flashier about the MK3 rendition. They feel robust and intuitive to handle.Īkai’s MPK range has always looked pretty decent, to my eyes at least. That aside, the actual pots themselves are a nice hefty size, a tad wider than previous iterations. You would get a much more fluid movement if you were able to cross what I call the ‘rotary dead zone’ that is physically applied by most knobs/encoders when you reach the end of their rotation (and physically won’t turn any further). Why is this good, you ask? It allows for more freedom of expression when recording automation or performing live by giving you effectively zero physical limitations on movement.Ī good example of this is playing around with the top end of a highpass filter. We now have 8 assignable ‘endless encoders’ – knobs which turn infinitely in one direction or the other, rather than hitting a maximum position when turned all the way either left or right. One of my favorite new upgrades between the Mk2 and the Mk3 minis is Akai’s complete rehaul of their ‘pots’. ![]() The pads on the Akai MPK Mini Mk3 have a noticeably better feeling when playing fast, and didn’t miss a single beat when performing finger rolls and other more complex finger drumming techniques. In any case, they are up there with the standards of today’s generation of MPCs. Personally, though, I find the newer, firmer ones to be more responsive and tactile than ever before. I’ve heard some people comment that they preferred the older model’s “squishier” nature. Similarly to the keybed, the drum pads on the MPK Mini Mk3 were also revamped. ![]() A lot of smaller keyboards tend to have issues with the keys feeling awkward or unnatural, but the MPK Mini manages to succinctly and effectively avoid the ‘toy box’ vibe that plagues many other units that I won’t name. Having a sensitive and tactile set of keys is essential when looking to capture emotion or feeling from a performance. This new keybed still features 25 velocity-sensitive keys and is created to aid in the capture of even the smallest nuances that a lot of players might miss when using something with keys that are a lot stiffer or less weighted. Improved Keybedīeginning with the keys the MPK mk3 mini features a new generation of keybed, with a more responsive feeling and smoother travel. In an age where product upgrades simply slap on redundant new features, Akai has done well to make some significant improvements both inside and out of the box.
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