Hello, I am a beginner to Midi keyboards. I am looking for a midi keyboard that is about 25 keys, portable, uses batteries, and has a built in speaker to be able to play in other places. I found the AKAI MPK Mini Play MK3, but some people have told me the speakers are bad, and else. Any alternatives to this? And, if possible, any cheaper ones?

Just starting out.

Looking for a standalone midi controller that i can bring around easily, to play in a park etc.

Initially i was looking at the normal akai mpk mini mk3 or the minilab 3 but neither had built in sounds.

I'm looking for something that i can use at home with my DAW and also something that i can bring around without needing to attach it to anything else. Seems like The Akai MPK Mini Mk3 play fits what i am looking for. Wondering if there are anything else out there that is like the akai before i make my purchase?

ps. my only background is playing acoustic guitar. wanna get into finger drumming as well hence why im leaning towards the akai due to the finger pads.

From where I am, the Akai MPK Mini Play is $100 CAD, and the Akai MPK Mini Play MK3 is $200 CAD. Not sure which I should get, I need a good battery-powered MIDI controller from 25-37 keys.

Looking to pick up something like the akai mini play, but with a looping feature. Does anything like that exist?

Which one one should I buy? With or without the speaker? The play with the speaker seems only better and it’s about 40 dollars more.

Why WOULDN’T you get the controller with a speaker built in?

Everything has pros and cons so convince me why the built-in speaker isn’t the better choice. Or maybe it just is. Thanks!

The minilab 3 looks nice but I imagine using an akai midi controller would have better integration with the mpc

Hey folks, been looking all over the threads here and online and I haven't really found what I am looking for.

I like the MPK play, but I'm a little disappointed that it doesn't have a 1/4" audio output. I've been looking all over the threads here and just cant seem to find an alternative.

Must haves:

-1/4" inch or XLR output

-Keyboard/pads with built in sounds

-Independently powered, as in you can plug it into the wall (I don't care if its battery powered like the play)

-Does not need to be plugged into a computer (or anything else) in order to work.

-Around the size of the MPK play (around 25 keys)

Would be nice if:

-it has a midi output so I can use it as a midi clock for my RC 505

-it has an arpeggiator/note repeat

Thoughts?

Hello everyone! I am thinking of buying the MIDI keyboard mentioned in the title, and would it be good for me to learn playing even some basic stuff? And is it a good keyboard overall? I'm looking forward to using it in productions to make the workflow easier for me in the future, and i'd also like to learn new stuff.

Hello all,

I am interested in buying the Akai MPK mini MK2 or the Akai MPK mini Play. I have two big questions before I buy it, however.

1. I was wondering if you can play vocal chops or drum samples on the pads while playing a piano sound on the keys? This question applies for both of the models.

2. Secondly, in your opinion, which is the better model? Is it really worth the extra $40 to get the Akai MPK mini Play? Or if money isn't an issue, which one is better?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Hi guys,

I'm new to producing and want to focus on creating techno songs via Logic Pro. For this I wanted to start with a simple MIDI keyboard - since I am a beginner and have basically no prior knowledge, it should be a mini keyboard.

Currently I have two keyboards for testing purposes here: The AKAI MPK Mini and the new Arturia Minilab 3.

Since I am not familiar with the matter and especially do not know which features are "important" or for which you would choose, I ask for your help.

My impressions:

• Both are very nice keyboards, they both feel good

• The keyboard is definitely better on the Arturia - the keys are longer, have a soft, even touch and feel nowhere near as cheap as the AKAI. But here's the question: do I need it? After all, it's not about dynamics, it's about recording tones and samples.

• I like the pads better on the AKAI. On the one hand the haptics, on the other hand the size. But the Arturia has RGB, which is neat for some Logic Pro functions.

• The knobs are better on the AKAI - very smooth and even, without scratching. This is not quite as good with the Arturia. On the other hand, the Arturia has 4 additional faders, which seem to be helpful for some Logic Pro features.

• A killer feature of the Arturia is the browse knob. This works great in Logic Pro, really cool.

• I find the Arturia's touch strips better than the AKAI's joystick.

• The Arturia doesn't have a Note Repeat function (which I can map to a pad though, for example). Also, in general, the Arturia seems to have less features than the AKAI to me.

• The AKAI has no transport functions (even if these can be mapped to the pads, for example), the Arturia has these mapped somewhat uncomfortably via the shift-pad combination.

They're both great devices, but somehow I'm worried about making the wrong decision.

What's your take on this?

I'm thinking about buying the Akai MPK Miniplay as a hobby + a toy for my kids.

I'm thinking about the Miniplay over the Mini because of the built-in speaker: I want my kids to be able to play with it without having to connect to other devices that they might break..haha

For myself, I personally like watching those Youtube videos that make popular songs by looping things on the MPK so I wanted to try that out. The music creation tool that comes with the MPK Miniplay could also maybe be helpful for my professional work.

I've been searching reddit for people's reviews / experiences and it's been surprisingly difficult to find many posts.

So, for those who bought the MPK Miniplay, what was your experience like? For those of you who bought it for kids (I saw a couple posts that had similar goals as mine), what was it like?

Oh, also, is it possible to use the Miniplay's speaker as an external speaker for DAWs on iPads? I know the Miniplay doesn't have a looping /recording function, but I wanted to show the kids how they can do this and maybe get them interested in making music / being creative :)

hello, I'm new to all this stuff and wanted to ask if there are alternatives to the MPK Mini Play. I tried to look myself, but I couldn't manage to find anything. :/

the things I look for are: • keyboard keys • drum pad keys • built-in sound • < € 400 preferred