Akai's MPK mini, which has just been launched at the BPM DJ/music production show in Birmingham, combines the company's LPK25 mini keyboard and LPD8 drum pad controller into a single unit.
This is good news for anyone who's been thinking of buying both products, particularly as it's predicted that the MPK mini will retail for around £70. This is significantly less than the cost of purchasing an LPK25 and LPD8 separately.
Akai lists the MPK mini's key features as follows:
· Ultra-portable software MIDI controller
· 25-note, velocity-sensitive mini keyboard
· Eight backlit, velocity-sensitive MPC-style pads (2 banks, 16 total)
· Pads can send note information, MIDI CCs and program changes
· Eight assignable Q-Link knobs to adjust virtually any parameter
· Built-in Arpeggiator with adjustable resolution, range and patterns
· Tap-Tempo button to quickly adjust pace of the Arpeggiator
· Dedicated Octave Up, Octave Down and Sustain buttons
· Program Recall button to restore up to 4 separate global settings
· Solid Akai Pro design
· Powered through USB
We got our hands on the device at BPM and it looks and feels promising. For the purposes of size comparison, here's the MPK mini with the LPD8 sitting just behind it.
According to the Akai Pro website, the MPK mini will be available soon.
