Akai Professional LPD8 - USB MIDI Controller with 8 Responsive MPC Drum Pads for Mac and PC, 8 Assignable Knobs and Music Production Software

This is not so much a review as help for anyone who buys this mini keyboard and expects to play music with it 'out of the box' - even to test that it's working. It won't do anything without other software, but there's plenty around that is free. As far as the LPK25 product is concerned, it's great and does everything it's supposed to. Apart from Amazon, there are plenty of positive reviews and video demos to support this. However, the LPK25 is not really intended for someone who just wants to start playing a music keyboard through a computer by paying as little as possible. In spite of the attractive price for a touch sensitive keyboard, this is actually more a digital music creator's tool. It's not a 'standalone' playable keyboard. The LPK25 is simply a MIDI controller, and there is a big difference. Nevertheless, using a suitable program (many are free), anyone can learn to arrange and play music with the LPK25. A buyer could be forgiven for thinking the unit is faulty out of the box, as although it should be recognised when plugged into a USB port, apart from a light or two working, it will be otherwise unresponsive and no sound will come out of the computer speakers or other sound output when keys are played. What to do now? Before assuming it might be DOA (as have others) I spent countless hours on research in forums, reading reviews, watching YouTube demos, learning about all the different programs you can use for various effects, musical composition etc - downloading, installing and trying them, and I still failed to get a single peep out of the b....y thing! Eventually the 'Aha moment' arrived, sound emanated and things became clearer. On the positive side, I have learned a lot! So here's how to quickly check your LPK25 out and start making music (sound at least!) with it using a suitable music program to control it. Note that the supplied Akai LPK25 Editor isn't for producing sound. It is only for controlling the 4 program presets and built-in Arpeggiator (notes play automatically in sequence). It's not even necessary to install it at this stage. Any computer audio interface/card should work well enough for MIDI output using e.g. Windows MS GS Wavetable SW Synth; however, CoolSoft VirtualMidiSynth (free) gives better instrument sounds. Later you may move on to sound fonts and live instrument patches, but don't worry about that now. The LPK25 needs only one program to play and/or record keyboard input to be sent to your computer speakers. Any MIDI sequencer, composer, mixer, DAW (digital audio workstation) will do. There are hundreds out there, a lot of them completely free or with usable demo versions. Any program that has a MIDI input port controller should work. The problem is that many of them have so many features, it's difficult to find out how to start playing a few notes without going through a whole tutorial - to then decide that you don't really like that program! I tried many, but I found Sequetron LE (free) was very easy to install and use immediately to play notes. The first short YouTube video (search Sequetron 8.06) will be enough to get you going and also provides the publisher website from where you can download the program. 1. Plug the LPK25 into a USB port. The operating system should recognise it as 'LPK25' or simply 'USB Audio Device' and it will use a Windows or other system driver. Nothing else is needed other than speakers turned on! 2. Once Sequetron (or other program) is installed, run it and in Config, Ports, set the MIDI Input to USB Audio Device (LPK25). Close the dialog box, then click the Run (Stop) button (metronome moves in Run mode). Press keys on the 'virtual keyboard' with your mouse and play some notes on the LPK25. From either, you should hear piano sounds from your speakers. If you turn on the LPK25 Arpeggiator button/light, notes you hold should repeat in sequence. It's working! If you press Stop, sound output stops too. Press Run to hear sound. You can change from piano to any MIDI instrument and do all sorts of wonderful things once you learn how by reading and watching tutorials and using your undiscovered musical talents with your eventual software choice!

I bought this to use with Magix’s Music Maker 2021 premium edition and Acid Music Studio 11 to be able to better utilise the virtual (VST) instrument capabilities of both. Being a relative newcomer to music production I needed something easy to install and set-up, and this keyboard is ideal as it’s plug and play in Windows 10 (i.e. there’s no external drivers to install). Once connected via the USB cable it was just a case of going into Music Maker’s audio/MIDI settings and choosing Magix’s low latency 2016 driver for the audio playback device and LPK25 for the input device. And that was it; the keyboard was ready to use. As for Acid Studio, there was nothing I needed to do in the settings as the keyboard worked straight away. The included CD contains editor software and a quick-start user guide for both it and the keyboard. The keyboard can be used without installing the editor as many of the functions are directly accessible from the keyboard itself, but by installing it, up to four presets can be created, edited, stored and uploaded to the keyboard, and it adds a number of otherwise unavailable but useful functions, such as transpose and an arp (arpeggiator) clock to synchronise the arpeggiator to an external BPM timing to keep it in unison with whatever software one happens to be using. If a disk drive isn’t available then the editor software can be downloaded from the Akaipro website. Please note that the CD only contains the editor and quick-start guide, and not the free MPC Beats software, which has to be obtained via the above-mentioned website, whereby an account needs to be created and the keyboard registered to obtain the serial number and download link for it. I haven’t installed MPC Beats, but from reading about it and watching tutorials it seems to be a powerful and capable application with many desirable and advanced features. The box the keyboard comes in mentions an offer for a discount for Ableton Suite or Ableton Live but I haven’t bothered with that either. The keyboard is small enough to be portable but still large enough to be able to comfortably play. Although there’s only twenty-five keys (slightly over two octaves) there’s buttons on the left that shift them up or down so that an entire nine-octave range can be covered. The middle octaves are easily identified as the buttons aren’t lit, but as soon as the octaves are shifted then the appropriate button lights. All well and good, but it would be handy to have an indication showing exactly what octaves are selected. However, it’s likely assumed that hearing alone is sufficient for identifying which range is selected, with the middle not being illuminated probably as a quick reference guide. The keys are velocity-sensitive and work well enough, but I found them slightly stiff compared to other keyboards I’ve used. As well as the octave buttons, there’s four additional buttons: a sustain button which when pressed and held either sustains notes or latches the arpeggiator to keep it running (also allowing additional notes to be added to the sequence if desired), a program button for accessing stored presets uploaded from the editor, and two arpeggiator buttons — one to activate it and the other a ‘tap’ button for manually tapping its speed when not synchronised with external timings. By pressing and holding the arpeggiator button, followed by one of the keys with a red option above it, a fairly wide range of arpeggiator effects can be initiated, such as time division, mode and octave (including the ability to sweep through octaves) for exciting and varied sweeps. If the editor is used then presets can be created with the following parameters: transposition (+/-12), octave (+/-4), arp octave (0–3), arp enable, arp mode (up, down, inclusive, exclusive, order and random), arp time division (1/4 to 1/32 and triplets), arp clock (internal or external), arp latch (sustain), tap tempo taps (2–4) [for selecting the minimum number of taps of the tap button before a new speed can be set], and tempo BPM (30–240). The keyboard doesn’t produce sound on its own as it’s only a controller. It is though universally compatible so should work with most applications. There are no other input or output connections on it apart from the supplied one-and-a-half metre USB cable (which also powers it). The keyboard is polyphonic so can be used for playing chords. It doesn’t have pitch and modulation wheels, and neither does it have pads for creating beats, but the keys themselves can be used for the beats or drum parts. Overall build quality seems to be reasonable, although the function buttons seem a little flimsy. For the price of it, and the extra capabilities and ease it brings, the keyboard is an excellent buy.

I use this quite a lot.. I got into making music on my PC again (FL studio mostly) and wanted something to simply play keys with instead of the actual keyboard.. after using it FL for a while I bought an apple adapter for my phone so I could connect and power a keyboard.. it worked perfectly. I can now control apps on my phone like synth one with the keyboard and use the aux on my pedal to send the sound to. So basically using this keyboard with practically infinite synth sounds. I use the boss RC30 and connect this, a guitar and a bass and can get all sorts of music made without much thought at all.. need a beat open a app to make a beat, loop it.. get some synth and bass going and loop that.. really fun. The only downside is that is is pretty cheaply made and after not long one key started sticking a little. It's still like it and I don't notice it that badly, but it was an issue after not long from having it. That said it does work just fine but kinda feels funny on that key sometimes.. works a treat with most midi things though, really compact and ideal for just finding what you're looking for keys wise on a lot of programs. Bigger with more functions would be better, but this is ideal to start with.

This really is a great piece of kit and dead easy to set-up. So here are some facts about this keyboard. 1. It does not produce any sound on its own. It's designed to work with Virtual Studio Tech (VST) and Digital Audio workstations (DAW) or midi software (Anvil Studio for example). There are plenty FREE to download on the internet. 2. It's plug and play, works a like a dream with Windows 10. I use it with the SuperSonico 5 stand-alone VST synth and it's just brilliant. 3. It comes with set-up program on CD if you want to program the Arppeggiator, sustain and octave buttons to behave in a certain way. The user guide is also included. 4. If you buy it and register it with Akai then you can get some free keyboard tutorial software. Ideal for beginners. 5. It fits into the front pocket on my laptop case so is really easy to carry around. I read some of the reviews before I purchased this product and I can't understand why anyone would give it less that 4 stars at least. I believe there is a wireless version of this keyboard but that's not what I bought. For the price I paid I am more than pleased.

Great little drum/sample pad.

I already have a full sized 42 key midi keyboard, but it isn't portable at all. This little keyboard is great for putting in your bag with your laptop for any long journey. Before i bought this, i was inputting notes on my Mac's QWERTY keys, but without seeing where the black and white notes are all the time, it didn't feel natural. This shouldn't be used in any kind of studio if you have the space, but i love having it by the side of my bed, if i wake up with a little tune in my head, or want to do some writing before i sleep. For the price, i can't really complain that it doesn't come with pitch and modulation wheels, but the programs and the arpeggiator are great additions. PROS:- PRICE. One of the best prices i've seen for a well known company. SIZE. Great piece of kit for on the go, spontaneous writing or producing from your bed. ARP + PROGRAMS. Very useful tools with ease of use. WEIGHT. Very very light. Wouldn't even notice it in my bag, but still feels like OK build quality. CONS:- (Not many. Being really nit-picky when you consider the price) KEYS. The "spring" in the keys feels quite loose. It wouldn't break if i pressed hard, but i wouldn't want to try. MOD + PITCH. The lack of a mod + pitch wheels is a shame, but understandable.

After having used this for nearly 4 months I thought I'd share my thoughts. For the positives, it's TINY and all of the functions work as expected. The keys are pressure sensitive and the materials, while feeling cheap, are fine. Stays in place just fine while playing. And for the negatives, the key action is pretty awful. Far too stiff to make any real playing possible. However if you're just looking to input midi information it's still perfectly workable. This may be a problem specific to mine/my handling but, the power cable/port has become loose over time and occasionally disconnects. Ultimately you know what you're getting with a 25 key keyboard, but usually I feel as if I could do with just one more octave. I miss the mod wheel from my 49-key and the better key action. If I was to purchase again I'd look for a 25 or 32 key with these options that's still relatively small. However, this unit has been far more 'inspiring' in a way, as it's so easy to grab and lay down a melody than to lug and make space for my bigger keyboard; and as a result this has seen much more use despite having less functionality!

A great piece of equipment for a great price. It's difficult to imagine that this Midi Keyboard is over a decade old and can still keep up with its modern day counterparts. Small and compact (as you can see in the image) and completely portable to boot. Mine came with a (substantial) discount voucher for Ableton Live software (also seen in the image). This is not a stand-alone keyboard and you will need some sort of music software to make use of it - and there is plenty free stuff out there. Perfect for the beginner and the pro on the go.