I love my keyboard. It is actually a synthesizer, an Alesis micron but I use it as a midi controller. The only problem is I have it in the rehearsal room(s) all the time. So what if I have to work on some music at home? I have to carry that big bunch of plastic from the rehearsal room to the flat and back three times a week. Why not buy a midi keyboard just for home use? No money, no space, no lust. Well the LPK 25 from AKAI might just have solved my problem.
The small package contains the warranty, USB cable, editing software CD and the LPK 25. The software comes on a mini CD because a normal sized one wouldn’t even fit in the box. I expected a manual for the editing software or for the device in the box but these can be downloaded from the Akai website. So you don’t need to try to put the mini CD into your laptop. The editing software comes for mac and PC as well.
This thing is small; it measures less than 13 inches. The keys are wide enough to be comfortable and sensitivity feels just right. I don’t have a big hand so I can play on the LPK 25 without pressing notes I don’t want to press. However I imagine that people with large hands or fat fingers would have a hard time pressing an A without pressing three other keys nearby. The whole device is made of plastic but the feel of it is not cheap at all. The six buttons on the left are for shifting octaves, arpeggiator, sustaining notes, tapping the tempo and calling programmed functions. Sustain works as it should. You can sustain notes or the arpeggiator.
The arpeggiator is a great thing to have is such a small device. You can set the clock to internal and set the tempo by tapping the Tap Tempo button. Or you can set it to external so you get the tempo of the DAW you are using. The ARP ON/OFF button is multifunctional. When the arp is turned on, you can hold the button down and set the mode (UP, DOWN, EXCL, INCL, RAND), the arp time division (from 1/4 to 1/32T) and the octaves 1 to 4 that you want to include in your arp. You can all play with these options while the arp is sustained. It seems that AKAI put some work in this function and it’s surprisingly usable and good to have.
Most importantly this thing is so small that I can put it across the macs keyboard allowing me to use most of the necessary shortcuts in Logic. The little rubber things on the bottom are just in place that the device is lifted above the keyboard of the mac.
The editor software is simple and fast. You can create presets of arp settings and save them to four preset slots.
Overall I think the LPK 25 is good for home music production and eventually it can be used live. You just plug it in and it works. Beware there is no midi out. You can only control your computer with it. This can be a drawback for those who would want to control instruments with the LPK25. For me it’s just perfect considering what I use it for and how much it costs ($73 in Europe).
Cool. Those keys look ok – I bought the Korg nano-key thing, but a key popped off after like 2 uses. Cheapo! Hope this one holds up a bit better.
According to http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/07/akai_lpk_25_keyboard.html:
“Check out this super small Akai LPK 25 keyboard that offers performance that doesn’t correlate with its size – after all, it comes with pro-grade construction alongside velocity-sensitive keys.”
Velocity-sensitive keys is an important feature, right?
Ha!
Well, since you didn’t mention it in your review, I guess it must not be important.
I don’t think any keyboard can be considered usable without velocity sensitive keys. Would you consider buying such a keyboard?
I get it. A professional, such as yourself, would assume that any usable music keyboard would have them, but I have seen small, cheap ones in the past which didn’t!
Just a side note on velocity:
I consider a mini moog very usable – still, it has no concept of velocity…
;-)
So you plug your mini moog to your computer and use a software piano with it without velocity. :)
I like this thing. Never would have known about it without you CG. Thanks.
I have seen this and the Korg nanokey, both serve a purpose but lets be honest this is a mini keyboard (all be it a good feeling one) but it is just that. All mini key products are not designed to be played by a concert pianist but more for the producer/programmer/musician wanting to enter data into a DAW. Until these came along, a lot of us used the qwerty keyboard to enter data which was ok but lacked velocity and the arrangment of a computer keyboard made this awkward. Korg took the interface feel that we were already familiar with, added velocity and arranged the keys in a more logical position. They never set out to do what Akai have done with the MPK. Unfortunately the MPK reminds me of a toy but that’s my view. I guess time will tell who the winner is but for me when i boils down to either of the 2, Korg win. Free M1 Le software, controller mode, slimline design, 3 velocity curves plus consant velocity, it’s got Korg written on it!
sorry guys, I meant LPK not MPK
I was just at the local music store and opened up the box for the Korg Nanokey and then the LPK25. I was looking for something small but functional that would fit in my laptop case and travel with me to far-off corners of the earth and while the Nanokey was smaller, it was practically unplayable. I’ve played on many different surfaces, and I have to say that I’d take the QWERTY over the Korg. Then I looked at the LPK25 and immediately bought it. I brought it home and plugged it into my Linux laptop running Ubuntu Studio and JACK and ALSA recognized it right away! No crazy linux hardware issues! I love it and have been jamming out little ditties all night long.
Fair play Chip, as I said it’s down to personal preferences. Both are not the easiest things to play, for me the easiest was the Korg. Glad you’re enjoying the LPK :o)
Just gave back my Korg nanokey for the Akai LPK25. The korg is a joke.
I actually noticed that the G flat keys are not working together. If I press both, only one is functioning. Weird.