Akai Professional MPK Mini Play MK3 - USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with Built-in Speaker and Sounds Plus Dynamic Keybed, MPC Pads, Software Suite and Native Instruments Sound Package

If you're looking for a feature packed pro quality compact MIDI keyboard with a built-in speaker, built-in sounds, and battery powered to boot, this is it! Great for anyone looking for a MIDI you can use on the go, or for when space is limited. The built-in sound library and functions are actually all pretty good. The interface is very intuitive and on par with what you would find with other like MIDI keyboards. One thing that I want to note, if you find the volume of the built-in speaker low, hold the FULL LEVEL button on the left-hand side of your keyboard for about five seconds. A menu that shows v1, v2, v3, v4, and black bal with pop up. Turn black bal to 1.0 and all the rest to max. When done, hold the FULL LEVEL button again until you get to the original menu, and that should increase the volume of the built-in speaker. Connectivity and software integration is straightforward and very easy to get up and running. Great for both beginners and well-seasoned users. Battery life is also very good, and since you also have the option to plug it in, this thing is very versatile. All in all, very pleased with this device.

This MPK Mini Play MK3 is tiny and fits in my small overnight duffel along with a sustain pedal and stereo monitors (plus clothes and travel stuff)... amazing. I've owned many expensive full-size keyboards (like RD2000), and the synth sounds from this AKAI are surprisingly good and a reasonable General MIDI selection. Pianos, E-pianos, clav and harpsi are all good; organs are limited; basses are fine; string ensembles good but violin/viola not useful to me, drums are adequate, etc. The reverb is nice. The drum pads work while the keys are being played, so we've had two people playing on this tiny device... very fun. The keys are velocity sensitive (not weighted) and work fine for a 2-pound instrument. The joystick is very clever: push left to modulate volume (fade in, or volume dips for brass), right for vibrato, up and down for pitch shift. The octave transpose is essential (get the bass into the right register, get to the high strings) and designed just right. Too bad there isn't a chromatic transpose: for such a short keyboard, it would be nice to transpose on a song-by-song basis so we get the most of the keys that are here. The sustain pedal I like is item B08NSZFGC1, labeled Sovvid for $13. It works perfectly and is extremely lightweight. Most of my sustain pedals are very heavy, which is great for staying in place on stage but for travel this one is ideal. It is even lighter than a small footswitch. And it works with both electrical standards (normally open / normally closed). The lightweight speakers I carry are item B09PFGJ94L, Pyle 5.25" woofer 2-way active, though many other models (including active PC speakers with subwoofer) would work fine. Rated 300 watts (skeptica), these are plenty loud enough for a living room and they sound fine (but lacking deep powerful bass, as expected). Plug in the AKAI keyboard with a 3.5mm 15-ft stereo cable like Startech item B004G3WCNK $8. These Pyle speakers need a length of 2-conductor speaker or lamp cord to connect the passive speaker to the active one. In a pinch, the AKAI keyboard could be connected to a television analog audio input. The keyboard itself has a tiny speaker, but it's very limited.

Wonderful device, as it both works as a midi controller connected to a computer, and a portable stand alone mini keyboard without a computer as it has internal sounds, drum pads, and built in speaker.

I’m using this keyboard to work on chord progressions and as a MIDI keyboard for Logic Pro on my iPad. This keyboard is designed around portability, so it is light and small. That also leads to tiny keys (challenging for those with thicker fingers) and a tiny speaker with an OK but not great sound. The built-in sounds aren’t the greatest either, but I find that neither surprising nor problematic. The ability to operate on batteries is nice, I’ve played on battery power for a few hours now and it still works. You can also power it via USB from a computer/tablet or with a standard USB power supply. (It does not come with a power supply of its own.) The keys are not weighted at all. They are velocity sensitive and you can adjust the sensitivity in 4 ranges. It’s a bit tricky to achieve the response you want (and never fully satisfying). The pads have no adjustment of sensitivity, which makes them awkward to use - it’s difficult to achieve maximum signal with your fingers and you won’t want to use drum sticks because of their size. The keyboard works as a basic MIDI controller and depending on the software you are using, the control knobs and the joystick may have more or kess functionality. Since you can’t assign control codes to them, the software has to be able to learn what they are sending. (The knobs are not 360 either, adding an extra level of complexity) Knobs and pads all have 2 functions (A/B) and switching back and forth is challenging. All of these limitations make this keyboard unsuitable for serious music production. But that’s not its purpose. As a portable tool to play, practice, and even record into a DAW (no built-in recorder), it is a great choice. Understand the limitations and you won’t be disappointed.

The Akai Professional MPK Mini Play MK3 - MIDI Keyboard Controller with Built-in Speaker and Sounds is exactly as described and lots of fun. It is very lightweight. It functions great. The key sensitivity feels great. It plugs into my laptop and connects to my DAW without any problems. I especially like that I don't need to connect it to my computer or my DAW to make a little tune. It is well worth the money. I will buy it again if this one gets damaged.

My son loves music and making music and really wanted to add this to his growing collection of electronic music equipment. This is his favorite! It works awesome and he uses it every single day! Very easy to use. Worth the money! He bought the case to go with it and keep it safe wherever he goes. The design is cool and just right to have a wide variety of sound but not huge and bulky.

Beautiful Easy to use and I made a remix of Final Countdown with. Anyone who follows the instructions can use properly.

All good, just hard to learn .

Funciona perfectamente bien, es de un tamaño práctico, funciona con carga y a baterías. Tiene buen sonido y bastantes funciones, lo recomiendo.

The midi-keyboard is awesome - 1000000 outta 10.

I am a live performer & I use it in a live setup, without connecting it to a DAW (laptop/software) .. i connect it to my looper pedal and make live loops for beats / bass / keys & guitar.. does the job well !