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

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.

This is a wonderful instrument. I love being able to sit anywhere and experiment with sounds and chords. The range of the keyboard is limiting but it forces you to think more simply when creating, but that is what makes the keyboard extremely portable. The octave range buttons somewhat make up for limited keys. If I were to buy again, I would probably get the 37 key version, although it would make it less portable. Decent sounds that can be altered to your liking with good built-in speaker. So much fun.

Really great instrument for any mood!

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.

Bought this for my 5 year old niece to see if she likes piano or synths. She loves it! It’s great that it’s battery, has speakers, has knobs, and a drum pad.The first one I got had a broken key (wouldn’t trigger) so I had to go through the return process but that must have been a fluke. I also wish the drums were louder on the internal speaker. They’re weirdly quiet unless you turn off the touch sensitiveness

Great for beginners, just what the doctor ordered. Midi controller with decent on board sounds. Easy to get started but gets better as you figure out how to use it to its fullest. And small enough to stick in a backpack. I've got mine hooked up to my Galaxy Tab and can basically play anywhere. Noodleling is king with this thing. Play and create.