AKAI Professional MPK Mini MK3

This was my first MIDI controller. I was looking for a cheap, quality controller with pads and knobs and this one was new on the market. I can't compare it to other brands but compared to the previous version it's a lot better, or so they say on Youtube. It has endless encoding knobs which is a big plus if you're trying to control parameters in your DAW and the keys feel good (considering the price and what this is meant to be used for). Very portable and looks nice, I don't regret buying it! At the end of the day this is only as good as you are at messing around with the options your DAW provides. I bought it kind of blindly but have since learned a lot of tricks and ways to use it that blew my mind. For a beginner I wouldn't recommend anything else.

I’m not a professional pianist, but I am a professional sound engineer.

I mostly work with live instruments, but most projects I do these days include at least some software instruments. So far I’ve got by with an old M-Audio keyboard, but I needed something better for a theatre-project I was working on. I wanted a portable and nice feeling keyboard that could make playing and recording synths and especially percussion easier, and this one ticked all the boxes for me: Small and light weight, pads, rotary encoders and a nice price.

Pros:
Keys feel nice. I like that they’re a bit stiff.

The rotary (endless) encoders are a huge plus.



The pads are very good. Velocity sensitivity is very good.

Excellent portability. Low weight and small frame means this will fit in the smallest of bags.

Cons:
Keys are a bit on the small side, but it’s not a huge issue unless you’re expecting real piano keys. I don’t play “real” piano, so I don’t care much, but my significant other, who’s a pianist, absolutely hates the size of the keys.

The joystick, instead of separate mod and pitch wheels, is so-so. It’s not a dealbreaker for me, but I would prefer wheels.

I purchased this as I needed something on the budget to compose my music on, as a laptop keyboard was very inconvenient. I am a beginner and I haven't had experience with many MIDI keyboards, but I can tell that this just does the job! It's such a small yet powerful tool! It doesn't take up much space, it looks nice, and connects to my MacBook without a problem. I use it with Garage Band for now and it works great. I would definitely recommend it!

Pros
light but sturdy
range of options
simple after reading a manual or watching a short tutorial
fun to play with

cons
the keyboard is very small so can get clumsy
no sustain option

Decent MIDI keyboard for people wanting low budget boost to their production. For the price the build quality is really good; not a fan of the pitch bend joystick, but other than that all of the MPC pads, keys and knobs are feeling nice.

It comes with few VST plugins, which is a cool addition. The USB -cable included could be significantly longer though.

All-in-all, a great value for the money.

The Akai mpk mini mk3 is the best midi controller for hip hop / pop producers, i was user for years of the mini mk2 and i have produce many music tracks and the upgrade is amazing the keys feel more easy to play the buttons better quality and the pads and knobs are good, you can download very easy the softwares and the akai programs, the only think i dont like is that when you play drums with the pads on full lever they are sounding duble sometimes, also i have made a video unboxing tutorial and set up on my channel, Peace Love and Creativity.