Akai Professional APC64 USB MIDI Pad Controller

This has been a really usefulController for me using Ableton. I liked the easy of use and especially the touch controls when performing. They are easy to assign in Ableton. Would definitely recommend but with alternatives out there, it’s worth reviewing what your actual needs are. I prefer this over some of the other Akai controllers but that’s down to how I like to use Ableton.

I had been doing research on best controllers for Ableton live 12 this controller gets somewhat mixed reviews but when compared to the Push 3. I am very new and just bought this to start learning ableton to learn and excited to get this. I think its the best value for money purchase ive ever made and hope to get really good at it so very grateful to Amazon for stocking the product at such a good price. Thank you. Always wanted to learning something like this from looking at handpans this really is me as I love electronic music

First things first... There seem to be a lot of glowing reviews here. But a quick look will show that many of them are not actually for the APC64, but for the APC25 or the APC Mini, which are very different devices (I have the APC Key 25 and yes, that's good for the price that it is). But The APC64 is a very different thing, and costs roughly double what those do..Next up, be warned, once you have registered this and are about to claim what looks like tons of free software, DON'T!! There's a reason that AIR software comes free with everything ever, it's garbage bloatware! Even the included plug-in manager here is just bloatware. It's ridiculously sluggish, and 95% of what it's there for is to fill your computer with adware and trials. Just register your APC64, check your firmware is up to date, claim your free copy of Ableton Lite, and just forget the rest. The only other worthy software here is the MPC DAW, but the included plug-in manager can't even manage to download that. You are better off claiming your free copy the normal way (MPC Beats is always free) while you are on the Akai website..Also, the build quality of the APC64 feels a little creaky to me, especially for the cost compared to the other APC's i mentioned earlier. The APC Key 25 is cheaper, but this FEELS cheaper to me, and not just a little..But my most negative comments have to be for actually using this thing. Whoever says that the APC64 is intuitive is (IMO) subscribing to the moto of ''Make the lie so big that people will think that it can't possibly be a lie.'' Because intuitive is the very opposite of what the APC64 is..It is supposed to be plug and play with Ableton, but just trying to use it's drum pads setting and the basics don't even line up. Even devices from the same company that are a tiny fraction the cost of this (the LPD8) are way better at that. I can't even fix the issue with MIDI mapping as that seems to be just a fantasy here. Plus the touch sensitive strips are far to sensitive and rather than solving any problems, they ARE the problem. And it certainly doesn't help that, even brand new, their design team thought it would be a good idea to have the writing on the buttons look like it's already worn away by years of use, so you don't know what the hell you are doing until it's done..Whoever designed this has obviously never played live..

Recommended

I bought this to interface with ableton live 12. It is impressive value for money and mostly suits me well.I already had an apc25 mk2 which worked well and I expected the apc64 to replace. Unfortunately it doesn't. I've found the sensitivity of touch pads to be disappointing they are nothing like as good as the keys on the apc25. Even with light touch selected in app the I have to press far too hard to get maximum velocity. I've wasted 3 days using the several live Midi effects to try to compensate but without a satisfactory result.I'm now using the apc25 together with the apc64 and this is a very powerful setup which I would recommend as the best solution to the problem but I'm still quite limited in the way I use key and chord on the apc64 without satisfactory velocity sensitivity.Since writing the above I've found that the velocity tool in Kontakt 8 does work to give fair sensitivity but not as good as my apc25. Probably good enough for drums but not the more delicate touch needed for melodyI'm guessing that in the end the quality of the pads is the issue

Every momentary switch, and the control knob for that matter are offensively loud. Louder than my mechanical keyboard loud. Loud enough to be picked up by my vocal mic loud.I was expecting to have to do a decent amount of work to what's clearly a very well made and capable piece of kit in order to get it to play really nicely with the software I use (I don't use Ableton) and was already disappointed that, unlike its predecessors, AKAI don't provide programmers' reference docs which was definitely going to make life harder than it needs to be, but you know, probably manageable. Then I pressed one of the track select buttons and heard the loud, resonant CLICK OF DOOM. Every button on this thing that isn't a performance pad is loud. Even the rotary encoder next to the tiny screen is loud.It seems to be a choice too. Thank heaven for Amazon's refund policy.If you're working in an environment where the sound of a device's buttons aren't relevant, then this has all the makings of a great bit of kit – the pads seem beautifully responsive, if a little small and the ribbon controllers are great. But if it's anywhere near a live mic, it's a hard nope.

There is something under the pads, they don't seem velocity sensitive or have aftertouch, feels pretty broken, confirmed with Akai that the hardware was faulty, I found it odd that when I received it, it seemed to look to have been opened before

Had to return

Great controller! I was looking for a supplementary Ableton Live controller for performance and production, and this was a great fit. My main complaint is that it is on the bigger side, but that is probably so that it can accommodate so many features.

Un dispositivo efficiente e perfetto per l'uso con Ableton Live (ovviamente si può usare anche con altre DAW, previa programmazione ad hoc). Consente la modifica in tempo reale di molti parametri, i fader touch sono sensibili e pratici. i pad sensibili al tocco possono essere usati sia per lanciare le clip, sia per "suonare" sia frasi melodiche che percussioni. C'è anche la possibilità di usarlo come sequencer, ma non l'ho ancora sperimentata. Bisogna considerare che l'uso richiede una certa pratica, data l'infinità di funzioni e la molteplicità dei tasti multifunzione, ma online si trovano molti buoni tutorial (la registrazione consenta anche di utilizzare una piattaforma didattica online ma non ho ancora approfondito). Un difetto, proprio a volerglielo trovare, è il fatto di avere le luci (multicolore) dei pad poco visibili se usato all'aperto, anche alla massima potenza. Per il resto, un must per chiunque utilizza Ableton in contesti live.

Geniales Teil.... braucht einwenig Einübungszeit aber mit LiveLite und den free Download Sets sehr zu empfehlen .Das die Regler durch diese Touchscreen ersetzt wurden ist Optisch Top aber einwenig gewöhnungsbedürftig aber sobald man raus hat wie man mit device auf Live Lite die Regler Durchschalter je nach Asset, kein Problem.Zusätzlich kann man sich ja noch eine Mpd mit Regler kaufen gibt es schon unter Hundert und man ist total versorgt.Ich benutze zum bspw.noch eine mpk Mini dazu .

The box has already been opened. Really not serious

Love the APC64!! Simple setup on Ableton Live and works amazing with the 8 touch strips. Take your music to the next level!