Akai Professional APC40 MKII - USB MIDI Controller for 1 to 1 Mapping with Ableton Live Lite with 5x8 Clip Launch Matrix, Knobs and Faders, Pro Software Suite Included

I’ve wanted an apc40 for a very long time and decided last night to just order the MKII model. First of all I have never had an item shipped faster. I ordered this item around 3 am and had it on my doorstep by noon. Holy moly and what an amazing job getting it so fast.I would say as far as the midi launchpad goes this is one of the top ones you can get especially for its price. I mean it’s a steel and pulling it out of the box. I’ve had a lot of equipment before and it generally is cheaper. You know it’s it’s soft plastic. It just doesn’t feel very solid. However, this piece feels extremely solid. I mean it’s just it’s just a great piece of hardware overall now as far as functionality goes, I was able to plug it into my computer and start using it on Ableton without even having to set up any configuration so that’s a big plus if if you’ve ever had a configure something to a DAW program You know sometimes it can be a pain in the rear. It is a perfect size. It allows you to quickly go through and select any loops or tracks that you have created or are mixing so this would be great for both production uses and possibly DJ uses, which is something I wouldn’t dive into, but it definitely has that functionality in the picture. You can see it sitting on my lap so it’s not very huge. It’s very easy to move around, which is great for me because I have a couple keyboards that I use as well which I will be using this pad to start the recording process on the keyboard so I like to be able to move around with it on my lap. I think I think this thing is perfect. I can’t believe I waited so long to buy it.

Plugged in and immediately was able to start messing around with it. No drivers or configuration needed. Super easy to use and intuitive. Keeps blowing my mind how effective and integrated into ableton it is. Perfect for production and recording workflow. Even hooked up a footswitch to record while holding an instrument and of course it works without even needing to set anything up. Get it when you can, work every penny. Solid construction, knobs feel super heavy duty and faders are also good quality. And looks so sleek and cool. Plus the color LEDs make it look super slick , and it's lots of fun launching clips. Also the a/b feature is really cool for transitions. 11/10 would buy again in a heartbeat

I purchased this unit to be used as a lighting control surface from a program on my laptop. I was looking for an alternative to purchasing a small lighting console that can cost several grand. I already had a USB to DMX dongle, so I started looking around for midi controllers that seemed to have the right amount of buttons, knobs and faders.You can go with some of the cheaper models if you want but I really like the look and feel of this board for the use I bought it for. This si coming from someone who has been in the world of professional AV for 20+ years. I think that the versatility of the midi controller for use as a lighting control surface is a great innovation of an existing technology.For small set ups this is the way to go before investing in a proprietary board such an an MA, Hoglet, or Chamsys MagicQ, ETC Nomad, etc.

This is it, the best Ableton Live controller. Everything in the right place, controls that have a nice feel to them, and the all-important launch grid. With this controller, you can master your live set and have control over your instruments at the same time. Add a keyboard and the world is yours.I'm really appreciate if of the high quality of the parts, the buttons have a nice feel and actuate reliably when you press them. The faders have good damping and are accurate and have a reasonable amount of throw. The crossfader moves nice and easily, so you can be and effective DJ with this piece of kit.The APC40MKII is unquestionably responsible for a new round of creativity in Live. It really does help to have a controller that is physically similar to the software GUI and that integrates as perfectly as this controller does. I've already used it to create a dozen excellent grooves and I've only had it for a few days.

I love my APC40 mkII so much that I've bought 2 now... My workflow was forever changed when I got my first APC40 mkII a couple years ago. The design is much improved over the original APC40 and compared to other Ableton Live solutions like those from Novation, the APC40 mkII does it all in a single device. Sadly 3 of my faders on my original APC40 mkII stopped working. I've since purchased another unit and also got a hard shell case to better protect the faders. I've ordered new fader pots for the original unit that was just out of warranty and it's also working well now. I hope Akai can reinforce the faders to be more robust in the mkIII APC40 and until then make sure to keep it safe and out of harms way on tour with a hard case.

This is my second APC40 MKII. While I love the controller itself I understand that what I do can be taxing on the product. I use my APC to mix Video so flicking faders to the beat of music can cause stress and damage. I did purchase a warranty on the first one and ultimately decided to go with another APC40 MKII since it's pretty much the only controller out there with all the control surfaces I love. My only gripe with the process was getting a naked package left on my porch. High value items like this could've easily become porch pirate booty. All I would ask is at least put it in a brown box next time so the large red and white box doesn't attract the wrong kind of attention.

This is super cool. I wish I was back into production. I tried to get back into it by buying this. I enjoyed the bit I had with it. There are a lot of functions for beginners/non-newbies. However, I was watching tutorials for Ableton and producing and a group that I love said the following, "Yeah, we worked really hard on this album. It's got a lot of weird stuff that we have never tried. I definitely recommend experimenting (in a ton of areas), unless you are like...30 or something. hahaha." So I returned it.