Akai MPC Key 61chat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

Multiple long-term owners describe the keybed as stiff, clicky, uneven, or simply not great compared to premium boards like the Yamaha Montage or Nord Stage, with one calling it the worst keyboard among their collection.

@Bass_4_JC

Huge fan of your content and have been able to apply your church sound set list on my mpc one+, akai force and the software as well...recently i have become kind of in a crush with the key 61 and looking into getting buying one...back and forward on that thought and in the process got my self a mpk261...have to say, went to play with the key61 at GC the other day and right the way i notice the difference between the 2 key beds(mpk261 and the key61)\nI wish akai would've used the same key bed of the mpk261....not a deal breaker for me, but has been in the back of my head....figured i share it here\nBTW- the mpk261 feels just like the one on the nord stage 2launch

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September 26, 2025

@joonglegamer9898

Hi Darrick, I got the MPC Key 61 at the same time you got it, and I've never had an MPC product before. But will you believe that what made the MPC useful for me was your video about Yamaha Montage and MPC One as the \"perfect pair\", it made all the difference for me to how I use my Key 61. I'm happy the Key 61 has the extra memory, because it's useful, but where the entire MPC lineup shines is in the way it communicate with the rest of our gear. I use it with the Montage, Korg etc. And I love the fact I can have regular Midi as well as USB midi at the same time on different tracks. I like the placement of the buttons on the Key 61 for intuitive quick track recording so for that alone I love the key 61. \n\nThat said, the Key 61 struggles with issues with the keyboard itself, I never use it because it's honestly the worst keyboard I have of all my keyboards, it's uneven, hard, aftertouch takes like 5-10 kilo pressure to even react, and there's velocity differences in each key on the Key 61, it's just a terrible keyboard - it feels rushed. But I'm still keeping it because the discovery of MPC as a master Midi setup for all the other synths (plus its sampling capabilities) is just a match made in heaven.launch

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December 20, 2022

@jp4751

Nice review. I have not had a chance to play the Key 61 in person, but I think that comparing the key bed to the Nord Stage may be a little bit of an Apples to Oranges. I get it😄, you were nitpicking, but at $4199 for the 73 Stage vs $1899 for the Key 61, I would expect the Stage to have better action. Realistically, I would expect Stage Pianos at $2K+ to have better action period. I would also expect the Stage to also be better for Live Playing to a certain degree as it is designed specifically for \"Stage\". I am thinking about getting the Key 61, and the sounds on demos sound pretty good. The main features for me are the sequencing and sampling, and I expect that the Key 61 would do well at those categories.launch

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October 5, 2022

@thegoldenpolymath

I have no complaints about this keyboard. However, I did at first did not like the stiffness of the key bed but it was because I was subconsciously comparing it to another key bed. After spending more time with the 61 Key, I fell more in love with everything and it wasn’t an issue at all because I got so caught up in all that has to offer. I had a lot of workstations in the past and this one just leaps and bounds ahead of all of the others. No workstation will satisfy everyone s needs & it’s subjective in my opinion. I love it more the more that I play it…launch

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September 22, 2022

Some users report velocity bugs on individual keys and aftertouch that requires unusually heavy pressure to trigger, making expressive playing harder for newcomers to aftertouch keyboards.

@joonglegamer9898

Hi Darrick, I got the MPC Key 61 at the same time you got it, and I've never had an MPC product before. But will you believe that what made the MPC useful for me was your video about Yamaha Montage and MPC One as the \"perfect pair\", it made all the difference for me to how I use my Key 61. I'm happy the Key 61 has the extra memory, because it's useful, but where the entire MPC lineup shines is in the way it communicate with the rest of our gear. I use it with the Montage, Korg etc. And I love the fact I can have regular Midi as well as USB midi at the same time on different tracks. I like the placement of the buttons on the Key 61 for intuitive quick track recording so for that alone I love the key 61. \n\nThat said, the Key 61 struggles with issues with the keyboard itself, I never use it because it's honestly the worst keyboard I have of all my keyboards, it's uneven, hard, aftertouch takes like 5-10 kilo pressure to even react, and there's velocity differences in each key on the Key 61, it's just a terrible keyboard - it feels rushed. But I'm still keeping it because the discovery of MPC as a master Midi setup for all the other synths (plus its sampling capabilities) is just a match made in heaven.launch

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December 20, 2022

@88keyzKtownsBuc

If you don't mind when you do your mpc key 61 video can you please do a comparisons of the aftertouch feature compared to other keywords with aftertouch it seem like I have to press very hard on the mpc key 61 to get the aftertouch to trigger this my first aftertouch keyboard so I don't know if it's a difference between how much pressure have to be used to trigger the aftertouch I consider myself very strong handed still tho I have to put alot of muscle into triggering the aftertouch on the mpc key 61 are all aftertouch keyboards like that or is it just me a newbie not use to the aftertouch pressure needed lol thanks in advance or just could you just give an answer to my question when you have time sir 👍🏾 have a blessed day 🙏🏾launch

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December 12, 2022

@joonglegamer9898

I've had it for 2 months too now, and I have to agree - the keybed is not great. Mine had the velocity bugs (meaning velocity always on/too high on a few keys) but they got better the more I used it so I've not returned it for that reason yet. My Montage literally wipes the Akai to the floor with the quality difference.\n\nOther than that, it's kinda what I wanted and expected, I wanted an \"record as you play\" all-in-one unit, and that's what we got. \n\nBut there's a lot to take in, it's still a complex beast and I haven't even scratched the surface yet. Design wise though it's a \"hot\" looking piece, and always the one that catches everyones eyes here when they visit, it really looks so modern design wise compared to most other keyboards.launch

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September 22, 2022

Owners report low-memory warnings after just a handful of tracks despite advertised high track counts, and note the lack of disk streaming found on competitors like the Force or Kronos.

@mrdali67

The loading time is also my main turnoff by this board it does many good things, much of the plugins sound nice and the ui is definetly more intuitive than in eg. the Kronos. but wish it had streaming. It is kind of a trade off. If you have many big projects even the Kronos is streaming you eventually hit the limit of the internal memory for the base footprint of the samples. You cannot have a huge ammount of big sample libraries loaded at once. And loading a new setup on the Kronos takes a couple minutes. I still think the Kronos can do more editing of the instruments and sound engines since you have more buttons and faders/knobs available plus karma scenes combis per program/combi/seq. but it's more cumbersom to set up, and learn how to do that stuff. It really takes some time to be familiar enough with the Kronos that these operations is burned into your memory for each time you have to create Karma scenes .. at least it does to me 😄. If they added Streaming and made a 76 key version with poly aftertouch I might be tempted to switch 😊The physical pads are a big plus. It's not a good live board for touring Keyboards in various bands as it is now and the bugs is just a no go.launch

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December 30, 2022

@mh22xv

I love it. But… why oh why is there so little ram. It starts complaining about low memory after just 8 tracks, without anything fancy going on and only 8 bars long. How is one ever gonna come close to the over 100 tracks that’s advertised. I actually like the keybed in all it’s klicky glory, and I’m picky regarding keybeds (own a montage 6 which has a great keybed). By the way Douglas, what e-piano was that you showed of in the beginning of the vid? Thanks for sharing and making these videos. All the best /Mlaunch

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September 22, 2022

@GribsMathHammer

Opinions: The price is very reasonable compared with other 61-key workstations for what you get; outstanding really imo. Good that it has a Sata drive bay and class compliant audio. The memory upgrade is great, but still no disk streaming as with the Force. Ideally for working stand-alone, the screen should be larger and have an adjustable tilt, but I get why tilt is not a feature (mechanically fragile). I bought foam yoga wedges and use one for my Force. Having an arranger like the Force would be nice. Lots of CV/gates are good. I moved away from the workstation KB world for various reasons, but a I have to admit this is tempting.launch

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June 23, 2022

Several users note the lack of a proper song arranger, LFO phase adjustment, and other basic features they consider incomplete for a full workstation, making song mode and sound design more tedious than expected.

@Ast3rixMusic

I like what Akai is doing overall with all the products they have implemented. I don't like their regression testing for firmware updates. I am a force user and like the workflow because it allows me to mimic the Ableton workflow. I have not been able to really get into the MPC workflow as it doesn't have a traditional arranger, whereas the force has a linear arranger. The only thing that is missing is the ability to change tempo... via arranger or macros yes... it's missing. I think I would be on the fence with the key 61 if I didn't have any keyboards in my setup. Although Akai was nice enough to allow us to have access to the same sound library as the mpc keys via purchase so I don't feel like I am missing out on not having the mpc keys.... I totally agree that mpc keys is an industry changer. I think this will push Korg, Roland, and Yamaha to really make real workstations with better GUI and a serious focus on fixing the bad sequencers and samplers that they have subjected us to for more than 20 years.launch

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December 20, 2022

@Krilium

Idk, I think Akai should focus on making the MPC OS not feel like an incomplete package, with missing basic features...\nStill waiting on LFO phase adjustment. From an audio programming standpoint, LFO phase shouldn't be a tricky task. There are hell of a lot more advanced features in there than that. I feel like they keep taking ages to update the MPC, and when they do - There are always the same weird quirks and missing features that just makes the track creation process unnecessarily tedious. The note graph is also a pain to work with imolaunch

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June 27, 2022

@Marco-ek8wu

Great presentation by Andy and the keys 61 looks awesome. Seems Akai I have really pulled out the stops on this design and listened to their customers. \nLacks an arranger though - song mode sucks. Which is why many people struggle with the workflow when coming from a pc daw. Needs a NanoStudio 2 type arranger for that touchscreen. \nI’ve got a live 2 and no way I’m parting with it but for a keyboard player who’s into the MPC workflow this is a solid buy. The new instruments are very good but too pricey for the MPC one, live and x to purchase as a bundle.launch

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June 26, 2022

A gigging keyboard player describes sounds cutting off when switching patches on the fly, calling it a dealbreaker for live use and something that needs fixing to compete with major workstation brands.

@narfsounds

If only it could hold more sounds at a time without having to load, this could be my main gigging board. At the moment I take it to my duo gigs where switching sounds quickly isn't something that I'd worry about. The sounds, particularly the electric pianos are good enough to rival the best out there.launch

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December 20, 2022

@DimapicStudio

This could have been the true workstation killer but sadly its not.we are in 2022 and you telling me we still have sounds cutting off. I have two Mpc.I am a keyboard player and would love to take this live but when you need sounds on the fly without cutting off that's a deal breaker for a lot of us musicians.You need to fix this before I can even consider buying this for live use.The sounds are great but you half bake it when it comes to us live players.You need a live performance mode to browse and don't cut off.i love this innovation but you need to fix this if you need to compete with the big kings korg Yamaha e.c.tlaunch

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June 26, 2022

One buyer found only two mono inputs or one stereo input available, making it impossible to record a stereo backing track and vocals simultaneously, and noted a USB mixer was reported incompatible.

@lancerben4551

Just bought an mpc keys 61 and so far I'm totally blown away... But i hit a disappointing limit... You can't record both a stereo backing track and vocals (say you sing to a pre-recorded song karakoe style). As far as I can see there are only two mono inputs or one stereo... In the menu there are 3/4 input but I can't find those. I also have a USB powered mixer Zoom L-8 which the keyboards say\" not compatible\" that would have resolved the issue through a USB input. Hope that eventually gets updated into the firmware.\n\nHave only a single input is disappointing for such a powerhouse of a workstation. Especially given the great vocal effects. I have a tc helicon voicelive play I use for voice enhancement but I may be able to use the onboard effects. But without a backing track that means recording in advance and then loading up the audio which is a pita.launch

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December 24, 2022

A reviewer comparing it to the Kronos notes loading times and the lack of sample streaming as a real trade-off, limiting how many large sample libraries can be loaded at once.

@mrdali67

The loading time is also my main turnoff by this board it does many good things, much of the plugins sound nice and the ui is definetly more intuitive than in eg. the Kronos. but wish it had streaming. It is kind of a trade off. If you have many big projects even the Kronos is streaming you eventually hit the limit of the internal memory for the base footprint of the samples. You cannot have a huge ammount of big sample libraries loaded at once. And loading a new setup on the Kronos takes a couple minutes. I still think the Kronos can do more editing of the instruments and sound engines since you have more buttons and faders/knobs available plus karma scenes combis per program/combi/seq. but it's more cumbersom to set up, and learn how to do that stuff. It really takes some time to be familiar enough with the Kronos that these operations is burned into your memory for each time you have to create Karma scenes .. at least it does to me 😄. If they added Streaming and made a 76 key version with poly aftertouch I might be tempted to switch 😊The physical pads are a big plus. It's not a good live board for touring Keyboards in various bands as it is now and the bugs is just a no go.launch

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December 30, 2022