You've discovered the secret. I've had the Key 61 for a year now and it immediately spoke to me for the exact reason you've mentioned - to be spontane, to not overthink things and just go with that initial thought. I think you have a lot of potential beats in there, especially the first, and that one with the organ and jazzy drums that was really nice. Tell you a lil secret, I have a studio full of synth toys, but they've all gathered dust over the last year because of this "insta-inspiration" box of a workstation. Sure, it has some limitations, but that keeps it real, and not overcomplicated, simple, quick and beautiful - like a snapshot of that inspiration in the moment.
Wow, very helpful feedback- thank you! Its good to know that you have had a similar experience with the Key 61. I love recording studios, technology, etc., but there is a tendency to spend way too much time fiddling with knobs, etc. than making actual music. This kind of brings me way back to the Korg M1 workstation back in the day, except this is of course on a much different level!
@@davidcoate8946 Thats exactly it. Before I got the MPC I bought a Yamaha Montage, super-powerhouse of a synth workstation. but I spent 2 years on it making almost no music, basically just endlessly fiddling with knobs as you said. With the MPC I literally get started like you just making tons of loops which quickly ends up as musical pieces and I actually get something done.
Great Video and right on, 🙏 thanks! I bought a MPC Live II a year ago which l've since sold. As much as the intention was to create full songs I found it great for developing ideas which would then evolve via a DAW with additional tracks etc. The reason I sold it (MPC Live II), was that it felt incomplete to me, ie, no mic input, no keyboard etc, even though I have all that gear snd some!. The MPC Key 61 is exactly what I wanted to come out and it has, yes I'm getting one! This is a great product and tool to capture that initial idea with every thing ready to go without having to connect a bunch of devices together etc. I guess my point is that from a workflow perspective the most important thing is that a device like this should enhance creativity with the least amount of friction between you and your ideas being captured. Drums, Bass, Guitar inst, Mic & Line inputs all in one unit awesome! Thanks again and cool lil riff you got going!
Hello David. So good to meet you 😊. Thank you so much for awesome presentation. Great topic! Cool music demos.....I hope everything is well in Your world 🌎. Mark Bensette Aux Bois 🇨🇦.
This new Akai MPC Key 61 is really amazing, great, there are no limitations in the creation, recording, editing, production,... you don't need anything else, neither computers, nor external instruments, just this wonderful keyboard!
I wonder why all the hate on certain youtuber's videos! August 2023 NEW $1500.00 Demo models, b stock, mint condition units $1100-1300.00 Really, this is a beast of a deal and sounds wonderful! I'm still torn between Korg Nautilus or this! You vide is an example of how easy and fun this kit is! Hoping Akai addresses the hate with a firmware update. (maybe, they have and the haters just made up their mind and don't want to back track). They did that to the Force. So much hate. NOW, so much love after firmware updates! Typical. Great little video. Thanks.
Good question. I'm new to the MPC world so I can't really weigh in on naysayers points of view. I do have a very positive view of this keyboard and really any manufacturer that wants to shake things up in the industry. Full blown keyboard workstations are a thing of the past in some ways which is understandable because most people have DAW's and virtual keyboard plugins. However, there is something magical about the key 61 that is constantly drawing new music out of me. I do think that it is the immediacy of it. I own a commercial studio and there is often endless twiddling of knobs and settings which can put a damper on quickly coming up with great music. In addition, most of the workstations of yesterday have very quirky methods and GUIs, so this is a refreshing reboot of the idea.
This is exactly my dilemma - Korg Nautilis or AKAI Keys 61. TBH, I've read and watched so many videos and online reviews and |am still a bit confused which one to get.
I have the nautilus and though some sounds are great I’ve found it limiting and sometimes complicated on the fact that it still using parameters that seem from the 1980s I wish I had known then about the Akai key 61 and as I would definitely prefer that.
@@edgaba I bought the AKAI and can tell you that I am very satisfied with it. Still learning because it's a whole system of so many features and combinations. However, I will buy the Nautilus too - some time in the future. I am sure both have great points and limitations. I think it all depends on why you need it.
While the Key 61 isn’t great for gigging, it’s great for jumping in and making music on fly. It all boils down to how your mind works. For me, the Key 61 clicks with how I work.
this keyboard is new to me, seems like a good tool, sounds good, is it easy to record separate tracks? I have a Korg triton Extreme which is a bit of a faf, so I dont use it in that way. Yeah it is good to have tools which are easy just to grab and get creative.
Yes, it is fairly straightforward to record separate tracks, although I was completely new to the MPC workflow and it took awhile to get used to it. Its a bit different than the stacked linear tracks of a computer DAW, but it makes sense given the size of the touchscreen. There are certain aspects of the Key 61 which are better thought out than computer DAWs.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily say the AKAI is better thought out than DAWs. After all, I run a commercial studio and the hub is Studio One running on dual touchscreens. However, sometimes tools like the Key 61 cause a different kind of musical inspiration. As a musician primarily, I would like to spend the vast majority of time on music, not twiddling with cables, computer settings, etc. so the AKAI excels on that point. Everything is in the keyboard, so you can throw it in case and off you go. That doesn't work too well with a DAW even if on a laptop. Speaking of laptops, a few years ago someone tripped over mine on stage and the entire show went down. Of course that might happen with the AKAI, but it is far less likely. There's actually a very long list of benefits. Hope this helps....@@MrAntonioTech
Love it! I think they are great ideas and obviously you are more musical than the majority of beat makers. I think this keyboard and any MpC for that matter is a tool that can work as part of a song per say and with the addition of what seems to be great sound plugins I think Akai is doing the right thing and Korg should probably pay attention as Their Nautilus having a 16 track audio recorder lacks XLR inputs and is very limited on editing even on MiDI with the inmisión of a piano roll. You’re musical ideas I think are awesome and your comments of the ability to just flow with this keyboard and unblocking the writers block is awesome. I e been watching many videos about this MPC keys 61 and I have to admit I have the itch to buy one. Could you tell me is there anything about it that you find frustrating?
So glad you can relate to this! I think that the larger subject area is what kind of things do you find help to move your musical ideas forward? In tis case, it is a keyboard (Key 61), but there are all sorts of ruts that hold all musicians back to some degree. To reiterate, for some reason, this keyboard has clicked with me because of how quickly ideas come together. Part of this is not to be judgemental of your own music and not stress over making things perfect! In terms of frustrating things, I would say that 1) I had no knowledge of the MPC ecosystem at all, so you have to be patient in learning that system. 2) quirky things like how sounds are assigned to tracks vs. how drums are assigned to tracks. 3) It's "beat maker centric" which is cool, but it should be easier to get to templates with a drum groove already assigned to a project file. 4) It's not set up well for styles outside of R&B/hip hop, but there are def. workarounds such as in my Stevie Wonder cover, "Isn't She Lovely." There's probably more than this, but I have had many of the Korg and Yamaha workstations over the years and this is definitely the best all in one system that I have found. The best thing is that you can just take it on the road for a live gig and run loops and play live keyboard parts on top of that!
You've discovered the secret. I've had the Key 61 for a year now and it immediately spoke to me for the exact reason you've mentioned - to be spontane, to not overthink things and just go with that initial thought. I think you have a lot of potential beats in there, especially the first, and that one with the organ and jazzy drums that was really nice.
Tell you a lil secret, I have a studio full of synth toys, but they've all gathered dust over the last year because of this "insta-inspiration" box of a workstation. Sure, it has some limitations, but that keeps it real, and not overcomplicated, simple, quick and beautiful - like a snapshot of that inspiration in the moment.
Wow, very helpful feedback- thank you! Its good to know that you have had a similar experience with the Key 61. I love recording studios, technology, etc., but there is a tendency to spend way too much time fiddling with knobs, etc. than making actual music. This kind of brings me way back to the Korg M1 workstation back in the day, except this is of course on a much different level!
@@davidcoate8946 Thats exactly it. Before I got the MPC I bought a Yamaha Montage, super-powerhouse of a synth workstation. but I spent 2 years on it making almost no music, basically just endlessly fiddling with knobs as you said.
With the MPC I literally get started like you just making tons of loops which quickly ends up as musical pieces and I actually get something done.
Great Video and right on, 🙏 thanks!
I bought a MPC Live II a year ago which l've since sold. As much as the intention was to create full songs I found it great for developing ideas which would then evolve via a DAW with additional tracks etc.
The reason I sold it (MPC Live II), was that it felt incomplete to me, ie, no mic input, no keyboard etc, even though I have all that gear snd some!.
The MPC Key 61 is exactly what I wanted to come out and it has, yes I'm getting one!
This is a great product and tool to capture that initial idea with every thing ready to go without having to connect a bunch of devices together etc. I guess my point is that from a workflow perspective the most important thing is that a device like this should enhance creativity with the least amount of friction between you and your ideas being captured.
Drums, Bass, Guitar inst, Mic & Line inputs all in one unit awesome!
Thanks again and cool lil riff you got going!
Hello David. So good to meet you 😊. Thank you so much for awesome presentation. Great topic! Cool music demos.....I hope everything is well in Your world 🌎. Mark Bensette Aux Bois 🇨🇦.
Thank you Mark
This new Akai MPC Key 61 is really amazing, great, there are no limitations in the creation, recording, editing, production,... you don't need anything else, neither computers, nor external instruments, just this wonderful keyboard!
I wonder why all the hate on certain youtuber's videos! August 2023 NEW $1500.00 Demo models, b stock, mint condition units $1100-1300.00 Really, this is a beast of a deal and sounds wonderful! I'm still torn between Korg Nautilus or this! You vide is an example of how easy and fun this kit is! Hoping Akai addresses the hate with a firmware update. (maybe, they have and the haters just made up their mind and don't want to back track). They did that to the Force. So much hate. NOW, so much love after firmware updates! Typical. Great little video. Thanks.
Good question. I'm new to the MPC world so I can't really weigh in on naysayers points of view. I do have a very positive view of this keyboard and really any manufacturer that wants to shake things up in the industry. Full blown keyboard workstations are a thing of the past in some ways which is understandable because most people have DAW's and virtual keyboard plugins. However, there is something magical about the key 61 that is constantly drawing new music out of me. I do think that it is the immediacy of it. I own a commercial studio and there is often endless twiddling of knobs and settings which can put a damper on quickly coming up with great music. In addition, most of the workstations of yesterday have very quirky methods and GUIs, so this is a refreshing reboot of the idea.
This is exactly my dilemma - Korg Nautilis or AKAI Keys 61. TBH, I've read and watched so many videos and online reviews and |am still a bit confused which one to get.
I have the nautilus and though some sounds are great I’ve found it limiting and sometimes complicated on the fact that it still using parameters that seem from the 1980s I wish I had known then about the Akai key 61 and as I would definitely prefer that.
@@edgaba I bought the AKAI and can tell you that I am very satisfied with it. Still learning because it's a whole system of so many features and combinations. However, I will buy the Nautilus too - some time in the future. I am sure both have great points and limitations. I think it all depends on why you need it.
While the Key 61 isn’t great for gigging, it’s great for jumping in and making music on fly. It all boils down to how your mind works. For me, the Key 61 clicks with how I work.
this keyboard is new to me, seems like a good tool, sounds good, is it easy to record separate tracks? I have a Korg triton Extreme which is a bit of a faf, so I dont use it in that way. Yeah it is good to have tools which are easy just to grab and get creative.
Yes, it is fairly straightforward to record separate tracks, although I was completely new to the MPC workflow and it took awhile to get used to it. Its a bit different than the stacked linear tracks of a computer DAW, but it makes sense given the size of the touchscreen. There are certain aspects of the Key 61 which are better thought out than computer DAWs.
@@davidcoate8946Can you please list a few of the things you think are better thought out on the AKAI than in the computer DAWS?
Well, I wouldn't necessarily say the AKAI is better thought out than DAWs. After all, I run a commercial studio and the hub is Studio One running on dual touchscreens. However, sometimes tools like the Key 61 cause a different kind of musical inspiration. As a musician primarily, I would like to spend the vast majority of time on music, not twiddling with cables, computer settings, etc. so the AKAI excels on that point. Everything is in the keyboard, so you can throw it in case and off you go. That doesn't work too well with a DAW even if on a laptop. Speaking of laptops, a few years ago someone tripped over mine on stage and the entire show went down. Of course that might happen with the AKAI, but it is far less likely. There's actually a very long list of benefits. Hope this helps....@@MrAntonioTech
@@davidcoate8946 I see your point, thanks.
Love it! I think they are great ideas and obviously you are more musical than the majority of beat makers. I think this keyboard and any MpC for that matter is a tool that can work as part of a song per say and with the addition of what seems to be great sound plugins I think Akai is doing the right thing and Korg should probably pay attention as Their Nautilus having a 16 track audio recorder lacks XLR inputs and is very limited on editing even on MiDI with the inmisión of a piano roll. You’re musical ideas I think are awesome and your comments of the ability to just flow with this keyboard and unblocking the writers block is awesome. I e been watching many videos about this MPC keys 61 and I have to admit I have the itch to buy one. Could you tell me is there anything about it that you find frustrating?
So glad you can relate to this! I think that the larger subject area is what kind of things do you find help to move your musical ideas forward? In tis case, it is a keyboard (Key 61), but there are all sorts of ruts that hold all musicians back to some degree. To reiterate, for some reason, this keyboard has clicked with me because of how quickly ideas come together. Part of this is not to be judgemental of your own music and not stress over making things perfect! In terms of frustrating things, I would say that 1) I had no knowledge of the MPC ecosystem at all, so you have to be patient in learning that system. 2) quirky things like how sounds are assigned to tracks vs. how drums are assigned to tracks. 3) It's "beat maker centric" which is cool, but it should be easier to get to templates with a drum groove already assigned to a project file. 4) It's not set up well for styles outside of R&B/hip hop, but there are def. workarounds such as in my Stevie Wonder cover, "Isn't She Lovely." There's probably more than this, but I have had many of the Korg and Yamaha workstations over the years and this is definitely the best all in one system that I have found. The best thing is that you can just take it on the road for a live gig and run loops and play live keyboard parts on top of that!