Update your Mac to macOS Mojave 10.14 for full support. The included MPC 2.0 software is supported on macOS Mojave 10.14 without the need for additional software or driver updates from Akai. MPK Mini MKII. Supported Software. The following apps are supported for use with iOS 12. The latest software version is required.
The MPK Mini MKII is a class-compliant MIDI device. A class-compliant device is one that doesn't require extra drivers to connect your Windows or Macintosh computer. Class-compliant devices use drivers which are built into the host (i.e. The computer) operating system. Begin by connecting the MPK Mini MKII to a free USB port on your computer. Aprende a mapear los pads del akai mpk mini usando el akai editor, si tienes alguna pregunta dejame saber en los comentarios. Descargar akai editor: Windows. Mac OS X - Problems with MIDI devices after an update Converting Vinyl and Tape to your computer with Audacity Akai Pro MPK mini MKII - Editor: What You Need to Know ION Audio Job Rocker - FAQ and Troubleshooting Troubleshooting USB MIDI devices on Mac Virtual DJ 8. Akai Professional Mpk Mini Drivers For Mac Rating: 4,9/5 3117 reviews Compact Keyboard and Pad VIP Controller Experience expanded control of your VST instrument and effect collection with MPK Mini MKII and Akai Pro VIP3.0 (Free Download Included a $99.99 value).
AKAI’s MPC sampler and sequencer hardware was pivotal in creating the sound of much 90s hip hop and while its large workstations remain popular, the company has more recently turned its attentions to creating a more portable range of MIDI controllers. The MPK Mini Mk 3 is the very latest and it’s fair to say it packs a great deal of punch into an incredibly portable package. Not only that, the bundled software and price make it sorely tempting not only for beat-makers but for anyone who wants an on-the-go controller with a bunch of cool features too.
Mini Marvel
The unit itself is very well built but feels portable enough to carry easily alongside a laptop. Power and data are carried over a single USB cable - a USB-A to USB-C cable is supplied - and on the rear there’s also a sustain pedal input, which is a nice inclusion for such a compact controller. The red and black livery immediately identify it as a member of the AKAI family (three colour schemes are available). The keybed is a newly designed “second generation” type and the 25 keys offer a good deal more responsiveness than you might expect for their size. Small keys are never going to let you play piano concertos all that expressively, but for the kinds of performance you’re likely to be doing here, they are more than adequate.
Making Beats
You download the MPK Mini Manager app to register and manage your downloaded software, of which more later. The hardware is class compliant so there are no drivers to worry about, and although it’s designed specifically to work seamlessly with the MPC Beats software, there are also a number of DAW modes that you can activate for Logic, Live and more by pressing a button combo. It’s not entirely clear at the time of writing exactly how controls are mapped across from the hardware to the chosen DAW when you do this. Obviously the basic stuff like keys, arp and pads still trigger notes, and there’s a program editor app where you can build custom MIDI setups pretty easily using CCs and values of your own, so it’s very customisable. Still, a little more clarity about DAW mapping would be welcome.
There’s a new OLED display that gives you visual feedback about the CCs, program selection and other parameters that you are working with and this is a great help with keeping up with your movements. This being an MPK, you get 8 backlit performance pads with note repeat and full level functions for creating the kinds of beats and sequences that AKAI is known for. There are also 8 endless rotary knobs that can be assigned in any MIDI software and also have secondary functions related to the arpeggiator and keyboard like swing, octave, sync, latch and more.
Dive Deep
Speaking of control, the Mk3 makes good use of secondary functions across its keyboard as well. Each note is labelled with a quantize or swing value or one of a selection of other settings. These fairly quickly become second nature to work with during performance or recording. Another cool performance feature is the omnidirectional joystick for pitch bend or other CC changes that saves space in comparison to an actual pitch bend wheel. The Pad Control section contains buttons for program changes, bank A/B selection and more. A quick read of the getting started guide when you’re getting up and running will familiarise you with the operation of these, after which they are pretty easy to work with. The performance experience overall is very good, and you’re able to get maximum creativity and control out of an incredibly compact unit, whether you’re playing simple sequences or getting involved in more advanced, pad and arp-based programming.
In Practice
Performing beats, notes, rolls, melodies and sequences from the hardware is accessible and fun, and it’s most at home when connected to AKAI’s bundled MPC Beats software running on your Mac or PC. Compatible with many of AKAI’s controllers, this lets you record and edit samples and of course sequence and mix, plus it can load VST and AU plug-ins as well as being available itself as a plug-in inside your DAW of choice. As with any DAW it has its own layout and workflow but it does really reward being paired with the MK3, designed as they are to work seamlessly together. It’s very much geared towards making beats and loops and could of course be the heart of your production setup, irrespective of any other DAWs you may own. If on the other hand you are heavily invested in Logic or Cubase for example, you can run it as a plug-in. There’s the flexibility to work in either way.
Bundled Goodies
Focusing for a moment on a scenario where your primary setup is the MPK and the Beats software, you’re still going to need some sounds to work with. Luckily there’s a generous software bundle, downloaded and managed via the companion MPK app. You get the “Complete Music Production Starter Kit” which as well as the Beats DAW features AIR’s Hybrid synth, Mini Grand piano and Velvet electric piano as well as a number of MPC Expansion packs. All of these are usable in any DAW too. So you get a great selection of sound sources as well as a DAW, all as you would expect targeted towards beat-making.
Conclusion
The MPK Mini MK3 is an excellent MIDI controller that incorporates the essence of MPC-based performance and control into an incredibly compact and portable unit. Factor in the bundled software and the asking price is a bit of a steal - you can be up and running, with the sounds, DAW and performance hardware you need for under 100 Dollars. For anyone looking to get into beat-making without spending a fortune it’s a fantastic option. For those just after a MIDI controller it’s still a great choice, though to get the most out of it you’ll likely want to pair it with the MPC Beats software.
Price: US MAP // 99USD, UK MSRP // 89.99GBP, Euro MSRP // 99.99€
Pros: Very compact and well built. The legendary MPC pads. DAW modes. Sustain pedal input. Surprisingly responsive keybed. Great performance features. Generous software bundle. Very attractively priced.
Cons: Mapping to third party DAWs could be a little clearer in terms of what gets mapped by default.
Web: https://www.akaipro.com/mpk-mini-mk3
The MPK mini mkII is an ultra-compact controller designed for the traveling musician and desktop producer. In this guide and video, we cover setup with the MPK mini mkII with the included MPC Essentials software and the AIR Hybrid plugin. We walk through downloading, installing, and authorizing the software and how to quickly get up and running and making music.
Guide Contents
Video Walkthrough
Akai Pro MPK mini MKII – How to Download, Install and Setup the Included Software (Mac Overview)
Akai Pro MPK mini MKII – How to Download, Install and Setup the Included Software (Windows Overview)
Driver Installation
The MPK Mini MKII is a class-compliant MIDI device. A class-compliant device is one that doesn't require extra drivers to connect your Windows or Macintosh computer. Class-compliant devices use drivers which are built into the host (i.e. the computer) operating system.
- Begin by connecting the MPK Mini MKII to a free USB port on your computer. We recommend going into the back of your computer, as this is closest to the power supply. This will provide the most power necessary to the controller for optimum performance.
- After connecting the controller to your computer, Windows will install the driver necessary for the MPK Mini MKII to communicate with your computer.
Registration
1. Launch your web browser and go to www.akaipro.com.
2. Go to the top right-hand corner of the web site and click on Sign In, you will be prompted to a new page to either Create a New Account or Sign In.
3. If you are a new customer, click on Create an account or Sign In if you are a previous customer.
Fill out the necessary information to register as a new user and click Create Account. The minimum length of the password must be equal or greater than 8 symbols.
4. You have successfully made an account! Click on your name at the top right-hand corner of the website and you will see a drop-down menu. Select My Account.
5. On the left-hand side of your Account page you should see My Dashboard. Go to the bottom of this section and select My Registered Products.
6. This is where you register your new Akai controller. Please make sure that you are entering the complete serial number as it appears on the bottom or back of your product. The serial number will be located on a bar code and will begin with a “(21).”Please be sure to include the “(21)” when entering your serial number. Neglecting the '(21)' and failing to capitalize the 'A' will result in a rejected serial number. If you are entering the parentheses around the (21) and the product is still not registering, try clearing the cache in your web browser and try again. Select Register Product to complete registration.
7. You have successfully registered your Akai controller! All of your registered products will show up under Product Registrations. Scroll down in your Registration Page to see all of your available Software Downloads.
Downloading, Installing and Unlocking MPC Essentials
After successfully registering the controller, you will be presented with the serial numbers and download links for MPC Essentials, Hybrid 3, and Wobble. To download, install and unlock MPC Essentials:[
1. Select MPC Essentials 1.8.2 (PC) or MPC Essentials 1.8.2 (Mac) depending on your operating system. This will download as a file called Update-MPC-Essentials-1.8.2. Save this zip folder to your desktop.
2. After the download is complete, you will need to extract the files before installation. To do this, right-click on the Update-MPC-Essentials-1.8.2-WIN on your desktop and select Extract All.
By default, the program that is used to unzip files in your computer should be Windows Explorer.
Follow this link for additional information on how to extract files on Windows operating systems:
3. After the files are extracted, go into the Update-MPC-Essentials-1.8.2-WIN folder and select the Installer Assets folder. Select the Install_mpc. application to run the setup for MPC Essentials.The software may notify you that a previous version of MPC has not been installed.
4. Follow all of the prompts to proceed with the installation. Important: While some MPC Essentials products do require drivers, this one will not. Please ignore any prompts to install drivers.
5. After the installation is completed, you will be prompted to unlock your software. Select Unlock Now to continue.
To unlock the software, make sure you're entering the serial number for MPC Essentials found within your Akai Professional account. This will be a 15-digit code containing a mixture of capital letters and numbers, preceded with a '(21)'. Do not use the serial number on the back of your product.
6. You will want to make sure you're entering this number exactly as it appears in your account. To make the process easier, we recommend copy/pasting the code from your account into the software. Fill in the rest of the information and select Unlock Now.
After this, you will see a box saying you've successfully unlocked your MPC!
Congratulations, you have successfully installed the latest version of MPC Essentials!
Installing Hybrid and Wobble
1. Return to your Akai Professional account, and select AIR Hybrid (PC) to download Hybrid. Repeat with the download link for Wobble to download Wobble. The license for each plugin will be located on the right-hand side of the download.
2. After the download is complete, we will need to extract the files before installation. To do this, right-click on the zip folder and select Extract All... . Make sure you remember this location so we can retrieve it afterward.
After the file is extracted, select Hybrid_3.0.7_Setup to run the installer for your plugin.
Follow all of the prompts to proceed with the installation.
Hybrid Installer :
Wobble Installer :
3. For Windows users, pay attention to the location where the 32 and 64-bit Hybrid and Wobble are being installed. You will need to know this later on in order to scan the plugins into MPC Essentials. By default, these will install to:
Hybrid
32-bit: Program Files(x86) / Steinberg / vstplugins
64-bit: Program Files / Steinberg / vstplugins
Wobble
32-bit and 64-bit: Program Files (x86)SONiVOXVST
4. It is common practice to put all of your plugins into a single folder in order to keep track of your plugin library, so you may want to consider changing the install location of one or both of the plugins to a single location. Note: It is ok to install both 32 and 64-bit versions to the same folder, but be aware that your DAW will only be able to recognize one and may fail the other.
5. Restart your computer once the plugins have been installed.
Authorizing Hybrid and Wobble
Before scanning and opening the plugins in MPC Essentials, authorize Hybrid and Wobble with the iLok License Manager:
1. If you do not have an Ilok account, make sure to go to ilok.com and click on Create Free Account. Fill out all of the necessary fields in the Free Account Setup page and select Create Account.
2. Once you have created your account, go back to the home page of the web site, you will find the License Support Installers. Download the appropriate installer for your operating system.
3. After installing the application, find and open the iLok License Manager from your Programs or Applications folder.
4. Click on Sign-In in the top left corner. If you have used iLok before with other products and have an account, sign-in to your account.
Please note: We recommend using an iLok account. Signing in is not always necessary to utilize an iLok license, but having and using an account to keep track of your licenses is free and provides additional features and options for managing and moving your licenses when necessary. You can see our Managing Authorization Codes and Licenses guide for more information.
5. Once you are logged in, click on Licenses at the top of the window and choose Redeem Activation Code.
A window will appear with space for you to enter an authorization code.
6. Navigate to your Akai Pro account page, highlight and copy the Authorization Code for Hybrid. Paste this code into the first box on the left and the code will fill out the remaining fields. When you're ready, click Next. Repeat this process when authorizing the Wobble plugin.
7. You will be prompted to choose a location for your license. You are free to choose an iLok dongle if you have one, but for most users, just choose your computer (this will be the option with the computer icon on the left) and click Activate.
8. You will be asked to confirm this one more time. Click Activate.
Finally, iLok will notify you when the activation is complete!
This process (steps 3 - 8) can be repeated for any other plugins that utilize an iLok license.
Scanning Hybrid and Wobble into MPC Essentials
1.Open MPC Essentials and navigate to the Preferences menu.
MAC: Select MPC > Preferences
PC: Select EDIT > Preferences
Choose the Plugins tab.
2. Add a check to the first available box on the left, then click on the browse box at the end of that row to browse to your plugin installation location.
3. To scan for the Hybrid plugin, click on the drop-down menu to browse and then select your C:[Hard Drive], double click on Program Files (not Program Files (X86,) double click on your Steinberg folder, and finally click on VSTpluginsonce and press Open on the bottom right-hand corner of the window.
In order to scan the second folder in MPC Essentials for Wobble, go back to the Plugins tab in the Preferences window and repeat steps 1 & 2 on the next empty field.
To scan for the Wobble plugin, click on the drop-down menu to browse and then select your C:[Hard Drive], double click on Program Files (x86,) double click on your SONiVOX folder, double click on the VST folder, and finally click on SONiVOXonce and press Open on the bottom right-hand corner of the window.
Hybrid
32-bit: Program Files(x86) / Steinberg / vstplugins
64-bit: Program Files / Steinberg / vstplugins
Wobble
32 & 64 bit : Program Files (x86) / SONiVOX / vstplugins / SONiVOX / VST
4. Click on Rescan All, allow the MPC Essentials software to scan all plugins in the selected location and then press OK.
Opening Plugins in MPC Essentials
1. First, navigate to the Preferences menu, find the MIDI tab and check off the box next to your MIDI controller (i.e. your MPK Mini MKII). This will tell the software to listen to incoming midi data from that device.
2. Exit the Preferences window and go to the center of the MPC Essentials software, to the right of the pads, you'll find your Sequence section. Click on the drop-down menu next to Typeand change it to Plugin.
3. You will then see a drop-down menu labeled Plugin. Click on this menu to browse for your VST plugins.
4. To open Hybrid or Wobble, click on the '+' next to VST to view your available VST plugins. Drop down the AIR Music Technology folder to open Hybrid, or the SONiVOX folder to open Wobble. You can load either of these plugins by double-clicking on them or clicking on them once then the Select button on the bottom right.
5. To view the plugin interface (GUI) and change sounds, click on the 'E'
button next to the Plugin drop-down menu.
Do not change plugin presets from the preset drop down in MPC Essentials.
Hybrid GUI :
Wobble GUI :
And that's it! You are ready to make some noise with Hybrid and your MPK Mini MKII.
Akai Mpk Mini Driver Pc
Installing MPC Expansions
Expansion packs are samples that are organized into drum kits. They’re formatted specifically for MPC and can be quickly loaded to trigger from the MPK’s pads.
1. To install an Expansion, open your Akai account and scroll to the Software Download section. Under MPC Essentials Sound Libraries you’ll see Elements of UK Dance, Elements of House and Elements of Dystopia.
2. Click on Elements of UK Dance to download the installer packet.
3. Once the download completes, go to your Download folder. Mac users can double-click on the zip file to extract the installer. PC users, right-click on the zip file and select Extract All.
4. Once the file extracts, double-click the installer for your OS.
Mac users should select the DMG file.
PC users can run the Setup Application.
5. Follow the prompts to complete the installation. By default, The Expansion will install in the MPC content folder which will be automatically added to the MPC Essentials Browser. But, more on that to come!
6. For now, repeat this same process for Elements of House and Elements of Dystopia.
Akai Mpk Mini Drivers For Mac Catalina
Loading an MPC Expansion to a Drum Program
Expansions are automatically added to the Browser during installation and can be easily loaded to a Drum Program.
1. First, make sure that your Program type is set to Drum.
2. Open the Browser by clicking the X icon at the bottom left of the screen.
3. Each Expansion pack is represented by a thumbnail image. Click the thumbnail to view its contents.
4. To add a sample, program or sequence to your Drum Program click on the file and drag-and-drop it into the software. Keep in mind, samples will need to be dropped on to a specific pad.
What's Next?
- Downloading, Installing and Using the Sample Content - Also included with your MPK mini MKII are three content packs full samples and loops to help you get started producing beats and making music! Check out this guide for a full introduction and walkthrough.
- Difficulty Loading Wobble and Hybrid 3 in MPC Essentials - Having trouble getting Hybrid and Wobble to appear in Essentials? The plugins aren't coming up when you scan for them? This guide walks through this process more in-depth, pointing out common misconceptions and how to overcome them. If you're feeling lost, this guide will point you in the right direction.
- AIR Hybrid Overview and Tutorial Videos - Want to learn more about how Hybrid works? Check out these videos!
- MPK Mini MKII Knowledge Base - Find more guides and tutorials on using your MPK Mini and MPC Essentials here!
Further Technical Support
Whether you are a customer or dealer, if you already own an Akai Pro product, or if you just have pre-sales questions, the Akai Pro technical support team is available to help!
Visit the link below to connect with any of the following support options: online community support, phone support, email support.