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Akai Professional
Akai Professional provides today’s musicians with cutting-edge tools that push the boundaries of contemporary production and performance. Even after revolutionizing the industry with the MPC over thirty-five years ago, Akai Pro still stands at the forefront of digital technology and remains one of the most influential manufacturers of musical equipment. Since then, Akai Pro has expanded its product line to include advanced keyboard controllers, new members from the MPC family, and a series of Ableton Live controllers.
Akai Professional audio production equipment
Akai Professional changed the game when they released the all-in-one Music Production Center (MPC) sequencing sampler back in 1988, and they’ve continued to stand at the forefront of the music production scene with their incredible lineup of controllers, workstations, and MIDI sequencers. If you’re looking for cutting-edge tools to change the way you produce music, Akai Professional has the gear you need!
Akai Professional keyboard controllers and workstations
Take Akai’s already-amazing hardware, add a full keyboard, and you get some of the most intuitive keyboard controllers and workstations on the market. Akai Pro keyboard controllers and workstations are designed to bring a full suite of music production equipment straight to your fingertips.
The Akai Professional MPC controllers have been at the forefront of music production for decades. And the latest generation is the best yet! The Akai MPC Key 61 has everything you need to start making hit after hit in one amazing package. This top-of-the-line keyboard features 61 semi-weighted keys, 16 velocity-sensitive touchpads, assignable touch strip controller, a huge seven-inch display, and much more to take your music production to places its never gone before!
If a 61-key keyboard is too big for your workspace, Akai Professional makes keyboards in all different sizes, including 37-key and 25-key models — all of which feature all sorts of tools designed to easily work with your live performance software of choice. There’s an Akai Pro keyboard controller for any musical need!
Akai Pro sampling pad-based workstations
Touchpads, sliders, and control knobs — oh my! Akai Professional groove boxes and MIDI sequencers are designed to be all-in-one music production packages. They bring all the features and tools of a massive studio console and jam it into a compact and intuitive interface for all your musical needs.
Whether you want to grab samples from the world around you with up to 48 GB of internal memory or utilize the entire MPC plugin instrument collection, Akai Professional sampling workstations bring hundreds of effect plugins and features to your studio setup.
They’re called “Standalone Music Production Centers” for a reason!
Akai Pro performance controllers
There’s no doubt that Akai Professional workstations are the “cream of the crop” when it comes to audio production. But what if you want just a controller to manage your favorite live software, like Ableton Live or Serato? Akai Professional performance controllers are ready for the challenge!
Filled with touchpads, faders, and control knobs, Akai Pro control surfaces can handle any and all situations you can throw their way. Many are designed to work with specific software, like Ableton Live, while others can integrate with your software of choice. No matter which Akai Professional control surface you choose, feel confident that you’ll be ready for any musical situation either on stage or in the studio.
History of Akai Professional
The story of Akai Professional goes all the way back to 1946. Initially, the company was founded in Japan as Akai Electric Company Ltd., manufacturing all sorts of electronic goods like washing machines and clothes dryers, televisions, and air conditioners.
In 1984, Akai decided to take their electrical knowledge to the music production space and created a brand-new division called Akai Professional that specialized in electronic instruments. The first Akai Pro products were a 12-channel mixer and recorder called the MG1212 that ran on VHS-like tapes. They also quickly released a few analog synthesizers and digital samplers.
The real gamechanger came with the release of the MPC series in 1988. The Akai MPC was one of the first music workstations on the market. They allowed musicians to control nearly every aspect of the music production process with one controller. They could be played like a traditional instrument like a keyboard or drum set (with touchpads), but the rhythms and sounds could use samples or recorded sound, not just percussion noises.
The Akai MPC series had a huge effect on electronic and hip-hop music going into the 1990s and beyond. It made sampling much easier than before, leading to innovative new techniques used in all sorts of musical genres. The MPC touchpad interface also became industry standard in the live music production world.
In 1999, Akai Professional separated from Akai and became a separate independent business. And in 2005, Akai Professional was purchased by an American business owner and became a part of inMusic Brands, which also owns Alesis, Denon DJ, HeadRush, M-Audio, Rane, and a few other popular musical equipment manufacturers. It’s no longer associated with the original Akai company.
Despite its rather strange breakup with its original parent company, Akai Professional continues to produce game-changing music production equipment. They started with the purpose of giving artists the tools they need to express and explore new musical possibilities, and they’ve never lost sight of that goal.
If you want to take your music production to the next level, check out one of Akai Professional’s innovative controllers, workstations, or sequencers. You never know where it’ll take you!
