Akai MPK Road 88 – The road-ready 88-key MIDI keyboard controller
The new Akai MPK Road 88 is the ideal solution for professional touring keyboard players who use a DAW.
The Akai MPK Road 88 features Akai’s exclusive Model-A premium 88-key velocity-sensitive, hammer-action keybed. It features aftertouch, plenty of MIDI I/O via DIN MIDI and USB and even an internal audio interface with four outputs. There is a headphone output on the front, allowing you to cue up sounds in your headphones before sending out to the main system, or use the extra stereo output to send to external effects processors.
The Akai MPK Road 88 features three configurable pedal inputs for sustain, dampen or expression. The package comes with Akai’s VIP3.0, a powerful hands-on system for managing virtual instruments and effects, it also functions as a standalone player for your plugins and allows you to create a variety of useful setups without the need for a DAW, which is fantastic for live use.
Only the essentials…
The Akai MPK Road 88 is designed with professional keyboard players in mind, so it doesn’t have all the knobs and faders that you usually see on MIDI controllers, however it does have a key-split feature, allowing you to trigger two instruments from different registers on the keyboard, and using the mod-wheel and pedal inputs you have the ability to create some pretty playable patches.
The Akai MPK Road 88 is built inside a robust road-ready tour case with carry handle and a removable lid and features a nice platform along the top for your laptop and other external effects and a mixer, taking up minimal space on stage.
The Akai MPK Road 88 is set to retail at USD $899 (Around R12000 excl. duties) which seems expensive however when you compare to other 88-key hammer-action keyboards and the internal interface and robust case, it’s actually a really good deal. I can’t play keys to save my life, but I can appreciate the concept.
For more information check out the Akai website.
[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/zHENLzybOLQ”]
