APC Mini MK2 - USB MIDI Pad Controller for Clip Launching with Ableton Live Lite, 64 RGB Pads, Drum and Note Mode and MIDI Mixer

AKAI have done well with this. It is cheap and yet feels a fraction more robust than the previous model. The sliders are a touch more "smooth" The RGB pads are also great so you do not get "Lost" in the 64 pad matrix. I was thinking of knocking off a star or two for two reasons (but then I remembered that most people will buy this for working with Ableton). I did try it quickly with Ableton and it is a great budget midi controller with super portability. However, we use MIDI controllers for many purposes and so the documentation is important. We have 8 of the old APC pro mini and they have served well, mainly as midi controllers for our lighting suite for small to medium events. We have had three failures on the old controllers (all USB connector problems). We have resoldered in one which is holding up. It is now pretty difficult to find NEW Mk1s and so we looked at many midi controllers from £50 to £1000. For our purpose there was really only this one that ticked the boxes we needed. We needed to paginate the controller, to have at least 8 rotaries or sliders and be able to map main pages that are 6 by 5 with extra pad control available. For around £100 with a case, these are great value. When I unboxed this one, it feels and looks a tad better than its predecessor. Sadly it is also a little bigger and so we have to get more cases but that is small beer. I "assumed" which was very silly of me that this would be a simple plug and play with the same basic coding to the previous model and that we could get the RGB colours sorted afterwards. Sadly this is not the case. The documentation is not complete and so you have to guess at some of the coding and we will be making a quick youtube and making a spreadsheet of eh coding available shortly. The main 64 pad centre has the same note keys and the sliders are 100% compatible to the Mk1. The bottom and right side small pads have different notes and so we had to remap those before starting. The default brightness is the dimmest and very much TOO dim for a normally lit workplace. The colours are a prescribed list of 127 and there is documentation on the RGB codes for each value but no help on teh actual colours. Unless you are well versed in reading RGB hex codes then you might need a side list to indicate roughly what each code represents as a colour. We do read HEX and RGB but even then the documentation was painful to go back and forth. We are fortunate in that we can fully control our midi control stream and feedback to the mid controller and so almost 24 hours later we can see how to get this controller to light up on bighter settings, but for those using it as plug and play they might have a bit more difficulty or they might simply not know that actually the pads are much brighter. One other worry is the USB connector. They are of course a weak point for portable equipment but they have been more problematic on the old controllers. It looks like the actual connector on the new boards is the same. An old school USB 4 connector that does not quite go in all the way. We will wait and see if my fears are out of place and of course we will be taking extra care of that bit. Overall, this a a great piece of kit and we will buy another 8 to upgrade all our MK1s. If you are considering it as an entry into using a midi controller with Ableton or some of the DJ software then it is stunning and you should be using it within seconds of unboxing. If you need to customize the MIDI then look for our documentation supplement as AKAIs is woeful. If you are upgrading from MK1 to MK2 note that you WILL have to remap the outer pads and do something about the velocity and value settings. Have fun and make music, lighting or whatever.

This has been a really useful Controller for me using Ableton. I liked the easy of use and especially the touch controls when performing. They are easy to assign in Ableton. Would definitely recommend but with alternatives out there, it’s worth reviewing what your actual needs are. I prefer this over some of the other Akai controllers but that’s down to how I like to use Ableton.

Works as well as the Mk1, but with 100's of added assignable colours, which makes button identification so much easier

I bought this to interface with ableton live 12. It is impressive value for money and mostly suits me well. I already had an apc25 mk2 which worked well and I expected the apc64 to replace. Unfortunately it doesn't. I've found the sensitivity of touch pads to be disappointing they are nothing like as good as the keys on the apc25. Even with light touch selected in app the I have to press far too hard to get maximum velocity. I've wasted 3 days using the several live Midi effects to try to compensate but without a satisfactory result. I'm now using the apc25 together with the apc64 and this is a very powerful setup which I would recommend as the best solution to the problem but I'm still quite limited in the way I use key and chord on the apc64 without satisfactory velocity sensitivity. Since writing the above I've found that the velocity tool in Kontakt 8 does work to give fair sensitivity but not as good as my apc25. Probably good enough for drums but not the more delicate touch needed for melody I'm guessing that in the end the quality of the pads is the issue

Does what i need. Those mini faders really are perfect for me. One thing annoys me. The faders when pushed up are +6db in Ableton live so i need to add utility on every channel with -6db as default. Other than that it’s worth buying. I also like how I can switch the pads to drum rack or note very easily

Would of been 5 stars but was really hard to set up and get sound coming out,also listed as a sequencer but not really a sequencer ,although it is fun to use

Very good! Works fine with Ableton live.

La Akai APC Mini MK2 è stata uno degli acquisti migliori che ho fatto per il mio setup. L’ho presa per controllare Ableton Live e per l’uso con QLC+ per gestire le luci, e fa esattamente quello che promette, anche di più. Compatta ma robusta, si trasporta facilmente nello zaino senza paura di romperla. I 64 pad retroilluminati RGB sono reattivi e ben visibili anche in situazioni di poca luce, utilissimi per il live. Perfetta integrazione con Ableton Live, si configura in un attimo ed è subito pronta per il controllo delle clip. Funziona benissimo anche su QLC+ per mappare banchi fader e scene per le luci, migliorando la gestione live in serate ed eventi. Prezzo onesto per le funzionalità offerte, un ottimo compromesso tra qualità e portabilità. Conclusioni: Se cerchi un controller MIDI affidabile, compatto e versatile per Ableton Live o per controllare luci e scene in modo intuitivo, la Akai APC Mini MK2 è consigliatissima. È diventata subito parte integrante del mio setup, rendendo le performance più fluide e professionali

Loving the APC64 so far. It feels solid, the RGB pads are super responsive, and it just works right out of the box with Ableton. The built-in step sequencer is a game changer for live sets and jamming. Touch strips took a little getting used to, but now I’m hooked. Also love that I can hook it up to my modular gear with the CV outputs. Overall, great buy—makes producing and performing way more fun.

Works very well on an Avolites lighting desk. Also usable on my PC with an Avolites T2 interface to control or design a light show.

What can I say, it works as it should.