Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm a full-time student at a university, and on the side I like to make music--so I'm not doing anything huge here. I was looking at budget MIDI/USB controllers a couple months ago--and I came across the Akai Professional MPK Mini 25-Key Ultra-Portable USB MIDI Keyboard Controller. I was about to get it, but I saw people saying that the pads had a somewhat bad hit detection. After looking at some videos I confirmed this to be true, but there was also an easy fix for it (the electrical tape fix). After more research I saw that there was a second version of the MPK Mini coming out, except this one apparently had updated pads AND a new control knob (which I REALLY wanted). I figured I'd wait it out and buy it when it came out! So, I did and here's my review: As a preface, I was looking for a MIDI controller mostly because I make live music with programmed drums, and I wanted to get velocity-triggered pads to make them sound more realistic. I also make Instrumental Hip-Hop in the style of Nujabes, so I was keeping that in mind as well. Generally, I just wanted a really well-rounded keyboard that I could do a huge variety of things with. As soon as you plug the controller into the computer, the pre-loaded drivers install themselves and then you're ready to go. I had no issues with this step, and I'm using Windows 7. After that I loaded up my DAW of choice (FL Studio), and loaded a channel to get going. Everything was already completely working. I didn't have to mess with the MIDI settings at all! I actually didn't even know that the KEYS were also velocity-sensitive before I bought this keyboard, so that was a pleasant surprise as well. The pitch & mod knob by default on most things for me was pitch shifting, but in whatever DAW you use you should have no trouble mapping the knob to whatever you want. This being my first controller, everything else was on point 100%. I was worried about the pads still having the same hit detection issue as the last model, but that's not the case. In fact, by the time I got around to the second use the pads got MORE sensitive. You honestly don't need to hit very hard to get maximum velocity. What's also great is that there's a "full level" button which always plays the pads at max velocity no matter how hard you hit. I highly recommend reading the manual when you first get the keyboard, as it explains all the features pretty much on one page! Lastly, I'd like to talk about the arpeggiator. I think it's really nifty, and I love it a lot, but there's a serious problem I've been having with it. It doesn't automatically sync the tempo up to the computer, and it doesn't always play right when you hit the keys (I'm assuming that it's either one of the settings causing this, or something in the DAW itself--I'm still just a noob when it comes to MIDI controllers, so I'm sure that the MIDI clock isn't set up correctly). But since the arpeggiator runs on the tempo, you have to manually sync it up to the computer, and even then I still have issues. I'm sure there's a trick to make it auto-sync, but I haven't found it yet. It's just annoying when I'm trying to record with the arpeggiator and it doesn't start playing right when I hit the keys--it gives it about a one-second delay 60% of the time, even when I play right on the beat and/or I'm NOT recording. So, all in all, I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone looking to start out with a really well-rounded MIDI controller. It has so many features that seriously cannot be beaten for the price you pay. Pros: Great price Improved pads--overall very sensitive on my part Lots of control knobs and multiple programs/banks High variety of settings for arpeggiator and pads Velocity-sensitive keys/pads Worked immediately from initial plug-in Fast response Cons: Arepeggiator issues (most likely a DAW sync issue) Had a couple issues with mapping the knobs (probably the VST itself) Joystick was a little jerky at first, but it works in pretty quickly I still can't believe that I only paid $100 for this. Too incredible of a deal.