Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When I read the reviews complaining of the driver installation process I was thinking "It can't be THAT bad"... Well it is, it is easily the most idiotic driver/software installation I've ever experienced. There's no actual software included, instead you have to go to Akaipro.com, register your product, then they'll give you a list of downloads. You would think that the first item in the list would be drivers, NOPE. You would think that there would be an item in the list labelled drivers, NOPE. The first item in the list is Air Hybrid, well what is it and what is it used for, you'll have no clue because there's no description for it, you do find out later that you will need to install it but it's not the first thing you need to install. Looking through the list there's a download called MPC Essentials. Figuring it might have the drivers in it I downloaded it and ran it, it's got drivers in it alright. 3 drivers, one named Renaissance Driver, one named Element Driver, and one named Studio Driver. What's the difference between them? Who knows. At this point you'll be asking what kind of monster created this abomination. Turns out that you need to install the last option in the list first, the MPC Essential software THEN go back and download the Air Hybrid software and install that. Why not just include a simple list that tells you what to install and in what order? Or better yet, why not just include big install that installs everything you NEED to operate the MPK mini? One more example of how crazy this all is, when you go to run the firmware update it tells you to hold down the PROG button the keyboard. Problem is, there isn't a PROG button the keyboard. You have PROG 1 through 4, PROG Select, and PROG Change. Which one is the PROG button? Apparently none of them because it didn't work for me. There is such an obvious disconnect between the hardware engineers at Akai and software engineers. The hardware is good, it's built well for a relatively inexpensive item. The software portion is like nothing I've ever experienced before. It will leave you frustrated and speechless I promise you. There are similar keyboards from other manufacturers that'll give you comparable results without the headaches. I recommend you check them out.