Akai APC Key 25 Unboxing, First Impressions and Demo
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- Опубликовано: 6 авг 2014
- Tribal Leader has a look at the APC Key 25 from Akai. This video includes an unboxing, first impressions on build, feel and content, and a simple demo of some of the basic functions of the APC Key 25.
Here more music at / triballeadermusic
To see how to use the grid of buttons as a drum pad, check out this "How To" video: • APC Key 25: How To Use... 
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Aside from the fact that your demo is very comprehesive, I'm glad you explained how you can assign a mod wheel's function to a one of those knobs. Nothing is holding me back now for buying this tool that's going to help me avoid tendinitis using the my laptop keyboard to do music. If you love Ableton (which I do) you can't help but at least liking this cute little Ableton's sidekick
I have been a electronic music nut my whole life and now I've hit 40 i remembered my bro bought me one these and i have just got it out the cupboard and tomorrow i start my journey! Thanks for this video man.
whats this programme called hes using?
@@iamneallyons4263 ableton.
Mine is arriving tomorrow and your demo taught this old guy how to dive right in.Well done young man,excellent demo!
I got mine today. I really like although the keys were a little smaller than I expected but what the hey. I like it a lot. It makes working with Ableton and even learning Ableton so much easier.
This was super helpful both for using the MIKI Keyboard and for getting performance ideas. Thanks!
Glad I could help!
pro tip: use lighted up buttons in a more musical way by setting the count in to 0 (next to the metronome). turns them into nice lil one shot triggers
You mean just disabling global quantization? That is a pretty good idea!
Nice, nice, finally! Some review and a good one.
Glad you enjoyed it! After using it for a number of days, I'm liking it more and more!
i bougth one of these and the sound isnt working any ideas whats wrong
For the life of me spent hours on end trying to install the software, everyone made it seem so easy. I am going thru hell and thinking this isn’t legit, ready to throw it in garbage. Don’t get it. Why I can’t get the actual music program Abelton Live Lite and no where to even put my serial number in to confirm product. And registered my Akai key 25. Don’t get it? I installed for now the Reason Companion, but still no where to even open up music window to create music, just random packs. But, no where like what you have on your screen, how the heck you get that? I am supposed to have license with this thing, but no where to put it, and not paying $200 for ones they showing all these packs. I downloaded so much and still can’t get to that screen you on. What the heck is up with this program?? Happy you got it to work.
I'm having the same problem. Please tell me you figured it out... Fixing to pull my hair out of frustration
good job man, nice tutorial too
Can you use this with your iPad/iPhone? I have a MPK mini witch I have been using on my iPad with an adapter and I was thinking of adding this one to my collection but I want to use it on my iPad so does it connect/work on iPad?
What software are you using to use the apc thing
If the track that you have armed to record is a drum kit, then you can definitely use the 25 keys for drums.
pcnuke For ease, I would probably just set up a drum kit to match the keys that I wanted. So I'd put the kick where middle C is, then put a snare up one and so on. But if you want only some of the keys to control drums and the rest to play a different instrument (like a regular keyboard) that might get a little tricky. Honestly I haven't tried to do that, but you'd probably have to map out each key manually. I assume it would be possible, but I haven't actually done it.
When recording drums live, do they necesserally have to be played on the keys? It looks cooler if the drums are played on the pads :P
You can definitely load "one shot" drum samples into clip spaces so that whenever you push one of the pads, the desired drum sound will play. I made a tutorial for that here: ruclips.net/video/FTuUmD0cdDw/видео.html
TribalLeaderMusic Thanks, bro! Now I'm convinced in buying my Akai :)
What kind of software u are using I can't turn it on?
anyway to move toggle (move the blue hand icon) audio effects within the same track from the device?
Thanks for the good review, i was thinking about buying this now i think im sure. :)
Hi i have just got one i have put the software on my laptop everthing works apart from half of the keyboard. I have then shut my laptop down and gone back on it later everthink is working on the laptop but the apc key 25 is not working no lights on no music nothink. Any ideas.
I'll be getting mine in 10 days when I get my next salary. Thanks for this mate! Found a cheap one on Facebook marketplace and I've only heard of good reviews. :) So there's no MK2 of this yet huh?
Hi! I bought this MIDI controller used. where can I find the serial number. Appreciate the help.
I see you answered if they keys can be used for drums, but what about the clip launch buttons? Can the clip launch buttons be assigned to function as trigger/drum pads to create beats? or are they not assignable ..strictly just clip buttons? Thanks!
Yes you can! You would basically just have to put a drum sound into each clip in Ableton Live. Then change the timing of how each clip will trigger depending on your play style.
TribalLeaderMusic Thank you for the fast response. One more question that I've been trying to figure out myself.. this is probably more of a midi/ableton question than APC key25. I use Reason a lot and have been thinking about getting this to start exploring Ableton, so I'm a novice. If I'm leading the way with loops etc. with a band playing along, can I output a click to 1 track and other audio to another track? This way the band can get my loops and the click in their in-ears but the house only gets the loops? thanks.
Matthew Maneri I'm sure there's something you can do. You'd have to mess around with your outputs, and send your click track to one output and your loops to another. It honestly might be easier to just have the band keep in time with your loops and not worry about a click track. I'm not sure if ableton has something built in specifically for this honestly, but I'm sure there's a workaround for it.
i bought one but not able to download software using my serial# instead i download the free trial one ..pls help me ..
nice, what programme are you using there on the laptop?
That's Ableton Live 🙂
Great video tutorial. I have one of these coming tomorrow, yay! I'm an Ableton user & have been learning Logic since the latest update. Have you used this with Logic Live Loop mode? I can't find a MIDI implementation doc for the APC Key 25. I know I'll find out how well I can map the control service to Logic tomorrow but was just curious if you had any quick words. Again, great video!
nice tunes
can i ask what software on Mac u used to use this Akai
I'm using Ableton in this video
Can it work with Reason? Or is it ONLY compatible with Ableton???
having truble installing the software with it the twist 2.0 and air hybrid 3 they wont open just has the authentication key after installation
sad to say, but APC has terrible dynamic action of the black keys ( they are much more sensitive and loud compared with white).
For me, it fits only for playing synthesizers parts with no dynamic (piano parts are nightmare!). I'm not a pianist, and perhaps it's just my model, but for those who are looking for the small, playable midi keys, I recommend Korg microKEY. Anyway - great tutorial, showing great capabilities of this small controller!
Thanks!
I bought my Apc Key 25, but i don't have the Remote Script in the Ableton 9 folder. Can anyone help me please??
Can you copy paste the sample to another scene without touching the mac?
As far as I know, that's not a built in function unfortunately
How do I download it I got the box and board just wanna know how to get in up
Would this be good for someone starting out in music production?
In terms of actually producing music, it just depends on where you're at. A lot of people like to have a bigger set of keys (this only having 25 is a bit of a set back). But I really wanted something small that I could play simple melodies live with. I'd say it's more of a performance tool, unless you really need something that has a set of keys, and you like jamming live to work your songs out.
Cool Video! Would you recommend this or the Novation Launchkey Mini MK3?
how would i pitch bend? can i assign it on one of my knobs??
Pretty sure you could
Can you tell me at 5:45 what you just changed to 2 to make the loop work?? Please and thank you. Is there a way to set that to 2 ahead of time so all your clips will just loop around even when recording live?
When I first recorded the clip I didn't have a set number of measures/bars. So at 5:45 I stopped the recording and changed the clip to only having 2 bars, so it just looped whatever was in those 2 bars. Ableton actually has a looper built in somewhere in the effects I believe, that might be your best bet.
I don’t know why other youtubers don’t pik this on the top 5 midi25keyboard , is this a new?
is it possible to stop playing clip just to hit empty button under playing clip and doesnt matter what funcion is activated with shift button? (of course if there is stop button - it is when the track line is not selected for recording arm)
Yes, as long as that track is not selected as your recording track, you can press any empty button that is under the active clip, and it will automatically stop that clip from playing. However, if you do have that track armed as your recording track, when you press an empty button it will automatically start recording a new clip.
Hi, nice review. Just want to know if I can use the 5x8 clip grid to play drum rack?
Thanks a lot! To play the 5x8 grid as a drum rack, you could either set up a one shot of each drum sound in the clip section of ableton, which could work if you're just trying to drum over a backing track or something. Or you could manually assign each of the buttons on the grid to whatever drum sound you wanted (but I believe this would force you to assign everything on the APC Key 25 manually so you'd have to be up for that).
my question is can I put my own song like for example can I choose any song from the Internet and I want it please answer my question and thank you so much
+Hamany Anything that you can put into Ableton you can control with the APC. Full songs, or clips of songs will all work.
Are those 8 knobs FREELY assignable anywhere or can they just be assigned to control volume, pan, sends etc.?
Freely assignable to all device parameters,
Does anyone know what style of music hes creating?
I guess I'd call it techno, or electro. It's at 125 or 120 bpm if I remember correctly.
TribalLeaderMusic ah ok thanks btw great video sir
This will be my first piece if beat producing technology, I have played drums for 10 years, guitar and bass for 9, and have messed around with some software. But is this a relatively easy softwear to lear. I know all the meanings as far as the knobs and what everything does just wondering if I should get a veterans advice
alex hicks It runs with just about any music software you have. It was made to use with Ableton though, and as far as Ableton goes, I think it's one of the easier pieces of software to learn. If you're looking for a compact set of keys, this baby will do the trick. Just remember that it's used to control the programs you already have on your computer, it doesn't function as a stand alone synth.
TribalLeaderMusic is it come with ableton live lite, or is that a separate purchas
alex hicks You can actually download ableton live lite for free on the ableton website.
TribalLeaderMusic along with the twist, hybrid 3, toolroom
i have this same akai pro and i'm having trouble with the software is it possible you can link me the software you used?
I'm using Ableton in this video
can you give me a link please? ps, love the vids keep it up man
thanks, much appreciated! www.ableton.com/en/live/
how do i download it?
you have to buy it. Near the bottom of that page, there is an "add to cart" link. I believe there's also a 30 day trial.
i know this may be a stupid question but i want to buy this as a gift for a friend and i was wondering if i need to buy the software for the computer separate or does it come with the board
I don't think it have a software.
But you can crack Fl Studio or cubase
+Jesse cacace That's not a stupid question! This controller does not come with any music software. You can buy one, or there are plenty of free ones out there. Garage Band is a good place to start if you have a MAC, or just google free music software and I'm sure something will be available!
+TribalLeaderMusic awesome thank you both I wasn't sure if rock band would work with this, I was assuming it would require like a specific soft ware for it but muchos gracias for the clarification people
No problem! This controller can function as a blank slate, and should work with just about any music software that you have, as long as you have it up to date and as long as you have the program set up correctly.
has input for sustain pedal?
I can't get sound out, everything has been installed, i wonder if my settings are wrong, where should I look for sound, I am very new. can you give me an idea what I did wrong? I called Ableton but they said they cant help to send email, I am like really!
Make sure your version of ableton is updated as well. The APC Key 25 won't be recognized by older versions of ableton. You should plug the controller into your USB, drag an instrument into a MIDI channel, make sure the "Record Arm" is turned on for that channel. Then you should be able to play the keyboard normally.
does it come with abelton live free suit?
It comes with Ableton Live Lite *
some people say these are really stiff keys, to the point of it being a little difficult to play chords sometimes - do you notice this or do you think it's k?
+kassie2k4 I don't think they're too stiff. They definitely don't feel like piano keys, but I can definitely play chords on them. It's a little weird because they have a bit of resistance even after you press down, so when you're playing chords you have to make sure you keep pressure on them.
+kassie2k4 I don't think they're too stiff. They definitely don't feel like piano keys, but I can definitely play chords on them. It's a little weird because they have a bit of resistance even after you press down, so when you're playing chords you have to make sure you keep pressure on them.
After I plugged it in to my laptop Idk what you did to have that set up already so it had me stuck. Where are the drum tracks again? What to click? Not much info provided in the beginning of the clip but learn some short cuts
Steven Garcia The drum racks and synths that I'm using are all in Ableton. Your drum racks should be near the top left of your Ableton screen, with all of the other synths and sounds. All you have to do is drag and drop a drum rack or a synth into a MIDI channel (as you normally would), activate the record button (it often activates for you) and you'll be able to play the rack or the instrument that you just dropped in.
Does it work with fl studio
please does it work fine with fl studio20 ?
how does this compare to the novation launchkey mini mk2 ?? i cant decide between them :/
+Matthew Nash I prefer the APC Key 25 because it's grid of buttons matches up perfectly with Ableton (which I use), and that makes it a lot easier for live performances.
can i make a simpler beats and save them and then later use Them in a record i made? for example adding To selfmade beats to a selfmade song that only contains piano and vocals?
+vivien okorie If you have Ableton, or really any other sort of music software, yes you can do all of this. Just save whatever song or beat you are working on, and then you can load it into ableton whenever you want.
does the keyboard comes with the full version of hybrid 3?Please answer :) tnx
HYBRID AIR full.
Good Review , Do you know if the APC 25 works the same connected to a USB hub ?
justakaduppy thanks! I actually use a usb hub with mine and it works fine
Cheers
What software you use isthere a free one.
I'm using Ableton Live. I believe when I bought this controller it came with Ableton Live Lite for free. This controller is specifically made for Ableton, but you could use it with any DAW you want
hey! nice video. I got a question for you man.. what about multiple sends? for example if I want to use the send A and B on the same channel, how can u make it? has it múltiple layers? like the apc 40?
Thanks! I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you talking about multiple MIDI channels?
no! I mean, if I want to use SEND A and SEND B in the same audio channel, how can you do it with this controller?
Rama Bosch Ok I see what you mean. On the controller, if you press and hold "Shift" and then press "SEND" it will toggle between which Sends you are using. So if you have Send A and B, and you are currently using send A, you can press and hold "Shift" then press "SEND" and then you'll be able to use the same knob to use Send B. Repeat that process and you will switch back to using Send A.
Okey, now I understand! thank you very much! would you please make a short video of that? hahaha you are awesome.
can you use the matrix as a drum pad? Thats what I mainly bought this for and i can't figure it out.
jmanbgg You can! You'd just have to load a separate drum sample into each clip. For example: one .wav for your kick, one .wav for your snare, and one .wav for your high hat. Then set them all to the desired quantization (maybe no quantization if you want to play it live), and start tapping away.
Welllll..I'm using studio one and i can get the keys and knobs to map but not any of the buttons. I have ableton lite but its new to me.
jmanbgg It looks like Studio One doesn't have "Session" view like Ableton does, which is where you'd load all of your samples. Session view matches up directly with the grid of buttons on the APC Key 25 which makes it a lot easier to use. Honestly I'm not too familiar with Studio One, but if you can, your best bet might be to manually map out each button to whatever sample you want it to trigger. I'm not sure if Studio One is really built for clip launching though. Or you might be able to build a custom drum rack, and then assign each sound to a different button, but again I'm not really familiar with how Studio One works.
TribalLeaderMusic can you make a tutorial please
Yeah actually, enough people are asking about it, I'll go ahead and make a quick tutorial and try to have it up in the next few days.
Im new to making music so if i buy this can i use garageband for it.
+j jon mann (gaminghard12) I haven't tried it myself with garage band, but you should be able to. It should work like any normal MIDI controller
what speakers were you using for the sound??
Just the regular laptop speakers and a mic. Wanted to keep it simple.
I recognise that tune..what is it people? Sounds a bit similar to the Airwolf theme 😑
Any ideas if this can be used on Garageband?
Mei Yen Ch'ng If you're going to be using garage band you should consider the aka apk mini. The APC Key 25 works best with ableton because all those white pads on the top are used for launching clips from ablutions session view. The APK mini is the same thing but without the clip launchers that you aren't going to be using with garage band anyways, and it still has all the knobs that this one has, but it also has 8 drum pads that you can use, the one in the video doesn't have that, and if you get the newer model it has a joystick that can be used as a pitch bend and mod wheel!
what app you use to connect the device to your PC?
It actually comes with a usb cable that you just plug into your computer.
You need to have Ableton loaded on your pc,you get a free code for the LITE version.Then just plug in device and Ableton should AUTO DETECT it.
Hello there Apology not know how much is the price of Akai APC 25? Please! : D
I got it for $130 off of sweetwater
I can't play with the keyboard, the sounds no comes out. Anybody knows what i need to do?
Using Ableton?Go to OPTIONS-PREFERENCES-LINK MIDI-SELECT APCKEY25 as control surface,track,sync etc ON.Then you need to load a SYNTH plugin to a MIDI slot.USE keyboard and smile!Plenty of free SYNTH plugins available,you should have a code for HYBRID AIR bundled with the device to get you started.Good luck.I am in my 50's now and this is all new to me too,I'm 40 yrs playing guitar and it took me a while to figure out Ableton.Plenty of tutorials for beginners online,Hope this gets you going.
i can't find my serial number! Help!
If I remember correctly, the serial number is on one of the papers inside the original box when you get it. Which also gives you links to the extra downloads that come with it. Hope that helps!
would this be good for fl studio and how much was it
It's built specifically for use with Ableton, but you could definitely use it with FL studio, it just depends on what exactly you need it for. It was $130 new.
Mine was £70 UK new.
Hi guys
This machine is compatible with "Logic Pro X" ?
It could be used for FL studio, so I bet it works with logic too
why doesn't it have a pitchbend wheel :(
why doesnt it have a transpose button :(
ayye nice video, does it work with fl studio?
Thanks! The APC key 25 comes mapped out for ableton, but it is also described as being able to be used as an all purpose MIDI controller. So I would lean to the side of yes, it would work with FL studio, but honestly I don't have FL studio so I haven't tried it out for myself.
It's pretty good, you should try it one day man. I use it just to make trippy beats just to switch shit up you know
womankiller420 i have it. it works with fl. however most of the buttons are just registered as keys.
@@LBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLB So then it doesn't work on FL
Does it works with fl studio?
yes
+GuimoSM I haven't personally tested it with FL studio, but I've seen from a few others that it does indeed work with FL studio.
program?
+FamilyFirstStudios The program is Ableton Live
What if you bought it from a pawn shop with no box, no ANYTHING but a USB chord??? ????
it should work the same
I assigned it to my ACID Pro DAW but it doesn't light up and only plays piano and nothing else.
Supposed to go to Ableton DAW but that CD didn't come with it.
Dont tell me what i need bro. I do need those super low end and super high end on the octave shift.... ;-/
what software are you using ?
I am using Ableton Live in this video
It definitely is not a 'Toy'
Can you play grand piano with that
So tiny buttons for a tiny keyboard..what will they think of next. What if you write music without lauching a whole load of scenes..ye know,,,you actually write music
Writing music is still done, but this particular controller really shines in the performance aspect, where you might not be able to play each part live all at once. Someone might write and record each part of a song, break it down into rhythm, melodies, bass lines etc., layout their song however they see fit, and then be able to control the song live, all while playing the mini keyboard or any other instrument.
Yeah but lets be honest, most people who use this means of writing music, load up a whole bunch of samples..now be honest..it's for the birds and the knob tweaker DJ crowd
T4C lol does it really matter what you think most people will use it for? its just a product and hes describing what you can do with it.
You sound like Micael Cera
+Kevin Nel I get that a lot haha
Are you Live 8 or Live 9?
I'm running Live 9. Updated so that it recognizes the APC automatically
Shit!