The AKAI Professional APC64 is a controller that has been specially developed for use with the Ableton Live DAW and also includes a sequencer. Alternatively, it can be used without a DAW to send both MIDI data and control voltage to external hardware, and the user can play notes and trigger samples via the controller's 64 velocity-sensitive pads. The APC64 additionally features an octet of touch strips for controlling volume and panorama adjustments, AUX sends, and effects. The aforementioned sequencer has eight tracks of 32 steps each for the quick and easy creation of melody sequences, and melodies can also be flawlessly recorded using the Note and Chord modes. This range of features makes the AKAI Professional APC64 a versatile controller that will cut a fine figure in professional music production applications.
The 64 velocity-sensitive pads on the AKAI Professional APC64, which are arranged in an 8x8 matrix and provide visual feedback courtesy of their RGB colour backlighting, can be used to send poly aftertouch messages as well as for playing chords, synth leads, and drum racks and for starting clips (which can subsequently be quantised) in Ableton. The eight touch strips in turn allow the user to adjust various parameters with ease and can be assigned specific functions, such as the Auto Filter, Delay, Reverb, Impulse, and Simpler effects found in Ableton. Visual feedback is provided here via the OLED display at the bottom right of the user interface, and the adjacent push encoder allows additional settings to be activated. Finally, a transport section is included that can be used to start and stop the recording and playback directly on the controller.
AKAI Professional has designed the APC64 specifically for music producers who want to get creative with Ableton, who thus have hands-on control of a range of parameters that would normally require a computer mouse, notably the smooth and stepless adjustment of effects using the eight touch strips, in addition to which parameters can be automated. Alongside the Ableton DAW, the AKAI Professional APC64 can be used to control external hardware, such as modular synthesizers, using its internal sequencer and eight CV/gate outputs, which supply the requisite control voltage. What is more, the scope of delivery includes three adapters which allow MIDI data to be sent from two outputs and received by one input. Power is supplied via a USB-C port, which also doubles as a connection to the user's computer.
Akai Professional has its origins in the long-established Japanese company Akai, founded in 1929, which initially manufactured electric motors, soon to be followed by high-quality tape recorders and hi-fi products. Since 1988, Akai has also become a household name like no other on the Hip-Hop scene. With the development of its first MIDI Production Centre (MPC for short), created in collaboration with Roger Linn, Akai wrote history by decisively influencing the sound of hip-hop and electronic music, which it continues to do to this very day. Famous exponents of the MPC series include DJ Shadow, Eminem, and Kanye West. Today, Akai is also well known for its robust and versatile USB MIDI controllers, not least of which is the bulletproof APC range of Ableton controllers.
The AKAI Professional APC64 is supplied together with the Ableton Live DAW, which allows beginners to immediately take their first steps into the world of music production and start creating melodies, as well as the TubeSynth, Electric, Halfspeed, Vocal Tuner, and Flavor plug-ins and the Sonivox Essential Keyboard Collection of virtual instruments from AIR Music Technology. The software editor also lets the user create their own layouts, which can be stored as presets and recalled as needed, and thus individualise their workflows and achieve even faster and more efficient music productions. What is more, users can apply additional dimensions to MIDI notes using the controller's Probability and Mutate modes in order to harness a range of extra options for creative experimentation.