AKAI MPK25 Operating Manual
OPERATOR'S MANUAL
WWW.AKAIPRO.COM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................... 1
REAR PANEL OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................ 3
HOOKUP DIAGRAM ...................................................................................................................... 4
DISPLAYING INFORMATION........................................................................................................ 6
OCTAVE AND TRANSPOSITION ........................................................................................... 6
NOTE....................................................................................................................................... 6
NOTE AFTERTOUCH (Channel Pressure).............................................................................. 6
CONTROL CHANGE ............................................................................................................... 6
CONTROL AFTERTOUCH...................................................................................................... 7
MIDI MACHINE CONTROL COMMAND (MMC)...................................................................... 7
PREVIEWING.......................................................................................................................... 7
ABOUT MODES ............................................................................................................................. 8
PRESET MODE.............................................................................................................................. 9
PAGE 1 – LOAD PRESET....................................................................................................... 9
PAGE 2 – SAVE/COPY PRESET............................................................................................ 9
PAGE 3 – NAME PRESET ...................................................................................................... 9
EDIT MODE .................................................................................................................................. 10
EDIT MODE PARAMETERS .......................................................................................... 11
EDITING THE KEYBOARD ................................................................................................... 12
KEYBOARD OCTAVE .................................................................................................... 12
KEYBOARD AFTERTOUCH .......................................................................................... 12
KEYBOARD VELOCITY ................................................................................................. 12
EDITING THE PADS ............................................................................................................. 13
NOTE PARAMETERS .................................................................................................... 14
PROGRAM CHANGE PARAMETERS ........................................................................... 15
EDITING KNOBS................................................................................................................... 16
CONTROL CHANGE PARAMETERS ............................................................................ 17
AFTERTOUCH PARAMETERS...................................................................................... 18
INCREMENT/DECREMENT PARAMETERS ................................................................. 19
EDITING BUTTONS .............................................................................................................. 20
CONTROL CHANGE PARAMETERS ............................................................................ 20
PROGRAM CHANGE PARAMETERS ........................................................................... 21
EDITING THE ARPEGGIATOR............................................................................................. 22
ARPEGGIO PARAMETERS – TYPE, RANGE, BUTTON MODE................................... 23
ARPEGGIO PARAMETERS – GATE, SWING ............................................................... 24
EDITING NOTE REPEAT ...................................................................................................... 25
NOTE REPEAT BUTTON MODE ................................................................................... 26
NOTE REPEAT PARAMETERS – GATE, SWING......................................................... 26
EDITING TIME DIVISION ...................................................................................................... 27
DEFAULT TIME DIVISION ............................................................................................. 27
BUTTON MODE ............................................................................................................. 27
EDITING THE PITCH BEND WHEEL.................................................................................... 28
EDITING THE MODULATION WHEEL.................................................................................. 29
EDITING TRANSPORT CONTROL....................................................................................... 30
EDITING TAP TEMPO........................................................................................................... 30
EDITING SUSTAIN PEDAL INPUT ....................................................................................... 31
EDITING EXPRESSION PEDAL INPUT................................................................................ 32
GLOBAL MODE ........................................................................................................................... 33
KILL MIDI – Page1................................................................................................................. 33
MIDI COMMON CHANNEL – Page 2 .................................................................................... 33
LCD CONTRAST – Page 3.................................................................................................... 34
PAD SENSITIVITY – Page 4 ................................................................................................. 34
PAD VELOCITY CURVE – Page 5........................................................................................ 34
PAD THRESHOLD – Page 6 ................................................................................................. 35
KEYBOARD TRANSPOSITION – Page 7.............................................................................. 35
MIDI CLOCK – Page 8........................................................................................................... 35
TAP TEMPO AVERAGE – Page 9......................................................................................... 35
SAVE GLOBAL – Page 10..................................................................................................... 36
SYSEX TX – Page 11............................................................................................................ 36
VERSION – Page 12 ............................................................................................................. 36
PROGRAM CHANGE MODE ....................................................................................................... 37
PROG CHANGE (Program Change) ..................................................................................... 37
PROG+BANK (Program Change with Bank Change)............................................................ 37
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS .......................................................................................... 38
TROUBLESHOOTING.................................................................................................................. 39
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS .................................................................................................. 40
CONTACT INFORMATION .......................................................................................................... 40
FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW
1. LCD – The display is used for navigating
menus, displaying data, and affecting change
on MPK25’s options and parameters.
2. [VALUE] (Push to Enter) – This dial is used
to increment and decrement Presets,
parameter values and settings. This dial also
functions as an [ENTER] button when it is
pressed down.
3. [<] AND [>] BUTTONS – These buttons are
used to navigate through the fields of menus
and options. The [<] button also functions as
a [CANCEL] button.
4. [PRESET] – This button calls up Preset
Mode. You can select and recall different
Preset programs in this mode.
5. [EDIT] – This button calls up Edit Mode,
which allows you to edit the behavior of the
keyboard, pads, knobs, buttons and default
settings for each preset.
6. [GLOBAL] – This button calls up Global
Mode, where MIDI reset commands and
global system preferences are set.
7. [PREVIEW] – This button allows you to see
the last value that was sent by a controller
without actually sending a value. Hold down
this button and adjust a controller to display
the value in the LCD. Then, you can either
change it to a new value or return it to last
value that was sent.
8. [PROGRAM CHANGE] – Pressing this
button will enter Program Change mode. In
this mode, you can send a Program Change
or Program with Bank Change message to a
hardware or software module.
9. TRANSPORT CONTROL BUTTONS –
These five buttons are dedicated buttons for
sending transport control commands. The
transport control buttons can be set to
transmit either MMC (MIDI Machine Control),
MMC/MIDI SysEx, MIDI START/STOP or
pre-assigned MIDI CC values.
10. 12 ASSIGNABLE KNOBS – Each 360degree knob can be used to send continuous
control data to a desktop audio workstation or
external MIDI device.
11. 4 ASSIGNABLE BUTTONS – These buttons
can be used as MIDI CC switches or Program
Change switches. They can function in
momentary or toggle modes. When [TIME
DIVISION] has been activated, these 4
buttons are used to set the time division of
the Arpeggiator and Note Repeat features.
12. [CONTROL BANK] – The MPK25 features 2
independent banks of continuous controllers.
Effectively, this allows you to control up to 32
independent parameters with the knobs and
buttons on the MPK25. The [CONTROL
BANK] button is used to switch among the 2
banks. The LEDs above the button will
reflect the currently selected control bank.
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13. 12 MPC PRESSURE AND VELOCITY
SENSITIVE PADS – The pads can be used
to trigger drum hits or samples on your
software or hardware module or can be
configured to send Program Change
messages. The pads are pressure and
velocity sensitive, which makes them very
responsive and intuitive to play.
14. PAD BANK buttons – These 4
buttons switch among pad banks A,
B, C, D. Each bank can address a
unique set of 12 sounds, giving you access of
up to 48 different sounds you can trigger with
the pads. The currently selected pad bank
will be indicated on the LCD display
15. [FULL LEVEL] – When [FULL LEVEL] is
activated, the pads always play back at a
maximum velocity (127), no matter how hard
or soft you hit them.
16. [12 LEVEL] – When [12 LEVEL] is activated,
you can use the 12 pads to change a
selected sound’s velocity in 12 steps. When
you press the [12 LEVEL] button, the last pad
that was hit gets mapped to all 12 pads. The
pads will now output the same note number
and pressure controller as the initial pad, but
the velocity is
fixed at the values
shown in the
diagram on the
right, regardless
of how hard you
hit them. This
allows you to have
more control over
the velocity of a
sound.
17. [NOTE REPEAT] – Holding this button while
striking a pad causes the pad to retrigger at a
rate based on the current Tempo and Time
Division settings. The Note Repeat feature
can be synced to an internal or external MIDI
Clock source. [NOTE REPEAT] can function
as a latching or momentary button
18. [TIME DIVISION] – This button is used to
specify the rate of the Note Repeat and
Arpeggiator features. When [TIME
DIVISION] is activated, you can press one of
the 4 switches to specify a time division.
Each switch toggles between a “straight” and
“triplet” feel for that time division. [TIME
DIVISION] can function as a momentary or
toggle button.
Please note that while [TIME DIVISION] is
active, the 4 assignable buttons will not
function as MIDI CC or Program Change
switches until [TIME DIVISION] has been deactivated.
19. [ARP ON/OFF] – This button enables and
disables the internal Arpeggiator. The
Arpeggiator will only function on notes being
played on the keyboard. The Arpeggiator
feature on the MPK25 works in conjunction
with the Tempo and Time Division settings,
which specify the rate of arpeggiation.
Please note that the Arpeggiator can be
synced either to an internal or external MIDI
Clock source (such as a software DAW or a
MIDI device).
20. [LATCH] – This button works in conjunction
with the Arpeggiator. When the Arpeggiator
is turned on and [LATCH] has been enabled,
you can hold down a combination of keys –
the Arpeggiator will memorize and continue to
arpeggiate these notes, even if you depress
the keys. There are a couple of ways to use
the [LATCH] function:
a. While holding down the keys, you can
add more notes to the sequence by
pressing down additional keys.
b. If you depress the keys, release them,
and then press down a new
combination of notes, the Arpeggiator
will memorize and arpeggiate the new
notes.
21. [OCTAVE + / -] – These buttons can be used
to shift the keyboard’s range up and down.
The display will indicate which octave you
have shifted to. If both buttons are pressed
at the same time, the octave shift will reset to
0.
22. [TAP TEMPO] – This button allows you to tap
in a new tempo. If the preset is reloaded, the
tempo will revert to the saved tempo value.
(Please note that a preset’s default tempo
can be set in Edit Mode). Tap Tempo does
not work when the MPK25 is set to External
sync.
23. PITCH BEND WHEEL – Transmits MIDI
Pitch Bend information on a selected MIDI
channel and port.
24. MODULATION WHEEL – This wheel can be
used to transmit continuous controller data.
By default, the modulation wheel will transmit
MIDI CC #01.
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REAR PANEL OVERVIEW
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1
3
4 5
6 78
1. DC POWER ADAPTER INPUT – Plug in a
MP6–1 power adapter if you do not wish to
power the MPK25 through the USB
connection.
2. POWER ADAPTER RESTRAINT – You can
secure a power adapter cord to this restraint
to prevent accidental unplugging.
3. USB CONNECTION – Plug a standard USB
cable into this outlet and into the USB port of
your computer. The computer’s USB port will
provide power to the MPK25. This
connection is used to send and receive MIDI
data to and from your computer and may also
be used to send MIDI data from your
computer to a device attached to the MIDI
OUT port of the MPK25.
4. MIDI OUT – Use a five-pin MIDI cable to
connect the MIDI OUT of the MPK25 to the
MIDI IN of an external device.
5. MIDI IN – Use a five-pin MIDI cable to
connect the MIDI OUT of an external MIDI
device to the MIDI IN of the MPK25.
6. SUSTAIN PEDAL – Connect a ¼” TS sustain
pedal to this input.
7. EXPRESSION PEDAL INPUT – Connect a
¼” TRS expression pedal to this input.
8. KENSINGTON LOCK – The unit may be
secured to a table or surface using this
Kensington Lock slot.
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HOOKUP DIAGRAM
Please refer to the following scenario for connecting the MPK25.
COMPUTER EXTERNAL SOUND MODULE
POWER
ADAPTER EXTERNAL
MIDI DEVICE
SUSTAIN
PEDAL
EXPRESSION
PEDAL
1. Connect a USB cable from your computer to the MPK25. The unit will be powered through the
USB connection. Alternatively, if you do not wish to use a computer in your setup or if you wish
to power the MPK25 externally, please plug in a MP6–1 power adapter (optional).
2. If you would like to use an external sound module, connect a 5-pin MIDI cable from the MIDI OUT
of the MPK25 to the MIDI IN of the external device.
3. If you would like to use another MIDI controller in your setup, connect a 5-pin MIDI cable from the
MIDI OUT of the controller to the MIDI IN of the MPK25.
4
1. Make sure that the MPK25 and all external devices are connected and that the USB
2. In your software application, you will need to set the MPK25 as a default MIDI input
3. If you would like to use tempo-synced features, such as Note Repeat and Arpeggiator,
The operation of the MIDI OUT port changes depending on whether or not a USB cable is
connected to the MPK25.
• USB cable connected:
• USB cable not connected:
A NOTE ABOUT USING THE MPK25 WITH SOFTWARE
cable is connected to your computer before opening any software applications on your
computer with which you might want to use the MPK25. If the unit is not plugged in
before, your software application might not recognize the MPK25 as an available
device.
device. This is usually done in the MIDI section of the Preferences menu.
you will also need to slave the MPK25 to a MIDI Clock generated by your software
DAW. Make sure that your software is set up to send MIDI clock to the MPK25 and that
the unit’s MIDI Clock setting is set to “External” (see Global Mode). This will ensure that
the Arpeggiator and Beat Repeat are synchronized to the tempo selected in your
software DAW.
IMPORTANT
MIDI data from your computer is passed to the MIDI OUT port. When a USB cable is
connected, you should activate "MIDI echo" in your sequencer if you want the MPK25 to
control another external device.
Whatever you play on the MPK25 is sent to the MIDI OUT port.
Note: If you have another device connected to the MPK25's MIDI IN port, that device's
MIDI information will be ignored.
5
DISPLAYING INFORMATION
As you are working with the MPK25, the LCD will help you keep track of what values and parameters are
entered and sent to external devices. There are several kinds of information that the MPK25 will display
while in use: OCTAVE, TRANSPOSITION, NOTE, AFTERTOUCH (Channel Pressure), CONTROL
CHANGE, MIDI MACHINE CONTROL (MMC), and PREVIEW MODE information.
OCTAVE AND TRANSPOSITION
When using the keyboard, the LCD will display the
current octave and any transposition setting which
you may have applied.
OCTAVE SHIFT
Note: The octave settings will apply to individual
presets while transposition will affect all presets
globally.
NOTE
When a PAD is hit, the MPK25 will output MIDI
MIDI PORT
AND CHANNEL
NOTE
INDICATOR
TRANSPOSITION
Note On messages to trigger sounds on your DAW
or external device. Each pad can have a MIDI Note
Number associated with it. When you hit a pad, the
screen will display the MIDI Note Number, the MIDI
Port and Channel which the pad is using, as well as
the pad bank and velocity (how hard you hit the
pad).
Please see ‘Editing Pads’( page 13) for more
information on MIDI Notes and Pads.
NOTE AFTERTOUCH (Channel Pressure)
PAD BANK
When enabled, AFTERTOUCH is MIDI data sent
when pressure is applied to one of the pads after it
MIDI NOTE
NUMBER
NOTE
VELOCITY
VELOCITY IS
ALSO DISPLAYED
WITH BAR METER.
AFTERTOUCH
VALUE
has been struck and while it is being held down. It
will be displayed on the far right of the display as
you apply pressure to the pad.
CONTROL CHANGE
When a KNOB is used, the MPK25 will output MIDI
Control Change data. This data is used to change
certain parameters on your DAW or external sound
module. When you move a knob, the screen will
indicate the Control Change (CC) Number, value,
and MIDI Channel.
Please see ‘Editing Knobs’ (page 16) for more
information on Control Change.
MIDI PORT
AND CHANNEL
PAD BANK
CONTROL CHANGE
INDICATOR
CONTROL CHANGE
NUMBER
AFTERTOUCH
VALUE IS ALSO
DISPLAYED WITH BAR
METER
CONTROL CHANGE
VALUE
VALUE IS ALSO
DISPLAYED WITH
BAR METER.
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CONTROL AFTERTOUCH
The knobs on the MPK25 can also be set to
transmit AFTERTOUCH information.
Please see ‘Editing Knobs’ (page 16) for more
information on setting knobs to transmit Aftertouch.
MIDI MACHINE CONTROL COMMAND (MMC)
MIDI PORT
AND CHANNEL
PAD BANK
MIDI MACHINE CONTROL (MMC) is commonly
used to send transport control messages to
hardware record or playback machines. For
example: Pressing [PLAY] on the MPK25 sends an
MMCPLAY message to a connected multi-track
recorder, which begins playing. When [STOP] is
pressed on the MPK25, the deck also stops.
PREVIEWING
When the [PREVIEW] button is held down and a
knob is moved, the LCD displays the screen on the
right. The display shows the assigned event and
the last sent value of moved knob. While the
[PREVIEW] button is held, the knob will not be
transmitting any information until [PREVIEW] is
released and the knob is used again. At that point,
the knob will begin transmitting from the value
selected in the New Value field while in Preview
mode. This gives you precise control over your
parameters and helps avoid erroneous controller
data being sent to your devices.
CONTROL
CHANGE NUMBER
LAST VALUE
SENT
AFTERTOUCH
INDICATOR
MMC
COMMAND
LAST VALUE
SENT
AFTERTOUCH
VALUE
VALUE IS ALSO
DISPLAYED WITH
BAR METER.
NEW VALUE
NEW VALUE
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ABOUT MODES
The MPK25 has four different modes of operation. Each mode can be accessed by pressing the
corresponding button on the MPK25. Following is a short description of each mode:
Preset Mode
This mode allows you to load, save and copy Presets. A Preset is a
collection of information about how different knobs and pads will behave.
Using Presets allows you to save different configurations so you can quickly
load them when you need them, without having to reprogram the MPK25
every time.
(page 9)
Edit Mode
This mode allows you to edit the configuration of the MPK25. Edit Mode is a
powerful tool for customizing your set-up. In this mode, you can make
changes to how the keyboard, pads and knobs are behaving. For example,
you may wish to have a knob transmit only a limited range of MIDI data, or
you may wish to have a pad that transmits on a different MIDI Channel. You
can change these and other various parameters in Edit Mode.
(page 10)
Global Mode
This mode allows you to set global parameters and make general changes to
how your MPK25 is functioning. For example, in Global Mode you can
change how the pads respond to the touch, or change the brightness of the
LCD screen. The parameters that you can modify in Global Mode also
include controller resets, pad response curves, display brightness, and more.
(page 31)
Program Change Mode
This mode allows you to transmit various Program Change messages. In
this mode, you can tell your DAW or an external device to switch to a
different program bank of sounds. This way, you can avoid having to
manually switch between different programs on your DAW or external device.
(page 35)
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PRESET MODE
What is a Preset?
A Preset is a collection of information about how the MPK25’s keyboard,
knobs, and pads will behave. Using Presets allows you to save different
configurations so you can quickly load them when you need them without
having to reprogram the MPK25 every time.
The MPK25 features different Preset banks that you can load and write to. When you turn on the MPK25, it
PRESET NAME PRESET NUMBER
will automatically go into Preset Mode and Preset 1 will be displayed on the screen. You can also press
the [PRESET] button at any time to call up this mode. In Preset Mode you can load, save/copy and
rename Presets. Each of these functions can be accessed through the 3 different pages. You can
navigate between these pages with the [<] and [>] buttons.
PAGE 1 – LOAD PRESET
1. While you are in Preset Mode, you can change Presets with the [VALUE]
dial below the screen. Turning the dial increments or decrements the current
Preset number and displays the screen on the right:
When you do this, you will notice that ‘PRESS ENTER’ will begin to blink.
2. Pressing [ENTER] loads the selected Preset. Pressing [<] button or
[PRESET] button cancels and returns you to the Preset that was last
selected.
PAGE 2 – SAVE/COPY PRESET
In Preset Mode, you can also save and copy a Preset to a new location. This
allows you to save any changes that you have made to the Preset.
Note that if you are saving the Preset to the same location (same preset number)
the screen will say ‘SAVE TO’ and if you are saving to a different location
(different preset number), the screen will display ‘COPY TO’.
1. While you are in
above.
Preset Mode, press [>] button until you see the ‘SAVE TO’ screen similar to the one shown
DESTINATION
2. You can select the location where you want to save the Preset by turning the [VALUE] knob.
When you do this, you will notice that the ‘PRESS ENTER’ segment will begin to blink.
3. Press [ENTER] to save current Preset to the destination. Pressing [<] button or [PRESET] button cancels the
operation and returns you to the Preset play mode.
PAGE 3 – NAME PRESET
While you are in Preset Mode, you can also change the Preset name. This way
you can assign specific names to different Presets so you can quickly identify
and access different controller configurations.
1. To name or rename the Preset, press the [>] button until you see ‘Preset
Name’ displayed on the screen.
You will notice that the first letter of the name will begin blinking.
2. Turn the [VALUE] dial to change the blinking character.
ENTER PRESET NAME IN
THIS FIELD
3. To move between the characters, use [<] and [>] buttons.
4. When done, press [PRESET] again. The name will be saved.
9
EDIT MODE
Pressing the [EDIT] button calls up
Edit Mode. In this mode, you can
edit the settings of the currently
selected Preset. The settings vary
depending on the controller you are
editing and are described below.
Please note that the changes you
make will only apply to the currently
selected Preset.
1. Press the [EDIT] button.
2. To select the controller you wish to edit, simply engage it – this will
prompt the screen to display the properties of the particular controller
(Page 1).
3. If there are multiple properties for the selected controller, turn the
[VALUE] dial to select the property you wish to edit. Press [ENTER] to
view the parameters of the selected property, if available (Page 2).
4. To move between the parameter fields on Page 2, use the [<] and [>]
buttons. To change the values of the fields, turn the [VALUE] dial.
5. When finished editing the controller, press [ENTER] to accept the change
or press [<] to cancel.
You can use the example screenshot on the right to
help you determine where the Page 2 parameters
described on the following page will appear on the
screen.
NAVIGATING EDIT MODE
FIELD 1
FIELD 2
FIELD 3
FIELD 4
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