Akai MPK88 User Manual

 

 

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. 

  PAD BANK buttons – These 4 buttons 

switch among pad banks A, B, C, D.  Each 
bank can address a unique set of 16 sounds, 
giving you access of up to 64 different 
sounds you can trigger with the pads.  
The currently selected pad bank will 
be indicated on the LCD display. 

  [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 LEVEL] – 

When [16 LEVEL] 
is activated, you 
can use the 16 
pads to change a 
selected sound’s 
velocity in 16 
steps. When you 
press the [16 
LEVEL] button, the 
last pad that was hit gets mapped to all 16 
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.   

  [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. 

  [SPLIT] – This button divides the keyboard 

into left and right sections – A and B, 
respectively – allowing you to control two 
different sets of sounds simultaneously. 

 

When [SPLIT] is activated, its LED will light 
up.   

  [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 8 switches to specify a time division.  
[TIME DIVISION] can function as a 
momentary or toggle button.   

Please note that while [TIME DIVISION] is 
active, the 8 assignable buttons will not 
function as MIDI CC or Program Change 
switches until [TIME DIVISION] has been de-
activated.  

  [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 MPK61/MPK88 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). 

  [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: 

While holding down the keys, you can 
add more notes to the sequence by 
pressing down additional keys.   

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. 

  [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.   

  [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 MPK61/MPK88 is set to 
External sync. 

  PITCH BEND WHEEL – Transmits MIDI 

Pitch Bend information on a selected MIDI 
channel and port. 

  MODULATION WHEEL – This wheel can be 

used to transmit continuous controller data.  
By default, the modulation wheel will transmit 
MIDI CC #01.