Akai MPD 218 Review: Overall Score: 4.1/5.In this detailed Akai MPD 218 review, I'll tell you what's good about it, what's not, and whether it's worth your money. If you're looking for a pad controller, the MPD 218 is likely high on your wishlist. Since it's powered off USB and weighs barely 1.5lbs, you can take it anywhere.

Or you can use it to trigger automations and launch clips.

You can use it to bash out drum patterns and beats. Just like the MPC60, the MPD 218, too, is a drum machine that doubles up as a MIDI controller. It's a testament to the improvement in production technology that you can get the MPD218 for a fraction of the price of the MPC60 which was nearly $5,000 in 1988. The MPD 218 is a direct descendant of the MPC. But the MPC remains one of the greatest pieces of musical gear ever created. Dr Dre swears by them, as do Mark Ronson and Kanye West.Īkai has changed a lot in the last 30 years – it's even changed ownership more than once. Countless hit songs have been produced or performed on the MPC. There's a reason most hip hop producers are so attached to their MPCs. The pads were way easier to tap and play – even in a live setting.

It also eschewed the hard, plastic switches in favor of large rubber pads. Unlike the drum machines before it (like the E-mu SP1200), the Akai MPC was portable and affordable. This was the first massively popular drum machine that ushered in the era of hip hop music. The original Akai MPC, launched over 30 years ago, changed music completely. The MPD 218 is a great secondary controller for making beats.Īkai Pro and drum machines are synonymous.

Akai pro mpc