Fabric XL is the newly updated flagship synth engine, and it’s a proper all-rounder, based on a dual-layer sample-based approach. Sonically, MPCs have always been all-rounders, but the development of Akai’s own instruments. The hardware spec is slightly improved, but the software is also updated to reflect the different approach, integrating the keyboard seamlessly with the existing MPC OS. There are similarities with the MPC Live here, of course, but you’d be mistaken for thinking the Key 61 is just a Live with a keyboard grafted on.
In terms of specs, the Key 61 packs 32 GB of internal storage and 4 GB of RAM, with a huge 13 GB of pre-installed content including samples and exclusive sounds from the likes of Loopmasters and Toolroom Records. Instead it’s definitely a studio powerhouse. Akai are masters of the user interface at this point, and the layout of the controls is as immediate and intuitive as you’d expect, with an assignable touch strip for expression alongside more conventional options like the touch-sensitive Q-Link encoders plus the traditional pitch bend and mod wheel.Īt nearly a meter wide and over eight kilograms, the Key 61 isn’t really a portable instrument like most MPCs (although if you stuck it in a flight case it’d make a hell of a centrepiece for a live rig). Build quality is as solid as you’d expect from Akai the Key 61 is a weighty beast despite being made of plastic. Out of the box, the Key 61 is an impressive bit of kit, built around that full-size, semi-weighted, aftertouch keyboard and a slanted front panel above which presents you with the pads alongside the 7-inch, full-colour, multi-touch screen.
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