Akai APC40 MkII
customisable parameters, which is a very useful
feature indeed.
Ultimately, while the design remit may have
been to make the APC40 MkII more portable
and ergonomic, the actual impression you get is,
sadly, more one of cost-cutting.
One step forward
Moving beyond the construction and layout,
things start to look up. Perhaps the most
obvious upgrade is that the clip launchers are
now RGB backlit, enabling them to be matched
to the corresponding clips onscreen, which
really aids navigation around larger sessions.
Another deinite improvement over the MkI is
that the MkII is USB bus powered (the original
required a DC adapter), which is obviously a
great convenience. Then there are the clip
launch quantise controls, which can now be set
easily from the front panel using the Shift
modiier with the Channel Select buttons.
There are also a few less profound advances
worthy of mention, like Device Lock, for freely
navigating your Live project while keeping the
eight Device Control rotaries locked to a
particular device; and the separate Session and
Arrange record buttons, relecting recent
improvements made by Ableton to Live itself,
such as automation recording in Session view.
Missed opportunities
The APC40 MkII works hard to solve a range of
problems that most users didn’t really have with
the MkI, but in doing so, it actually creates a
whole host of new ones. We’re sorry to say that
we think it could and should have ofered so
much more.
For a start, an LCD screen might have helped
ease the burden on that cluttered front panel.
Group expand/collapse buttons would’ve been
excellent, too. And we’d rather have the number
of clip triggers increased than the Sends
rearranged. Then there are some useful controls
in Live that still aren’t covered by the hardware,
such as the Back To Arrange button (for
switching back to Arrange playback after
manually triggering in Session view). An
integrated audio interface would have excited
us, too, as would a more radical step sequencing
mode, like that on Push. And inally, in this day
and age, LED channel level meters should be a
given, no?
As it is, the MkII ofers little new functionality
and takes a major step backwards in terms of its
interface. It’s not, of course, completely fair to
judge it on what it isn’t, but we can’t pretend to
be anything less than highly disappointed by
what it is. The improvements are minor and
come at the expense of downgrades in build-
quality, ergonomics and feel. If
you’ve been holding of buying
the MkI under the assumption
that the MkII would top it, we’d
seriously suggest taking
advantage of the current
clearance price of the original
instead.
The APC40 MkII certainly
isn’t a bad controller – it’s
perhaps the third best
performance controller for Live
on the market – but its
predecessor is still king.
Web www.akaipro.com
Verdict
For RGB clip launch buttons
USB powered
Launch quantise controls
Against Plasticky build
No LCD display or LED meters
Cramped interface
Functionally almost unchanged
Similar in ability to MkI, but inferior in feel
and structure. The APC40 MkII’s small
advances can’t disguise its overall regression
7/ 10
Alternatively
Akai APC40 Mk I
141 » 10/10 » £200 approx.
We don’t usually recommend
discontinued models, but if you’re
quick, you can still grab an original
APC – at a clearance price!
Ableton Push
191 » 10/10 » £429
Not quite as good for performance;
unrivalled for in-studio creativity
All of Akai’s recent controllers have
included various deal-sweetening bits
of software, and in the case of the
APC40 MkII, they take the form of
Ableton Live Lite, some sound libraries,
a pair of synths and an efects suite.
The audio libraries are the same as
those that come with the recent Trigger
Finger Pro, including some excellent
sounds from Toolroom and Prime Loops.
For dance styles, the former are great,
but obviously not reason in themselves
to invest. Likewise, Hybrid 3, AIR Music
Technology’s dance-focused virtual
analogue synth, ofers excellent EDM
and tech-house staples but few surprises.
Then there’s a suite of efects from
Puremagnetik and SONiVOX Twist (a
“spectral morphing synthesiser”).
Neither the original APC40 nor
Push needed to ofer a big bundle of
software and samples to entice buyers,
and while we never turn our nose up at
a good selection of sounds and plugins,
we do think the priority with the MkII
should have been on delivering an
excellent product that sells itself,
rather than throwing in free add-ons
that – however good – don’t partner
especially meaningfully with the live
performance product they’re supposed
to complement.
Value added packs
The bundled samples and plugins – such as Hybrid 3 – are good but not a reason to buy
“The MkII works hard
to solve a range of
problems that most
users didn’t really
have with the MkI”
November 2014 / CoMPuter MusIC / 93
akai apc40 mkII / reviews <
The new chassis was meant to be ergonomic, but it just feels a tad cheap
CMU210.rev_apc40.indd 93 22/09/2014 17:03