Akai APC Mini MK2

The fact is not in dispute and comes from Akai itself: the 64 RGB buttons are for launching clips and are not velocity sensitive — the spec sheet calls them "clip-launch buttons", not pads. What splits sources is whether that matters. One camp points to the MK2's new Note and Drum modes, which let the grid play a chromatic scale or a Drum Rack and make it more than a clip launcher. The other says a grid that senses nothing has a hard ceiling, and that Novation's Launchpad X — with velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads — is where expressive players should spend. Worth noting: nobody with the unit in front of them criticises the pads themselves; even the reviewer who asked whether it "just sucks" over a lighting bug volunteered that he liked them.

Nine faders — eight assignable track faders plus a main — are the reason to choose this over a Launchpad, and owners like them: solid, smooth, with a little resistance. Four buttons switch what they control (volume, pan, send, device). The dissent is about depth and coverage. In his long-form review loopop found the fader modes shallow in practice: in send mode you tap to cycle sends but cannot see which one you are on, in device mode a parameter takes several throws to cross its range with no way to change that, and you cannot move between devices from the hardware at all. VJs add the other half: there are no knobs, and the faders are short. Thomann's spec table is blunt about it — nine faders, zero rotary encoders.

The sharpest split in the record, and it falls on a DAW line. Inside Ableton Live the story is good: it is class compliant, needs no drivers, and arrives pre-mapped, so it works on plug-in. Outside — or the moment you want it to do something Akai didn't script — the reports pile up. It requires Live 11.2.7 or later, and at least one buyer returned it on discovering Live 10 wouldn't do; FL Studio users get pads that register but faders that never work, with no resolution on-thread; an MPC Live won't sync clips; in Resolume the indicator LEDs drift out of step with the effects mid-set. Two independent reports land on the same nerve — remapping the buttons and getting the LEDs to follow is the thing this controller resists. loopop frames the ceiling structurally: unlike the Launchpad it has no custom modes and no configuration app, so what Akai scripted is what you get.

Minimal, and deliberately unchanged from the MK1. It is one USB-B port — bus-powered, no wall wart — and nothing else: no 5-pin MIDI DIN, no sustain or footswitch jack, no audio, no Bluetooth. That the MK2 kept USB-B in a 2022 refresh was itself the thing the specialist press noticed. The practical bite reported by owners is mobile use: it will not power from an iPad, even through a powered hub.

“Interestingly, the new APC MIDI controllers don’t offer USB-C but a classic USB-B connection.”

Synth Anatomy

“Like their predecessors, the APC mini Mk2 and APC Key 25 Mk2 connect via USB-B and run on bus power.”

Gearnews

The strongest agreement here. At $99 — its launch price, still its Amazon price, and as low as $85 at some retailers — it is cheap for a colour grid plus nine motor-free faders, with Ableton Live Lite in the box, and it sells: it sits inside the top handful of DAW controllers at Europe's largest retailer, on a 4.7 average across 186 ratings. The framing everyone reaches for is the Launchpad Mini, and the trade is clean in both directions: the APC gives you faders the Launchpad hasn't got, the Launchpad gives you custom modes and cross-DAW flexibility the APC hasn't got. loopop's verdict lands there too — if what you want is the biggest possible window into Live's session grid with physical faders under it, these are about the best budget option going.

“These are portable and super affordable.”

Synth Anatomy

“Cute! I love the tiny form factor...always like the smaller alternatives when the desk space is at a premium. $90 is a no brainer too.”

Hanoveur · loopop (YouTube)

Small, light and bus-powered — it goes in a backpack and needs nothing but a USB port, which is exactly how VJs and travelling players describe using it. Worth calibrating one thing, though: it is the least portable of the mini grid controllers, and the faders are why. At 240 × 210 mm and 820 g it is appreciably bigger and more than twice the weight of the Launchpad Mini MK3 it competes with. "Portable" here means bag-friendly, not coaster-sized.

“I really like all the pads and its smaller profile :/”

SnacknPack · r/vjing

“Also consider portability, you'll likely be carrying it around in a backpack to shows.”

twirlnumb · r/vjing

Solid for the money, and the MK2's main change is how it looks: the redesign brought it in line with the current Akai family and reads less cheap than the MK1, though the hardware underneath is largely carried over. Owners who upgraded from the MK1 call overall build quality good and note the buttons feel lighter while the faders are unchanged. Two caveats sit against that, both from the same long-term owner: the small buttons are stiff enough to wish they were bigger, and after six months some blue LEDs failed, turning white pads yellow — a single report, so treat it as a thing to check rather than a pattern.

“The new design for these is nice, much improved. They look less budget now”

StrayMedicine · loopop (YouTube)

“Buttons feel lighter, faders are the same as the previous one, overall build quality is good”

sonic the hedge · Thomann

A real starter bundle, led by Ableton Live Lite 11 — the piece that matters, since the controller is pre-mapped to Live and Live Lite is what makes it usable out of the box. Akai adds three AIR instruments: Hybrid 3, Mini Grand and Velvet. It is worth knowing that this is a fact everyone restates rather than a claim anyone tests: no source in the field assesses what the bundle is actually worth, and bundle contents drift over a product's life, so check what's current when you buy.

“Needless to say, both new controllers come pre-mapped to Ableton Live, so you can get started right away. A copy of Ableton Live Lite is included.”

Gearnews

“Incl. USB cable and Ableton Live Lite (download)”

Thomann