MIDI ControllerOverreview

Akai Fire

Name: Akai Fire
Brand: Akai

The only hardware ever built for FL Studio — and the community had to finish the job.

76/ 100
Review score

18 sourcesUpdated 2026-08-06

$149Typical US price

Score aggregates reviewer opinions across topics.

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The short version

What to know.

A 64-pad, 4×16 RGB grid controller built with Image-Line to mirror FL Studio's step sequencer, with four banks of touch-capacitive knobs, an OLED display, transport controls and four modes — Step, Note, Drum and Perform. It is class compliant, bus powered from a single USB port, needs no driver, and up to four can be chained for an 8-track, 32-step grid. Sources agree on the core: the one-to-one FL Studio mapping is excellent and immediate, the build feels well above the price, and at 316 mm across and 760 g it travels in a laptop bag. They agree on the limits too — four knobs and a small screen, a single USB-B socket with no MIDI DIN, no CV, no wireless and no sustain jack. Three things are genuinely argued. The pads: Akai's own FAQ calls their velocity response "limited", and reviewers who treat them as sequencer buttons rate them well while owners who want MPC-grade expression do not. Whether it works outside FL Studio: the launch reviews said no, and a free third-party extension has since made it a capable Bitwig and Reaper controller, with some owners preferring it there. And whether it earns desk space at all: plenty of buyers call it transformative, and an unusually consistent minority report buying one and never using it. In short: for an FL Studio producer who lives in the step sequencer it is still the most direct hardware there is — provided you can find one, and don't expect the pads to play like drum pads.

About this product

The 4×16, 64-pad grid controller Akai built with Image-Line specifically for FL Studio, introduced with FL Studio 20.0.5 in 2018. Two SKUs, identical hardware: the original ships with FL Studio Fruity Fire Edition, the "No Software" version (model FIRENS) doesn't. Not an APC — that's Akai's Ableton-shaped grid line — and not the standalone Force. There is no Mk2.

In 2018 Akai and Image-Line did something no one else had bothered to do: they built a piece of hardware for one DAW. The Fire is a flat black slab with 64 RGB pads laid out four rows by sixteen columns — the exact shape of FL Studio's step sequencer — plus four touch-capacitive knobs, a small OLED screen and a row of transport buttons. Plug it in and the grid lights up in your channel colours. No mapping, no driver, no setup.

Eight years on it remains the only dedicated FL Studio controller Akai ever made, and its story has an unusual shape. The official software side barely moved. The unofficial one did everything: a free Bitwig and Reaper extension gave the Fire a second life outside FL entirely, and a community Python script replaced FL's own. Meanwhile the hardware has quietly slid off retailer shelves. What you are buying now is a closeout or a used unit, and an argument about whether the box or the scripts are the product.

A good fit for

FL Studio producers who build in the Channel Rack and want the step sequencer under their fingers instead of under a mouse
Anyone who wants a first hardware controller with no mapping, no driver and no setup — and, on the bundled SKU, a working FL Studio licence in the box
Small desks and laptop rigs: it's keyboard-sized, thin, bus powered and travels without a case
Bitwig Studio and Reaper users willing to install a free community extension, who want a cheap 64-pad grid with a screen
Tinkerers — FL's Fire support is an ordinary user script, and the community has written far more capable replacements

Think twice if

You want expressive, dynamics-sensitive pads for finger drumming; the velocity response is limited by design and the maker says so
You work mostly in the piano roll and the playlist rather than the step sequencer — that's the profile most likely to stop using it
You need hardware MIDI, CV/gate, a sustain pedal or wireless; there is one USB-B port and nothing else
You want deep mixing control — four knobs and a small screen is the whole surface, and there are no faders
You want a supported product with a roadmap: there's no Mk2, retailers are clearing stock, and the interesting development is all unofficial

The reviewer consensus

Agreement &
disagreement.

3 / 8topics divide opinion

1 Strong agreement4 Mostly agree3 Divided opinions

Common ground8

The FL Studio integration is the point and it delivers: the 4×16 grid is a one-to-one map of the step sequencer, it's class compliant with no driver, and transport, Channel Rack, Mixer, Browser and Playlist all respond immediately
Four modes cover more than sequencing — Step, Note (three octaves with selectable scales and root), Drum (a 16-pad MPC-style bank for FPC and SliceX) and Perform for launching clips
Build quality reads well above the price: a solid slab, damped knobs, and a 4.6/5 average across nearly 1,500 Amazon ratings
Genuinely portable — 316 × 166 × 43 mm, 760 g, bus powered from one USB cable, with no power supply to pack
The control set is deliberately small: four touch-capacitive knobs across four banks, one encoder, twenty buttons and an OLED that several sources call too small for dark rooms
One USB Type-B socket and nothing else — no MIDI DIN or TRS, no CV/gate, no sustain jack, no Bluetooth, so it cannot drive hardware on its own
Up to four units chain together for an 8-track, 32-step grid
The standard SKU includes FL Studio Fruity Fire Edition, authorisable on four machines — but the licence stays tied to the hardware, and a separate no-software SKU exists

Points of contention3

The pads: Akai markets velocity-sensitive pads and its own FAQ calls the response limited, so reviewers rating them as sequencer buttons like them while owners rating them as drum pads keep asking for more dynamics. Which camp you land in depends entirely on whether you plan to play them
Whether it works outside FL Studio. The launch reviews and some owners say no and mean it; others run it in Bitwig or Reaper through Jürgen Moßgraber's free DrivenByMoss extension and say it's better there. Both are accurate — the extension only added the Fire in 2021, and it still isn't Akai's
Whether it earns its place. Plenty of owners describe it as the thing that unlocked their workflow; an unusually consistent minority across three community threads bought one and never used it, sold it, or returned it because it slowed them down

A closer look.

8 topics · 3 divided

Left: criticalRight: positiveTighter lines: more agreement

Choose a topic

Pads

Leans positiveDivided opinions

Reviewer sentiment8 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Sources split, and the split is about what you expect a pad to be. Everyone describes the same hardware: 64 backlit RGB pads in a 4×16 grid, short travel, quiet, no dead spots, colour-matched live to your FL channel colours, with an Accent mode (Shift + Step/Accent) that fires a harder hit. Judged as sequencer buttons they are well liked — cushy but responsive, and surprisingly playable in Drum and Note modes even for people who don't finger-drum. Judged as expressive drum pads they are not. Akai's own FAQ describes the velocity response as limited, an early owner measuring it in FL found only two levels coming through, and retail reviews return to the same complaint years apart. Neither side is mistaken; they're rating different jobs. If you want dynamics, budget for a proper pad controller alongside it.

Measured

Akai's specification sheet lists "(64) Velocity-Sensitive RGB Backlit Pads" in a 4 × 16 matrix, and the FAQ documents four pad modes — Step, Note (three octaves, scale-lockable via the Select knob), Drum (a 16-pad MPC-style bank for FPC and SliceX) and Perform. Per-step velocity is edited by holding a pad and turning the Volume knob, with the value shown on the OLED. Akai's own FAQ qualifies the response as limited. In October 2018 an owner testing the unit in FL reported the advertised velocity sensitivity as "fairly limited, currently only allowing for levels 100 or 127, although the hardware can register more velocity levels if a software update enables it." Akai's FAQ still describes the response as limited today.

vs. listeners — The marketing and the documentation disagree with each other, which is why owners feel misled. Akai's listing copy promises patterns played and recorded "using the velocity-sensitive RGB pads for maximum expressive capability"; Akai's support FAQ says the pads "provide a limited velocity-sensitive response" whose purpose is inserting accented notes. The measurement side is with the FAQ — this is a step-entry grid with an accent, not a dynamics-sensitive drum surface. Read the positive pad reviews as being about feel and the negative ones as being about resolution, and both make sense.

Where it splits

Great pads for the job — even, quiet, no dead spots, playable in every mode41%

“The pads are cushy, yet responsive, and there’s never any latency issues or “dead” spots when you’re punching out a sequence.”
Performer Magazine

The velocity response is limited — these are not expressive MPC pads59%

“The Fire's pads provide a limited velocity-sensitive response that will allow you to play and insert accented notes in your sequence.”
Akai Professional Support

Link to this topic

Integration

PositiveDivided opinions

Reviewer sentiment8 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Nobody disputes the FL Studio half: the grid is a one-to-one representation of the step sequencer, it is class compliant so there's no driver to install, the transport, Channel Rack, Mixer, Browser and Playlist all respond, and up to four units chain into an 8-track, 32-step grid. What sources genuinely disagree about is whether the Fire works anywhere else — and the honest answer changed. The 2018 reviews tried Cubase and Logic and found no route in; an Amazon owner reached the same verdict in 2022. But Jürgen Moßgraber's free DrivenByMoss extension added the Fire for Bitwig Studio in 2021 and still ships it today, with a matching Reaper version, and owners who run it that way are emphatic that it's the better experience. Inside FL, the same story repeats one level down: FL's Fire support is an ordinary user script, and the community FIRE-NFX-V2-OG+ replaces it wholesale. Buy it for FL and it works out of the box; buy it for anything else and you are buying into someone else's unpaid project.

Measured

Image-Line: "FL STUDIO 20.0.5 introduces support for the worlds first dedicated FL Studio controller the AKAI Professional FL Studio FIRE." Akai's FAQ: "The Fire is a class-compliant device on both Windows and Mac, so no driver is required", it is "a one-to-one hardware representation of the FL Studio sequencer," and "Up to four Fire controllers can be used with FL studio at one time. This will allow you to build and control up to an 8 track, 32 step grid." Outside FL: Jürgen Moßgraber's DrivenByMoss support matrix lists Akai Fire from the 12.3.2 release (Bitwig 3.2.5+) through the current 26.6.3 build for Bitwig 5.3+, released 26 July 2026, with a parallel DrivenByMoss 4 Reaper. Inside FL, the device script is a user-replaceable Python file: the community FIRE-NFX-V2-OG+ project states it "requires FL Studio 20.9 or greater and an Akai FIRE Midi device" and installs into FL's MIDI Hardware folder, and its author notes "you can switch back the original script in the Controller Type drop down at anytime."

vs. listeners — The two camps are separated by about three years, not by taste. StrongMocha's November 2018 review — "I did hope to be able AKAI Fire as a step sequencer with other DAWs, like Cubase or Logic, however, I did not find a way to use it outside FL Studio" — was accurate when written, because DrivenByMoss did not add the Fire until 2021. Since then, an Amazon owner in Australia reported buying one specifically to run in Ableton via a paid script, and Reddit and Elektronauts posters describe the Bitwig and Reaper implementations as excellent. The part that has not changed: none of it is Akai's. There is still no official support, no editor, and no vendor-supplied mapping for any DAW but FL Studio.

Where it splits

FL Studio only — outside it, don't bother42%

“Tried this with a couple other DAWs. Don't. This is a VERY niche tool.”
Steve Webb · Amazon

Free third-party scripts open it up — and some prefer it in Bitwig or Reaper58%

“Driven by moss reaper script for the fire is so much better than fl. I don't care for it in FL but in reaper it adds a lot of functionality”
lloydgarbadon · r/FL_Studio

Link to this topic

Controls

Leans positiveMostly agree

Reviewer sentiment7 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Four touch-capacitive knobs across four banks, one encoder for browsing, twenty backlit function buttons and a small OLED — and the agreement here is on a two-sided fact rather than a dispute. The good part: the knobs are placed where your hand lands, have real resistance so you don't knock them by accident, and multiply into sixteen assignments across the Channel Rack, Mixer and two User banks, the last two freely mappable to anything you can link in FL. The Browser encoder and transport section genuinely remove the mouse from most of a session, and the screen is bright and legible. The cost, which even the enthusiastic sources state plainly: four knobs is not many for mixing, the display is small enough to be awkward in a dark room, the non-pad buttons are stiffer and less satisfying than the pads, and the knobs' minimum step in Mixer mode is coarse enough to notice on fine level moves.

“Even though there's only 4 knobs, they can do 16 different things with only a couple clicks, 8 of those fully customizable.”
Dennis · Amazon

“Normally we abhor menu-diving on hardware units, but the OLED screen was clear as day and presented no issues.”
Performer Magazine

“The four knobs at the upper left of the unit have a nice resistance to them, so you won't be inadvertently brushing them and changing parameters while you're working with the pads.”
dgmulf · r/FL_Studio

“Buttons a bit unsatisfying but they're not drumpads so that's acceptable”
Kindle Customer · Amazon

“While useful, the screen could be larger for better visibility, especially during live performances.”
Global DJs Guide

Measured

Akai's specification sheet: four 360-degree assignable touch-capacitive knobs plus one 360-degree encoder for display navigation, twenty dedicated function buttons backlit red, amber or green, and an OLED display. The knobs cycle through Channel, Mixer, User 1 and User 2 banks. Tap tempo is Shift + Drum/Tap and adjusts the project tempo live; a printed cheat sheet in the box lists the Alt-key combinations. An owner reviewing it in 2018 put the Mixer-mode knob resolution at roughly 0.5 dB per step, and reported that the only way to make the knobs finer was a custom controller mapping formula in the two User modes.

Link to this topic

Value

Leans positiveDivided opinions

Reviewer sentiment8 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Sources split on whether it earns its desk space, and the split doesn't track price. On the buy side the arithmetic is easy: at $100–150 — Adorama currently lists the no-software SKU as a $149 closeout, against a $199 launch street price — you get a purpose-built controller, plus a free copy of FL Studio Fruity Fire Edition on the bundled SKU if you don't already own a DAW, and reviewers and most owners say it opens up production immediately. On the other side is a pattern too consistent to average away: across three separate community threads, owners report buying one and never using it, selling it once better scripts arrived for other gear, or returning it because it slowed them down. The deciding variable seems to be whether you actually work in the Channel Rack. Producers who build in the step sequencer keep it; producers who live in the piano roll and the playlist find it becomes a transport bar with lights.

Measured

Performer Magazine listed a $199 US street price in January 2019. A zZounds buyer in August 2020 reported paying $100; an Elektronauts poster in June 2022 put it at "a little over 100 euros new". As of August 2026 the picture is a closing-down one: Adorama lists the Akai Fire Performance Controller for FL Studio, No Software (model FIRENS) at $149.00 flagged Closeout; zZounds' product page reads "No longer available at zZounds" above its standard note that "In most cases, a product is unavailable because it has been discontinued by the manufacturer"; the Amazon listing shows "Currently unavailable"; and Thomann no longer carries the product at all. Akai's own product page is still live.

Where it splits

At this price it's a straightforward yes for an FL Studio producer63%

“If you don't already have a MIDI controller/keyboard for your FL Studio setup, don't hesitate to get this - it will open up your production immensely.”
Dennis · Amazon

A lot of owners buy one and stop using it — or send it back37%

“FWIW, I bought one and returned it. It slowed me down.”
Ralphisinthehouse · r/FL_Studio

Link to this topic

Build

PositiveMostly agree

Reviewer sentiment7 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Consistently rated above its price, with one dissenting note about the brand rather than the unit. An early owner reported that Image-Line had said on its own forums that the quality of the tactile controls and the chassis was a budget priority in designing the Fire, and reviewers and owners agree it shows: the slab feels solid, the pads and knobs are well damped, and long-term owners describe it as holding up. Retail reviews back that with a 4.6/5 average across nearly 1,500 ratings and only 3% at one or two stars. Two honest caveats. The knobs stand proud of the top surface with nothing around them, so a drop or a crowded bag is a real risk — a hard case is a sensible $30. And a longtime hardware buyer on Elektronauts is blunt that Akai's cheaper MIDI gear has not lasted for him, which is worth weighing against a controller that is now mostly bought used.

“Overall, I'm pleased with the construction and build quality.”
dgmulf · r/FL_Studio

“Build quality is superlative for the price point, integration is logical, and you reach for the mouse much less.”
saucenuggets · r/FL_Studio

“The controller has an excellent and premium built quality.”
StrongMocha

“The build quality is very good and the integration with the software is fast and uncomplicated.”
Emely · Amazon

“I want to get a fire just to try this but my experience with Akais cheap midi products has been terrible.”
layertx · Elektronauts

Measured

Owner aggregate: Amazon 4.6/5 across 1,483 ratings, with 81% five-star and 3% at one or two stars; zZounds shows 5/5 but from only four reviews. The chassis is plastic over a 316 × 166 × 43 mm footprint at 760 g. Global DJs Guide flags the rotary knobs' exposed position as the one durability risk. Amazon's own review-summary tool reports button responsiveness and velocity sensitivity as the two mixed themes, alongside a cluster of registration complaints about serial numbers not being recognised.

Link to this topic

Software

Leans positiveMostly agree

Reviewer sentiment5 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

The bundle is a real DAW, with real strings attached. Register the standard SKU and you get FL Studio Fruity Fire Edition, a cut-down FL Studio licence with the stock plug-ins and samples, authorisable on up to four computers — enough to start producing on the day it arrives, which is a meaningful chunk of the price if you don't already own FL. Two things to know before you count on it. The licence is tethered to the hardware: the Fire has to be plugged in the first time you authorise, and connected periodically afterwards to keep the authorisation alive. And there is a second SKU sold explicitly without the software — the one currently on closeout — so check which you're buying. Akai's documentation still describes the bundle as FL Studio 20.5, a version number that has not moved in years.

“Great controller for FL studio with a lot of functions it's worth the price and it comes with the basic license for FL studio.”
Joch Kelevra · Amazon

“IF you do not have FL Studio, there is an FL Studio 20 Fruity Edition included. The FL Studio software can be authorized on up to four different computers at one time.”
StrongMocha

“The most advanced MIDI interface for FL Studio and the Akai FIRE ever created.”
FIRE-NFX-V2-OG+ · GitHub

Measured

Akai's FAQ: "The Fire includes a copy of FL Studio 20.5: Fruity Fire Edition which includes all the samples and plugins you'll need to get started", it may be "authorized on up to four different computers at one time", and "A Fire will need to be connected during the initial authorization of the software and connected periodically afterward to retain the Fruity Fire edition authorization." Image-Line hosts the redemption path and the upgrade offers. The alternative SKU, Akai model FIRENS, ships with no software at all. Beyond the box, FL's Fire support is a user script — the community FIRE-NFX-V2-OG+ replaces it and needs FL Studio 20.9 or later, and DrivenByMoss covers Bitwig and Reaper; both are free and neither is Akai's.

Link to this topic

Connectivity

Leans positiveMostly agree

Reviewer sentiment6 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Simple, and simple in both directions. There is exactly one socket: a USB Type-B port that carries MIDI and all the power the unit needs, with no driver to install on Windows or macOS. That is the whole appeal — it is genuinely plug-and-play, and four units can be chained off one computer. It is also the whole ceiling. No 5-pin or TRS MIDI out, so it cannot drive a synth or a drum machine directly; no CV or gate; no sustain-pedal jack; no Bluetooth or battery; and USB-B rather than USB-C, which in 2026 means a cable you probably don't already own. One practical footnote worth knowing for a class-compliant USB device with no driver of its own: FL Studio users on Image-Line's forum hit a Windows 11 update in late 2024 that stopped FL launching at all if the Fire was plugged in at boot, with the workaround being to start the machine and FL first and connect the controller afterwards.

“The Fire is a class-compliant device on both Windows and Mac, so no driver is required. Just plug it into your computer and you're ready to produce!”
Akai Professional Support

“The Fire is USB-hub powered, so it is powered by connecting it directly to your computer. No external power adapter is required.”
Akai Professional Support

“Enjoy seamless USB bus-powered integration; start creating music right out of the box!”
Adorama

Measured

Akai's specification sheet lists the entire connection complement as "1 USB Type-B Port"; the user guide gives power as "Via USB." There is no MIDI DIN, no TRS MIDI, no CV/gate, no footswitch jack, no Bluetooth. Global DJs Guide lists the absence of wireless among its limitations. In December 2024 an Image-Line forum thread documented FL Studio failing to start on Windows 11 when the Fire (and a PreSonus FaderPort) were connected at boot, traced by posters to a Windows update and worked around by booting and launching FL first, then plugging the controller in; several other owners reproduced it over the following weeks. That is an OS-side interaction rather than a fault in the controller, but it's the kind a driverless class-compliant device is exposed to.

Link to this topic

Follow the evidence

Sources 18

Read with context

Limitations & method.

As of 2026-08-06

What to keep in mind 5

This is a read of where opinion lands as of August 2026. The Fire arrived in 2018, so the professional reviews are launch-era — what changed afterwards happened outside Akai, in free community scripts, and that's the part most likely to keep moving.
Availability is the big caveat. Retailers are clearing or have dropped the Fire, so what you find is a closeout unit, a used one, or nothing. Prices on the second-hand market swing a lot more than a street price does, and a used controller is worth checking over before the return window closes.
Retail star ratings skew positive, since they mostly come from people who chose to buy it. The Amazon average is worth more than the tiny samples elsewhere, and a handful of five-star reviews is not evidence of anything.
How much you get out of it depends on how you work in FL Studio more than on the hardware. Someone who builds in the step sequencer and someone who builds in the piano roll can own the same unit and honestly reach opposite conclusions.
Anything running through a community script depends on that script's author continuing, and on your DAW version. Check that the version you'd rely on still supports your setup before you buy the Fire for that reason.

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