Akai APC40: Ableton Live dream controller?
January 22nd, 2009 | Published in Music | 1 Comment
Out of everything released at NAMM this year, the one thing that got me excited was the product of a partnership between Ableton and Akai. Reportedly designed by the same team responsible for Akai’s MPC series, the APC40 provides a tactile interface for control of Ableton Live’s session view, instruments, and effects.
I did a double-take upon first look: the APC40 design is eerily close to a sketch I made of my “dream controller” from about a year back. This tells me that either Akai has been going through my trash, or a company has finally listened to what musicians wanted and produced an affordable ($399 MAP) interace tailored specifically to Ableton Live.
I usually wait a while after its release date to purchase a new product, giving time for bugs to get ironed out and read up on reviews, but for this one I don’t think I’ll be able to hold off.
Ableton Live & Akai APC40 from Sound Recipes on Vimeo.
More info:
http://www.ableton.com/touch
http://www.akaipro.com/apc40

May 12th, 2009 at 7:56 pm (#)
Man, I just caught the introduction video for this on the ableton network and almost fainted on the spot. Fimally! Finally!
I’m like you, I like reviews from everyday producers/djs before buying, but my left hand is itching awfully bad. I think I may take my chances.
BP
Ps: I believe I am experiencing a natural high right about now. wow.