Akai Professional MPC Key 37 G2 Standalone Production Keyboard

Disappointed by software quality

Didn’t start even fresh out of the box. I have seen others complain about it randomly stopping to work and suddenly starting again. Didn’t expect this from a Japanese electronics product. Going to return it.

0:43

No regrets on this purchase

Love this thing. It’s so much faster. Must buy

Dramatically enhance my workflow and production and it’s just absolutely beautiful

Great product, using it for live music

Run smooth, we love it

Great upgrade over the G1

Last week I upgraded from the gen 1 MPC Key 37 to this second generation and I could not be more impressed with the improvements. I will keep this review brief for those who are considering upgrading.

I loved my Gen 1 Key 37. The only issue I had was that I found myself needing more than 8 tracks and I would constantly find myself limited on RAM. The RAM issue amplified itself if I was trying to compose songs using complex keys tracks. I would be able to lay the track down, but the system would not have enough memory for me to go back and edit the track. The entire unit would freeze up for minutes at a time. When I saw the G2 announced I immediately went to Guitar Center to trade in my old unit for the newest version.

The G2 completely solves my problems. You can hear a CPU fan on startup, however, I have not heard it during normal use. My RAM on the same song went from 72% to 30%. I no longer have freezing issues. The entire OS is more fluid. It does not lag when loading instruments, it has more drum options and it can export files much faster.

Overall I am very impressed. This is probably what the G1 should have been (similar to the Key 61 G1), but I am very happy I upgraded given how often I use it. It does have a few small software bugs but if you know AKAI you know this is normal and they will eventually get it sorted.

My upgrade cost me about $500 with the trade, but it was worth it in my opinion. I love the new unit. I also really like the new color and the branding stickers they placed on it. Thanks AKAI!