Contents


Registration

All included software and Sample Packs are wrapped into one uni-installer that will be made available in your Akai account after registering the MPK mini.

  1. Launch your web browser and go to www.akaipro.com.

  2. Go to the top right-hand corner of the website and click on Account. You will be redirected to a new page to either Create a New Account or Sign In.
  3. If you are a new customer, click on Create an account or Sign In if you are a previous customer. Fill out the necessary information to register as a new user and click Create Account. The minimum length of the password must be equal to or greater than 8 symbols.

  4. You have successfully made an account! Once signed in, you will see your name at the top right-hand corner of the website and in the middle of your screen you will see Register New Product
  5. Select Register New Product. Enter the MPK mini's serial number in the provided field. Be sure to enter the complete serial number as it appears on the bottom of your product. The serial number is located on a bar code sticker and begins with (21). Select Check Serial to confirm your device type
    Note: The (21) will already be present when entering your serial number. If you experience difficulty registering your product, clear the cache in your web browser and try again.
  6. Click on Register Your Product
  7. Enter your Date of Purchase and Place of Purchase
  8. You have successfully registered your Akai controller! All of your registered products will now appear!


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Downloading, and Installing the inMusic Software Center

After registering your MPK mini mk3, the Software Manager will be made available for download in your Akai account. This program is a uni-installer that contains all installers for MPC Beats, the AIR plugins, Sample Packs, and the MPK Editor.


  1. Locate your MPK Mini product listing. Here, select View Downloads. This will expand your MPK Mini product listing to include available promotional offerings and the included software downloader.


  2. Under Software Downloads, locate and click on the IMPORTANT - DOWNLOAD FIRST InMusic Software Center section, this will open a drop-down menu - Download the installer for your operating system.

  3. After the download completes, It will open up the inMusic Software Center


  4. Click on Let's Go! and will then take you to a browser window to sign into your newly created inMusic Profile. Enter both your email address and password and click on "SIGN IN"
  5. You have successfully logged in to your inMusic Software Center. You will now be prompted to begin your MPK Mini setup.

  6. Connect MPK mini directly to your computer with the included USB cable (avoid using a USB hub). Click REDEEM SOFTWARE to ensure your AIR titles are deposited into your inMusic Profile. 
  7. Once redeemed - Click NEXT
  8. The Software Manager will show you all Instruments, Apps, and Sample Packs that are available for download to your computer. Click the respective icon to load it to the installer queue. Click Next after confirming your selections.
  9. Note: If you'd like to know more about specific software, click the Information button for features and details!

  10. Click Done.

  11. The Software Manager will begin to automatically download the selected software and display the installers on one easy-to-access page.
  12. Your MPC Beats Expansion Packs are located under 'My Expansions'The inMusic Software Manager will be saved as an application in your computer's Application or Programs folder. Just open the inMusic Software Manager to access your software and installers at any time!

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Installing MPC Beats

The MPC Beats software is the heart of the MPC workflow. MPC Beats allows you to create dynamic sequences with your AIR plugins and Sample Packs that can be recorded, arranged, and mixed, and into tracks.


The MPC Beats installer is located in the inMusic Software Center and does not require an authorization code to use. Simply install the software and start making music!


  1. Open the Software Manager from your Application or Program folder.

  2. Click on the Software tab to view all your installers - Find the MPC Beats installer under Apps and click the Install button to the right.
  3. The MPC Beats Installer will automatically open. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the installation.

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Installing & Activating the AIR Plugins

MPK mini is supplied with 3 AIR plugins that can be installed directly from the inMusic Software Center. These virtual instruments are a great way to expand your melodic ideas.


  1. Open the Software Manager from your computer's Application or Program folder and click on the My Hardware tab. Locate the Plugin Instruments Section and Click on the Download button to the right, once downloaded, click Install. 
  2. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the installation.
  3. Once installed, your AIR Instruments will automatically activate - Users are allocated 3 activations between machines. 
  4. Repeat steps 1-2 for the remaining AIR plugins.


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Installing MPC Beats Sample Packs

Sample Packs consist of different sample libraries and premade kits that can be triggered from the MPK mini mk3's pads. To install the included Sample Packs:


  1. Open the Software Manager from your computer's Application or Program folder and click on the My Expansions tab. Click on the Install button to the right of a Sample Pack.

  2. The installer will automatically appear. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the installation.

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  3. Repeat steps 2-3 for the remaining Sample Packs.



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Using Standalone Plugins

The AIR team has released standalone software versions of the Electric, Huge, and Essential Keyboards plugins. These apps will install on your computer when you run the plugin installers from the inMusic Software Center. 


These standalone programs are great to play with if you're not looking to use a DAW and just want to plug in the MPK and make some noise!


  1. Connect the MPK to an available USB port on your computer.

  2. Open your Application or Program folder and click on Electric, Hype, or Essential Keyboards.

  3. The software interface will open and connect to your MPK.


    Note: If the software is not responding to the MPK's keys, click on the Settings gear icon and enable the MPK under Active MIDI Inputs.


  4. You can access different sounds by clicking on the preset field. A drop-down menu will appear with all available presets. Click on a name to load the patch into the software.




    Fine-tune and customize your sound by moving the virtual knobs and parameters with your mouse. Click the Save button to save your changes as a User preset.



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Configuring your MPK mini mk3 in MPC Beats

Now that you have installed the included sound content, let's connect the MPK mini and launch MPC Beats!


  1. Open MPC Beats from your computer's Application or Program folder.

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  2. MPC Beats will prompt you to connect the MPK. Connect the MPK to your computer with the provided USB cable then click Next.

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  3. MPC Beats will auto-detect the controller, and select the MPK mini 3 controller map for the software. This will fully map your keyboard, pads, and controls to MPC Beats. You can also manually select the Akai MPK mini 3 controller map by clicking on New MIDI Mapping > Factory > Akai > Akai MPK mini 3.

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  4. Next, MPC Beats will ask you to select your workspace. If you are new to music production, select Simple. If you have previous experience with MPC, select Advanced and click Next.

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  5. MPC Beats will list a selection of project templates and demos to get you up and running with the software. If you prefer to start with a clean slate click on Empty Project.

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  6. If you're new to MPC and would like to find out more about its features and functions, click on the Open Help or Watch Videos buttons at the right!

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  7. Let's open the MIDI/Sync Preferences to ensure that the MPK is enabled as an active MIDI input device. Navigate to the Preferences menu and click on the MIDI/Synctab.
    • MAC: Select MPCBeats > Preferences
    • PC: Select EDIT > Preferences

  8. The Input Ports section in MIDI/Sync Preferences will display all available MIDI input ports in a list. Devices will automatically appear in the list when connected provided that Enable MIDI ports when discovered is set to ON.

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    By default, the MPK's Input Port will be set to Track. Let's take a look at the different input modes and how they can be used:
    • When Master is enabled, MIDI data from this port will always go to the currently selected program in your project. The MPC Pads are an example of a device that is always set to Master.
    • When Control is enabled, MIDI data from this port will be sent to MIDI Learn.
    • When Track is enabled, this MIDI port will appear in the list of available MIDI Inputs that can be selected in your track's Channel Strip or in Track View.

  9. If you plan on using an external clock with the MPK's Arp or Note Repeat functions, you'll need to enable Sync Send. Click on the Sync Output field and select MIDI Clock.

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Now that your hardware is set up, let's take a look at how to access your included sound content!


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Scanning the AIR Plugins into MPC Beats

Before using your AIR plugins in MPC Beats, we'll need to scan them into the software.


  1. Navigate to the Preferences menu:
    • MAC: Select MPCBeats > Preferences
    • PC: Select EDIT > Preferences

  2. Choose the Plugins tab.

  3. Add a check to the first available box on the left, then click on the browse box at the end of that row to navigate to your plugin installation location.


  4. To scan for the plugins, click on the drop-down menu at the right to browse and then select your plugin folder's pathway.
    • Mac: Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST
    • PC: C:/Program Files/Steinberg/VstPlugins

      Double-click the folders to load them into the Plugin Manager pathway. Select the last folder with one click and choose Open.

  5. Select Rescan All. After the process is finished the Plugin Manager will notify you. Press OK.


    Now, all included plugins will be accessible in the MPC Beats Software! You can load your new plugins by creating a Plugin Program and clicking the Plugin field. A Browser will appear with your MPC plugins and AIR plugins.


    Can't see the plugin GUI? Just click on the Explode icon to the right!



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Loading a Sample Pack to a Drum Program

MPC Sample Packs will be automatically loaded into MPC Beats after installation. To access your Sample Packs, click on the Media Browser icon on the bottom right of the software, or press the "B" key on your QWERTY keyboard.
 

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All Sample Packs will be shown as an icon under the Expansion tab. Click on the Sample Pack icon to view its samples and pre-configured drum kits.
 

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Note: If you do not see any icons under the Expansions tab, it's likely that the Sample Packs have not been installed yet. In this case, open the MPK mini Software Manager from your computer's Application or Program folder. Click on the Software tab to view your downloads. Click the Install button to the right of a Sample Pack to install the sound content.
 

You can load a sample or drum kit by clicking and dragging the file from the Browser directly to the pads.
 

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The sample or kit will populate the pads and can be triggered from the MPK's pads. The MPK's hardware Preset 1 is already mapped to Pad Bank A in MPC Beats. Just press and hold down the Prog Select Button and press Pad 1.


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