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Akai is teasing the SampleKey, the keyboard sibling of the MPC Sample, with open firmware for experimentation.
Update: Akai has released a second video showing the SampleKey in full and demonstrating its vibe-coded wavetable, FM, and virtual analog synth engines. The company also announced it will make MPC samples available to the community as well.
Behringer stirred up a debate yesterday when it announced a $150 MPC clone with open-source firmware. The question now is: how will Akai respond? Well, they’re hitting back.
Akai has posted a video on Instagram teasing the SampleKey—and what’s its standout feature? Open firmware!
Akai SampleKey
This comes completely out of the blue. Usually, retailers like Guitar Center or Sweetwater leak information about Akai products weeks in advance. This time, however, Akai is doing it themselves—or at least teasing what’s coming soon.
The new device will be called the Akai SampleKey, and it looks like the keyboard sampler sibling of the MPC Sample. Yes, a keyboard sampler.
It is a very compact keyboard instrument featuring a two-octave keyboard, but it lacks MPC pads—those remain exclusive to the MPC Sample. Here, the focus is on the keys. It has pitch and mod wheels, three knobs to play with, a bigger encoder, and another on the left side.
In the center, a screen—likely the same one found on the MPC Sample—along with numerous buttons controls the device.
According to the video by the legend himself, Akai Dan, the unit can sample individual keys, do automatic key splits, and more.
Open Firmware
The discussion surrounding the firmware is super exciting. In the Akai IG video, Dan said they’re opening the firmware to the community. So they can vibe-code their own functions into the unit.
The community can decide what kind of device it will be. Turn it into a granular sampler, an FM synth, or a groovebox; you are the developer. Depending on how powerful the CPU inside is, you can do a great deal with it.
Now that’s a clever move by inMusic and Akai. I certainly didn’t see that coming. Looking forward to hearing more about it.
More info will follow here: Akai / Instagram