Akai Professional is a leading provider of music production hardware and software, recognized for its innovative products that cater to musicians, producers, and audio professionals. Established in 1984, the company has built a strong reputation in the industry, particularly known for its iconic MPC drum machines and the popular MPK Mini MIDI controller. The company's offerings include a wide range of music production tools designed to facilitate creativity and enhance the music-making process. Akai Professional serves a diverse customer base, from hobbyist musicians to professional sound engineers, providing essential equipment for both studio and live performance settings. With a commitment to quality and innovation, Akai Professional continues to be a trusted name in the realm of music technology.
Akai Professional receives significant criticism from consumers, primarily due to poor product quality and inadequate customer service. Many reviewers express frustration over faulty products, with claims that items like the MPC One and MPK Mini have serious issues, including unresponsive keys and software bugs.
Customers also report a lack of support, stating that help tickets go unanswered and communication with the company is nearly impossible. While some users appreciate the quality of specific hardware like the MPC Key 37, they note that the accompanying software is limited, only functioning on Windows and MacOS. Positive experiences are rare, with only a few praising the ease of purchasing plugins. Overall, the sentiment leans heavily negative, with many vowing never to buy from Akai again.
Summary generated with AI from recent reviews
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
| Source | Rating | Reviews | Weight | 6-mo | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trustpilot Imported Trustpilot reviews | 1.9 | 35 | 100% | ● Low |
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Jul 2025.
| Month | Average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 24 | 3.0 | 2 |
| Sep 24 | 2.0 | 2 |
| Oct 24 | — | 0 |
| Nov 24 | — | 0 |
| Dec 24 | — | 0 |
| Jan 25 | 2.3 | 4 |
| Feb 25 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Mar 25 | — | 0 |
| Apr 25 | — | 0 |
| May 25 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Jun 25 | — | 0 |
| Jul 25 | 4.0 | 1 |
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 35 most recent reviews.
“I needed to contact Akai Professional support over the bundled software and online store partnership – they took a wh...”
“Do not buy any used Akai pro product”
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Musical Instruments.
| Company | Overall | Legit | Service | Quality | Refunds | Trend | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1.9 out of 5 (poor) | 100 out of 100 | 1.5 out of 5 (poor) | 1.3 out of 5 (poor) | 1.0 out of 5 (poor) | — | 35 |
| 5.0 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | — | — | — | — | 25 | |
| 4.7 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | 4.7 out of 5 (good) | — | −3% | 551 | |
| 4.4 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | 4.0 out of 5 (good) | 2.6 out of 5 (poor) | — | 272 | |
| 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | — | 4.0 out of 5 (good) | — | — | 25 |
Bottom line: Akai Professional is #5 of 5 on overall rating in this group. On quality, Sports Integrity scores higher (4.7 vs 1.3).
35 reviews of Akai Professional. Filter by what matters to you.
Very poor customer service - few months to answer. AKAI Professional Advance Keyboard and VIP software never worked properly and now no updates to new system on OS X. So, after 4 years this equipment goes to trash - never AKAI Pros again.
I ordered a AKAI MPK mini about an year ago. First of all, the drum pads were not working properly, and you had to really "hit" the buttons for them to to work (usually you should be able to just lightly tap them for them to work). I really didn't have a problem with this since I almost never used them anyways. However, a very comedic thing happened a week ago. I, for the first time, dropped my AKAI MPK Mini from a table (around 50cm drop to the floor with a carpet) by mistake. The MIDI keyboard stopped working... It's really insane, since the drop wasn't even that bad and the first time ever. I feel like AKAI just uses their legacy/history as a pioneer in the MIDI keyboard industry as an advantage, and they don't really care about quality and just want to profit. Because this is just outrageous honestly.
I bought the AKAI MPK MINI MK3 in Sept 2021. Great little controller keyboard and downloaded MPC Beats. Then I upgraded to MPC (ONE I guess - the paid 'DAW') and then bought some expansion packs. Had issues with the expansion packs and contacted AKAI. They take weeks and weeks to reply, only to tell you they are experiencing a larger than normal volume of requests. Weeks and weeks pass, with little or zero acknowledgment of your request. Great hardware, almost zero support.
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Akai Professional is a leading provider of music production hardware and software, recognized for its innovative products that cater to musicians, producers, and audio professionals. Established in 1984, the company has built a strong reputation in the industry, particularly known for its iconic MPC drum machines and the popular MPK Mini MIDI controller. The company's offerings include a wide range of music production tools designed to facilitate creativity and enhance the music-making process. Akai Professional serves a diverse customer base, from hobbyist musicians to professional sound engineers, providing essential equipment for both studio and live performance settings. With a commitment to quality and innovation, Akai Professional continues to be a trusted name in the realm of music technology.
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