So I picked up the MPC Key 61 last year and I’ve had it for a while now. It’s really an amazing piece of kit. I love the semi-weighted keybed on it, and it’s a very powerful modern MPC. It comes with all the synth and key plugins that people were paying over $200 for on other MPC models. It’s well made and has great I/O with CV Gate, Midi in/Out, 4 outputs, 48v phantom power if you want to use a condenser mic to lay down vocals, etc. I’m very happy with this unit.
The MPC Key 61 comes with a lot of button shortcuts on the face of the unit, as well as a touch-strip that can be used for note repeat or “Touch FX” which the latter is a very cool feature. You can trigger tape stops, repeats, filters, etc by using the touch strip. The design of it lets you really get an organic sounding FX on your song by gradually triggering the FX using a finger on the strip.
Another cool feature is that you can use the MPC Key 61 as a midi controller. I use Rocksmith+ on my PS5, and the PS5 recognizes the Key 61 in controller mode as a Midi controller and lets me use it in the Rocksmith app to learn to play piano/keyboard/synthesizer. It’s very cool and I’m happy that it works in that way.
With the new MPC 3.0 software, stems, and a host of other cool features, the MPC Key 61 is a powerhouse modern MPC. There’s nothing you can’t do musically on the device. It has 4GB of RAM onboard, which the only other MPC with that is the MPC X SE. The Key 61 is about $1k cheaper than the X SE so it’s a steal at the price of $1499. You can purchase it on payment plans like I did from Zzounds, Sweetwater, or Guitar Center.
The MPC Key 61 is a modern MPC with a great 61 key keyboard attached to it. It’s crafted in a great way that makes it easy to navigate and easy to use. Even if you aren’t proficient at playing piano, you can use this device to learn how, and it will work for you, hopefully, for a long time to come. As you become a better musician, you’ll be able to utilize the device more and more. I would recommend this MPC to anyone in the market for one, and in my humble opinion, it’s the best modern MPC on the market.