There’s no better way to start the weekend than with a new piece of gear from Akai. If you’re like me, or any other producers who use Akai & FL Studio, we’ve always wanted a way to marry the two brands in a way that makes sense. Welp, looks the corporate powers that be heard us and created a great new piece of gear: The Akai Fire
Unboxing
The controller itself is sleek enough to fit inside a bookbag with no issue, is USB powered so there’s no need for an external power supply. Inside the box you get:
- Akai FireController
- USB cord
- Manual
- Software Card (for a free introductory version of FL studio)
Tech Specs
- Plug-and-play integration with FL Studio
- Quickly input patterns along the timeline in the step sequencer
- 4 x 16 Matrix of Velocity-Sensitive RGB Pads
- Expandable up to four units, creating the potential for an 8 x 32 Matrix
- Record notes in Performance mode
- Graphical OLED display
- 4 banks of assignable Touch-Capacitive Knobs
- Instantly navigate the Channel Rack, Browser, Tool Bar and Playlist windows
- Use dedicated controls to quickly browse audio and project files
- Dedicated Transport controls
- USB Bus Powered
The Review
This. thing. is. Fire! (see what I did there).
Seriously, this controller is a cool addition to FL Studio. Like other midi controllers, you map functions, load sounds and essentially do all of your drum programming while BARELY looking at your computer screen — you’re going to have to look here and there, but not as much.
The Fire has 3 different modes that users can access:
Note Mode: For use as a traditional midi keyboard
Drum Mode: For a drum programming experience similar to the MPC/Maschine
Performance Mode: For clip launching
Final Thoughts
At $199, if you’re looking for the MPC/Ableton workflow at a fraction of the price then this is for you. Like we always say, don’t splurge on gear if it’s out of your price range, and even if it is, ask yourself how you can put this to use when making new beats.
Signed,
The Drum Machine Addicts
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