Akai MPK Series

1 Akai MPK mini MK3

The driver for this device has 4 main operation modes:

• The Mixer mode (default) which handles Zynthian's Mixer.
• The Device mode, to control the Zynthian GUI (Graphical User Interface).
• The Pattern mode, for controlling the Zynpad and Pattern Editor.
• The NotePad mode, which is used to assign the notes that the PADs will play in note mode.

There are two more minor modes, which are:

• A User mode, where every PAD and KNOB is available for MIDI learn.
• A Config mode, used to configure the MPK internal settings, like the channels, the arpeggiator, and more.

Each mode is shown in the MPK display when active. PADs 1-4 A are used as direct access to some of Zynthian GUI screens:

• PAD 1 A: toggles between Zynthian's mixer and audio levels.
• PAD 2 A: cycles between Zynpad, the arranger and pattern editor.
• PAD 3 A: opens the tempo and metronome screen.
• PAD 4 A: toggles between snapshot and ZS3 screens.

Each one of these functions or modes is available on every operation mode or screen. Just ensure that PC (PROG CHANGE) is active on the MPK.

1.1 The Mixer mode

This is the default mode, but you can switch back to it with PROG CHANGE:PAD 5 A. You should see Zynthian MIXER in the display of the MPK. In this mode, you can use the Knobs to adjust chains settings. The general rule is: PAD x + Knob y to adjust the setting x of chain y. You can adjust chains 1 to 8 in bank A, and chains 9 to 16 in bank B. The functions that you can change are:

NOTE: Remember to put PAD CONTROLS in CC mode. The pads in note mode will only trigger the assigned notes.

• PAD 1 A + KNOBs 1-8 to adjust level of chains 1-8. PAD 1 B for chains 9-16.
• PAD 2 A + KNOBs 1-8 for balance (panning) of chains 1-8. PAD 2 B for chains 9-16.
• PAD 3 A + KNOBs 1-8 to toggle mute of chains 1-8. PAD 3 B for chains 9-16. Clockwise to set mute, counter clockwise to clear mute.
• PAD 4 A + KNOBs 1-8 to toggle solo of chains 1-8. PAD 4 B for chains 9-16. Same rules apply as for muting.

The driver will remember the last function pressed, so for adjusting chains 1-8, you can just press the desired PAD (1-4), release it, and then adjust using the knobs. All knobs will affect that PAD's function. For chains 9-16, you need the keep the PAD pressed.

In this mode, there is also support for transport controls:

• PAD 5 A/B for stop all sounds (PANIC button).
• PAD 6 A for toggle audio record. PAD 6 B will toggle MIDI record.
• PAD 7 A will trigger audio stop, while PAD 7 B will trigger MIDI stop.
• PAD 8 A is for togging audio playback, and PAD 8 B will toggle MIDI playback.

If you activate the FULL LEVEL option in the MPK, then PAD's function changes to select chain. PADs in bank A will select first 8 chains, and bank B is used to select chains 9-16.

The joystick in this mode affects the pitch-bend (in the Y axis), and sends CC messages, CC#32 for -X (left) and CC#33 for +X (right) values, available for MIDI learning.

1.2 The Device mode

This mode is used to control Zynthian's GUI. You can activate it by pressing PROG CHANGE:PAD 6 A anytime. The MPK display will show the label Zynthian DEVICE. In this mode, you have the following options:

NOTE: Remember to put PAD CONTROLS in CC mode. The pads in note mode will only trigger the assigned notes.

• In bank A:
  • Use PADs 1-3 and PAD 6 to move around the user interface (up, down, left and right, as shown in the diagram). You can also use the joystick for this.
  • Cancel or go back with PAD 5.
  • Accept or select an item, using PAD 7.
  • Launch the options menu, or the admin menu, by a short press in PAD 8. Each press will toggle between these two screens. With a long press, it will shutdown the system (a confirm dialog will appear).
  • Open the controls or preset screen of a chain, doing a short press in PAD 4. In Zynpad, a long press of PAD 4/7 will open the pattern editor for the selected sequence.

• In bank B:
  • Upper row of PADs is used for transport buttons, just like in the mixer mode:
    • PAD 5: stop all sounds (panic button).
    • PAD 6: toggle audio record.
    • PAD 7: stop audio.
    • PAD 8: toggle audio playback.
  • Lower row is used as V5 Knob press buttons. The mapping is from PAD 1 to PAD 4, which are used as Knob#1 to Knob#4 press buttons. These buttons are available in CC and PC mode. This is mainly needed for MIDI learning features, where a CC message would establish the control's MIDI learn. CC is needed when a bold/long press is required.

This mode also maps the V5 Knobs to K1, K5, K2, K6, in that order.

Knob K3 is used to adjust the tempo. When rotated, the Zynthian tempo screen will be shown briefly. This tempo setting is synchronized with the MPK.

NOTE: The MPK resolution is 1BPM, but Zynthian is 0.1BPM; take this into account to avoid drifting.

1.3 The Pattern mode

This mode works only in Zynthian's Zynpad, Arranger or Pattern Editor. To activate it, press PROG CHANGE:PAD 7 A. You should see Zynthian PATTERN in the display of your MPK. Note that all the following PADs are assumed to be in bank A.

NOTE: Remember to put PAD CONTROLS in CC mode. The pads in note mode will only trigger the assigned notes.

In any screen (Zynpad, Arranger or Pattern Editor), you can:

• Move the cursor using the joystick, or K2 for vertical and K6 for horizontal displacement.
• Press and hold PAD 3 as SHIFT, when required.

In Pattern Editor, you will have the following functionality:

• Transport controls using the upper row PADs, following the same arrangement as in Mixer mode (PAD 5: stop all sounds, PAD 6: toggle record, PAD 7: stop, PAD 8: toggle playback).
• Move along patterns of the same track in current sequence. Press PAD 1 for previous pattern, and PAD 2 for next. If there are no more patterns in current track, you can create a new one pressing SHIFT + NEXT (i.e: PAD 3 + PAD 2) while visiting the last pattern.
• Toggle step in cursor's position, pressing PAD 4.
• Adjust the selected step, using the following Knobs:
  • Step's duration: K7. It will change in increments of 0.1 steps, or, by pressing SHIFT, in 0.5 steps.
  • Step's velocity: K8.
  • Step's stutter count: K3. Ranges from 0 to 32.
  • Step's stutter duration: K4. Ranges from 1 to 96, and is measured in clock cycles.

In Zynpad, you may:

• • Toggle playing the selected sequence, by pressing PAD 4.
  • If the MPK is in FULL LEVEL, each PAD can launch/stop a sequence. PADs in bank A, for sequences between 1 and 8, and bank B for sequences 9-16.

1.4 The NotePad mode

The purpose of this mode is to modify the notes that the PADs will send in note mode (i.e. neither CC or PROG CHANGE active). You can switch to this mode by pressing PROG CHANGE:PAD 8 A. You should see Zynthian NOTEPAD in the display of the MPK.

NOTE: Unlike the other modes, this mode only works if PAD CONTROLS are in note mode.

To assign a note to a PAD, press that PAD and, without releasing it, press any key of the KeyBed. Press the pad again to check the note (it may be sent to a different chain, depending on PAD/KeyBed channels and Zynthian settings). In this mode, both banks A and B are available for note binding.

You can remove a note from a PAD pressing that PAD and, without releasing it, turning K8 counter clock-wise. The removal will be done when you release the PAD, so, if you didn't want to remove it (and didn't release the PAD), just turn the Knob clock-wise again.

Using the Knob K7 on a PAD will adjust its pitch (note) by a semitone, up and down the scale.

1.5 The User mode

This is a special mode, with no other purpose that letting you all the available controls for MIDI learning. Only PC 0-7 and 12,13 are NOT available (as they are used for changing modes and Zynthian's shortcuts). You can switch to this mode by pressing PROG CHANGE:PAD 5 B. You should see Zynthian USER in the display of the MPK.

This is the available configuration:

• PADs channel is the assigned in Config mode (see below).
• PAD notes are the assigned in NotePad.
• PAD CCs are in range [40-47] for bank A, and [48-55] for bank B.
• PC PADs 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 (all in bank B) are available.
• All Knobs are available, and their CCs goes from 56 to 63.
• Joystick Y channel is mapped as pitchbend.
• Joystick X channel is set as dual mode, with CCs 64 (left side) and 65 (right side).

1.6 The Config mode

This is also a special mode, used to configure the MPK device internal settings, like the channel where the PADs will send their notes, or the arpeggiator settings.

Rationale: while you can use the MPK arpeggiator or NOTE REPEAT buttons to change some of these settings, they will be overwritten on next mode change (as they are inside the MPK and could not be retrieved). Moreover, there are settings that could only be changed using the MPK Program Editor, so this mode will help you in that case. Zynthian will store the changes you made here per snapshot basis, so that's another reason for using this mode.

NOTE: Remember to put PAD CONTROLS in CC mode. The pads in note mode will only trigger the assigned notes. ALSO, ensure that KeyBed octave is in the middle (neither OCT+ nor OCT- is brightly lit).

In this mode, all notes of the KeyBed are used as shortcuts for the arpeggiator settings. See the MPK KeyBed labels to check the purpose of each one. Also note that:

• PAD 3 A in CC mode is used as SHIFT.
• PAD 4 A in CC mode toggles on/off the arpeggiator.

For other settings, you can use the Knobs. Move a Knob to see in the MPK display its function (but it won't change anything), and SHIFT + move Knob to actually change that property (changes are applied on SHIFT release). This is the settings mapping:

• K1: changes tempo taps, the number of times you need to press the button TAP TEMPO to change it. Ranges from 2 to 4.
• K2: to modify the arpeggiator swing, giving you a finer adjustment than using the KeyBed shortcuts.
• K3: to change the PADs aftertouch settings. Values are 0: Off, 1: Channel Aftertouch, 2: Polyphonic Aftetouch.
• K4: for changing the KeyBed octave. A value of 4 is the default middle octave, less than 4 is for lowering the octave, and bigger that 4 increases the octave. NOTE: If you want to change this value, please note that it will affect the KeyBed immediately, so any shortcut that you use later on would be displaced. Just adjust this as the last value, or reset octave before using the shortcuts.
• K6: for setting the arpeggiator clock source as EXT (external). Set it to 1 for using an external clock, or 0 to use the internal clock.
• K7: lets you change the channel of the PADs.
• K8: to modify the channel of the KeyBed.

2 Akai MPK mini MK3 Moder

This is a very simple "Mode Enforcer" driver for the Akai MPK mini MK3.

With this driver you can choose the mode by pressing the pads and the keyboard keys will be configured so you never play a "bad" note. Just that.

Modes are organized in 4 pad groups that you can choose by using the Bank A/B and CC buttons, at right.

Program-change pads are not used by the driver, so you can still use it for ZS3 or whatever you like.

Pad	Mode
Bank A, CC=OFF (pads send notes)	7-note modes (white keys)
Pad 1	Chromatic
Pad 2	Major
Pad 3	Minor
Pad 4	Harmonic Minor
Pad 5	Melodic Minor
Pad 6	Dorian
Pad 7	Mixolydian
Pad 8	Lydian
Bank B, CC=OFF (pads send notes)	7-note modes (white keys)
Pad 1	Chromatic
Pad 2	Phrygian
Pad 3	Locrian
Pad 4	Super Locrian
Pad 5	Bhairav
Pad 6	Hungarian Minor
Pad 7	Minor Gypsy
Pad 8	Spanish (8 notes!)
Bank A, CC=ON (pads send CC)	5-note modes (black keys)
Pad 1	Chromatic
Pad 2	Minor Pentatonic
Pad 3	Major Pentatonic
Pad 4	Hirojoshi
Pad 5	In-Sen
Pad 6	Iwato
Pad 7	Kumoi
Pad 8	NONE
Bank B, CC=ON (pads send CC)	Other modes (custom keys)
Pad 1	Chromatic
Pad 2	Diminished
Pad 3	Whole-Half
Pad 4	Spanish
Pad 5	Whole Tone
Pad 6	Minor Blues
Pad 7	Pelog
Pad 8	NONE

3 Akai MPK249

• Faders and knobs on Control Bank A are mapped to the first 7 chains and master channel volumes and balance. Control Bank B knobs to control the Sends and Return on a Reverb chain (which the user has to create).
• The toggle buttons on Control Bank A are mutes, solos on B, On B, the 8th button is a fade out.
• The loop button will initially take you to the ZynPad screen. If you are already on the ZynPad screen, it will take you into the selected loop.
• Stop, Play and Record should behave as you would expect them to.
• The rewind button clears the current loop, and the fast-forward button duplicates the loop pattern to the next channel.
• The drum pads are addressed in an 8x8 grid, to address up to 8 loop slots on 8 chains.

4 Akai MPK49

Not yet available, requires adaptation from the MPK249 driver!