Nord Stage 4 vs Akai MPC Key 61 - Unfair Comparison?

In this video I compare the Nord Stage 4 with the Akai MPC key 61. Unfair comparison you say? Maybe! This was a fun video to make to see how close the sounds on a sub $2000 keyboard compare with an almost $6000 keyboard! While there are some major differences between the Nord Stage 4 and the Akai MPC Key 61, each one holds it's own and are great depending on what you're looking for!


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Thanks for watching and comment below with any questions you have and I will answer them as soon as I can!

[Zzzz...]

Fun fact: you can auto-sample your favorite or all of the Nord stage 4 sounds (or any synth) into the mpc key 61 (with or without effects) and layer the sounds to your heart's content.

[joonglegamer]

50+ old geezer chiming in here. I come from the same background as you, pretty much could not afford the cool-kids toys back in the 80s, best I had was a Yamaha DX7 and it was my life. I always dreamed of the Fairlight synth workstation, but that cost the price of a house. Now I have a lot of those cool toys you and many of us in our age now can afford and enjoy, and yes, they're professional stage instruments, and their sounds are pretty much up there in our dreams.

But the thing is, when the MPC Key 61 was introduced, it was the modern Fairlight I've always dreamed of owning. Sure, Ableton, Cubase etc. totally took over for most, but it still wasn't the real hardware feel deal, and the MPC Key 61 covers a pretty unique hole in the market (or my heart), and that is the Fairlight. It has those "on-the-fly" possibilites of just about everything including sampling, VST's, filters, DAW like, Mixer, Recording Studio All-in-one, turn it on and you're nearly DONE magic. And pure magic it is.

When I got mine when it was launched, it was like a dream come true. Sure, I have professional instruments like the Yamaha Montage and many more, and they cover that "fantastic sound" section when you need that ultimate-quality edge. But - and there is the big BUT - the Key 61... really IS the Fairlight of our dreams. It does everything, and you can just fire it up in 15 seconds, sample, re-sample, it can control your ENTIRE studio including analog synths, it has VSTs, 100s of filters, 128 channel Midi recording, regular old Midi recording, Mic in and even drumpads, all of which you can use on-the-fly.

And did I mention the Record-Dub-Play And rewind buttons? And endless Undo + retro active recording? I mean come on... this is by far the most user friendly, get-up-and-produce music in minutes (literally MINUTES) to finished production there is. I would buy it again, and If I had to chose ONE instrument, I'd get this one even if I would miss my stage instruments, hands down - the best music tool ever created ihmo.

[judddredd]

The MPC key 61 is probably the best value for money of anything on the market today. The touchscreen interface is incredible as is the depth of control on plugins like Fabric xl, hype and Opx-4.

[jakethethird]

The MPC Key 61 is everything Open Labs (which I have) tried to do 15 years ago. Amazing for a fraction of the price.

[dwsel]

I enjoy watching such a wild comparisons. Please do more in the future 😎👍

[TheAndOnlyMichaelAngelo]

WOW. With the sound customizations and tweaking of today's software and more, you can make a $1700 keyboard sound exactly, if not, better than a $6, 000 keyboard! In this case, between the Key 61 and the Nord Stage 4, the tweaking would be very minimal and the $1700 keyboard would go neck-to-neck with the Nord Stage 4! Excellent video Brotha!

[scott]

Thanks for making this video. The head to head nature of comparison is valuable. I use my Key 61 in a band to play some keys parts in 80s tribute songs (Flock of Seagulls, Devo, U2) songs and to trigger some intros and SFX. It does a nice job and one day I'll get around to figuring out the sequencer.

[binghampton]

These are some of the most helpful MPC Key reviews I've seen yet. Subbed!

[christophedelamusiquedesar]

I have been seeing this video crop up on my channel almost daily but not watched it until now because I questioned such a radical comparison. That said, it's been so interesting to watch and I have learned a lot in doing so. Very nicely put together. Thanks.

[Diddddu]

I don't understand why everyone says the organ is trash on the mpc it's a bit thin but i like it.

[ChristosGeorgiades]

Excellent video! Comparisons are fun, and we get the chance to learn about two fascinating instruments! Thank you

[robertwelch]

You are a very talented musician!!! I just bought a mpc live 61. Thanks for the video Bro!

[flossondatrack]

Great video. Just auto-sample the Nord into the MPC Key 61.

[ampdoc]

What AKAI should really do: release the very same machine with a weighted keyboard. Because otherwisely it's an absolute beast and a steal for the money!

[AleAndreatta]

Another great comparison would be MPC Key 61 vs Arturia Astrolab. They're similar considering software and application. That would be nice to see you comparing them.

[illreel]

Great Job Bro!!! All I know is if Akai MPC releases a 76 or 88 key they need to put Digital I/O on it!!! 🙏🏼🤯🙏🏼

[jensarnold]

Hi, Is there a tutorial on the Aki MPC 61 on how to quickly access my presets and setlist on stage in live mode? Is there a way to avoid the 1-2 second loading time of the presets?

[MrKeys]

I own both of these boards and totally agree with this comparison. The Nord Strings are just bad!! The diff in the Organs I think has a lot to do with the Leslie cabinet effect and the ‘cabinet mic placement’ within that effect. Finally the pianos would indeed (as you eluded to) be pretty dang close if you midi’d the Nord to the MPC and used the 88 piano weighted keybed to play the MPC. Great video!

[SonnetGomes]

Thank you for such detailed review and comparison. The MPC would be great portable solution for a lot of the work I do without sacrificing quality.

[mtbtrails]

Always good to compare. I agree, the piano's/organ sounds better on the Nord but for the home/hobby musician Nord is way overpriced, you can buy 3.6 Mpc keys61 for the price of one Nord. Hopefully there will be an mpc key 88 soon.