I got to say that I love the Akai APC-40 Ableton controller. I’ve used Ableton Live since it first came out in 2001. I got a free copy with some audio hardware I was buying for a DJ gig at the time. I’d recently started making the transition from CDs and traditional vinyl to digital (Final Scratch), and needed an external sound card for the ole laptop. I spent a small fortune on what turned out to be a lemon of an audio interface. However, the promotional package I bought came with a stack of bundled software, containing a bright green disk in a white envelope with this authorization code for something thing called ableton live, and a stack of pro-sessions sound libraries. There was no manual, no explanation, no indication of what it was, and to be frank, bundled software usually sucks monkey balls, so I put it aside, and it sat there for weeks.
Well, a Saturday afternoon a few weeks later, I was kicking my heels looking for something to do. So, I decided to check out this bundle of software to see if there was anything even remotely usable. I set up and installed this ableton thing, and fired it up. My first impression was that though the interface was a little unusual, this piece of software looked like little more than an updated version of the old Amiga Tracker Software. Having been a fan of a number of ProTracker 2 for Amiga I decided to play around with it. 10 minutes later I was in love. This was shockingly good software written with composition and live performance in mind, and not just another DAW or software synth. It had everything I had ever wanted in a audio application. It was mind blowing.
AKAI APC-40
Over the last nine years, the product has just gotten better and better. I will admit that some of the features are making it a little bloated these days, and it is starting to get to the point like some of it’s predecessors (like Cakewalk, Cubase, or Reason) where there are so many options and capabilities that option paralysis is a becoming a common problem for new users. That being said, if you do know what you are doing, and what you want, there are few tools out there that even come close. The only criticism that I had was that despite being written for live performance, the fact is that trying to click on clips, loops and controls on a computer screen is just not feasible in a live situation. Yes, the software supported midi learn, but this meant painstakingly setting up midi devices and having to map them to the on screen controls every time you changed anything. Such a pain! Mostly, you just ended up mapping drum pads as triggers and using bank switching to access additional controls, or having to carry all kinds of otherwise useless equipment just for the control knobs.
A few controllers have come out over the years, but nothing great. The novation is a great launchpad, but what about effect controls, what about my cross fader (I am primarily a DJ), what about… well you get the picture.
However that’s all changed. Recently I saw the Akai apc in DJ mag. I was intrigued. So I started looking around and pricing them out. I got a chance to attend a local demo, and knew that I had to have one.
So I scraped together the cash, decided to risk it, even though it meant eatting pot noodle soup for a month, and went out and got one.
The APC-40 has transformed my interaction with audio. I love this thing. I have been more productive and inspired in one month as a result of playing with this thing, than I have in the last 5 years. I’ve been recording, remixing and writing new material more than ever before!
Now that I’ve got this blog up and running, I’ll be posting my latest work soon.
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This is quite unlike anything I’ve produced before. It’s very light and airy. It’s not likely to represent the final version, but I thought I’d get this up here as a sort of milestone. 
Well, my first impressions are pretty good. It’s reponsive, easily programmable and adjus