Akai MPK225 setup
 

Hi There,

This is my first post, so bear with me...

I am trying to set up my Akai MPK225 keyboard with Protools First and am having no luck at all :(

I have a MSI GE66 Gaming Laptop, intel Corei7, NVIDIA GeforceRTX3070, 1TB SSD, 32GB memory, I am running windows.

I have a focusrite Scarlet 4i4..

I was able to download Protools first and it opens and seems to work...but...I am very new to this so I don't really know how to use it...

The Scarlet is connected to the Laptop with UBS cable...and to my moniter speakers with XLR cables...my Shure SM7B mic is connected to XLR jack on front of the scarlet...i have a Cloudlifter CL1 between the Scarlet and the mic..

I have headphones AKG K371 connected to front of scarlet in the headphone jack.

I get sound to my monitors and my headphones thru my mic only if i push the 48v button on the scarlet..

I have ben unable to get sound from my mic to show up on protools and i am absolutely sure it is operator error...

My more pressing problem at the moment is that i cant get any sound out of my Keyboard MPK225 Keyboard...no sound to monitors...or to headphones...or to Protools....

I have fiddled with it for several hours with no luck and am very frustrated regarding how dificult it seems to be :(

All of the cables seem to be connected correctly...

Some of the online help says I should have a "periphals" selection under my "Setup" tab on Protools....I dont!...there is no "Peripherals" button anywhere to be found...???

Is the free "Protools First" software that I have downloaded non functional with regard to setting up and using a MPK225 Keyboard, or am i missing the big magic thing that makes it all work?

Thanks,

Harvey

Re: Akai MPK225 setup
 

Make sure you install the driver for the 4i4 and select the 4i4 ASIO driver as your interface in PT First.

You don’t need anything special for the MPK225 to work as it should be recognized as a MIDI device when you plug the USB cable in. You don’t need to do any peripherals configuration to use a MIDI device as a VI controller.

Create an instrument track and put an instrument on it. If your audio is routed properly through your interface, you’ll hear sounds from the VI as you play on the MPK225.

Re: Akai MPK225 setup
 

Welcome to the DUC
A few things that matter:
1-you need phantom power on to power the Cloud Lifter(which is a great thing to have with the SM7B)
2-If the Scarlet has a knob on the front labeled MIX, start with that at 12 o'clock for testing(and read the manual on using that knob)
3-Open Windows Sound Properties and select the on-board sound card as the "default playback device". That will allow Pro Tools to have complete control over the Scarlet.
4-you should have some sort of Focusrite "routing" software utility and those settings must be correct(check the focusrite site or youtube for help on those settings as I don't use their hardware)
5-Read the Akai manual to see if it can operate in HUI mode. If it does NOT, then there is probably no need to set anything under the Peripherals menu.
6-Assuming you installed the windows driver for the Akai, open PTF and go to Setup>Midi>Midi Studio. In this menu(I hope its there like in regular PT:o) and create a new "instrument". Name it as you like. Brand and model can be set or left blank(shouldn't matter). The crucial setting here is the Input Path. That needs to be set to the path for the keyboard's midi. Since you have it connected with USB, the correct setting should look something like this: Akai MPK225 on USB[Emulated]. Hopefully, that menu box will have a short list and it will be obvious(fingers crossed).

Re: Akai MPK225 setup
 

Hello,
I am new here too and this is my first time setting up an MPK225 with Pro Tools, as well as my first time using Pro Tools.
I do not have an audio controller yet, like the Scarlet, in the post mentioned above, but I hope to get this equipment soon so I can connect guitar and vocal mic. My question is more about getting the MPK225 to work with ProTools. I followed the directions but it still doesn't seem to be working.
I can get sound from the Akai controller when using MPC Beats, a free download from Akai, but I can't seem to get the sound to come out when using Pro Tools. I am going to be starting a class in Pro Tools in a few days, and I want to make sure everything is working before the class begins. Thanks for any ideas. -C

Re: Akai MPK225 setup
 

Hi welcome to DUC

For future posts, you are likely better off creating your own thread instead of piling onto an existing one, unless it's the exact same problem. In this case it really is not.

First on terminology, something like a Focusrite Scarlett is not an "audio controller" it's an "audio interface" or "interface" or if you want to be partially sloppy a "sound card" (but it's a box not an actual card). An audio controller might be something like a MIDI sequencer or switching controller, complete different thing.

The MPK225 is a MIDI controller, it sends digital MIDI commands to your computer and software running on it. That software has to turn those commands into something, could be drums, synth, ... whatever. But you get no sounds without something that turns MIDI data into sound.

Pro Tools First can do that when you run a virtual instrument (VI) plugin on an instrument track. That what "VI plugins" aka "Instrument plugins" aka "Virtual Instruments" aka "VIs" do. Pro Tools first will come with some VIs, you can purchase more.

Pro Tools and any other DAW always needs an audio interface, without a dedicated interface like a Focusrite Scarlett you have to use the computer's internal sound device as the interface. That easy on Macs, more problematic on Windows, but hopefully you've got that to work. And you should be able to say drag and drop a commercial MP3 file into Pro Tools and play that back. Don't do anything else until you are able to do that. Then you need to create an instrument track and insert a VI plugin on that track. Start with the Mini Grand plugin, a very simple VI plugin. You should be able to find tutorials on YouTube that walk you through all this, from getting basic audio playback to work, to working with VIs. You want to spend time finding them and following along each tutorial. DUC is not a place where you are going to get more handhilding than the quick stuff I've given you here.

And finally, you might be able to do all you want in Pro Tools first, but it's a fairly limited DAW, crippled in bad ways compared to other Pro Tools products. Especially for me the seemingly unreliable cloud based sessions. I'd never trust my work to Avid cloud storage. And Pro Tools first only includes a limited number of plugins/VIs and will only run other ones you purchase from the very limited range on the Avid Store. All other DAWs, including Pro Tools standard will work with a wide range of third party plugins/VIs.

There are wonderful DAWs for music creation/home use, Reaper, Apple Garageband and Logic Pro. etc. etc. My advice is always pick the same DAW to get started with as folks you know use and they can get you with. And if you really want Pro Tools then I would purchase or subscribe to Pro Tools standard, not First.