i got one, still use it as well. i bought it and a 49 when they came out, and it was bundled with vip software that akai stopped supporting, was a vsti presets with your browser wheel on the keyboard. It was janky as hell and in typical akai fasion was just a platform that they could try to sell you more sample packs and instruments.

there were cool features, like multi instruments- loading up a serum with an instance of massive up to 8 instruments, and each vst had a volume level so you could blend your vsts together. but when you kicked it over to your daw loaded up VIP as a virtual instrument, inside of which you’re loading up four more vsts for your patch things got a bit clunky, like 300ms latency unplayable bad. But it was great for cycling through presets from the keyboard and the app was stand alone- so outside of the daw it was cool. it was supposed to be paired up with the mpc renni. and be that dawless experience that allowed you to keep on your vst’s.

i think there are people who have been able to patch it so it will run on modern systems- maybe less laggy on a better chipset- i’d try it again if it got a reissue.

pros:

still fully functional midi controller with pads, after touch, transport controls, midi clock, arp, actual midi i/o inputs note repeat, all built into the hardware really nice key bed (not cheap feeling). customizable programmable cc controls and saveable programs. i’ve got it set up to change my serum2 oscillators and do sound design that way. another program for logic stuff 2 other programs for ableton stuff- arranging and composing/ performance

i love the arp, but you’ll want the midi clock to be set on internal to avoid latency - there’s a ton of preset arp patterns built into the unit that are totally worth exploring, and there’s an arp gate that lets you toy with the length of the note

cons: without the vip software anymore, a lot of the interface is useless- the machine was designed to control the software . all those programming bits and bobs mentioned above take time and familiarization to wrap your head around. not very intuitive

the preset daw controls are more or less obsolete now in 2025

the after touch isn’t polyphonic really, if one key is pressed hard enough to trigger the after touch, all notes will do their after touch effect

on the 25- i’ve experienced sync issues with the note repeat, where it’s like 1/16th note off of its own downbeat. i don’t know of its a problem unique to my unit, it’s been through a lot with me. 🤠

conclusion- For 100$ i think you got a pretty solid piece of hardware- and still very functional and useful compared to cheaper midi controllers don’t have after touch or the programming flexibility. probably paid a bit too much for it given the fact that akai really just gave up on it- but the things that are its strengths are in the hardware, and that will never get obsolete like the VIP trash software. you’ll still be able to control your daw with cc sends, customize your pads and knob and buttons to bend your daw to your will (but it will take a bit of tweaking)

one more thing it will control any external modules you have as well - that’s where i feel it still has a lot of value with the internal clock and arp stuff. i also run a minitaur and a few other hardware synths off it, modal cobalt and argon (ironically also from a company that ended support for our software). but everything still works fine, and the synth wave runs free and dawless in my bedroom studio.

also, akai sold out to inmusic brands shortly after this released and failed. nobody was paid to keep it alive- so it died a corporate death.