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From Our Research Team:

Take Control of Ableton Live!

Meet the Akai Professional APC40 controller — the perfect solution for performing with Ableton Live. Akai Professional and Ableton worked together to develop the APC40 performance control surface, giving it an intuitive interface that resembles Live's software interface — it makes the transition from in-the-box work to hands-on control totally seamless. Just connect the APC40 to your laptop via USB — you don't need to map any controls to get going. There are 40 clip triggers, 16 knobs, level faders, a cross-fader, tap tempo, and more. If you're an Ableton Live artist (or soon to be), Akai Professional's APC40 belongs in your rig.

So what's the story behind the APC40? Akai Professional brought their renowned controller hardware know-how to the table and Ableton brought the requests, hopes, and visions of their countless Ableton Live performers to the table, and the two went to work designing the ultimate Ableton Live controller. While Live software has always been totally MIDI-mappable, there's just never been a MIDI-based controller that resembled — or could be molded to resemble — the unique inner world of Ableton Live. But, now, with the APC40, Ableton Live performers have a plug-and-play solution for getting into the heart of their Live session, triggering clips, making on-the-fly adjustments, and more — just what Live software is intended to let you do.

One of the most unique features of Ableton Live software is its "Session View" — columns of clips you can arrange into Scenes, trigger all at once, solo, record more into a new Scene, and the list goes on and on. And, the Akai Professional APC40 provides the perfect tactile control surface for doing all of that — no more squinting at a computer screen and grabbing a mouse. The APC40 features a Clip Launch matrix, with 40 different buttons — and it's easily navigable to get to other clips that aren't currently in view. The buttons light up green when that clip is playing, yellow when the slot contains a clip, red when the clip is record armed, and stay unlit when there's no clip there. Best yet, the APC40 communicates bidirectionally with the software, so it updates automatically when you make an adjustment in the software — and your software screen will also update when you make a tweak on the control surface. The grid itself is 5-scenes-deep and 8-tracks-wide, and a Bank Select button and a Shift button help you move up or down scenes one at a time or by holding shift 5 scenes at a time — or one track at a time or 8 tracks at a time — the matrix can be easily navigated up to 125 scenes by 64 tracks.

Another awesome Live feature is the ability to dynamically control the tempo of the performance — nudging it in one direction or another, or tapping it into place. The Akai Professional APC40 gives you control over that, as well, thanks to its Tap Tempo button, and "Nudge -" and "Nudge +". Stay in sync with turntables, the other members of the band, or quickly repair timing issues. You can use the Tap Tempo traditionally, to make the set follow your tapping, or use it to count in.

If you don't already have a copy of Ableton Live, it's okay — you can get started using your APC40 straight out of the box. It comes with a custom-tailored software package, the Ableton Live Akai Professional APC40 Edition. This version features eight audio tracks and eight MIDI tracks, plus 20 Session View scenes. It also includes all of Live's effects and supports custom-mapping parameters within Live.

Akai Professional APC40 Ableton Live Performance Controller Features at a Glance:

• Dedicated USB performance controller for Ableton Live software
  
• Co-designed by Ableton and Akai Professional
  
• 40 Buttons for Launching Clips
  
• 8 Encoders for Track/Device control
  
• Transport and Global Control buttons
  
• 8 Bankable Encoders for Track Control
  
• Tap Tempo and Nudge Left/Right buttons
  
• Replaceable Crossfader
  
• Can be MIDI-mapped to Over-ride Preassigned Functions
  
• Includes Ableton Live Akai Professional APC Edition software

The Akai Professional APC40 puts you in charge of Ableton Live — perfect for performance!

Specification Detail Intended Use Ableton Live Number of Faders 10 Fader Throw 45mm Fader Type Non-touch sensitive, non-motorized Number of Knobs 17 Knob Type Rotary encoder Number of Performance Pads 40 Performance Pad Types Non-velocity sensitive Number of Soft Keys 66 dedicated soft keys Other Controls 4 x bank select buttons Transport Controls Yes Audio Inputs No audio inputs Audio Outputs No audio outputs Computer Connectivity USB Control I/O 2 x footswitch Height 2.62" Depth 13.13" Width 16.88" Weight 3.8 lbs. Manufacturer Part Number APC40

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