Akai MPKmini - Unboxing

I've been producing like mad since I got this unit few weeks ago.. It's so portable, so it's really comfortable to just stay in one place and jam to it. I haven't really sat down and made a proper tracks yet like sequencing and layering. Mostly tests. And so far so good.. this is really great portable laptop midi-keyboard. I am OK with the small keys since I am already used of the Microkorg Vocoder which the keyboard has similar feel to them.

If I have enough space in my room - I would also get me the Akai MPK 61. For the fact that it has 16 Pads.. has Knobs, and Sliders. Unlike the MPK mini where it only has 8 keys. MPKmini PADs can be really tricky to use in realtime sessions or in sequencing alone. So I only use the Keys. They work and all, but using them in Reason's Kong only works on BANK A from Pad 9 to 16. But Bank B only gets me to Reason's Kong PAD 1 to 4 from MPK mini's PAD 5 to 8. Pads doesn't have ARPEGGIATOR, only the Keys does. Bottom line, it's all good.. I may not even get the Akai MPK 61 at all. Plus the Akai MPK 61 is too big just for a "midi-controller". For it's size, It would be really great if you can actually import samples and drum kits into it.. Like the traditional MPC drum machines / samplers. Has a Hard Drive and Flash Cards etc…

Here are several samples of what I've done using few of my favorite Virtual Synths, with the Akai MPKmini. You may wanna turn your volume just a little bit higher. And adjust your Bass and Treble. These tracks are not processed yet.

Unboxing…

The delivery box from Amazon.

There she is.. 

Outta the box.. Box is new, no seem to be a scam here.

The back of the box.. some quick guide here. Plug and play with a laptop.

There she is again.. with the USB adapter next to it.

Guide Booklet and Installation DVD.

So damn weightless. Like a toy almost. First impression about the weight is my question of it's durability, and then I thought about the price which is under 80 bucks.

I say it's as thick as the iBook G4 Laptop. Just the right thickness.

The USB port. No power chords man. Just plug the USB through this and to your Laptop. And good to go.

The Pads, doesn't pressed down, like the other Pads I've had previously.

The Keys are tiny. Some reviewers has complaints to them. But I am all good with it.. the keyboard are pretty similar with the Korg Microkorg's keyboard, which I am used of using as a synthesizers over the pass years. Man some producers even uses smaller keyboards from an iPhone apps with fat fingers and can still make something out of it in a studio.

This is great.. portable knobs.. less use of the mouse for it.

Has an Arpeggiator… and you can select the tempo. 

Don't let the size fool you, this is a King-Kong Monster.. disguised as a cute cuddle monkey.

So that's my review on this Akai MPKmini…

Hopefully I'll have time to produce some full tracks out of this… I really wanna thanks Akai for this one. Great job.

RIP - Dolphy Quizon

Rodolfo Vera Quizon, Sr. July 25, 1928 – July 10, 2012.

One show that I remember him most was from this show… "John and Marsha", It's a Filipino Sitcom. It was on a channel that was only clear from statics in the evening before bedtime. And it was titled John & Marsha. The setting of the show is pretty much a common class for every home from the Philippines. Pretty funny dude.

Man.. more and more of these cool characters are going away. I think Patrick Swayze is gone too now right? damn… for some reason, I feel like watching that movie Red Dawn. I just find out there gonna make a remake? It's better be good.. because the original is a masterpiece. The Movie is about the Russian and Communist Cuba invading the US mainland.. and how these youth from a typical small American town calling themselves the Wolverine became rebels against the invaders. 

Since I am also Filipino, some memories are left behind where I used to watch televisions during summertime from my wawa across the street (grannie's nick names). I used to work for her knotting garlics for 20 pesos at the end of the day. I would stay over a bit longer since my Grandmother would stop by, along with her set of wawas and plays Pekwa (card games). And they used seeds as betting token. Then I would read some Filipino Comics afterwards.. about Zuma and some other cool classic comics, I can't even remember the names.

As far of Filipino Films in general. Philippines has a lot of dope classic movies. I'm not sure if they even have archives of collected classic movies today.. but if they do, I'll change career just so I can afford to get a hold of the classic films. Even some of their Black & White films were awesome man. I didn't understand tagalog then but I used to get really in tune to the stories, by watching their actions alone. Typical stories would be a good family splitting apart and then reuniting.. a rich family being mean to some kid house keeper, not knowing he/she was the baby they lost from WW2. I'm guessing today those films were from the late 40s, 50s, to 60s.

Back in the 80s though, most of the film they used had too many grids, scratches, and dirts in them.. some are cut out. American porn would pop out in between reels for half a second. I am thinking what if they dubbed over some earlier films that was filmed from the 60s.. and if they did, thats got to be a lot of them man. And mostly comedies too.. even Bombas (soft porns) I am not downing their comedies either. Philippines had a lot of funny ass characters, I can still laugh about them today when I see their faces in the internet somewhere. And that's from the 80s. Just the right time for people to find something to laugh about. 

As far of cinematography, sometimes the camera would just focus on one scene for 15 minutes or even longer.. and no close ups.. two actors would have conversations from 30 yards away from the camera.. lol. Thats when you know, most of these filmmakers probably didn't take any proper film lessons.. but they had a lot of sense of humor. As far of cinematography, films from the 60's, had more art to them. Then came the 70s, then the 80s that are full of comedies.. then the 90's, thats when they start to experiment on some editing a bit. Some close ups etc. But the stories were very much the same story. 

Even amateur Hong-Kong Kung-Fu film-makers would come to Manila and make action movies in the 90's.. No exposure to Philippines own martial arts like Arnis, Kali, Escrima, since these arts was pretty much a secret in the Philippines.. Most Filipino action directors were probably only known to Chinese Action films and American films with actors like Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, and Elvis Presley.. making Filipino Martial Arts not as exposed as much. And whoever that director was, he probably had all the access to all the films to use. Even if they did dubbed over some of the films they took before that.. they gotta have some VHS or DVD copies. At least the Beta-Max versions man. Sometimes I do see them in the B Movie Section at Rasputin Record Store near by where I live. Some are in English. Actors like Eddy Garcia and some fine ladies I even forgot their names. And I buy them. In VHS. 

I did found this in the internet. A blogger from Critic After Dark that shows the blogger's list of 100 Best Filipino Films.

And this one.. from Kabayan Central mostly even earlier ones from the 30s. 

Some may not know this, but I've read somewhere that a filipino actor named Eddy Garcia and Jack Nicholson used to hang out together in the Philippines. I think it was a Biography TV Show about Jack Nicholson. And this well known actor from the Philippines named Eddy Garcia used to coach Jack Nicholson on how to be a better actor.. even on how to drink hard liquors.. and specially about women. It could be some other actor.. and whoever he was, Jack turned out to be on Oscar taker in Hollywood from 1976 and so on… 

Back to Dolphy, here is some comedy movie clip with him in it. It's in Tagalog… the Water Buffalo is funny.

Also my condolences for those folks that lost their lives at Colorado's Movie Theater.. I guess some idiot didn't get enough butt slaps as a kid from his mama, just to let him know not to play with fire. Specially on other people. If he wanted to prove a point he should of use some water balloons and no one had to die. And no psychotic fan of the Joker dies.. but in reality, tragic things like that happens.. expected or not expected.

FULL ARTCLE

Korg Electribe ES-1 - Unboxing

Well I haven't blog in while. I even forgot if I ever did mention that I will catch up to some of what I missed to blog. This is like a therapy to me.. and for some fuckers that don't like that, can kiss my shit. Well I have some sort of rant blogger that I keep as a journal to express my self but I ain't even sure if that's secure. I be walking in the street or driving around and some fuckers that you don't know will suddenly hate you like they know you. Terrible.. Those iPhone guys really messed it up. Great product but not secured, even a janitor who just arrived from a shanty town from the Philippines can crack into it. Devices like trojan spy whatever those are. 

Anyways….

Oh man.. so much stuff going on in the world. And it ain't so pretty... 

Some has their victory from the Tunisian Fruit Seller who kickstarted the Arab Upsiring.. now to Syria. But with a questionable results.. I always want to experience to see Egypt someday. I am no Arab, these news just kept bumping into me. I don't mean to be hypocrite either, it just seems to me that more and more people are forgetting to know the difference between the right things, business, and immoral to mortality. Shortcuts will only lead to shorter lives. A lot of stuff don't make any sense too. Suicide rates among american veterans are committing suicide every single day. Whose gonna back as up now. Whose gonna go and give some effort to at least help syrian civilians move to a secure location as a refugee.. while the rebels can stay to fight for their own democracy.. Babies are being killed man.. little girls are being raped in the same room with their parents by their own military forces. I don't even know if that makes any sense to just go on and take instagram photos of what I ate yesterday. Our own democracy isn't even working right…

Tom Cruise is getting payed close to 80 million per movie? And the dude got like 80 movie contracts under his belt with Katie Holme's face on his belt buckle.. what!?!? And maybe one of his movie will be about an American Sergeant who just came home from Iraq and became a hero.. titled "Heroes Don't Die Man". I am no socialist, but where the hell did that money came from..  I though we owe money to China.. lol.

So thats that. And for sure, I will bump into them more.  

Alright.. now to my main topic.. 

I just purchased this one instrument from eBay sent from Mexico. Had it last week. Still new. Bought it half the original price. 

The Korg Electribe ES-1. It's a Drum Machine, Sequencer, and Sampler.. with Effects. Powerful little machine. This is just a test session for the knobs.. I still have to make some time to read the manual for other things. 

As far of industrial sounds I'm doing here.. or some of it's techno rave dance clubs sounds, are not my style as a whole. But I will manipulate it, then cut some of it and use it to my new coming tracks.. Perhaps an Album. I have older tracks done but I will not add any of them. Maybe just two tracks. There's gonna be a several ethnic instrument samples I be adding to the tracks.. I'll be working on them soon whenever there are times. I've always been a fan of Middle Eastern Instruments like the Duduk and their Drums.. As well as East-Indian Tablas and Sitars.. even their Vocals. It's been done before.. except it's how I am going to design it. I don't know man.. Middle Easterns always has these cool looking customs, heritage, food, and music, although I may not agree to some of their certain beliefs and politics..

Here is the box from Mexico. 

Typical Popcorn from eBay.

The guy who sold me this says it's Brand New. The Box doesn't look brand new. Nothing Brand New in eBay for the least price. Specially half the sale price. But I gave it a try… it's eBay, it should be a lot more legit by now… well my answer is right here. Not Brand New.

More signs of not a brand new product here.

Now that I opened it. It does has that Brand New smell to it. It's probably was new, and was stored somewhere.. then moved a lot. All is here. The Manual and even the warranty papers.

Inside that box on the side, is the AC adapter. 

Came with these soft cover sheet… now that's Brand New.

Wow.. it is a lot compact than I thought. The main case is steel maybe aluminum. And the outer case is tough plastic. Pretty light but sturdy for it's weight. All the buttons and knobs are in place. 

Here is the rear. It didn't come with the SmartMedia Card, for importing and exporting projects as well as to save them externally. Specially adding samples and loops you fixed up from your computer. It cost around 36 bucks from Amazon.com.

Here is a Session Test I did on the Third of July. The Effect Knobs and Delays.. etc. 

Again, this is not my type of musical style…..

I also got this from eBay. The rare Korg Electribe ER-1 MKII. Not from the same seller. It's used… no AC adapter, no manuals, just the delivery box, popcorn, and a plastic wrap around the unit (spooky wrap). I will make a session video later when I have the time. Lucky to purchase this cheaper than it's already cheaper sale price.