Block is a compact and programmable MIDI control surface designed for interactive audio performance. Built on the same bi-directional and adaptable platform as the Ohm64, Block provides a powerful interface for creating and interacting with sound in a small easy-to-transport body. Sixty four backlight led buttons provide endless possibilities for visual feedback with the instrument by connecting it to Ableton Live, Max/Msp, our open source sounds apps, or any other software that supports MIDI. The open source blockEditor application lets you reprogram any of the controller's sixty four clip buttons, eight knobs, two faders, and seven function buttons. Block is hand crafted from lightweight wood and aluminum for easy portability.

Block has bi-directional talkback communication allowing the controller to talk to your software, and software to your device. MIDI messages can be sent to the Block to light up the buttons for an interactive performance. Completely programable and mappable, block provides a flexible control surface that be used with any software or setup. Completely USB powered means you don’t have to worry about adapters and and power strips, and it is plug and play so no drivers are required.

Features

	Portability A compact and lightweight design lets you slip this controller into your backpack. Plug it into your computer's USB, and you are powered to play. more>
	Design Block is completely plug and play and USB powered. This means you don’t need drivers to use it and it works with a single USB cable. more>
	TalkBack Reprogrammable buttons with LED talkback provides visual feedback by sending MIDI commands back to the controller. more>
	Software A growing collection of open source sound applications and utilities provide a wide range of uses and endless customization. more>
	Home Grown All of our controllers are handcrafted by artists with care in our Austin, Texas shop. more>
	Specs Technical specifications and details of the of the block controller. more>

Sourced via Synthopia

The APC40 brings back the ‘Live’ part into Ableton Live. It is a MIDI Controller, true but it is more than that. It is like an instrument that let’s you do whatever you want with it. It allows the user to harness everything that is Ableton Live. And that very statement should tell you how much potential it carries.

• Every control on the damn this is customizable and that means every pot, slider and button
• The clip launch button matrix with multicolor feedback is an absolute first in a consumer product. And it completely sells the product (else it is not very different from the MPD32).
• Session overview
• Mixer Section
• Transport control
• Track Selection and Device Control Encoders
• Track Control
• Tempo control

The controller is not hard to figure out at all and is actually very intuitive. Those who have been working with Ableton for a while now will not need the Quickstart manual at all. For those have started on Live only yesterday, there’s a handy manual that familiarizes you with the major areas of the controller, but that’s where it ends.

 The APC40 is very well laid out and made to reflect the session view as much as possible. So you have the clip launching button matrix and 8 faders corresponding to the columns. There is a 9^th fader that represents the master line fader. So if you can get your head around the basics of Live, you will easily know what’s what on the APC40.

As is usual with Akai, the construction quality of the APC is really good. So it is safe to take it on several tours without needing to mollycoddle it. It has a metal chassis that instantly reminds of my own MPK49 from Akai. The side panels are rubber textured and have a solid and non-slip feel to them. With so many rubber buttons on thing you will really want to start messing around as soon as possible.

A lot of people have complained about the ‘plasticky’ feel of the knobs and they are justified in saying that. Rubberized knobs would’ve been a great idea because both the stage and the booth tend to get sweaty. There have also been complaints about the faders being too close together. But there is a flipside to this one where people are saying that they like being able to control two or more faders with one hand. So this one is a matter of personal choice it seems. However, all the controls are placed firmly within the circuit board and hence feel sturdy enough to take abuse.

Below these are three rows of half buttons. From top row to bottom, these toggle track mute, Solo/cue and Arm Record respectively.

Ableton Session view is called that for a reason. It has become the default choice for those who are developing interfaces for the live. This has already been proven by the likes of Ohm from Livid and Monome from the Monome Project. But the main complaint is about the layout of the knobs on the APC. Having such crucial controls as bank select, tempo nudge, shift and tap tempo in the middle of all that knob real estate is actually a bit cramped. Most people have taken issues with the ergonomics of the APC and that is mainly where the APC loses points. Some also have pointed out that it is a right hand oriented setup.

Regardless of the different things that people have to say about the layout, one thing has hooked them all – they all love the lighting around the knobs. These LED position indicators are simply great to look.

So that covers everything that I wanted to say about the APC40. Should Akai want to bring out another version (and it really should) – they should concentrate more on the ergonomics and well – read these reviews! J

Akai APC40 Ableton Performance Controller The Akai APC40 Ableton Performance Controller is designed to be a powerful, intuitive controller for electronic-music performance artists, DJs, hip-hop producers and traditional musicians using Ableton Live on stage and in the studio. Virtual view The APC40 talks directly to Ableton Live and Live talks directly to the APC40. This exclusive bidirectional communication makes the Akai Professional APC40 an advanced controller that receives feedback from the software and displays it on its clip matrix of 40 triggers, and on LED rings surrounding each knob. The clip matrix gives you an instant view of clip status: what's loaded, what's playing, and what's being recorded. Each state displays on the matrix in a different color so you quickly get a picture of clip state. Shift your clip focus and get an overview of the clips you have loaded for your set. The Akai APC40 controller has 16 knobs, each surrounded by a ring of LEDs. These LED rings indicate the currently selected parameters' values, and make seeing your settings on dark stages a breeze. The APC40 controller's advanced visual feedback focuses your performing with focused more on the music and less on squinting at the computer screen. In fact, you might even forget that the computer is there. Premium controls Ableton selected Akai Professional as a partner because of its leadership position in great-feeling controllers that are rock solid, rugged, and precise. From the legendary MPC series that changed the way music is made to the industry-standard MPD and MPK controllers, Akai Professional is revered by musicians, DJs, and producers everywhere for creating the feel that powers their creativity. The APC40 is built with a rugged, metal chassis and slip-proof rubber detailing. Knobs and faders are solid and precise for pinpoint performance. It even features a high quality, replaceable crossfader.Creative control The Akai APC40 controller comes with a special edition of Ableton Live Lite so you can use it out of the box even if you're new to Live. There's also a free patch that upgrades full versions of Live so if you're already a Live user, you can take full advantage of the APC40. The APC40 has two banks of eight knobs. The first set controls Global parameters so you'll always have instant access to your main sends, pans, and other essentials. The second bank of eight knobs is dynamically reassigned to the Track you select. You can control eight track parameters at a time, and as you switch channels, the Track knobs follow your focus. You also get special clip-status views and feedback that only the APC40's matrix can display. The matrix is not limited to only 40 clips: you can scroll and shift, enabling access to an unlimited number of cells. The APC40 has a wide range of controllers. The eight Global knobs can access four banks of controls; the eight Track knobs control nine different track parameters each. This gives you a massive total of 72 controller

Here's a super user (uberuser) on Ableton Live using the APC40 with a Max/MSP Patch to make Live even more powerful. For those of you who don't know, Max/MSP is a powerful tool that is used by many musicians and A/V artists to create custom programs for themselves to make absolutely anything you can think of. Ableton recently decided to 'Extend' their Live software and added support for Max/MSP patches, making Live almost infinitely potent to do anything a user can imagine.

The user of course has to know how to use Max/MSP. To know more about Max/MSP, head over to the Cycnling '74 website. Cycling '74 (other than being a company with a cool geeky name) are the makers of Max/MSP.