Evening! Before I pull the trigger, could anyone let me know the general functionality of the APC Mini in Liberation? I know the APC 40 is the ideal solution, but ££££££££. What features are missing or more awkward?
I have an APC40 for sale. Where are you located and are you interessted?
Evening. I’m in the UK, depends how much you want for it? I’d much rather have the real deal as it were, but can’t justify the cost as currently I only have this stuff as a hobby, mostly.
I can send more details at the weekend as I’m not at home right now.
Could be something around 250 Euro + shipping
I’ll give it a miss, it’s 3x what it will cost for the mini mk2, can’t justify the cost at the moment. Thanks though
Apc40mk2 is worth every penny. It’s the most versatile controller available. I use it for music production, djing, resolume and lasers. I’m gonna get a 2nd one asap.
I have both APC Mini mk2 and a APC40MK2
while Liberation is made For the APC40Mk2 it tries to use the same layout for the Mini
it is usable for busking but will have its limitations, but its a great start!
do remember that the Mini mk1 does not work with Liberation! (you need the one with RGB buttons)
What actually are the limitations? I’d love to get the 40mk2 but the cost is just not justifiable for me right now, so the only option is the mini mk2. I have a NI Maschine MK1 under my desk, or a F1 that I could easily midi map to work, but having only 16 pads it seems a kind of fruitless task.
Do you have a midi piano? This would allow you to trigger the breath of the clip deck. In other words the1400 clip spaces would be available to you on the piano for direct trigger. This is done through send receive port. Your F1 should be useable on its own to map both via send and receive and in midi notes to get functionality for both trigger and effects. You can map a cc to a pad and turn the effects into a flash ( or map the same cc to two pads to keep toggle on hand). I have the very mappable smk 37 that i connect to both ports. Biggest thing you are missing out on is the rate fader on anything but the APC currently. I think you could bang out a killer set on F1 alone if you summed your clips and effects properly on it. You are not as limited as think you are.
No, the F1 would be a good choice as it still has faders and some other stuff, it’s a shame you can’t use the knob to select pages like it’s default functionality. The only reason I’ve not tried it yet is because it’s in a flightcase that I can’;t be bothered to dig from under stuff
Ps no, no midi keyboard but again, I can work around it. Just wondered how limited the apc mini is, as I can justify the cost of that.
Also, why no rate fader? Can it not be mapped currently?
Hi Liam,
Good question - and it’s definitely worth understanding the differences before you buy.
See Abby’s helpful photo for the mapping!
And compare that with the APC40 Mk2 :
Liberation was designed around the Akai APC40 mkII, and the biggest reason it works so well is the combination of faders and the infinite “soft” rotary encoders across the top and on the right hand side.
The Akai APC Mini mkII works, and it’s absolutely usable for busking, but the main limitation is that it doesn’t have those endless encoders. That means:
- You can trigger clips
- Switch groups
- Toggle zones
- Tap tempo
- Do basic performance control
But what you’re missing is:
- Smooth parameter adjustments
- Global adjustments
- Clip-level parameter tweaking
- Certain types of live modulation that rely on continuous encoder control
So it doesn’t stop you performing, but it does restrict how deep you can go creatively in the moment. For simpler hobby setups, it’s totally fine. For more expressive performance control, the APC40 really does open things up.
Regarding the rate fader - at the moment that’s tied specifically to the APC40 integration. I know some of you have been patiently waiting for fully mappable MIDI control, and I really appreciate that. I am still working on it. It’s about halfway through internally.
The reason it isn’t rushed is because MIDI mapping is the kind of feature that has to be right. If it’s confusing or half-finished, it actually creates more support overhead and frustration than it solves. I ran out of time before launch to get it production-ready, but it is coming.
So in short:
- If budget is tight and you mainly want to trigger clips and busk in a straightforward way, the Mini mkII will get you going.
- If you want the full expressive experience Liberation was designed around, the APC40 mkII is still the gold standard.
Hope that helps clarify things a bit 
Seb
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Cheers, that helps a lot. I think it would be a sensible buy for now as we’re looking at £75 as opposed to three times that and currently, without mapping my F1 (etc) I have no hands on control
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I agree, it’s a great value compact controller and for some shows it’s perfect.
Yeah, I think I’ll pull the trigger. I expect I can hash in the missing features with my F1 if needs be, for now
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