

It is also primarily used to play notes therefore some may find the pad landed layout a bit of lacking. The Akai Fire is solely designed for FL studio and this means it may not work well with your other DAWs. The sole purpose of this is to give you the ability to select clips, audition, change sounds, and effects from the keyboard without necessarily shifting to the computer. On the keyboard is a small OLED screen with 4 way select knobs. The unit also comes with transport controls like pause, loop, play and record that make it easier to navigate through your tracks without your eyes shifting to the computer screen.

If you have loaded up the sequencer through your clips you will get the ability to control them through the Akai Fire.

The Akai fire features 4x 16RGB pads but the pads have been arranged in such a way that they are slightly apart from each other. These means you have control options that fit well with your DAW. You will notice that the same people who did the Image Line have done the design of the keyboard. This MIDI keyboard stands out because it is designed for the FL studio. It sync directly to your DAW as well coming with its own free DAW. Overall, the display is clear with easy to use navigation and transport buttons. If you have a foot operated switch you can connect it to the device through a ¼ inch jack.

The Nektar connects through a USB and it is compatible with iOS and Android phones. With this you can set stuff like resonance, oscillation settings and even cut-off. The unit also has 8 rotational pots and a miniature fader bar. The curves can be clipped and saved hence eliminating the need for complex menus. The Nektar comes with 4 velocity curves and 3 fixed ones, 8 back-lit beat pads which are ideal for velocity-sensitive, you can also map 4 velocity curves. Part of its composition are transpose and octave buttons that accompany two wheels for your modulation and pitch blends. The basic design of the Nektar is in such a way that you have easy access to all your tools. It is compatible with iOS, Mac and other PCs. You also have modulation keys for your performances and on-board pitch blend. The keyboard is designed with 25 expressive synch action keys. The Nektar is designed for use with Nektar DAW but it still can be used with others.
