Akai Professional MPX8 8-Pad SD Card Sample Pad Player and MIDI Controller

Load Your Own Samples and Play Them Live

The Akai Professional MPX8 is an SD card sample pad player with eight backlit, velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads that trigger your own audio. Unlike a pad controller that only sends MIDI, the MPX8 plays samples directly from a standard SD or SDHC card, so it makes sound on its own without a computer. For the live performer, drummer, or worship musician who needs backing tracks, one-shots, and stingers on demand, it turns a memory card full of audio into an instant, playable instrument.

Eight Expressive Sample Pads

Eight backlit pads respond to both velocity and pressure so each trigger reacts to how you play it. Velocity sets how loud a sample fires while pressure sensitivity adds control over how it behaves, giving hits real dynamics instead of a flat, on-off trigger. A percussionist adding electronic sounds to an acoustic kit or a performer firing cues gets responsive, forgiving pads that feel like an instrument rather than a button.

SD Card Playback and 21 Onboard Sounds

A standard SD or SDHC card slot lets the MPX8 load and play virtually any mono or stereo sample, backed by 21 built-in sounds to get started. Because storage lives on a removable card, the number of samples is effectively unlimited, and you can prepare different sets on different cards for different shows. A gigging musician can walk in with a card holding an entire set's worth of tracks, drops, and effects ready to trigger.

Eight-Voice Polyphony and Trigger Modes

Eight-voice polyphony lets the MPX8 sound up to eight samples at once across its three selectable trigger types. Polyphony is the number of sounds that can play simultaneously, so layered hits and overlapping one-shots ring out cleanly instead of cutting each other off, while the trigger modes set whether a pad loops, plays once, or gates. That flexibility suits a drummer stacking percussion or a DJ layering vocal stabs over a track.

Onboard Tuning, Reverb, and a Sample Editor

Built-in processors for tuning and reverb let you shape each sample right on the MPX8, and an included drag-and-drop editor for Mac and PC makes loading fast. In the software you assign audio to pads, adjust tuning and reverb, and save everything as recallable kits, so a full setup is one file away. A producer can build a custom kit at the computer, drop it on a card, and carry it to a rehearsal or stage with the settings intact.

Complete MIDI and Audio Connectivity

A full I/O set covers 5-pin MIDI input and output, a USB port, two balanced 1/4 in (6.35 mm) outputs, and a 1/8 in (3.5 mm) headphone output. The balanced outputs connect cleanly to a mixer or PA while USB and 5-pin MIDI let the pads also control a DAW, virtual instruments, or a drum machine. That dual role lets a performer run the MPX8 straight into a live rig and a producer fold it into a studio setup.

Built for the Stage and the Studio

Powered over USB at 5 volts, the MPX8 stays simple to set up whether it sits on a keyboard stand, a drum rack, or a desk. As a self-contained sample player it needs no laptop on stage, yet its MIDI and USB connections let it double as a studio pad controller when the show is over. For worship teams, drummers, DJs, and electronic performers, it delivers reliable, hands-on sample playback that travels from the practice room to the venue.