Akai is inviting developers to experiment with the MPC Sample Key before the device has even been formally announced. The 37-key instrument is planned as an open-source take on the budget-friendly MPC Sample, and early demonstrations show how community-made software could expand what it can do.
A keyboard-based spin on the MPC Sample
The MPC Sample Key is expected to use a version of the software found on the MPC Sample, adjusted for a traditional keyboard and its pitch and mod wheels. That gives the device a different way to play samples while keeping it connected to the existing MPC Sample platform.
Unlike the higher-end MPC Key 37, the Sample Key has no pads. Instead, the keys are used to play back samples. The distinction shapes the instrument’s approach: a keyboard is at the center of playing, while developers can explore what else its software might support.
Early mods add synthesizers
In short Instagram Reels posted last night and today, Akai showed several modifications created through vibe coding. The demos include synths such as Native Instruments Massive, along with virtual analog and FM synths.
One clip shows a completely custom operating system with “several different synths in it.” These examples suggest that developers are already using early access to test ideas that reach beyond sample playback. They are demonstrations of community experiments, rather than a list of features Akai has formally announced for the finished product.
The clips also show the regular MPC Sample running a few vibe-coded synths built by Claude. That could point to community features reaching beyond the new keyboard model. It may indicate that Akai is considering opening up more of the MPC Sample platform, though the source does not say that the entire platform will be open-sourced.
Akai wants developers involved early
Akai’s approach is to get devices into developers’ hands and give them room to make software. CEO Jack O’Donnell told The Verge that inMusic brands, especially Akai, would look to embrace the modding community by seeding early devices to developers.
O’Donnell also said those efforts would include open-sourcing some software and providing an SDK. That would give outside developers a route to build and adapt software for the hardware. The available details do not specify which software will be open-sourced or what tools the SDK will include.
What an open approach could mean
For musicians, the early mods offer a glimpse of a device that could be shaped by its users after it reaches developers. A keyboard sample player could become a place to try different synth sounds and software layouts, depending on what the community builds and what Akai ultimately supports.
The move also gives Akai a way to make the MPC Sample family more flexible. Early access, open-source software, and an SDK can invite experimentation, but the clips alone do not establish how broadly that access will extend. For now, the clearest signal is that Akai is encouraging developers to start building, with the MPC Sample Key as the first focus and the standard MPC Sample appearing in the demonstrations too.