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Akai (, ) is a Japanese brand & former electronics manufacturer, established as Akai Electric Company Ltd in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
in 1929. It was best known outside Japan for its
tape recorders An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
during the 1960s and 1970s. The company became bankrupt in 2000 and since then third-party products have been marketed under the Akai brand name, which has since been owned by
Grande Holdings Grande Holdings Ltd () () is a Chinese manufacturer of consumer and professional audio and HiFi components based in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In the past, Grande Holdings has purchased several Japanese HiFi manufacturers, including Akai and Nakamichi. ...
of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. In its earlier history, Akai had made many innovations in the development of
magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnetic ...
-based audio technology. Around 1980, the music division
Akai Professional Akai (, ) is a Japanese brand & former electronics manufacturer, established as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo in 1929. It was best known outside Japan for its tape recorders during the 1960s and 1970s. The company became bankrupt in 2000 ...
was founded, offering production and stage equipment for modern music. After the controversial collapse of the business in 2000, the Akai brand came under the ownership of Hong Kong based
Grande Holdings Grande Holdings Ltd () () is a Chinese manufacturer of consumer and professional audio and HiFi components based in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In the past, Grande Holdings has purchased several Japanese HiFi manufacturers, including Akai and Nakamichi. ...
. The company now distributes a range of electronic products, including LED TVs,
washing machines A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses alternat ...
, clothes dryers,
air conditioners Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...
, and
smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...
. These products are developed through collaborations with other electronics companies with relevant expertise. The Akai Professional electronic instrument division had already been spun off in 1999 and operated under separate ownership; this unit is now owned and operated by
inMusic Brands inMusic Brands, Inc. is an American enterprise that is the parent company for a family of brands of varying audio products used in the DJ, music production, live sound, musical instrument, pro audio, software, stage lighting, and consumer elect ...
.


Corporate history

Akai was founded by Masukichi Akai and his son, Saburo Akai (who died in 1973), as , a
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese manufacturer, in 1929. Some sources, however, suggest the company was established in 1946. Although reliable sources are not yet found, according to several sources
kotobank.jp
:ja:Akai Professional), Masukichi Akai established ''Akai Press Industry'' in 1923, and his son, Saburo Akai, founded ''Akai Electric Company Ltd.'' in 1946, with Masukichi serving as the president of both.
The company's business eventually became disorganized, and it exited the audio industry in 1991. At its peak in the late 1990s, Akai Holdings employed 100,000 workers and had annual sales of HK$40 billion (US$5.2 billion). The company filed for insolvency in November 2000, owing creditors US$1.1 billion. It emerged that ownership of Akai Holdings had passed to
Grande Holdings Grande Holdings Ltd () () is a Chinese manufacturer of consumer and professional audio and HiFi components based in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In the past, Grande Holdings has purchased several Japanese HiFi manufacturers, including Akai and Nakamichi. ...
in 1999, a company founded by Akai's chairman
James Ting James Henry Ting Wei (丁謂, born 1951) is a Shanghai-born Chinese-Canadian former business executive who was once one of Hong Kong's most successful businessmen before being charged with illegal business practices. Early years Ting was born in ...
. The liquidators claimed that Ting had stolen over US$800 million from the company with the assistance of accountants
Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
, who had tampered with audit documents dating back to 1994. Ting was imprisoned for false accounting in 2005, and E&Y paid $200 million to settle the negligence case out of court in September 2009. In a separate lawsuit, a former E&Y partner, Christopher Ho, made a "substantial payment" to Akai creditors in his role as chairman of Grande Holdings. The "Akai Professional" division, specializing in electronic instruments, became a separate business in 1999. It was acquired in 2005 by businessman Jack O'Donnell (later becoming a part of his
inMusic Brands inMusic Brands, Inc. is an American enterprise that is the parent company for a family of brands of varying audio products used in the DJ, music production, live sound, musical instrument, pro audio, software, stage lighting, and consumer elect ...
group) and is no longer associated with the main "Akai" brand.


History


Historical products

Akai's products included
reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...
audiotape recorders (such as the GX series), tuners (top-level AT, mid-level TR and TT series),
audio cassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog audio, analog magnetic tape recording format for Sound recording and reproduction, audio recording and playback. Invented by L ...
decks (top-level GX and TFL, mid-level TC, HX, and CS series),
amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power su ...
s (AM and TA series),
microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic (), or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publi ...
s, receivers,
turntables A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...
, video recorders, and
loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or, more fully, a speaker system) is a combination of one or more speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections (possibly including a crossover network). The speaker driver is an ...
s. Many Akai products were sold under the name Roberts in the U.S., as well as A&D in Japan (from 1987, following a partnership with
Mitsubishi Electric is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1921 as a spin-off from the electrical machinery manufacturing d ...
), Tensai, and ''Transonic Strato'' in Western Europe. During the late 1960s, Akai adopted
Tandberg Tandberg was an electronics manufacturer located in Oslo, Norway (production, sales and distribution) and New York City, United States (sales and distribution). The company began in the radio field, but became more widely known for their ree ...
's cross-field recording technologies (using an extra tape head) to enhance high-frequency recording and later switched to the increasingly reliable Glass and Crystal (X'tal) (GX) ferrite heads. The company's most popular products included the GX-630D, GX-635D, GX-747/GX-747DBX, and GX-77 open-reel recorders (the latter featuring an auto-loading function), the three-head, closed-loop GX-F95, GX-90, GX-F91, GX-R99 cassette decks, and the AM-U61, AM-U7, and AM-93 stereo amplifiers. Akai manufactured and badged most of its imported hi-fi products under the Tensai brand (named after the Swiss audio and electronics distributor Tensai International). Tensai International served as Akai's exclusive distributor for the Swiss and Western European markets until 1988. Akai limited its consumer
hi-fi High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...
product line in the United States and Europe toward the end of the 20th century.


Introduction of the on-screen display

Akai produced consumer
video cassette recorder A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other AV sources and can play back the recording after rewinding. The use of a VCR to ...
s (VCRs) during the mid-1980s. The Akai VS-2 was the first VCR to feature an
on-screen display An on-screen display (OSD) is an image superimposed on a screen picture, commonly used by modern television sets, VCRs, and DVD players to display information such as volume, channel, and time. History In the past, most adjustments on TV set ...
, originally named the Interactive Monitor System. By displaying information directly on the television screen, this innovation eliminated the need for the user to be physically near the VCR to program recordings, read the tape counter, or perform other common functions. Within a few years, all competing manufacturers had adopted on-screen display technology in their own products.


Akai Professional

In 1984, a new division of the company was formed to focus on the manufacture and sale of electronic instruments, and was called Akai Professional.
The first product released by the new subsidiary was the MG1212, a 12-channel, 12-track recorder. This innovative device used a specialized VHS-like cartridge (the MK-20) and could record 10 minutes of continuous 12-track audio at 19 cm per second or 20 minutes at half speed (9.5 cm per second). One track (14) was permanently dedicated to recording absolute time, and another for synchronization such as
SMPTE The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded by Charles Francis Jenkins in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and e ...
or MTC. Each channel strip included
dbx dbx or DBX may refer to: * dbx (debugger), a Unix source-level debugger * dbx (company), a professional audio recording equipment company ** dbx (noise reduction), a noise reduction system invented by dbx, Inc. * .dbx, the file extension for Micros ...
type-1 noise reduction and semi-parametric equalizers (with fixed bandwidths). The unit also featured innovations like an electronic 2-bus system, a 12-stereo channel patch bay, and automatic punch in and out capabilities, among others. The unique transport design and noise reduction gave these units a recording quality that rivaled more expensive 16-track machines using 1" tape. The MG-1212 was later succeeded by the MG-1214, which improved the transport mechanism and overall performance.


AX series analog synthesizers

Other early products included the Akai AX80 8-voice analog synthesizer in 1984, followed by the AX60 and AX73 6-voice analog synthesizers around 1986. The AX-60 borrowed many design elements from the Roland Juno series, but used voltage-controlled analog oscillators (VCO) as its sound source, unlike Roland's more common digitally controlled analog oscillators (DCO). It also allowed the performer to "split" the keyboard, assigning different timbres to different ranges of keys. The AX-60 featured the ability to interface with Akai's early samplers via a serial cable, using 12-bit samples as an additional oscillator. (archived on HollowSun.com). “''The AX73 was a simple analogue synthesiser based around the Curtis CEM 3394 chips ... Internally, the AX60 had the same voice architecture as the AX73 and VX90 ... Common to all models in the range, however, was a proprietary 13-pin DIN socket that allowed you to connect an S900 for processing through the synths' analogue filters. ...''”


Digital Samplers (S, X, Z series)

The S612 12-bit digital sampler released in 1985 was the first in a series of relatively affordable samplers, designed in a 19-inch studio-rack format and finished in black. It could hold only a single sample at a time, which was loaded into memory via a separate disk drive utilizing 2.8-inch Quick Disk
floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...
s. The maximum sample time at the highest quality sampling rate (32 kHz) was one second.
The introduction of a "professional" range of digital samplers began with the 12-bit S900 in 1986, followed by the X7000 keyboard sampler in 1986, and the S700 rack-mount version in 1987. Unlike the single-sample S612, these models allowed the use of up to six active samples simultaneously, featured a built-in disk drive, and could be extended with six individual outputs via cable. Additionally, a flash memory extension added another six samples to the memory for multisample playback. The S700/X7000 sampler series were light grey in color, a design choice that remained consistent throughout the entire "professional" range of Akai samplers. The 16-bit
Akai S1000 The Akai S1000 is a 16-bit, 44.1 kHz professional stereo digital sampler, released by Akai in 1988. The S1000 was among the first professional-quality 16-bit stereo samplers.Russ, Martin (2004). ''Sound Synthesis and Sampling''. Elsevier. p ...
series followed in 1988, introducing the ability to read
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...
s and write to hard disks via SCSI. This range was eventually superseded by the S3000 series in 1993, which offered an optional built-in CD-ROM drive, followed by the S5000 and S6000 models. Additional notable releases included the Z4 and Z8 24-bit 96 kHz samplers. Sampler Models *S612 - 1985 *X7000 - Keyboard Sampler - 1986 *S700 - 1987 *S900 - 1986 *X3700 - Keyboard Sampler - 1986 *S950 - 1988 *S1000 - 1988 *S1000KB - Keyboard Sampler - 1988 *S1000PB - Playback only device - 1988 *S1100 - 1992 *S01 - 1993 *S2000 - 1995 *S2800 - 1992 *S20 - Drum Machine-styled device - 1997 *S3000 - 1993 * S3000XL *S3200 - 1996 *S3200XL - 1996 *S5000 - 1998 *S6000 - 1999 *Z4 - 2002 *Z8 - 2002


MPC

Akai also produced several Digital MIDI sequencers and
digital synthesizer A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds, in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digital rec ...
s such as the MPC range, a line of integrated drum machines, MIDI sequencers, samplers and direct-to-disk recorders.


New ownership of Akai Professional

In December 1999, one year before the application of the to Akai Electric Company Ltd., the brand of its musical instrument division, Akai Professional, was acquired by a company based in the United States. The new company was named "Akai Professional Musical Instrument Corporation". Akai Professional M.I. was established the same year, but it filed for bankruptcy in 2005. Teikoku Databank Yokohama branch, by the 7th (December 2005), Akai Professional M.I. received a bankruptcy proceedings decision by the Tokyo District Court. ... Akai Professional M.I. was established in December 1999 to focus on the manufacture and sale of electronic musical instruments, by a company of the United States who acquired the brand(s) of the musical instrument division of Akai Electric Company Ltd.] In 2004, following a US distribution deal, the Akai Professional Musical Instrument division was acquired by Jack O'Donnell, owner of Numark Industries and Alesis. In 2012,
inMusic Brands inMusic Brands, Inc. is an American enterprise that is the parent company for a family of brands of varying audio products used in the DJ, music production, live sound, musical instrument, pro audio, software, stage lighting, and consumer elect ...
was formed as the parent company for O'Donnell's companies, including Akai Professional.


Current products

In early 2003,
Grande Holdings Grande Holdings Ltd () () is a Chinese manufacturer of consumer and professional audio and HiFi components based in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In the past, Grande Holdings has purchased several Japanese HiFi manufacturers, including Akai and Nakamichi. ...
began reintroducing Akai's brands by marketing various audio-visual products manufactured by
Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
. In the same year, Grande started distributing Akai home appliances, including
air conditioners Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...
,
vacuum cleaners A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum, is a device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets, hard floors, and other surfaces. The dirt is collected into a dust bag or a plastic bin ...
, and
refrigerators A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external envir ...
. In the 2010s, it began distributing Akai
smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...
in collaboration with Chinese smartphone manufacturers such as Gionee, in India and other countries.


Video

*
AV receiver An audio/video receiver (AVR) or a stereo receiver is a consumer electronics component used in a home theater, home audio, or hi-fi system. Its purpose is to receive audio and video signals from a number of sources, and to process them and prov ...
s * Portable DVD players *
DVD player A DVD player is a machine that plays DVDs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. Some DVD players will also play audio CDs. DVD players are connected to a television to ...
s *
DVD recorder A DVD recorder is an optical disc recorder that uses optical disc recording technologies to digital recording, digitally record analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signals onto blank writable DVD recordable, D ...
s * Home theatre systems * Home theatre
speakers Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...
* VCD players * VCRs


Mobile sound

*
Amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power su ...
s * Cassette receivers * CD changers * CD receivers * DVD changers * DVD receivers * Car audio – DVD players * Car audio – speakers * Car audio – TFT monitors


Home appliances

*
Air conditioner Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...
s * Air coolers * Air purifiers * Chest freezers * Dishwashers *
Heater Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC ) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...
s * Ice makers *
Microwave oven A microwave oven, or simply microwave, is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces Dipole#Molecular dipoles, polar molecules in the food to rotate and ...
s *
Refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...
s * Showcases *
Vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum, is a device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets, hard floors, and other surfaces. The dirt is collected into a dust bag or a plastic bin. ...
s *
Washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to laundry, launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses ...
s * Water dispensers *
Wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...
s


Audio

* Stereo rack systems * Mini systems * Micro music * Retro radios * Sound boxes * Portable music players * Tape decks * Portable DAT recorder/player (Blue colored body, Webshop DirectOrder only, OEM from JVC/Victor) * Portable MD recorder/player (Blue color body, Webshop DirectOrder only, OEM from JVC/Victor)


Digital

*
Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...
surround sound systems *
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...
*
MP3 player A portable media player (PMP) or digital audio player (DAP) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. Normally they refer to small, battery-powered devices ...
*
Mobile phones A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...
*
Smart phones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...


Television

* CRT color television sets * LCD televisions * Plasma television *
Set-top box A set-top box (STB), also known as a cable converter box, cable box, receiver, or simply box, and historically television decoder or a converter, is an information appliance device that generally contains a Tuner (radio)#Television, TV tuner inpu ...
es


Akai Professional products


Synthesizers

* AX60 (c.1986) – discontinued * AX73 (c.1986) – discontinued * AX80 (1984) – discontinued * VX90 (c.1986) – rack-mount version of AX73, discontinued * VX600 (c.1988) – 3-octave keyboard synthesizer with EWI connection jack, discontinued * Akai SG01v (c.1996) – desktop sound module, discontinued * MINIAK – discontinued * S612 (1985) – discontinued * S900 (1986) – discontinued * X3700 (c.1986) – discontinued * X7000 (c.1986) – discontinued * S700 (1987) – discontinued * S950 – discontinued * S1000 (1988) – discontinued * S1100 (1990) – discontinued * S01 (1992) – discontinued * S2800 (1992) – discontinued * S3000 (1992) – discontinued * S3200 (1992) – discontinued * CD3000 (1993) – discontinued * REMIX16 (1995) – table-top phrase sampler, discontinued * S2000 (1995) – discontinued * S3000XL (1995) – discontinued * S3200XL – discontinued * S20 (c.1997) – discontinued * CD3000XL (c.1997) – discontinued * S5000 (c.1999) – discontinued * S6000 (c.1999) – discontinued * Z4 (2002) – discontinued * Z8 (2002) – discontinued * MPX8 * MPX16 * MPC Key 61


Music Production Center

* MPC60 (1987) – MIDI Production Centre, discontinued * MPC60II – (1991) – discontinued * MPC3000 (1993) – discontinued * MPC3000LE (1999) – discontinued * MPC2000 (1997) – discontinued * MPC2000XL (2000) – discontinued * MPC4000 (2002) – discontinued * MPC1000 (2003) – discontinued * MPC500 (2006) – discontinued * MPC2500 (2005) – discontinued * MPC5000 (2008) – discontinued * MPC Renaissance (2012) – discontinued * MPC Studio (2012) – Discontinued * MPC Element (2013) – Discontinued * MPC Touch (2015) * MPC Studio Black (2016) * MPC Live (2017) * MPC X (2017) * MPC Force (2019) * MPC One (2020) * MPC Live ll (2020) * MPC Studio II (2021) * MPC Key 61 (2022) * MPC One+ (2023)


Computer audio interfaces

* EIE (2011) * EIE PRO (2011)


Drum machines

* MR16 (c.1985) * XE-8 1U rack mounted, Acoustic drum sound from S-1000 library, discontinued * XR10, discontinued Table Top Playback Sampler incl XE-8 Sound with Dance Sample Sounds 16-bit, discontinued * XR20 (2008) Made by Alesis * Rhythm Wolf (c.2015) Tabletop analogue drum machine with bass synth * Tom Cat


Electronic wind instruments

* EVI1000 (1987) – Electronic Valve Instruments, discontinued * EWI1000 (1987) – Electronic Wind Instrument, discontinued * EWV2000 – Electronic Wind Instrument sound module, discontinued * EWI4000S (2005) * EWI-USB (2008) * EWI5000 (2014) * EWI SOLO (2020)


Effects units / Utilities

* EX90R – Reverb, discontinued * ME10D – MIDI digital delay, discontinued * ME15F – MIDI dynamic controller, discontinued * ME20A – MIDI sequencer arpeggiator, discontinued * ME25S – MIDI note separator, discontinued * ME30P – MIDI 4×8 patchbay, discontinued * ME35T – Audio/MIDI trigger, discontinued * ME80P – MIDI 8×10 patchbay, discontinued * MB76 – Programmable mix bay, discontinued * PEQ6 – Programmable equaliser, discontinued * DP88 (1993) – digital audio patchbay, discontinued * AR900 (1986–89) – 16-bit MIDI Digital Reverb, discontinued * MFC42 (2001) – filter bank, discontinued * HV10 Harmony generator (2002) * VST Plug-ins (2002)


Guitar pedals

* Analog Delay * Blues Overdrive *
Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...
*
Compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps o ...
* Deep Impact Synth * Deluxe Distortion * Drive3 Distortion * Drive3 Fuzz * Drive3 Overdrive * E2 Head Rush *
Flanger Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and ...
*
Phase Shifter A phase shift module is a microwave network module which provides a controllable phase shift of the RF signal. Phase shifters are used in phased arrays. Classification Active versus passive Active phase shifters provide gain, while passive ...


iPod/iPad Keyboard Controllers

* SynthStation25 * SynthStation49 * AkaiMPC Fly (2012)


MIDI Sequencers

* MS08 (c.1985) – discontinued * ASQ10 (c.1986/7) – discontinued


Standalone Multi-track Audio Recorders

* MG614 (c.1983?) – discontinued * MG1212 (1984) – discontinued * MG1214 (c.1985) – discontinued * DR1200/DL1200 (1988) – discontinued * DD1000 (1990) – discontinued * DD/DL1500 (1994) – 16-track DAW, discontinued * DD8 (1996) – discontinued * DD8plus (1998) – discontinued * DR4D (1993) – discontinued * DR8 (1994) – discontinued * DR16 (1995) – discontinued * DPS12 (1997) – discontinued * DPS16 (1999) – discontinued * DPS24 (2002) – discontinued * DPS24MKII – discontinued * RE32 (1999) – controller for DD/DR series, discontinued


Studio Monitor Speakers

* RPM3 * RPM8 – discontinued * 50x


USB MIDI / MIDI Controllers

* APC20 * APC40 * APC40 MkII * EWI-USB * LPD8 (2009) * LPK25 (2009) * MPD16 (2002) – discontinued * MPD18 – discontinued * MPD24 (2006) – discontinued * MPD26 (2010) * MPD32 (2008) * MPK25 (2009) * MPK49 (2007) * MPK49 V2 (2007) * MPK61 (2009) * MPK88 (2009) * MPK Mini * * MPK Mini MK II (2014) * MPK Mini MK III (2020) * MPK225 (2014) * MPK249 (2014) * MPK261 (2014) * MAX25 (2014) * MAX49 (2014) * MX73 MIDI Master Keyboard – discontinued * MX76 MIDI Master Keyboard (1987) – discontinued


See also

* 1/4-inch Akai VTRs * Akai VK (videocassette format) VTRs *
List of phonograph manufacturers This is a list of phonograph manufacturers. The phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone, record player or turntable, is a device introduced in 1877 for the mechanical recording and reproduction of sound. Phonographs can also spec ...


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * * *
Vintage Cassette Decks
Collection of Akai Vintage Cassette decks and other brands {{Akai Audio equipment manufacturers of Japan Manufacturing companies established in 1929 Consumer electronics brands Home appliance manufacturers of Japan In-car entertainment Mobile phone manufacturers Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Japan Synthesizer manufacturing companies of Japan Guitar effects manufacturing companies Film and video technology Phonograph manufacturers Japanese companies established in 1929 Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Japan Japanese brands