music production

Akai DPS12 Digital Personal Studio (part 7)

By Sophie Andersen · June 10, 2026 · 10 min read

“)

Sampling Rate: The DPS12 offers three sampling rates: 48kHz, 44.1kHz and 32kHz.

Sampling Rate: The DPS12 offers three sampling rates: 48kHz, 44.1kHz and 32kHz. Obviously the higher the sampling rate the faster disk space is eaten up, although the highest rate offers a high frequency response extension up to 22kHz rather than 20kHz at 44.1kHz sampling. Obviously the digital mixer only has so much horsepower and you will find that EQ facilities are limited at 48kHz. Digital sync is also available from this screen, which should be selected when recording from a digital source.

Beat Map and Tempo Map: If you are using the bars and beats option rather than timecode clock then you will need to set a tempo map, and perhaps a beat map too. Changes in tempo are allowed and can range between 30 and 300bpm (I suppose the latter is for Thrash Jungle!). The meter can range between 1/4 to 32/32.

Foot Switch: All multitrack recorders should have a punch-in footswitch socket and the DPS12 indeed does. It can also be used for just about every other control surface function, including soft keys.

MIDI: The DPS12 has few MIDI functions and therefore it is perhaps justifiable that there are only two MIDI sockets. The function of the IN/THRU socket is set here.

LCD Contrast: Adjustable as you might expect. The LCD is wonderfully bright compared to most others I have seen.

Other: The only two other functions are Meter Pre/Post fader and the number of Undo steps possible. One is a good choice here, but you can have up to 250 if you really want to, and can afford the disk space.

Physique - Compact but Well-Muscled

The Akai DPS12 is smaller in real life than I imagined from early photos. Small and light enough to be easily portable and it’s so cute you’ll want to give it a cuddle! The six main analogue inputs on balanced quarter inch jacks are on the top surface near the back, which is convenient but puts ugly cables on display in a more permanent installation, particularly since the sockets are angled forward slightly. The remaining inputs and outputs are on the rear: master analogue out left and right (phono), auxiliary sends A and B (phono), digital optical stereo in and out, MIDI IN and OUT/THRU, SCSI (half pitch connector), footswitch (quarter inch jack).

The control surface is quite sparsely populated since the mixer is digital and most of the operations are carried out through the cursor keys and jog/shuttle wheel. There are however six gain controls with peak LEDs for the analogue inputs, twelve each record ready and channel select buttons and of course twelve physical faders and pan controls, plus the stereo master fader. Individual channels, or groups of channels, can be soloed. On the right of the unit, the display is large enough and bright enough to fulfil its purpose adequately, aided by six soft keys underneath whose function varies according to context. The transport controls are large and chunky as they should be. Just above these is a button panel which offers easy access to most functions of the machine. Almost all of the buttons have a dual function for entering names for projects, tracks etc. Not quite as straightforward as a qwerty keyboard but certainly adequate. On the front of the unit there is a headphone socket with level control and of course the Jaz drive.

Track View

The track display shows recorded segments in a moving display across the screen. Very useful for finding your way around.

Jog/Shuttle

The DPS12 has an excellent jog/shuttle feature which allows individual tracks to be ‘scrubbed’ to find edit points precisely.

Mixer Levels

On the left are bargraph meters showing the levels of recorded tracks. On the right the fader positions are shown. Alternatively, this display can show the eight ‘thru mix’ channels where live signals can be added to the mix.

EQ

The DPS12 offers excellent digital EQ, either two or three band. Bear in mind though that if you require three band EQ, it can only be applied to six tracks (at 44.1kHz).

Auxiliary Sends

The DPS12 has two auxiliary sends which can act as individual mono sends or a stereo pair. They are individually switchable pre or post fader. Although there are no auxiliary returns, ‘thru mix’ channels can easily be used to achieve the same results.

Publication date: Thursday January 01, 2004
Author: David Mellor
Join David Mellor’s Audio Masterclass…

“It isn’t about equipment and software -
it’s all about knowing how to use it”

Tweet

Which DAW sounds best? Some people think DAWs all sound the same. But do some DAWs sound better than others? Read more…

These 1957 loudspeakers get closer to the original sound than anything you’ve ever heard! Still monitoring on modern moving coil loudspeakers? Perhaps you need some vintage electrostatics to really hear what’s on your recording? Read more…

To become a hit, your song needs a BETTER TITLE! Have you written a great song? Thought of a clever title for it? Then think again - you may need to change the title for it to become a hit. Read more…

Can a spectrograph give you insight into EQ, or should you just listen? A spectrograph can give you a lovely display of the frequency content of a piece of audio. But what good is LOOKING when the end product is for LISTENING? Read more…

Another amazing bargain keyboard instrument What kind of keyboard instrument can you buy for £20? You would be amazed… Read more…

Q: How should I set the gain make-up control on my compressor? A RecordProducer.com reader has a control he doesn’t know what to do with. Does it really do anything? Read more…

“I Dream of the Autobahn” by Raw Refined Like ‘the Botanists’ I am also a one man operation. All instruments are written, performed and recorded by one guy, Henry Moss… Read more…

Q: Why don’t my vocals sound nice? “I have a Behringer B-2 PRO mic and a Creative E-MU Tracker Pre audio interface, but I still don’t get vocals as nice as those I hear from others. What can I do?” Read more…

Can you now use nearfields to completely replace your main monitors? Any pro studio would have both main monitors and nearfields. But now you can have both in one package. Read more…

An acoustician’s Night at the Opera How is it that opera singers can reach the back rows of the upper balcony of a 2000-seat theater, without amplification? Is is something to do with acoustics? Read more…

YouTube Review: Harriadnie Beau She looks good, she sings well. But there’s a major problem with the sound… Read more…

What will happen to your computer when you die? When you’re dead, you’re dead. What a fantastic opportunity for people to start rifling though your life! Read more…

No really, you have NOT seen anything like this before! JamHub is billed as ‘the silent rehearsal studio’. Whatever it is, there’s simply nothing else like it. Read more…

How to get people to LOVE your song! A 10-step guide… You want to write a song that makes loads of money, right? Well people are really going to have to love it. So how can you do that? Read more…

Who knows best what ‘sound’ will make a hit record - Record Producer or A&R manager? What makes a hit record? Sometimes it’s the song, sometimes it’s the sound. But who decides whether a certain ‘sound’ will sell? Read more…

The cutest audio interface on the market? Mackie’s Onyx Blackjack might just be the cutest audio interface around. So why would you want something just because it’s cute? Read more…

Why delay is good for you (and how to set delay times) ”) Delay is one of the simplest yet (currently) under-appreciated effects available. But how do you work out the correct settings? Read more…

How to get into music with no musical ability Probably anyone can make it in music, as long as they have sufficient determination. Plenty of people have achieved great things in music even though they had very little ability to start out with… Read more…

Upgrading to Pro Tools 9? Should you do it now? If you run Pro Tools, then you will surely upgrade to the new Version 9. The question is, should you do it right now? Read more…

One song, arranged four ways A good musical arrangement can make all the difference to the presentation of a song. Of course, it helps if it’s a good song in the first place… Read more…

• Spot the Stradivarius violin - REALLY test your ears [with audio] Can you tell a priceless Stradivarius violin from a $5500 copy from a $60 chain-store clunker?
• Is there such a thing as Photoshopped audio? As a major fashion chain ditches the use of Photoshop for a more natural look, should we do the same in audio?
• How to insult a sound engineer [with video] Sound engineers are normally a pretty thick-skinned bunch. So what is it that really riles them?
• A heroine for live performance on TV? Viola player Natalie Holt throws eggs at Simon Cowell on Britain’s Got Talent. She protests at having to mime playing her instrument.
• Why won’t publishers listen to your music? It’s one thing being rejected. But when publishers won’t even listen to your music, what could you possibly be doing wrong?
• Have your music recorded by a real symphony orchestra If you have a spare 665 euros among your loose change, you could have 60 seconds of your own music recorded by a 70-piece orchestra! For real.
• What is the easiest way to convert watts to decibels? An RP reader wants to convert watts to dB. Is this even possible?
• If you had no dangly thing at the back of your throat, how well could you sing? That dangly thing at the back of your throat, properly called the uvula… Could you sing without it?
• An interesting example of miking for TV If you’re recording in the studio, you can put your mics anywhere you like. But for TV, it’s a little different…
• What information do you need on your CD (to make money)? ?”) Getting the music done is one thing, getting the artwork finished is another. But what about all the other information a CD needs?
• Is it possible to *produce* classical music? Classical music just needs to be recorded, doesn’t it? Well in some cases it really can be produced.
• M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 monitors - Could they be Auratones for the digital age? Can an $89 pair of monitors really be an effective tool in the recording studio? Or are they only good for ‘media creation?
• Can a pianist’s wrong note played in 1962 be fixed in 2013? A wrong note that has resonated for more than half a century is fixed - without the aid of a time machine.
• Are certain mic/preamp combinations special? An RP reader finds that a certain combination of microphone and preamp works much better than he expected…
• Why haven’t you had a Hot 100 hit yet? Anyone with a home recording studio now has the means to create a hit. So why haven’t you yet?
• Can guitarists be trusted with their own equipment? What sounds good to the electric guitar player doesn’t necessarily sound good to the audience. A live sound engineer explains…
• What is your main concern if your interest is voice over? So you’re setting yourself up in the voice over business. What should you think about before anything else?
• Can you print a vinyl record on a 3D printer? Amazingly, the answer to this question is - almost - yes!
• An interesting microphone setup for violinist Nigel Kennedy If you’re miking one of the finest violinists in the world, should you point the mic at the double bass instead?
• To mic or not to mic the backline? That is an interesting question raising fascinating further possibilities An RP reader fears losing cabinet resonances if the backline of his band is miked up through the PA. But perhaps it is innovation in live sound that has been lost over the years.