I suspect this was the case. I’m sure it was the perfect hybrid instrument for a select few but it always seemed to me like an awkward fusion of a sequenced groovebox (for lack of a better term) and performance keyboard. The A4 MK2’s individual outputs also take away one of the major selling points of the AK while dramatically improving upon the screen.
Honestly, I may have considered an AK at one point if they put a sustain pedal input on it.
the keyboard and joystick, not the sequencer
The AK was always the odd one out in Elektron’s current portfolio. With the move to small, more affordable bits of gear flanked by the “trilogy” of the Mk2’s it kinda doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to keep churning out AK’s.
As lovely as it was as a keyboard, I’d be surprised if it shifted significant numbers too.
Anyway, you can pick them up at some killer prices. Have been able to do so for years now - I got the first of my AK’s for £935 new about 3 years ago.
I hear ya!
Look into the Kenton PRO CV-to-MIDI box. It works a treat with the AK.
Pitch/Gate + 2 CV to CC for p-locking CCs.
Makes my AK do wondrous things to my Monologue.
Sorry - was a bit vague there with the midi. To make up for it, I’m adding another selling point: the tweaked filter 
Anyway, you can pick them up at some killer prices. Have been able to do so for years now - I got the first of my AK’s for £935 new about 3 years ago.
Those days are long gone all sold out now from retailers and used prices have climbed and climbed —future classic for sure --never to be repeated —too expensive to build and shipping nightmares compared to rest of their product range,
It see it as a USD$1500-$2000 future classic —used prices will go there as the AK has tremendous mojo
right, the Kenton has 4 inputs. AK has 4 CV outs.
1 Pitch
2 Gate
3 Aux CV (converts to CC# in Kenton)
4 Aux CV (converts to CC# in Kenton)
Well worth the $150, really.
Ok that might actually be a game-changer for me, although I’m reluctant to invest another €170 in a machine I’ve been trying so hard to sell.
I could get over the AK being awkward to play as a keys synth, but I could never get over not being able to sequence external MIDI. I like my Bass Station II more than my AK in almost every way, and not being able to sequence it with a €1300 machine with a flagship sequencer was quite a pain.
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Look into the Kenton PRO CV-to-MIDI box. It works a treat with the AK.
Pitch/Gate + 2 CV to CC for p-locking CCs.
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Good timing. Saturday morning and I’m off to look for something just like it for the AK.
I’m liking this forum.
Anyways. Whether or not it’s economically viable for Elktron to evolve the AK, it’s pretty great the way it is. Every keyboard synth has its limitations, and the AK has very few compared to all of them.
I only got the AK and A4 in the last month, liking the CV control, and already getting rid of a Voyager, looking to swap a Nord kb to its rack version, and seriously considering swapping the Subsequent37 for a suitable module. It’s just too easy to use the AK as a controller kb.
I had no luck finding one of these, and the only help I got was “don’t get one from outside Australia” cause I’ll probably blow something expensive, blah blah woof woof.
As I was flying home this morning reading the entire manual, I couldn’t help wondering why the AK/A4 CV track can’t just internally rout to midi out?
Has anyone tried to hack this?
Is there anything fundamental that would prevent it?
No sustain pedal, wtf were they thinking… it’s their only synth with keys and they make it almost impossible to play fluently… 
I guess it is technically viable, the chassis is there, they could reuse the upgraded circuits of the A4 mkII, add 4 more voices to have a total of 8, add midi out tracks, add pedals control, drill some holes in the frontplate for the additional buttons and they will have a decent flagship. Now the question is indeed more on the demand side to confirm the economical viability. Anyway, since I got yhe A4mkII my AK is a little bit put aside, so I would really welcome a AK2.
I’m the opposite - slanted on a stand is the perfectly natural place and orientation for a keyboard for me. Mine hovers about 10mm above the top of my Surface Pro 2, between the Surface and the wall-mounted TV I use as a monitor, with my studio monitors behind it. It’s perfect.
Having just gone through the process two weeks ago and ending up with an AK, I can’t agree. Realistically, nothing else out there comes close at any price. I mean, it’s 4 x analog monosynths that can be chained to form a single polysynth or anything in between. Where else do you get that kind of flexibility in a single hardware box? Then there’s the batshit-crazy sequencer that extends the possibilities of the machine so much. Add in +Drive, with the ability to not only store 4096 patches but also to store 128 projects, each with 128 kits, for a total of 16,384 kits. As each kit can hold basically four synth patches, the grand total of stored patches comes to 69,632. Where else are you going to get that?
I suppose you could buy a Korg Minilogue for the poly stuff and two or three Monologues for the mono but you’d still need to buy a mixer and outboard effects and even then you still wouldn’t have a sequencer. You’d also have 3 or 4 synths that weren’t nearly as good as what’s in the AK. There are other ways you could cover the spread but every other one I can think of will end up costing more. It’s the ability to play it as 4 separate synths that makes it a killer buy.
Love the AK so much I have two of them now. Selling my other poly synths DSI PEK and Nord Lead 4
Glad you found a way that worked for you. It’s a shame because you’re right about how great it is, I thought it was such a cool synth but I couldn’t get comfortable with it. I would definitely reconsider an A4 in the future. There’s no synth out there like this in my opinion, seriously. It’s crazy
I prefer to use my A4 with my JD-Xi, as opposed to having an AK.
I really would live to have indiouts on my A4 mk I. Should I trade it to an AK while they’re still somewhat easy to come by? I don’t really need the keyboard tbh…
I bet a DT or a DN could fit on top of the AK for a cute lil rig 
DT on top of an AK would be all I’d need to compose, record and perform live… as soon as instant pattern changes are implemented, that is.
Definitely try to give one a go for a session before you bank on switching it out, I knew within about an hour of use I wanted an A4 not an AK. also who knows, when the dust settles in a few months a keys mk2 could surface, or digikeys