Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.

Which pad controller do you own?

Akai MPD (18, 24, 32, etc)
118
45%
Korg PadKontrol
32
12%
Akai MPK (49, 61, 88)
59
22%
M-Audio Trigger Finger
16
6%
other
40
15%
 
Total votes: 265

hiphopdontstop
Posts: 146
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Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by hiphopdontstop » Sat Sep 12, 2009 12:36 pm

Trikster_B... SO GLAD to hear it worked for you!!! EXCELLENT!

I'm glad to help... it seems like a lot of you are/were dissatisfied with your Akai MPD/MPK pads.

And to answer the other poster's question, we're not trying to make the pads respond like PadKontrol, we're trying to get them more balanced and accurate overall. The MPD, with this pad mod, is an excellent controller because of the transport, the faders, the rotaries and my personal favorite, the assignable buttons (I use them to arm/disarm tracks in Sonar Home Studio) and the whole Note Repeat thing, plus the pressure-sensitive pads which are great for doing say, a filter sweep synth line that brings the cutoff up if you push harder, etc.

I'm bumping this thread yet again... let's keep it rolling!

Anyone else have an MPK49/61/88 they tried this on?

Rahlo
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Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by Rahlo » Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:14 pm

Ok, I just finished using this method to mod one of my mpd 32 units. Without a doubt, it's worth taking the time to do this!

Much respect for starting this thread and posting that video, brotha!
peace,

rahlo
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.rahlo.com

MacBook Pro, Live 8, Reason 4, Akai MPD 32, Akai MPK 49, Akai APC 40, Metric Halo ULN-2 expanded, Apogee Duet.

Plague1715
Posts: 24
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Location: Carlsbad, CA

Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by Plague1715 » Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:36 am

Hello, this is my first post on the forum, but I have been browsing for a while. I just saw this post about an hour ago, and immediately got my mpk49 open. I pulled out the pad "sheet" and put four small rectangles of gaffer tape on each pad, but on some of the pads the tape didn't stick too well. So I put it all back together and plugged it in to my macbook pro. The pads are definitely a lot more sensitive, but they will sometimes trigger another note or sometimes not trigger at all. And without the full level switch on the velocity curve is very bad. But I know that this has to do with the fact that I sloppily put on the tape and probably used to much or maybe too little. So, I will probably open it up again tomorrow and redo it better. Thanks. :D

v00d00ppl
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Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by v00d00ppl » Sun Sep 13, 2009 4:53 am

i might try this out........

but for the longest time i have been using the 2000xl to control notes in live or with the mpd24, i broke the pads in and just used a direct midi connection and that worked for me.

Still, i will tape this out on my mpd24 when i get the time.

thanks for posting.
SSL X Desk / Apollo Twin Solo / Sherman Restyler / Ensoniq EPS Classic / Analog Keys / Handsome Audio Zulu

hiphopdontstop
Posts: 146
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:58 pm

Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by hiphopdontstop » Sun Sep 13, 2009 1:30 pm

Glad to hear it's still working for everyone. Awesome. Yeah, regarding the guy who used gaffer tape and sloppily put it on... try to be really precise with it, and use electrical tape... it sticks better, I've found... if you're having problems with dual-triggering, mess with the threshold settings in the MPK49.. that should help. And regarding the pads that don't trigger at all, it could be the sheet being uneven or something after reassembly... try to mod it again... I had to open my MPD32 a second time to get it the way I like (initially I only put 2 layers of tape on each square.. it wasn't enough).

Let's keep this thread going!

hiphopdontstop
Posts: 146
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:58 pm

Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by hiphopdontstop » Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:07 pm

Anyone else try to mod their Akai MPK49/61/88?

I know the 61 and 88 came out recently... just wondering... let's keep this going!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZViS288WH4

formatk
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Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by formatk » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:28 pm

Thank you! Very Much! Wow, i thought my timings were getting worse, just realised the pads weren't behaving properly. I now taped my pads on my MPD24 and they work 50% better! Never tried a pad control so can't compare but definately recommend users to give this a go. If you don't like it, you can just take the tape off again, all it's doing is 'padding' the pads out. ( oh, you like what I done there) 8O
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Artist & Visualist
MacBook Pro C2D 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM Live 7.0.14, OSX10.6.2, Launchpad, AkaiMPD24, Akai S20, Oxygen 8, Presonus Inspire, Rode NT1a/M3, Shure SM58

hiphopdontstop
Posts: 146
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Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by hiphopdontstop » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:27 am

So glad all of you are finding it helpful... let's hear more success stories from the MPK49 and MPK61 users!

dokken
Posts: 90
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Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by dokken » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:15 am

Thanks for posting that video and this thread. Looks like most people that took the poll use an Akai pad controller. When I first got the MPD24 I noticed right away that the pads didn't seem sensitive enough. There is a setting on the controller for pad sensitivity but it doesn't seem to really do much. It's too bad because the Akai controllers are pretty solid otherwise. I don't know if I want to experiment with this hack though. I'll probably just keep banging on it with two fingers.

hiphopdontstop
Posts: 146
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:58 pm

Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by hiphopdontstop » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:21 am

dokken - do the hack, you won't regret it.

Obvious Alias
Posts: 77
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 6:06 pm
Location: Chattanooga TN

Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by Obvious Alias » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:40 am

I tested out the mpd32 and it's true, the pad sensitivity was the only drawback. I ended up ordering the mpk61, and when it arrives, if the pads seem to lack responsiveness, I will be doing this mod ASAP.
I like cheese.

trikster_b
Posts: 114
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Location: orlando, FL

Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by trikster_b » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:59 am

dokken wrote:Thanks for posting that video and this thread. Looks like most people that took the poll use an Akai pad controller. When I first got the MPD24 I noticed right away that the pads didn't seem sensitive enough. There is a setting on the controller for pad sensitivity but it doesn't seem to really do much. It's too bad because the Akai controllers are pretty solid otherwise. I don't know if I want to experiment with this hack though. I'll probably just keep banging on it with two fingers.
agreeing with hiphopdontstop- you should definitely do this. from the tone of your post, it seems that you don't really like the MPD24, but trust me, this mod makes it soooo much better. i hated it before, and now that i can actually use it for what i want it for, i love it. it's spent too long on the side of my desk not being used, and now i've been trying to integrate it into my workflow with great success.

Schnauzer
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Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by Schnauzer » Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:32 pm

Wow! I can't believe I didn't think of this myself.
Also good to know that there is nothing wrong with my fingers.
*runs to the store to get proper tape*
THANKS!
I'll post my findings.
Can I raise a practical question at this point? Are we gonna do "Stonehenge" tomorrow?
www.schnauzerstudios.com

Schnauzer
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Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by Schnauzer » Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:10 pm

Done!
sweet, it worked.
Thanks a lot!
I actually can use the mpd24 now for what I bought it for in the first place.
TRIPLETS!
Can I raise a practical question at this point? Are we gonna do "Stonehenge" tomorrow?
www.schnauzerstudios.com

hiphopdontstop
Posts: 146
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:58 pm

Re: Akai MPD and MPK pad mods - tips for better pad sensitivity

Post by hiphopdontstop » Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:16 pm

Told you. :)

It's totally worth it. If you watch my video, you see I can easily do triplets on all the pads... watch the vid! :)

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