akia mpk 49 pads.. sensitivity question.

[nathannn]

this is basically a question for anyone with the mpk 49.
i just bought one today and when playing the drum pads its like i have to smash them hard just to make a sound.
is this normal?
and also do you always have to set the mpk to run in live lite to get it to work?
so far i hate this thing.
i went to akia's website and there is no user forum and the manual is lacking.

[DJVespers]

Hey mate. I have the MPK25 and an MPD32 so, basically the same devices and pads. Just activate the "full level" button on the MPK49 and it'll output to velocity = 127 every time, regardless of how light you tap the pad. The pads do need to hit pretty hard to equate to 127 if you don't have this on.

As for Live Lite, do you have the full version of Live? If so, you don't need Lite installed at all. It'll run just fine in Live 8 or Suite 8. It's class compliant too so no drivers are necessary. Make sure you have remote activated in your prefs. Akai gear is sick sick stuff, so I'd be surprised if you don't end up liking it in the long run. Cheers!

[carpekd]

There is a really easy and cheap mod you can do to the akai pads to make them awesome.

Watch these two videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mI4SutQJpQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZViS288 ... re=related

[magestro]

Or have a look in this:

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=123862

The Pad Mods are discussed here.

They covered almost every Akai Product available, naming MPK, MPD and LPD

Cheers

[Wunjo]

Thankfully there is an easy fix for this. Here's my video review with the llink to the person that sells the upgrade kits. Please leave a comment if you found it helpful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU7gRbfUNmE

[Tympanic]

hi there,

does anyone know about if something like the mods for the mpk´s
is available for the apc as well?
i HATE the feel of the apc buttons. its really fooking annoying
with them.


cheers

[agent314]

Also, be sure to adjust the sensitivity in the setup options on the MPK as well.

I hated the pads until I realized I could increase the sensitivity and lower the threshold, and now I can tolerate them.

I'm spoiled by the pads on the PadKontrol though. Those are pure win.

[carpekd]

Thankfully there is an easy fix for this. Here's my video review with the llink to the person that sells the upgrade kits. Please leave a comment if you found it helpful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU7gRbfUNmE

Don't buy the upgrade kits. They are way overpriced. You can accomplish what you need with some electrical tape (see the video links in my previous post).

[nathannn]

tried the tape thing today.. the pads are now more responsive than before. they are not great but they will do.

[agent314]

Even after adjusting the sensitivity and threshold in the keyboard setup menu?

[carpekd]

tried the tape thing today.. the pads are now more responsive than before. they are not great but they will do.

How many layers did you put on? I did this with 5 layers on my mpk 61 and the pads turned out really nice.

[thirtyhertz]

I keep seeing posts all over the internet about the sensitivity of the AKAI pads (MPD MPK etc).I have seen other posts about adding tape to solve this issue.

Sorry if I'm missing something but have people played with the 'Pad Threshold level'?

I had concerns about the pad sensitivity when I first bought the MPD32. I tweaked the pad sensitivity levels- 16, and decreased the threshold to 2.

Now it works a treat, its very sensitive and a joy to use. Its very easy to use with Ableton and Reason. I have had no problems at all.


Just thought I'd raise this as I have not seen any posts relating to the threshold, I really don't think people need to take pads off and add bits of tape etc. My MPD32 is sensitive enough for me.

[nathannn]

I keep seeing posts all over the internet about the sensitivity of the AKAI pads (MPD MPK etc).I have seen other posts about adding tape to solve this issue.

Sorry if I'm missing something but have people played with the 'Pad Threshold level'?

I had concerns about the pad sensitivity when I first bought the MPD32. I tweaked the pad sensitivity levels- 16, and decreased the threshold to 2.

Now it works a treat, its very sensitive and a joy to use. Its very easy to use with Ableton and Reason. I have had no problems at all.


Just thought I'd raise this as I have not seen any posts relating to the threshold, I really don't think people need to take pads off and add bits of tape etc. My MPD32 is sensitive enough for me.

this is the first thing i tried.
really there would not be this many people complaining about the sensitivity without even trying to adjust the pad thresh hold.

the mpk was not what i wanted so i sold it.

[ansiaaa]

I have a MPK25.

you don't need to change any settings, if you watch the mod video othe people already linked (it's this if you didn't see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mI4SutQJpQ ), you know what to do.

I suggest that instead of layers of tape you find a thin rubber sheet and cut out squares of the right dimension, and use those.

your pads will be very responsive even to the lightes touch without touching any settings.

[thirtyhertz]

Ok just thought I'd post it as I'v not seen any one mention it in any post. Maybe the pads on the MPD are slightly different but I find it really sensitive as long as you strike the centre.

But fair point, it was worth raising.