Akai APC40 + Drum Pad. Please help choosing right setup

[charlie360x]

Hello,
I am about to build my home studio (I was using mouse and keyboard for a while) and I would like to invest in APC40 controller + something to control drum rack.

I mainly use Ableton drum rack, vst perc or Reason.

I was thinking about:

Akai APC 40 + M-audio Oxygen 49 (for pads etc.) + either:

1. Akai MPD32 (I heard that it has not really good quality pads)
2. Korg PadKontrol (Very good pads but no knobs)

I personally would prefer padkontrol, but I am worrying about lack of knobs. I would like to control FX for drum rack and I think I won't be enough.

Which setup would you recommend? Thank you

[Poibles]

I like my MPK Mini. It's cheap, has OK pads and 8 knobs plus 25 keys.

[pharos]

Might I suggest Maschine or Maschine Mikro? Not only will you be getting fantastic pads (probably the best out there) you'll also get an amazing software with thousands of drum samples.

Last year I built my own first home studio and I was in the same situation as you. It was a toss up between the MPD or the Korg but I went with Maschine Mikro and it was definitely the best choice. Its since become my favorite toy, next to Live + an APC40.

Right now both Maschines are obtainable for stupid prices because of the incoming Mk2...so you could get a Mk1 Mikro for a great bargain. Even better would be the full-sized Maschine if you can swing $400.

[Matt_Quinn]

I love my MPD18. I just got a QuNeo & I think I still like the MPD more.

[charlie360x]

Thank you for your suggestions,
I've been looking at Maschine too, but I thought it's more DJ than producer equipment. Anyway, it will suit me well too, but price difference between Mikro and normal version is huge!

If I get Maschine mikro, will I be able to use knobs from APC40 with Maschine Mikro, to control it in the same way as I would do with the standard Maschine hardware?

[glitchrock-buddha]

Thank you for your suggestions,
I've been looking at Maschine too, but I thought it's more DJ than producer equipment.

No it's far more production equipment. It's a song writing tool. Since it has no live timestretching, it's DJ value would be very limited. Ableton Live is much more suited to DJing. Maschine is a drum machine and all around sampler/sequencer.

I used to have an akai MPD32 to use with my PAC40 but then I replaced it with Maschine. Since the mkII of Maschine has just come out, you could probably get a great deal on the first version.

[charlie360x]

Thank you for your suggestions,
I've been looking at Maschine too, but I thought it's more DJ than producer equipment.

No it's far more production equipment. It's a song writing tool. Since it has no live timestretching, it's DJ value would be very limited. Ableton Live is much more suited to DJing. Maschine is a drum machine and all around sampler/sequencer.

I used to have an akai MPD32 to use with my PAC40 but then I replaced it with Maschine. Since the mkII of Maschine has just come out, you could probably get a great deal on the first version.

Chris Liebing is using Mashine during his live sets. He has it as Plugin in Ableton but it's only his additional instrument, just to add some layers of extra snares and hi-hats on top of his mix in Traktor. That's where I saw the Mashine for the first time.

Still don't know what to get, I need to do a bit more research I think. Probably even padkontrol + nanokontrol2 would do the job

[pharos]

Thank you for your suggestions,
I've been looking at Maschine too, but I thought it's more DJ than producer equipment. Anyway, it will suit me well too, but price difference between Mikro and normal version is huge!

If I get Maschine mikro, will I be able to use knobs from APC40 with Maschine Mikro, to control it in the same way as I would do with the standard Maschine hardware?

Unfortunately NI hasn't updated/allowed external MIDI controllers to control the big Maschine's knobs. The only way to do that is with the big controller. The Mikro can of course control those same knobs but only one at a time obviously. FWIW I have an APC40 and a Mikro and together they are awesome but I am going to upgrade to a full sized Maschine after the Mk2 drops. In your case if you went with a Mikro (mk1 or mk2) you'd be getting a brilliant production/groove module software/vst plugin, thousands of great samples, and one of the best feeling MIDI drum controllers for just a bit more than what the padkontrol is going for. You can't go wrong

[charlie360x]

Thank you for all the replies guys, I decided to go for APC40 + Maschine (Full). Current version is priced at £329 (£469 for MK2, available from October) so it's quite a good deal I think. Cheers!

[pharos]

Thank you for all the replies guys, I decided to go for APC40 + Maschine (Full). Current version is priced at £329 (£469 for MK2, available from October) so it's quite a good deal I think. Cheers!

A decision of genius! You're gonna love that combo.

[bartend7]

why do you need knobs if you already have an apc 40. that has plenty of knobs and faders no?

padkontrol... it has the xy pad...

[charlie360x]

Thank you for all the replies guys, I decided to go for APC40 + Maschine (Full). Current version is priced at £329 (£469 for MK2, available from October) so it's quite a good deal I think. Cheers!

A decision of genius! You're gonna love that combo.

Thanks, I have £150 more to spend and I was thinking about keyboard controller or some other instrument. Would would you recommend with my setup? I was thinking about M-audio oxygen 49 or Axiom, thanks

[rakim87]

just because someone mentioned the akai mpk mini i have to mention i hate the thing. the keys don't feel good and it's not unusual for the drum pads to throw in extra hits so i have to edit out extra notes all the time. i would suggest avoiding it unless it's particularly convenient for you or at least see it in a store where you can try it out first.

[condra]

MPK25 with a Launchpad would be a great combo IMO.

The new Oxygens are great value, though the Axioms are better built.

MPK Mini is far from ideal as your a main studio controller in my opinion.

[charlie360x]

Ok, so I bought APC 40, Maschine and Oxygen 40. I am using Oxygen with Reason mainly and sometimes to control synth within Maschine. But my problem now is... I don't know how to use Maschine together with Ableton and APC40...

I would like to record the beats with Maschine and do the rest in ableton, but I can't really find the best workflow for both Maschine and APC. For some reason Maschine won't record anything in Ableton clip and I can't trigger it with APC...

What kind of workflow would you suggest? I am not DJ, I would like to use it only in production process and I would like to use Maschine only as drum kit and Ableton with APC for the rest of the stuff, BUT with ability to record and trigger Maschine clips with APC