decision on beat controller

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scheckel
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 9:04 am

decision on beat controller

Post by scheckel » Thu Sep 10, 2015 9:16 am

Hi!

I have read through this forum quite a bit but still can't figure which beat controller fits my purpose and budget.

I am total starter wanting to create a variety of electronic (minimal, spheric, experimental) music with ableton. in terms of rhythm I feel like composing the beats "live" with my hands, not too much with a stepsequencer. therefore I had a look at

the Arturia SparkLE
the Korg PadKontrol
the MPC Element Midi Pad
and (pls forgive me if that's total nonsense) Vestax Pad One

You'll notice that my budget is somewhere between 100-180 €. Also I had a look at the Novation Launchpad as a general Controller and also "beatpad" (?). Maybe that's another solution.

I'd be happy for some advise here and open for any new recommendations.

thanks!
Scheckel

madlab
Posts: 1391
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Location: France

Re: decision on beat controller

Post by madlab » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:26 am

Tried several ones and the PadKontrol was definitly the most precise and sensitive for me...
Aboard from V. 1
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Band : https://elastocat.org/
Madlab sound unit / objects, guitar, electronics / end_of_transmission

Schmidi
Posts: 322
Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2003 2:07 am
Location: Seattle

Re: decision on beat controller

Post by Schmidi » Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:01 pm

Sounds like you want good feeling pads for an affordable price:

-remove the Akai from your list, their pads are poor (unless you get an MPC)
-PadKontrol is very good, but I couldn't make the software editor work on my computer so I return the pk.
-Have a look at the Quneo by Keith McMillen. It's a very versatile controller with great pads, very durable, and has possibilities that no other pad controller has for it's mappings. You may find this handy down the road with synths, FX, and M4L instruments!

madlab
Posts: 1391
Joined: Fri May 02, 2003 6:38 am
Location: France

Re: decision on beat controller

Post by madlab » Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:07 pm

My experience with the Quneo has been very bad as far as the pads are concerned. I've tried to mess up with the editor but even with max sensitivity, the results were miles away from what I get with the PadKontrol... Maybe it was a faluty unit but I've read various topics from people living the same experience.
Plus de PK editor works ok for me (i'm on mac 10.8.5)
Aboard from V. 1
MBP M1 Pro 2021 - 16 Go RAM - Monterey 12.6.3
MBP 2.5 Ghz I7 16 Go SSD OSX 10.14
iPad + Mira+ TouchOsc
RME FF UC Live 11.3.21 M4L Max 8
Band : https://elastocat.org/
Madlab sound unit / objects, guitar, electronics / end_of_transmission

muthafunka
Posts: 2247
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2003 5:28 pm
Location: Tokyo

Re: decision on beat controller

Post by muthafunka » Mon Sep 14, 2015 3:25 pm

If you just want decent-enough 4x4 pads to bang on a Trigger Finger 1 for what, $40 from Ebay can't be beat.

Mister Natural
Posts: 276
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: michigan

Re: decision on beat controller

Post by Mister Natural » Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:47 pm

I just got a Trigger Finger Pro and can't stop playing with it . . .
an expert only on what it feels like to be me
& you are who you google
#smile

beatz01
Posts: 361
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:09 pm

Re: decision on beat controller

Post by beatz01 » Tue Sep 15, 2015 3:27 pm

+1 for the Padkontrol.

The new Akai MPD 218 looks nice, too.

v00d00ppl
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Re: decision on beat controller

Post by v00d00ppl » Tue Sep 15, 2015 8:13 pm

+1 on MPD218. The pads have greatly improved.
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nightscope
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:20 pm

Re: decision on beat controller

Post by nightscope » Wed Sep 16, 2015 3:12 am

I've had a padKONTROL for many a year. Don't use it that much since I got the Push but it is a very nice bit of kit. I recently got an Elektron Rytm the pads of which are not that great, folks say they break in after a bit of hearty thumping. padKONTROL works great with the Rytm as does the Push.

Stray over at nativeKONTROL has a bunch of neat scripts for the padKONTROL that works nicely with Live, the pKC series; which is a plus for Live users with a padK.

http://www.nativekontrol.com/pKC_Series.html

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