Trigger finger or PadKontrol

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
ThePublicityStunt
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Trigger finger or PadKontrol

Post by ThePublicityStunt » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:39 am

Hey all i was thinkin of buying a trigger finger but then i came across another piece PadKontrol by korg..any suggestions on which to buy..both are the same price
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stale bread
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Post by stale bread » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:47 am

the korg has better trigger pad response because the actual sensor covers the whole underside of the pad, so there are no dead areas.
I like the triggerfinger alot and have owned one, there is alot of control to be had with the trigger finger and I like the look of the tf better but the korg is just a better trigger.
plus you can hook a pedal up to the korg for triggering the kick and it's alot of fun making beats that way, another thing is that the korg is lighter.

otoh the korgs build is cheaper.
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Contra
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Post by Contra » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:50 am

returned the padkontrol today, for a full refund, wasnt sure if i was gonna be using an mpc2500 only, then i tried one out and the pads suck and i remembered why i stopped using my 2000xl. so when tax time comes im buying my macbookpro as originally planned, with an upgrade to live 6 wit sampler and operator and a pad kontrol once again.

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Machinate
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Post by Machinate » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:19 am

stale bread wrote:the korg has better trigger pad response because the actual sensor covers the whole underside of the pad, so there are no dead areas.
That, and the Korg uses a vastly different trigger detection. The Trigger Finger uses FSRs.
stale bread wrote: I like the triggerfinger alot and have owned one, there is alot of control to be had with the trigger finger and I like the look of the tf better but the korg is just a better trigger.
Word. Actually, except for some very boutique solutions like the ZenDrum, it's probably the best one out there right now.
stale bread wrote:plus you can hook a pedal up to the korg for triggering the kick and it's alot of fun making beats that way,
Very much so.... nothing like a kick pedal input on an SPD20/HPD10 or anything, but it's good.
stale bread wrote: another thing is that the korg is lighter.
A lot. But that's mainly because of the big-ol' metal plate in the base of the Trigger Finger ;-) This adds the needed stability for mounting it on drum stands/mic stands. I have had my Trigger Finger mounted on top of my K&M Spider Pro, and it's BaaadAss!

Still, given the choice between the two I would pick the PadKontrol anyday. On the other hand, were I to have only ONE controller altogether I would go for the Trigger Finger, simply because it is more flexible control-wise.
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compositeone
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Post by compositeone » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:26 pm

I have been reading reviews of these 2 all week at work (its been a little slow) and I really can't find much difference between them that will effect how I want to use it.

I was put off the trigger finger slightly by the fact that I have a firewire410 and have never though the build quality was that great (not bad but not good either) so its coloured my view of M-audio slightly, but listening to you guys it seems like the trigger finger may actually be more sturdy than the padKONTROL.

For me its coming down to do I want some sliders and a few more pots or do I want the XY pad and do I like the pink lit buttons or the grey ones. :S

I think I might go for the padKONTROL though as I have a midi keyboard already that has a bunch of pots and sliders on that I can use and well I just like the look of it. :P
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Lo-Fi Massahkah
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Post by Lo-Fi Massahkah » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:37 pm

Contra wrote:so when tax time comes im buying my macbookpro as originally planned, with an upgrade to live 6 wit sampler and operator and a pad kontrol once again.
Yay! :wink:

-M

Architect
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Post by Architect » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:51 pm

I have a trigger finger and I love it. The only minus I would say is that if the pads were a little softer. Also you have to practice hitting the pads right because hitting them on the edges doesn't always give you the same response as hitting them dead center, I'm sure that could be tweaked though. It is very flexible as well especially the maudio enigma software where you can setup presets and all of that. I highly recommend the trigger finger!
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Post by Bassic Dave » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:33 am

My vote would be for the TF. Nothing like triggering drum loops with the pads and using the pots and sliders mapped to glitch vsts and ableton fx and freaking out. Its nice to be able to do everythind from one box. Lots of fun and feels like playing a real instrument when your hands are flying all over the box and demolishing then reconstructing drum loops.
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jb61264
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Post by jb61264 » Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:55 am

I'm glad to see this thread...I'm mulling over purchasing a "pad" controller...been looking at the m-audio trigger finger, korg pad kontrol, and akai mpd24.

Suprised nobody is mentioning the MPD24 in the same discussion. I've heard others say they didn't like the "feel" of the Korg pads...seems as though Akai has made a living on creating good feeling pads...wondering if this has translated to the MPD24?
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thumperjack
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Post by thumperjack » Sat Jan 06, 2007 6:44 am

if you're looking for drum pads on a great controller you cant go wrong with the Maudio Axioms. they have almost piano like keys that feel great with semi weighted action and 8 pads that are identical to the trigger finger. plus you get 9 sliders and 8 knobs and a big ass number pad to assign the pads to whatever you like LIKE EASY. yeah thye are nice. im about to sell my 25 for the 49. i hit the octave shift button more than i hit the keys.
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Michael Hatsis
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Post by Michael Hatsis » Sat Jan 06, 2007 6:51 am

just to throw a nice curveball your way. with the Akai MPD24 is the best of both worlds. The pads kill the trigger fingers- and while they are great and sensative in all areas and respects, they are not as sensitive as the korg PK- but you have all of the knobs and the faders. the knobs are great feeling- probalee the nicest knobs i have seen on a MIDI controller yet. and you have 4 banks per preset which are easily switchable ( switching banks easily is really important to me and the TF is not to good in this respect )
Now where the PK shines is the pad sensitivity, definately the most sensitive of the three, the MPD24 is just a touch less sensitive and chances are that if you never touch a PK you'll never know the difference. But i def notice the difference when i try to do really light tapping on the pads. Also, the PK is extremely easy to switch banks.
to sum it up- i would have to say that the Akai is my favorite, due to the knobs and faders, the PK comes in extremely close second, and the TF is way behind the two- thats my quick one minute review.

compositeone
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Post by compositeone » Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:31 am

Oh god, thanks mike I was just about to order a padKONTROL, I mean I had it in my basket and everything, and thought I would have a quick look back at this thread to see if any one had anything to say and now I have the PK vs Akai dilemma to solve. Ahhhhhhhhh!

Guess I will have a quick read today of Akai reviews and will try to make a play before 3pm so I can still get an order in today. :?

EDIT: Ok so in very big general terms would people agree that the padKONTROL looks better for actual drum playing, where as the Akai looks better for triggering loops and having the extra controls to "play" with those loops?
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compositeone
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Post by compositeone » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:09 pm

Well if its good enough for Tom COSM its good enough for me. Seeing how he uses his padKONTROL and this being almost exactly how I forsee myself using a controller has made me take the plunge. Just ordered a padKONTROL so lets hope I made the right choice.

:D
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freqn
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Post by freqn » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:30 pm

I may jump on that cosm wagon too.

earsmack
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Post by earsmack » Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:36 pm

Something else that may or may not be an issue for you is that the Akai has the knobs on the right side of the pads. For my setup, they would get in the way since I have my pad on the left side of my work area. I prefer the PK because the pads are on the right side of the unit and are not obscured in any way. A small gripe but ergonomics can be important for some folks.

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