Akai MPD 24 or Akai MPD 16???

craw · Post by **craw** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 5:24 pm

Me thinks I need a pad controller to complement the new drum rack in Live 7. Any thoughts on these budget models from Akai:

Akai MPD 24
Akai MPD 16

Look good on paper. Akai has a nice reputation. They are cheap.

Any thoughts or other suggestions?

downfader · Post by **downfader** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 5:51 pm

IIRC the 24 has more sliders and options, I'd be inclined to go for that unless you already have another controller, in which case the 16 would do. One of the guys on the Guitarist forums loved his 16.

Alesis also do an Octo controller for use with drum sticks, dirt cheap, sadly I've no experience of it personally, just it might be an option worth looking into?

trip_out · Post by **trip_out** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 5:59 pm

MPD24 is much newer and also has better pads. One of the primary complaints about the MPD16 was that the feel wasn't as good as the MPC pads.

Having said that I do own an MPD16 and I do really like it. You can pick them up for a bargain these days. But I would still like a nice new MPD24.

justin · Post by **justin** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 6:20 pm

happy with the 16, really easy to setup and use... cant compare with the 24 - for me the pads feel fine (with slight adjustment to the sensitivity).

j

Igor L · Post by **Igor L** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 6:44 pm

I also have the MPD16 and like it a lot. But if I were buying something today I'd get Triggerfinger only because it's currently auto-mapped to Drums Racks.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:01 pm

I had an MPD16, I was glad to sell it at any price. the XP drivers were never released and the pads are quite hard and have no feel.

Moody · Post by **Moody** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:04 pm

I am looking at the Korg PadKontrol very seriously at the moment. With all the hacks available this thing is looking like a very useful tool.

hat · Post by **hat** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:15 pm

I just got the MPD24, nice bit of kit, but I will admit that the pads aren't as sensitive as I would have liked. They're ok, but I find myself having to hit pretty hard even for a moderate velocity.

formatk · Post by **formatk** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:19 pm

i got the MPD24. live 7's drum racks and that are bloody brill. You need to make a little remote script if you want the device to automap because it isn't officially supported yet, but there's a really good thread in tips and tricks forum on how to do this. really simple. The transport controls on the 24 don't natively work with Live, but i'm used to toggling start and stop with the space bar anyway. having faders set to change track levels and rotaries on automap is a great combination for me. I hardly ever plug any other midi gear in now! I've played with other pads, and although there's a bit of settting up, this for me feels the most solid, reliable and ergonomic.

Clearscreen · Post by **Clearscreen** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 11:01 pm

Tone Deft wrote:the XP drivers were never released

you mean the XP drivers here?
http://www.akaipro.com/supportos.php

evernaut · Post by **evernaut** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:37 am

Moody wrote:I am looking at the Korg PadKontrol very seriously at the moment. With all the hacks available this thing is looking like a very useful tool.

Just bought one...

It's quite amazing so far. Highly recommended.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:49 am

Clearscreen wrote:
Tone Deft wrote:the XP drivers were never released
you mean the XP drivers here?
http://www.akaipro.com/supportos.php

UGH!!! I sold it a while ago but I was on XP for a few years without being able to change the settings on the thing. I definitely looked.

Clearscreen · Post by **Clearscreen** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:13 am

Tone Deft wrote:
Clearscreen wrote:
Tone Deft wrote:the XP drivers were never released
you mean the XP drivers here?
http://www.akaipro.com/supportos.php
UGH!!! I sold it a while ago but I was on XP for a few years without being able to change the settings on the thing. I definitely looked.

don't you hate that kind o' crap!

you must've had one a long time ago! i've had mine for at least 4 years and i remember having to dig up a fairly out of the way akai pro site at the time to get the latest version but it did come with an xp driver disk. i'm guessing they were slow to do them though as i know it'd been out a while before i bought mine...

Clearscreen · Post by **Clearscreen** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:16 am

damn double posts! where the delete button!

jamester · Post by **jamester** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:11 am

I have the PK. My first one took a dump on me, but the second one seems to be holding up ok. However I've been eyeing up the MPD 24, as I really like that it has the 4 banks per preset (much better for "chromatic playing") and the transport controls. The PK would be a lot better with an octave shift +/- button, but alas...

One thing is, they seem kinda big. The PK is very sleek and compact, sits on the desk nicely.