Ableton Forum

Hey, I have an Akai LPD8, which is great for playing in basic drum beats in - which I then add detail to.

However, the rotary dials on it are completely redundant (I have an APC40) - so swapping them for a touchpad like that on the Nanopad is attractive..

- How do the NanoPads drum pads perform compared to Akai's?
- How does the touchpad perform? And does it automatically work on any active device in Ableton?

If the answers to the above questions are favourable, I'll probably swap over!

Bad move IMO. Nanopad has stiffer pads that aren't backlit and don't give the same visual or tactile feedback compared to the LPD8.

If you're absolutely sure you have no need for the rotaries, and would make good use of an XY pad, then a Korg PadKontrol would be worth considering, for about twice the price. The PadKonrtol pads are backlit and feel great.

The pads on the AKAI LPD8 are simply brilliant in my opinion. Better than the pads on AKAI MPC/MPK/MPD.
Great product, I hope they run with those nice backlit pads in the future. I would kill for an "LPD32"!

oh and FWIW, I think XY touchpads seem really cool, until you have one, and almost never use it.

condra wrote:oh and FWIW, I think XY touchpads seem really cool, until you have one, and almost never use it.

+1

Cheers guys. That Pad Kontrol is way too big. The LPD8 being able to fit in front of my keyboard was a main choice in buying it in the first place..

I suppose the XY touchpad would be of limited use - especially now I have a magic trackpad.. Not worth getting bad pads for (although double the amount like on the Nanopad would be nice!)

The PadKontrol pads are supposed to be top-level, though.

I'm in your situation, by the way. Heavily leaning towards an LPD8.

rosti wrote:

condra wrote:oh and FWIW, I think XY touchpads seem really cool, until you have one, and almost never use it.

+1

-1 (xy pads are fun !)
= 0 (get both or stay in limbo forever!)

The nano 2 touchpad different then of ver.1 or padKontrol it has the best of Electribe MX - the scale/arp function. Didn't have time to checke it it but if it works like on Electribes, it is worth getting just for that function-wicked for live playing.

Unless you're 100% sure you won't need a keyboard, I'd check out the MPKMini too. Slightly larger than the LPD, but the convenience of having keys+pads in one laptop-friendly setup is pretty huge.

I'm about to get the MPK Mini for my Macbook anyway. I had the LPK25 and it was great; and only sold it as I'm buying this, which should be my sole mobile unit! (except APC40!)

The LPD8 is to for my iMac desktop setup; to compliment my APC40 and MIDI keyboard.

I like the MPKmini. The first midi controller I ever bought was a Korg nanopad. I played drums with it in garageband. Then when I got Live, I thought I'd use it as a sort of simplified McMillen SoftStep, but it must have died or something, because the pads would never register in Ableton at all. I got signals from the XY pad, but that was it. So, I bought a SoftStep (which is for sale, if anyone wants it...), and had a hard time programming it. Then I tried an LPK25 which would do almost everything I wanted, except knobs. Finally, I found the MPKmini. I use the 4 program modes to change between midi channels and the 2 banks feature to give me 64 pads, 32 knobs, and 4 keyboards. Really good stuff in a tiny package. I run a minimal improv set of guitar, vocals, 2 drum racks, and 2 loopers to create ambient metal. It's cool, portable and works without hassle. ymmv.

I also had a Korg Kaossilator where the XY pad acted as a sort of keypad. I find an actual keyboard and pads much easier to control. For me, the knobs on the MPKs or the LPDs are much more useful than an XY pad.

best,
Sal