Ableton Forum

I had some extra money and finally decided/ ordered an mpk 49. Seems to be the mother of all controllers (excluding some Novations). if anyone has it tell me how you like it...i'm just psyched about it.

the pads are so stiff/insensitive (not in the emotional sense ) that they're basically unusable. there's another recent thread on this.

I like it. The keys take a little getting used to at first, but they're aight. The sliders feel nice and I love the endless rotaries.

For me it was between that and an Edirol PCR 800... Went for the Edirol... I am quite satisfied with it. Less $, more keys... Pads are shit too...

I love mine. I dont use the pads for anything though. I dont understand how they could be called unusable? For me there unusable because lives editing of midi is fucking useless

ThrowAway wrote:I love mine. I dont use the pads for anything though. I dont understand how they could be called unusable? For me there unusable because lives editing of midi is fucking useless

Indeed the pads are useless with Impulse but are fantastic with Reasons RDK hypersamples or any other proper drum sampler. As far as I am concerned Live is unusable for real time drum recording of any kind (unless direct to audio) so I do my midi recordings with other tools and export to Live.
MPK is excellent but since I got SL, hardly use it . I wouldnt say it is better then SL, all depend on your needs and preferences. SL works better for me because of automapping, less weight and size and my preference for Novation/Fatar keys.

Pros for me:
1. Build quality second to none, it's built like a tank and all the knobs, sliders keys feel great.

2. I like the screen, classic Akai blue.

3. It's easy to use and I've had few issues with it, although, I think it's setup with Reason a bit tighter. The few little issues that cropped up were with Live, but it seems to have been sorted out.

Cons for me:
1. Pads are pretty stiff

That's about the only complaint I have, but I tend to just use the keys to drum with anyway, so it's basically a non-issue.

Regards, Ken

Personally the mpk49 is the best controller I've ever owned. I sold my compact sl board on Ebay after auditioning the Akai at my local GC. If you wanna talk unusable stiff pads, pick up the sl compact board. I personally use the pads on the Akai all the time, with the pads set to full they work perfect for me, the knobs have a nice smooth rotation and it has "Real" faders, something you can actually grab onto and make fine adjusts on the fly. You also got your transport controls, back lit switches, latch function, note repeat.....

CM

Just got mine today. Very happy.

rikhyray wrote:

ThrowAway wrote:I love mine. I dont use the pads for anything though. I dont understand how they could be called unusable? For me there unusable because lives editing of midi is fucking useless

Indeed the pads are useless with Impulse but are fantastic with Reasons RDK hypersamples or any other proper drum sampler. As far as I am concerned Live is unusable for real time drum recording of any kind (unless direct to audio) so I do my midi recordings with other tools and export to Live.
MPK is excellent but since I got SL, hardly use it . I wouldnt say it is better then SL, all depend on your needs and preferences. SL works better for me because of automapping, less weight and size and my preference for Novation/Fatar keys.

Could you please explain this more accurate? Why is Live useless for real time drum recording? Thanks in advance!

BigBuddha wrote: Could you please explain this more accurate? Why is Live useless for real time drum recording? Thanks in advance!

Midi timing, I presume.

Midi timing is one side of it the other is pads like Akai are overkill= there is hardly a difference to even computer keys, you need something like Battery, BFD or Reason Drum Kits, any multi or hypersampled sounds to make use of the possibilities, subtle differences in dynamics, velocities etc. Impulse isnt useless for me, I know its limits, same with Lives midi limitations and work aware of them ( as opposite to whinning and screaming Ableton get me this and that). I replaced MPK with MPD32 because I didnt like the bank switch -you have to repeatedly press one button while MPD32 has dedicated buttons with led so I always know which bank is on.May seem like minor thing but on stage,it is major difference. While I like Novation keys and displays MPK is definitely better built.

Had mine for nearly a year now and am really happy with it

dave999z wrote:the pads are so stiff/insensitive (not in the emotional sense ) that they're basically unusable. there's another recent thread on this.

This is the way I feel about the MPD 32 they have to be the same are very similar pad structure built for both... I can't find a setting I like with the velocity and sensitivity settings... I only find them useful in full level mode.... I'm thinking of selling the MPD32 just purchased 3 months ago brand new through Sweetwater....

I'm more an AK-47 type of guy