Gripe over - the MPX8 is a decent piece of kit - there's nothing we could replace it with for a similar price and so far we've managed with it well live. Akais MPD218 feature-packed, highly playable MIDI-over-USB pad controller is perfect for producers, programmers, musicians and DJs alike. I also have the akai sample pad (which has pads to be hit with sticks) and that does allow you to deactivate velocity sensitivity but doesn't let you loop samples. Funnily enough when I'm playing back a loop that forms the main rythm track I have absolutely no need to be able to play it back at different velocities (who really does?) so I have to rely on my synth player to whack it suitably hard to ensure we don't have an ultra quiet drum backing no one can hear.

One gripe is that you can't deactivate velocity sensitivity yet the pads have to be hit pretty hard to reach maximum or pretty loud playback. The eight pads and multiple banks provide enough flexibilty for my purposes at present and the 32MB limit across a bank hasn't proved a problem despite having a whole song-length drum track loaded plus several loops. They also have an expanded control set to maximize the sounds and effects available to the user, iOS compatibility using the Camera Connection Kit and over £250 of free software (Big Bang Drums and Big Bang Cinema from Sonivox, Ableton Live Lite and Software Preset Editor).I use this for live playback of mainly drum samples and loops. The MPD218 features a plug-and-play USB interface for use on Mac or PC, eliminating the need to install any driversand the USB connection powers the MPD218 so the included USB cable is all you need.Īll new MPD models feature new, ultra sensitive Thick Fat MPC pads creating an amazingly responsive user interaction.

It features 16 red light-up MPC pads and a greatly expanded control set of 6 knobs in 3 banks giving you increased control over effects. The Akai MPD218 is a feature-packed MIDI pad controller ideal for producers, programmers, musicians and DJs.

Akai mpc 218