i was wondering about the different pad controllers and i just have a few questions.

im currently looking at the korg padkontrol, the akai MPD16 and the MPD24.
i would like to get the MPD16 because it is half the price of the other two and i dont really need or see the point of a touch screen or faders and knobs if im just going to be controlling my 404.

it says that the MPD16 has 2 banks. so does that mean 16x2=32 pads??
that would cover banks A,B and C from the 404 but how will i be able to trigger samples from the other banks?? is it possible to be able to trigger a sound from any bank of the 404 and assign it to a pad on the MPD16??

after checking out some youtube clips i have some more questions.

the korg padkontrol has some sort of roll feature where it will play your sample at the 16/32/whatever note intervals. if i hook up the padkontrol to the 404 will it be able to do this or is this a purely software thing??

That are some good questions... Wanna know that, too...

Yes if you use the padkontrol you get the flam , roll and velocity triggers from it as its just simple midi messages. I had a padkontrol hooked into a sp 808 before i got my 404 and found it worked well with both units. You can also change pad banks and even trim samples with the padkontrol if you set it up right.

I would stay away from the MPD16. Every review says it's garbage.

The MPD24, however, is a solid, professional pad controller. The only limitation that I can see is that it ways about 15 lbs. or so(at least it feels like it...) Other than that, it's got every option you can imagine.

The Korg PadKontrol is really nice, too. Setback: Quality of actual physical material. Very flimsy...breaks easily.

I think the M-Audio Trigger Finger set the standard a long time ago. It's solid, portable, and very functional. It's limited to what it's capable of(the korg and akai units are more intensive), but it's very well rounded all the same.

Hope that helps.

i have a padkontrol and it is great
i don't find it flimsy, but it is very light. i see this as an advantage

the roll feature works by retriggering the 404's pads, it isn't software exclusive




please explain!!

thanks for the responses guys, very helpful as always.

i think im leaning towards the padkontrol at the moment but has anybody any experience with the m-audio trigger finger??

i was just searching through this site and found this quote by dr. sample



ok i might be a total idiot here but is the different between velocity sensitive and pressure sensitive?? i always thought the were the same thing.

just another question.

for example the MPD16 has two pad banks so that means i can only use banks A,B and C on the 404.

how many pad banks does the trigger finger have??


PS im sorry about all the questions, im just very nervous before buying new gear

Pressure sensitive pads make it possible to play samples at different volumes by the amount of pressure you hit them with. I think velocity sensitive pads simply make it possible to hit a pad at different interval speeds to trigger the sounds. The difference is small, but it's there... at least that's what I understand from it.

^ i am not sure that's right

velocity sensitive means it only picks up the first initial hit and can judge how hard/soft to trigger

pressure sensitive reads 'velocity' over time so you can increase pressure and the parameter it controls increases too. good for controlling effects in a DAW i've found

Yeah, you're probably right.

I use the Trigger Finger and like it...however, this does not apply to the SP-404. I haven't tried to set it up yet...i use it as a USB controller for Ableton Live and GarageBand. It works EXCELLENTLY in those two programs.

If I buy the Trigger finger, I'll be able to use velocity sensitivity on my 404 without a computer, correct?

pressure and velocity are botht he same 1 is just a better way of reading the information. Pressure senesitive pads or keys are 10x then just velocity which reads a general midi message from 0 ( off ) to 127 ( full ). Kind of like playing with semi or hammer action keys they both play the same notes 1 just feels and responds alot better.

Although pressure and velocity can be set to do the same task, they can also be used in conjunction. Velocity is the amount of time from the pad being "not pressed" to being pressed as far as it takes to trigger. Pressure is how deep you push the pad down. E.g. It could take .5 seconds to push a pad to halfway as far as it can be pushed, and this could be used to control volume. Pressure could be used once you control another parameter such as pitch (instead of pushing the pad half-way, push it all the way). Therefore, if you hit the pads fast, the sounds are loud, and if you really mash down on a pressure sensitive pad, it could bend the pitch. Great for playing ethnic percussion. Better explanations of this relationship can be found in Roland Handsonic threads.

I use a PadKontrol for my day-to-day hardware and software control, and I love it. I haven't used the Akai or M-Audio, though. Dynamic control over drums is easier with my SPD-20, or a keyboard controller.

Hope this was helpful.