SP-FORUMS

looking for something to supplement the 404 and stacks o' wax for basic beat making. been using garageband synths (got a few jam packs) and its been decent. was rocking the korg nano pad for a while but got rid of it. saw the akai mpk mini yesterday and was pretty impressed. never owned an akai product, but this looked pretty well built and had nice weight to it. i like the small footprint and price tag for a controller with keys and pads. microns are going for under $200 on the bay; the mpk is just under $100. the micron sounded pretty decent in the store and i like the analog-ness. so do you guys think a stand-alone synth is necessary for beats or should i just stick with the garageband sounds and a controller?

2 answers and 1 sub-answer.

if you like the pc/vsti combo it's ok; sometimes i'm astonished myself of what i obtain with nanokey+vsti.
if you want to separate you from pc/vsti, then a synth is a good choice to accompaign your sampler.
between the micron and the mpk i don't know what's better/best for you.
i tried once the micron and it has nice sounds. the tweaking is however annoying: just 3 knobs i think....i don't know well the mpk, but it has maybe more knobs...

thanks for the reply. lingering over garageband cause i've already spend a few hundred bucks on the jampacks. the mpk has 8 knobs, 8 pads, 25 keys. as for the micron, 3 knobs is still better than tweaking parameters with a mouse. i like the idea of a stand-alone piece, but i still need a computer to track into eventually, so it won't be completely abandoned. anyone else willing to chime in? much appreciated

i owned the alesis micron for a while. its fun to mess around on and has a lot of functions and its a pretty complex machine. the only thing i didnt like about it was it was very heavy on menus and sub menus i guess... i tried to teach myself to split the keyboard several times and how to layer record and a lot of other things i just could never quite figure out even following along with the manual. even with the road blocks i had i still liked the synth a lot. i still got some use out of it and would prolly still own it now but i needed to buy a diamond.

i did read somewhere that is sucks if you ever want to use it as a midi controller.

thanks tim. prolly gonna stick with the software for now, since its just for supplementary purposes. seems like the software/controller route is just more flexible. less is usually more (hence the 404).
i'd like to find a 37-key controller though. 25 not enough and 49 too much.

I bought my synth first before I worried about a sampler, but if you're looking to expand beyond your sp404, then a synth can be the way to go. The beauty of it is the 404 will provide some effects the synth itself probably doesn't have, and you could sample your basslines/melodies and build the beat around it if you like. Or do the beats first and then add the synth parts. The choice is yours.

There's nothing wrong with a softsynth either, since you'll get to try different synths, you're never stuck with one synth only, and there are free VSTs/AU synths out there if you know where to look. The downside, you need your computer to run them. (But a stand alone synth you can usually take with you anywhere)

ok so after years of typing melodies and basslines with the computer keyboard finally got the akai lpk25. i was debating the korg microkey and i'm glad i went with the akai. thought i needed 37 keys but 25 is actually enough and i really like the mini size. for someone with skinny fingers who doesn't play piano this is perfect. no pitch bend but all good. the toy-like aspect of it fits in perfectly with the rest of the gear (pt-01, 404, behringer xenyx 802).
i actually traded in my presonus audiobox for it (yup, ditched the interface) so i shelled $20 for the lpk. shoulda did it a while ago...