SeriesAkai Professional MPD

What I love most about this unit is it is quite small and light compared to my MPD 24. I can put this in my laptop case with my MBP and still have room to spare. It also is much better when you are traveling (car/plane) to have this smaller unit as space becomes scarce. I also actually like the way you select presets. It is done by holding down the preset button and selecting the Pad that corresponds to the preset you need. It is a little tricky at first, but after you get the hang of it, you'll be swapping banks/presets with lightening speed. What I don't like about it is the same thing all Akai MPD's seem to have an issue with....sensitivity. It's almost a joke to use this controller without the "Full Level" selection enabled. It just doesn't offer any softer hits. The best thing you can do is either buy a "sensitivity kit" from the various sites that offer them or do the deed yourself with some electrical tape. I can't believe that Akai, after all these years, has still not addressed this concern. But, you can pick up one of the sensitivity kits for less than $20. If you look at it as a necessary purchase, then you are only spending about $120 to get a sweet, solid midi controller. This unit makes no sound on it's own so that question doesn't apply, but in regards to presicion, the pads suffer from the sensitivity issue I mentioned before. I have used an Akai MPD 24 as my main drum controller for about a year and I love it. The MPD 18 is just as loved in my home but serves its purpose mainly as an on the go device.

The MPD24 is a Midi controller from Akai featuring 16 pads, 6 faders and 8 knobs. It has USB and midi in/outs. It's pretty easy to use, and the quality is nice. The pads feel good under your fingers and are responsive, featuring velocity and aftertouch and such. There are four available pad banks. It also has a set of transport controls. The thing is well built, but not as good as some of the other pad controllers out there, and rather small. The big pads are nice, but you only have 16 which means you can pretty much only use it to record drums. If you have the cash, you should spring for the APC40 or the Novation Launchpad, my favorites. I wouldn't really recommend it unless you need more pads than come on a lot of midi keyboards, and only want to do drums. Set up and installation are easy, factory presets work fine. The sliders are actually of exceptional quality, and the knobs are pretty smooth. I'm still not sure how useful or economical the thing is though. It's only use is playing drums and samples. It's basically a midi version of the MPC. If you need an MPC type thing, save up and get one, way worth your money compared to this. Also, one thing is that the pads are square, but the sensors below are round! This can cause some velocity and feel issues that can actually be pretty annoying, whereas something button based like the novation launchpad is a better option. I sold this not long after owning it, as it just sat in my unused junk closet gathering dust and taking up space. It's really not a good alternative to the MPC type approach to making music, though I don't like that approach anyways, so you may want a second opinion.

Akai's MPD 26 follows in the same footsteps as the MPD 26 with excellent pad sensitivity. The MPD26 features authentic MPC pads, therefore it provides music production enthusiasts with the genuine feel of Akai's flagship MPC sampler series. Features pre-loaded midi functions with programs including Live, Fl Studio, Reason, Sonar, Stylus, and more. Along with these features are six faders and six knobs completely assignable via midi. As for the value for the price, there is not much more you can possibly ask for from a midi pad controller. The precision and quality of sound is dependent on the digital audio workstation of choice. The MPD 26 includes full transport features with fast forward, rewind, stop, play and record buttons. In addition, this unit also features the same note repeat, tape tempo, and time division features found on the MPC series. The full level and 16 levels feature are also present, something MPC users are readily familiar with. This is complemented with four pad banks. In terms of cosmetics, the MPD 26 has a sleek, sturdy black frame, a pleasant change from the MPD 26’s sliver frame. With the way my personal home studio is set up, the streamlined workflow the MPD 26 displays within FL Studio 9 is quite impressive. Whether you are already an MPC owner, or you are looking for that authentic MPC feel to accompany your digital audio workstation of choice, Akai’s MPD 26 fulfills every requirement you can possibly desire in a midi pad controller, and looks good as well. Perhaps the only negative aspect of the MPD 26 is the fact that it has only six programmable knobs, two less than the MPD 24. Many Ableton Live users have complained that this dpes not mesh well with the eight mappable micro knobs within Live’s interface. However, this should not stop anyone from considering this great product, excellent valur for the price.

This is a review of the Akai MPD16 MIDI Control Surface. I used it for quite a while and was very pleased with it before I upgraded to an MPD24. You can read my review on the MPD24, too. First off, I have to say, that I bought this product on a whim. I wasn't really planning on anything when I walked into Sam Ash, but after playing on the MPCs for a little, I decided that using keys wasn't the best way for me to chop samples or play drums in my DAW. I decided that I was going to take the bit of money I had and pick out a pad control device. The MPD caught my eye because as every person who's heard of the MPC, they will know that it's made by Akai, also. Akai is legendary when it comes to pad control devices, and I had seen a video where a guy chopped an looped a sample in his DAW with the MPD. I thought to myself, "This can be a great investment! I can program my drums just how I want to!". This, coupled with its easy USB connect-ability, made me whip out the debit card for this baby. When I brought it home, I was surprised when I pulled it out of the box. I thought it would be a little flimsy piece of hardware. I was wrong. It was built well, and could easily withstand the trials of a traveling performer or producer. The pads were soft and thin, sensitive, too. The fader was nice to control the volume in my DAW. The installation of the thing was a piece of cake. I dropped the CD into my drive, and it read and installed in a matter of a minute or two. I opened up Fruity Loops Studio (Yeah, I use it. Sue me. I love it!), and picked out one of my favorite samples. I dropped it into the FL Slicer and opened my MIDI settings and activated the automatically-detected MPD16. I started hitting the pads on the MPD and realized exactly what my studio had been missing. Using this device made it easy to manipulate and choose exactly what chops I wanted to use. Then, I opened up the FPC plugin and in no time, I had a great drum kit with perfectly configured pads to pound on! The classic 16 levels and Full Level switch made it easy for me to make my drums fade in and out with master precision instead of having to guess while I adjust the volume of the drum. Instead, I had 16 perfectly spaced levels to work with. I was really pleased with its seamless performance thus far. I was only an hour in, too. After having it for a couple days, I was so pleased with it that I went out and bought the MPD24, too. When it comes to pros and cons, there were only pros. Sorry to make you guys upset by leaving out the cons. That's because there were none. The pros were the price, the construction, the pads, the compatibility, the company, the customer service, and the piece of equipment in general. It's a great piece, and I recommend it to anybody who wants to have a simple pad control device to control their DAW. It's a great value and it can prove priceless to any home studio setup.