Anyone else using an MPD from Akai?

I just got the MPD32. This is my first real pad controller from Akai. In the store, the pads seemed kind of shitty, but since I've adjust pad sensitivity and threshold I'm actually kind of liking them. Have done tons of mapping for specific programs and pretty impressed with their included editor software.

I copped a MPD26 from a cat on craigslist for $100 in excellent condition! Teamed up with ableton or reason I like it ALOT!!!! I know peeps are digging the maschine and its hardware/software integration but i get gooooood results with ableton and reason with controlls mapped to my fav functions...

The MPD are still dope man! One of my first equipment was an MPD24, loved that thing to death.

...mpd 32 is with me on stage, for at least 150 shows a year....
...never left me alone....

and the real and only mpc with no mpc inside....

i got the MPD24 since 2009
use it with ableton live and with hardware samples too

I have an MPD32 about a year and half ago. Was really excited when it arrived as I'd wanted an MPC2000 since around the same year.

That was 12 years ago so I was pretty disappointed to discover that the vanilla MPD32 pads are utter garbage. Triplets were practically impossible to pull off regardless of the sensitivity settings. So like most people I opted for the (cheap) duct tape squares on the back of the pads and it gave enough response to drum away but still felt like I needed a hammer to get full velocity on them.

Just installed the big fat red pads from MPCStuff and I am kicking myself. Why the hell didn't someone tell me to do this a year ago. Really, if anyone out there has an MPD32 and are a bit disappointed with the pads, get this (relatively cheap) upgrade with the corx backing.. do it now.

p.s. I aint no shill, just a happy mpd32 owner.

the fat pads look dope, i want to get them for my mpd 18, in blue maybe.

Do it man, you won't regret.

On a more negative note.. How did akai manage to drop the ball with the mpd32 pads. I expected big things from this piece of kit considering akai built their reputation on making kick ass drum samplers.

Compared to the Maschine pads (which I tried out the other day, a bit spongey but super responsive) the pads that come with the mpd are embarrassingly bad. Get the upgrade asap.

yeah its kinda **** they didnt put better pads on them, especially the 32! but honestly, i really dont mind the pads on my mpd 18 sensitivity wise, i just wish they felt a little more like real mpc pads, i can play on them good enough though.

i did like the feel of the maschine pads as well, they now have aftermarket maschine fat pads for it if you type in maschinestuff, it takes you to a section of mpc stuff that has maschine pads and knobs.

i think the upgrade would be cool though!

never tried the maschine, but for me the mpd24 pads are not bad (i almost always use full level)
but the pads on the mpc2000 classic are way better for sure

I was gonna use the electric tape trick on my MPD26 but I ended up getting used to them after I messed around with my latency settings

thx wrote:never tried the maschine, but for me the mpd24 pads are not bad (i almost always use full level)
but the pads on the mpc2000 classic are way better for sure

yeah i use full level alot too. almost always with my samples, and with my drums i usually end up clicking and dragging velocity up or down afterwards too.

If you use full Level alot it might still be worth getting the fat pads; because they stick out from the surface there's more give in them and you can 'feel' where the pads are a lot better.. It doesn't feel so much like I'm smacking on the body plastic itself anymore.

I just want to give a little bit more feedback on my experience with them over the last couple of days.

You'll only really get the full benefit of these fat pads with Full Level switched OFF. I'm getting much more of a dynamic range from the barest tap to full level thump. My global settings are:
Pad Sens - 16
PadCurve - A
PdThresh - 1

It also feels less like I'm hitting down HARD to get full level which is great so there's so much more nuance coming through in my beats.
Overall it's sparking creativity and experimentation again so it's money well spent. All MPD machines should come with these by default.

p.s. The red on black also looks proper ******* evil

cool, i always seem to hit the pads pretty hard so i get 127 alot even when full level is off so thats good to hear.

I just switched over my MPD32 to the black Fat Pads from MPCStuff.com.....best thing I could ever do for it. Response is WAY better. I even had to back down the sensitivity setting for my playing style. And the process wasn't that hard, either.

Edison