A couple of questions about software...

So I thought I'd give software a try...
I thought ableton live would be a good - yet cheap start to try software...
and if I like the software route I'll probably upgrade to a protools system later.
first off - is the trigger finger better than the mpd 24 or are they pretty much the same?
are they equally compatible with all the different programs? (reason, ableton, battery, pro tools - and so on)

My main concern with switching is that it's going to overcomplicate things alot - for example; I'm used to making basslines on the mpc by filtering the main sample (on the mpc) is it as easy on, lets say ableton? or is it a much more involved process...
forgot to mention I'm going to get Battery when I buy a mpd or triggerfinger - do you recommend triggering all samples from battery? or just drums?

thanks in advance.

Am I talking jibberish or doesn't anyone have an answer?

DarkWing wrote:Am I talking jibberish

Uh...yea. No I'm just kidding DarkWing. Taking into account the concept of switching from one extreme to the next, I found it quite interesting and amazing to see how capable software can be. I'm sure you'd enjoy using an mpd or trigger finger to control what you might have loaded up in Battery or Kontakt or whatever you want to use. It's all about making the workflow more efficient. Less downtime, more time for creativity. It works for me.

thanks for the reply
do you have some of the answers to my specific questions?

an mpd24 is compatible with every sequencer program.

maybe you should try reason first? its much easier to learn than ableton. i'd recommend that you download the demos and see for yourself!

flip-o-mat wrote:an mpd24 is compatible with every sequencer program.

maybe you should try reason first? its much easier to learn than ableton. i'd recommend that you download the demos and see for yourself!

thanks - I'm originally a reason user - but a friend of mine showed me live and i was really impressed by it...

The MPD is probably the easiest midi controller to setup. Ive tried it with Guru, Reason and ableton and it worked flawlessly and easily with all of them. Plus, you can switch between the different preset template seemlessly.

as for the software, i would recommend not trying to recreate an mpc workflow and just to go for it....

J.Daniels wrote:The MPD is probably the easiest midi controller to setup. Ive tried it with Guru, Reason and ableton and it worked flawlessly and easily with all of them. Plus, you can switch between the different preset template seemlessly.

as for the software, i would recommend not trying to recreate an mpc workflow and just to go for it....

How about the MPD16 vs. the MPD24? It seems like a huge price difference...

how about the M-Audio AXIOM ? are the pads any good on those?

DarkWing wrote:thanks for the reply
do you have some of the answers to my specific questions?

Sorry, but I don't. But if it's itching you to find out what works, demo them for yourself if you can. I usually take most folks' advice with a grain of salt, especially if I've got a burning desire to check the product out myself. But you're going about it the right way, check with some katz around here first then take it to the next stage. You gotta get started somewhere.

DarkWing wrote:

J.Daniels wrote:The MPD is probably the easiest midi controller to setup. Ive tried it with Guru, Reason and ableton and it worked flawlessly and easily with all of them. Plus, you can switch between the different preset template seemlessly.

as for the software, i would recommend not trying to recreate an mpc workflow and just to go for it....

How about the MPD16 vs. the MPD24? It seems like a huge price difference...

how about the M-Audio AXIOM ? are the pads any good on those?

Ive never played an mpd16, but im pretty sure that the unit would be alot worse.

I own the axiom 25, and as the pads do feel quite good, the actual unit and the enigma editing software is a ****ing nightmare. Although, If you gonna be using live, the template works quite well with it and you wont want to program much anyway.

J.Daniels wrote:
I own the axiom 25, and as the pads do feel quite good, the actual unit and the enigma editing software is a ****ing nightmare. Although, If you gonna be using live, the template works quite well with it

How about battery and protools? I was under the impression that the unit was designed to work with protools - I might be wrong...
If you had to keep either the axiom or the MPD which would you chose?

J.Daniels wrote: and you wont want to program much anyway.

I'm not sure what you mean by that?

i mean that you wont want to edit the assigned controls and knobs for ableton live because the template given to you is already very usable. Also, im pretty sure the axiom would work well in PT and battery too.


Although, i actually put my axiom up on ebay yesterday. The MPD is way easier to setup/edit, switch between templates, has more controls, much better feeling and smoother knobs and well...has much better pads!

What ive done is bought a cheap 30 dollar 49 key midi keyboard to replace the axiom. because i wasnt using anything else on the axiom but the keys.

now I just have to convince myself to actually ditch the mpc and go software ...

This is exactly why I am about to do, I just sold my mpc and I am about to cop myself a macbook and the mpk 49 to use it with ableton and battery. I am actually quite looking forward to it.

Got battery and Live today
seems like a nice combo...
Now I only need a MPD - I was thinking - I have an ASR10, is there any reason whey I shouldn't use that to trigger battery?