padKONTROL

gf may be getting this for my bday gift (which is today, in fact), and I was curious if anyone here has one or has used one. thoughts on this, if you have them plz.

I like mine a lot. the pads are well-sensitive and that x-y thing to do rolls can be fun to mess with. stable machine and well worth the money, in my opinion. I don't regret mine.

have one.

i like it a lot. do you have a controller with and x/y touchpad currently? if not, that alone will be fun. I like it because i do a lot of MPC-esque style production/sequencing/triggering so it's a great way to have that type of functionality without the cost of an MPC and the limitations of an MPC.

also, i never get to perform live, but since you do, i'm sure the red light-up pads will thrill and amaze your audience. like an affordable version of the monome.

I love mine. Cheap and easy to use. Happy b-day by the way thanker of Mr. Moses.

  blicero said:

have one.

 

i like it a lot. do you have a controller with and x/y touchpad currently? if not, that alone will be fun.

no, i don't have a midi controller at all, never owned one in fact. But I want something either with the xy, or just knobs. I have no real need for keys for live stuff, just more for triggering. this one sounds like a pretty good choice. Watched a youtube video on it, and It looked really nice. But since I have little to no experience with controllers, I figured the best way was to ask. thx for the replies so far.

it aight. I cant really figure out what to use mine for.

  Twentyfourange said:

it aight. I cant really figure out what to use mine for.

Use it as a midi trigger for vst's or outboard sound modules. The CC interfaces (knobs and x/y) are basic but functional as well. I love using the res/brightness combo on the x/y myself. In fact, I used my padkontrol almost exclusively when programming my song in today's edition of Latest Creations in EKT.

do you think this will be useless to me if I don't use it in production?

I love mine.

  thanks robert moses said:

do you think this will be useless to me if I don't use it in production?

Yes. You could use it to trigger samples (externally)if you're into that. It would also work well as a controller for pitch/rez/cutoff/etc. via midi info. One thing worthy of noting is that if you do not intend to use it via usb, make sure you pick up the power adapter or have a universal adapter that is compatible.

  thanks robert moses said:

do you think this will be useless to me if I don't use it in production?

not at all, did you read what i said about live pa?

also, you could set it up as a ableton controller, like what.

ok word. I mean, It seems like it would be great live from what you said, of course. I was just worried that it might be a waste if I am only using it for live shows (thats why I have held off on getting a midi controller up until now).

ok, gonna go ebay hunting for my birthday gift. lol.

I'm just hurling something out here, but what about a Kaoss Pad3? It is MIDI-compatible, has some awesome presets - though some of them suck - and it's great fun playing with live :)

  thanks robert moses said:

ok word. I mean, It seems like it would be great live from what you said, of course. I was just worried that it might be a waste if I am only using it for live shows (thats why I have held off on getting a midi controller up until now).

 

ok, gonna go ebay hunting for my birthday gift. lol.

well, i can't believe that this will be your first midi controller. having a tactile hardware interface for making music is soooo essential for me. you say you don't need keys to do melodies... what do you use now? mouse + piano roll? god that would suck.

I love mine. The pads are great, the x/y pad is great, it's flexibility and preset options are nice. My only complaint- and this is a small one- is that it needs more assignable knobs. I hate clutter on my desk and dont want to have another control surface just for knobs hanging around.

  synthganic said:

  thanks robert moses said:

do you think this will be useless to me if I don't use it in production?

Yes. You could use it to trigger samples (externally)if you're into that. It would also work well as a controller for pitch/rez/cutoff/etc. via midi info. One thing worthy of noting is that if you do not intend to use it via usb, make sure you pick up the power adapter or have a universal adapter that is compatible.

Fuck I meant "No" it will not be useless. I hope you get it and love it.

have you checked out the mpd 24?

no i have not. i will look into it.

thx for all the comments!

blicero - yeah. mouse + step sequencer for a long time in fl, but now I use the piano roll. I am sure it sounds like no fun, but I kind of have a blast working that way. Strange detachment happens that I really enjoy.

Anyhow, I will look into this mpd 24, but I think I might be sold on the padKONTROL.

Squee- I have played with a Kaoss pad before, and it was fun for a bit, but I don't know how much I could see myself using it on the long t erm. Seemed really good to have for dj sets though.

  blicero said:

mouse + piano roll? god that would suck.

almost every piece of music I've ever written was done with mouse and piano roll. only lately have I actually recorded performances in, and most often they are merely noodling ideas, that are then heavily edited using mouse and piano roll.

it is my preferred way of working.

I took a class on orchestral mock-ups, and one of the big things that my teacher was pushing, was recording performances with a keyboard, for a natural feel. I did it all with the mouse and piano roll, and I had some of the best mock-ups in the class. Apparently he is still completely perplexed by that, and mentions me each semester as the anomaly.

It's just what I'm used to. To me, it kind of fits my whole approach really... not sure which one is based on what... but I approach music more of a composition process, that you could liken to writing on score paper, except that it plays what you wrote, opposed to a multi track recorder that you can edit with. I like the precision and structure it allows.

ok, sorry for the rant. I just love my piano rolls <3

i do a lot of stuff in piano rolls too. Its a style.

I guess i was dissapointed this pad didnt work well with reason for me

Even if you prefer to use the piano roll to draw in notes, it still helps majorly to have a keyboard to help find melodies. I usually just wank around on it until I get something I like, then program it or record a rough idea and refine it in the sequencer.

it all comes down to writing style/preference really.

what helps majorly to you, could be detrimental to others.

i just sold mine to a friend for $80 :( quite a steal so he better put it to use. I use my MPD 24 mainly because of the extra knobs and sliders plus the MPC like pads, but the pod kontrol was a dear friend to me for a good while. you'll enjoy the hell out of it me thinks.

  Vegeta897 said:

Even if you prefer to use the piano roll to draw in notes, it still helps majorly to have a keyboard to help find melodies. I usually just wank around on it until I get something I like, then program it or record a rough idea and refine it in the sequencer.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. I use the piano roll quite heavily, but for melodies, it's nice to be able to play about on some keys until you figure out what you want to do. polyphonic melodies are especially easier this way. it's hard to preview chords with a mouse.

I so recording the keys sometimes, either because it's easier (and then I can nudge with the mouse after the fact) or because I want a more natural feel.

Goffer, being a user of both, and extra features aside, would you say the PadKontrol or the MPD24 have better pads?