MIDI controllers that have Arpeggiators or similar

So i've been looking into getting a midi controller keyboard that i can use with my laptop that has additional features like a built in arpeggiator,

similar to this or this -

I've never owned an Akai product and i just wanted to get an idea of what else was out there that was strictly a midi controller that had rythmic playful features like rolls/flams/note repeat or an arpeggiator made for controlling external gear. Anybody here own an akai midi controller like this? what are the pros and cons?

this new Drumkat turbo model looks pretty awesome, but it's very pricey ($1300)

and i remember seeing somewhere that it can do automatic rolls but i can't find the page saying that now.

any help to expand my knowledge of what's out there would be greatly appreciated

I know the korg padkontrol does rolls and flams via the xy controller, do you can do speed and velocity at once.

Then the akai drumpads also do note repeat/rolls.

The korg sounds more natural though.

Not sure of any true arppegiators in any controllers though.

the rm1x can do a good amount of midi effects

  On 3/2/2010 at 10:13 PM, Kcinsu said:

I know the korg padkontrol does rolls and flams via the xy controller, do you can do speed and velocity at once.

 

Then the akai drumpads also do note repeat/rolls.

 

The korg sounds more natural though.

 

Not sure of any true arppegiators in any controllers though.

the korg pad control looks good, but it would be ideal to have a melodic arp as well as something like this. I briefly played with that akai mode at guitar centerl i posted above and arp inside it is as functional as most other arps i've used.

the Korg electribe has a decent arp feature where you can move the slide controller to change transposition/octaves, but im not seeing a similar thing on the pad control, just flams and rolls

  On 3/2/2010 at 11:59 PM, yek said:

the rm1x can do a good amount of midi effects

and they can control external gear yes?

  On 3/3/2010 at 12:25 AM, Awepittance said:

  On 3/2/2010 at 11:59 PM, yek said:

the rm1x can do a good amount of midi effects

 

and they can control external gear yes?

yezzir

emu proteus 2000 with latest firmware has a bunch of drum-optimised arps ("superBEATS") that it can send as midi, so you could use it purely as an arp box

MAM and Waldorf both made standalone midi arp boxes

im looking for something that includes this but also has a keyboard or drum pad thing built in, that emu thing sounds cool though

honest question... why an arpeggiator?

what for?

i like the idea of being able to bust out improvisations that are perfectly rhythmically in time during a live show. I find doing live arpegiators and improvising with them extremely pleasurable. This is mostly what i do with my monomachine when i play live, i most of the time don't even input a pattern, i just use the ARP in realtime

  On 3/3/2010 at 2:43 AM, Awepittance said:

i like the idea of being able to bust out improvisations that are perfectly rhythmically in time during a live show. I find doing live arpegiators and improvising with them extremely pleasurable. This is mostly what i do with my monomachine when i play live, i most of the time don't even input a pattern, i just use the ARP in realtime

I've been looking for a way to hit a drum pad and have a drum phrase trigger in time with the clock (without waiting for the next 16th or whatever)... I couldn't work out how to articulate what I was after in order to ask internet but yeah I guess "arpeggiator" might be the one. You need an arpeggiator that will play a whole phrase tight through from a single hit, then stop. So somewhere between latched and unlatched. That bit could be tricky...

hmmm... come to think of it, my pad controler lets you set a "duration" type parameter... that and the Proteus arps.... hmmmm...

*gets lab coat*

the closest thing i've found to what i want so far is the Korg Electribe in midi-out mode. It's arp is perfect for what i need to do, the combination of the ribbon controller and fader next to it let you transpose the arp and it's great for improv. Unfortunately the rolls/flam feature on it is pretty limited but it also lets you trigger stuff midi out.

i would just use my electribe but i want something that is USB powered only and preferably with a keyboard and some knobs/faders

arp is very easy to use with the rm1x it also has other midi effects such as a beat stretcher and a harmonizer that you can change the key with. plus it has a way bigger screen is more intuitive.

i had one of those emu's but fuck if i could work it out, i ended up selling it. it has nice sounds though.....

the weird stuff you can do with a nord modular g2, regarding MIDI, is great. But I feel guilty using it as a MIDI generator, as it makes such wonderful sounds...

  On 3/3/2010 at 2:55 AM, Awepittance said:

the closest thing i've found to what i want so far is the Korg Electribe in midi-out mode. It's arp is perfect for what i need to do, the combination of the ribbon controller and fader next to it let you transpose the arp and it's great for improv. Unfortunately the rolls/flam feature on it is pretty limited but it also lets you trigger stuff midi out.

 

i would just use my electribe but i want something that is USB powered only and preferably with a keyboard and some knobs/faders

The electribe arp is really nice. I don't know about anything like it that's usb powered, but have you considered a kaoss pad? It's similar, and it's so tiny it shouldn't be a problem to take it places.

can you show me something that shows the Kaos pad being used this way? I know version 3 is a midi controller but i can't see an auto roll feature on it. well now that i see whats out there im considering buying 2 USB powered things, that stripped down akai keyboard as well as a Korg product, either a kaos pad or just that pad control thing.

the best most flexible and most editable (in realtime) arpeggiator I've come across (as you know) is on the Monomachine but the one on the EMX1 is quite nifty too and the Z1 had a good poly arp

as far as a decent MIDI arp/sequencer controller goes .......

other than that the Oberhiem Cyclone although not easy to use can do shit even new hardware can't touch

get that kaosillator or whatever AWE. they were basically made for this stuff