best pad controller?

  On 10/4/2010 at 12:02 AM, Kcinsu said:

what i really want, is a full on roland v drum set.

You and me both, brother.

I don't see much point in placing you're drums so far apart for only like 7 triggers and taking up all that space where your sitting down in front of a drumset only and not able to quickly control your sounds. I used to play a drumkit for a while but this is the future, that's not progressive to me. What is progressive to me? When I see 24 pads in front of me right next to a BCR2000 and an MPK88

  On 10/4/2010 at 12:24 AM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

I don't see much point in placing you're drums so far apart for only like 7 triggers and taking up all that space where your sitting down in front of a drumset only and not able to quickly control your sounds. I used to play a drumkit for a while but this is the future, that's not progressive to me. What is progressive to me? When I see 24 pads in front of me right next to a BCR2000 and an MPK88

The smaller/closer they are, the greater the chance that you'll miss the target. Also kick drum and hi hat pedal.

That being said, I think your setup would perfect if it had two kick pedals, a hi hat pedal, a Roland FC-300, an electric guitar, and a Z-Tar.

Edit: Also, the pads would have to have bright markers for the boundaries between pads.

  On 10/3/2010 at 11:32 PM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

We have already had the "MPCs outdated?" discussion but MPC's these days are for people who don't want the inconvenience of using a PC all the time. A few controllers and a PC is less convenient but=much much more potential.

But using it as a controller with a PC is great... the pads are unmatched.

but an MPC2000XL is an waay overpriced for using just as a midi controller with a computer and they don't have usb right? gotta use a midi to pc converter that adds latency right?

Yeah, just for a controller it would be overpriced. But it's also amazing to make music on. It's all I use to make music... as far as latency, I've never noticed it.

  On 10/4/2010 at 12:49 AM, wahrk said:

  On 10/4/2010 at 12:24 AM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

I don't see much point in placing you're drums so far apart for only like 7 triggers and taking up all that space where your sitting down in front of a drumset only and not able to quickly control your sounds. I used to play a drumkit for a while but this is the future, that's not progressive to me. What is progressive to me? When I see 24 pads in front of me right next to a BCR2000 and an MPK88

The smaller/closer they are, the greater the chance that you'll miss the target. Also kick drum and hi hat pedal.

 

That being said, I think your setup would perfect if it had two kick pedals, a hi hat pedal, a Roland FC-300, an electric guitar, and a Z-Tar.

 

Edit: Also, the pads would have to have bright markers for the boundaries between pads.

ehhh playing with a setup similar to those Alesis controlpads for more than an hour and I don't think your going to be missing the pads much at all. Its pretty easy to get used. Sure they super close together compared to a drumkit but not too close that you couldn't spend a few days getting used to them, changing your frame of mind and never be hitting a wrong pad 99.99% of the time.

kick drums and hi hat pedals are cool but I think its too much sacrifice for a more versatile setup where you can do a lot more than just play percussion. you increase your speed an dexterity and you can do some really complex shit with just your hands using 16 pads or more pads really ergonomic efficiently centered right there. I kind of agree about adding bright markers but only for really dark shows its not a problem seeing the separation in the pads in the light.

& yeah I am primarily a guitarist/vocalist and I have been working really hard trying to get good at bouncing between doing guitar, stealing my bass players bass when he is doing turntablism/fucking with the beats in traktor/reaper/playing melodies, vocals, percussion, playing melodies with an 88 key fully weighted, live sequencing etc. etc.. . . so yeah I have my hands full hehe

  On 10/4/2010 at 1:32 AM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

ehhh playing with a setup similar to those Alesis controlpads for more than an hour and I don't think your going to be missing the pads much at all. Its pretty easy to get used. Sure they super close together compared to a drumkit but not too close that you couldn't spend a few days getting used to them, changing your frame of mind and never be hitting a wrong pad 99.99% of the time.

 

kick drums and hi hat pedals are cool but I think its too much sacrifice for a more versatile setup where you can do a lot more than just play percussion. you increase your speed an dexterity and you can do some really complex shit with just your hands using 16 pads or more pads really ergonomic efficiently centered right there. I kind of agree about adding bright markers but only for really dark shows its not a problem seeing the separation in the pads in the light.

 

& yeah I am primarily a guitarist/vocalist and I have been working really hard trying to get good at bouncing between doing guitar, stealing my bass players bass when he is doing turntablism/fucking with the beats in traktor/reaper/playing melodies, vocals, percussion, playing melodies with an 88 key fully weighted, live sequencing etc. etc.. . . so yeah I have my hands full hehe

I just figure the ability to play with 3-4 limbs at once is better than 2. I would loooove to have an 88 fully weighted. *drools*

I've mostly just been programming/producing and working on my guitar playing and drumming, though I did make a little piece the other day where I used nothing but sounds I'd made with my mouth. I beatboxed and sang and whatever else. It was pretty cool. I think I might do it again and then cut the pieces up and sequence them in Renoise.

Might right foot is dedicated to hitting stuff on my floorboard and my loop pedals pretty much at all times though. If I had to dedicated it for something as simple hitting a bass drum and opening and closing a hi hat every once and a while it wont subtract more than waaay more than it would add.

Well, I just bought a MPD32 today! I've been using a Trigger Finger for over a year now and it's done the trick, but I felt like it was time to upgrade. I'll let you know how I like it once it gets here.

  On 10/4/2010 at 2:56 AM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

Might right foot is dedicated to hitting stuff on my floorboard and my loop pedals pretty much at all times though. If I had to dedicated it for something as simple hitting a bass drum and opening and closing a hi hat every once and a while it wont subtract more than waaay more than it would add.

Ah. Fair enough.

Dear lord some times I think I can type fast enough that I end up looking like English is my second or third language.

id love some v-drums methinks

We have a v drum set here. It's my roommates. I like it, especially since I've been a drummer since I was 8. But the way he sets it up is very limiting. I would like to have it triggering samples in live or w/e but he just uses the built in voices and captures it as audio.

I don't see how more people don't feel drunk with power in the idea of having 32 pads all bunched up efficiently with 4 different drum kits on each 8 pad unit or 2 kits with completely customized sounds. That would be endless percussion fun have like 4 of those Alesis drumstick controlpads rigged up to a stacked computer and a BCR2000 tweaking shit punching in loops etc. ... Don't you see how much more fun that would be than just a v drum kit?

but the v drums feel better to hit with a stick.

the mesh heads just feel more natural and more responsive.

ehhh my last drummer in the band I was in for 2 years went through like 3 & a 1/2 different variations of his midi triggered drumkit rig just for late night practicing. Rubberish plastic pads like most v drum kits, mesh heads with adjustable individual 1/4th triggers and then completely real drum heads with triggers built inside the drum shells (with real cymbals or expensive triggered cymbal pads in each variation). The mesh heads started to feel really loose after less than a month of play and felt just about the least tightly responsive of all the stages he went through. His drum kits were in my garage for 2 years and I played them quite frequently.

In the end I would never ever want to spend the money just to get a v drum kit as good and go through the hassle he went through to maintain those rigs. It's not worth it to me at all, especially in the context of trying to produce progressive dynamic music. It was kinda cool for trying to emulate the exact muscle memory of playing a real drum kit in a rock band but who on watmm is focused on traditional sounding drums? It's way more trouble, space consuming, limiting than its worth for what I think 90% of watmm is trying to accomplish.