Q: Is Launchpad mini suitable for finger drumming?

[ayanB]

Hi there DJTT community!

I've decided to learn finger drumming and because I don't own any suitable controller I'm planning to buy one. The new Launchpad mini seems to be really a cheap and quality solution.

But here is the question. I've searched on the forum and YouTube and in general but I didn't came across with a video/information is a launchpad mini a good controller for finger drumming. Are the knobs big enough (my fingers are fairly small for a guy)?

Can someone with some experience with finger drumming/launchpad mini share some information regarding this topic?

Thanks!
Regards, AyanB

[Patch]

You can learn to finger drum using a computer keyboard. Do that before you start spending big bucks on a controller.

Otherwise, for finger drumming, I'd go for an akai pad controller. MPD24/26/32.

MPD24_fronttop-a2e5f77de08988c94e9b8b40dadb2f26.jpg750-MPD32_angle.jpg1263463319-94355700.jpg

MPD24's can be had for a song on ebay.

[ayanB]

Patch thank you for your answer!
Being totally honest, I really didn't think of using keyboard to learn it. It is an excellent idea and the cheapest one of course

Regarding Launchpad mini I guess I didn't express what I'm looking for in a good way. I'm planning to buy a performance controller to do mashups live and launching clips in ableton and of course crating beats on the fly. I’m looking to buy a launchpad for quite some while now but I thought it is too expensive and a little bit to big (in terms of overall size). With mini I know I'll be able to launch clips just as good as with a standard one but I wanted to make sure are the buttons big enough to do some finger drumming/performance live.

[botstein]

While it's cheap, it's definitely not quality. Patch is right that you could trigger samples from a computer keyboard, but it seems like a poor choice if you're using one of several laptops (like the retina display models) which do not feature any replaceable parts. I also find Akai's pad products (post year 2000) to be of dubious quality. If you're serious and are going to practice a lot, it's entirely possible that it might break before your first gig.

You could go for an indestructible QuNeo, which has the most expressive pads (velocity, pressure, and X/Y) and be found for about $200 in a lot of places:



Maschine is another great option. I strongly prefer the full-size and Studio models, but the Micro (even the original (not mk2), which can be found for less than the Novation stuff in some places) might be fine for your purposes.

[Unreallystic]

I've become a device whore if you will, but I've also been studying/working on finger drumming, I have a MF3D, MF Spectra, QuNeo, and Traktor F1. In the past I had a Akai MPK49 that I was so disatisfied with the pads, I went a head and got one of those eBay kits to improve them *it worked*, but they still sucked. I've also owned a MPC1000.

So far, for strictly finger drumming, nothing approaches the Midi Fighter series. Between what I/I've owned and what I've tried out elsewhere, they have several things really going for it.

No you odn't get velocity since the buttons are binary - on/off, however you get a very short 'throw' if you will, that gives great accuracy, little to no pressure needed, so using all 10 fingers is not an issue short of practice, its sturdy as hell, its super portable, etc. The ONLY advantage I'd give the QuNeo for finger drumming is 'volume', the Midi Fighter isn't loud, but they are still arcade buttons, so they make noise, the QuNeo is super quiet and hte only noise comes form the force needed to trigger - hitting the pads.

with that said, as someone who's been eyeballing a Launchpad S - money is a thing. Most places have increased the price of the QuNeo to $250 it seems (I could actually turn a profit selling mine used now 0_o'), so it's going to be on the slightly higher end of things. The Midi fighter series had a price bump several months ago, so the Spectra is a $200 investment also. Launchpad S pads don't feel reliable, I refuse to buy it used. I'm not a fan *personally* of the big high resistant pads that are the norm with Akai products, it feels like you really have to DRUM to get it out, and with all the effort that goes into finger drumming, I'm just not interested in adding work. Back to the QuNeo, the pads look like akai pads, but the resistance is actually pretty minimal, finger drumming isn't impossible, but it just doesn's feel nearly as good as the MF stuff I have.

Honestly, I'd weigh it out based on what stuff I currently have or plan on having and going from there. Software would play a factor too. I use Reason & Traktor, so the Launchpad would be a ton of work to setup for me (map it as 4 Kongs), but all the 16 pad devices are perfect (another issue I had with the mPK49 - TWELVE pads? REALLY Akai?).

Bump it, take a trip to Guitar Center, and just play out:
kick hit hat
hi hat
Snare
hi hat
*repeat*
on all their pad devices to see which ones feel the best to you.
- Unreall