Hi, everyone! I’m looking for an entry-level controller for production and I’ve narrowed my choices to either the Akai MPK mini MKII or the Reloop Keypad. Over here in MX City the price difference is close to none, with the major pros for each product being, in my opinion:
MPK mini mkii: The size of the thing is just what I’m looking for, something I could easily carry and that doesn’t take much space wherever I place it. It has a pitch/mod joystick lacking in the Keypad and Akai is a respected brand in the world of music production with a history of building solid products. Also, the keys are larger.
Keypad: It’s got faders and is custom-made for Ableton Live’s session view. It has more pads, twice as much. It’s got chord and scale modes lacking in the MPK mini mkii. It has more knobs.
So, I was wondering if there were any users of this controllers (or connoisseurs) that could help me in this decision with their opinions. I realize I could make music with both, in fact I’ve been doing it with just my old Toneport KB37 for a while but I’m looking for some informed opinions on the best way to spend the cash. Thank you all!
Thanks! I guess my biggest issues with the Keypad are the size and the fact that it’s Reloop’s first attempt at music production gear. But it really does look like a great product.
It all depends if you plan on using Ableton in the session view and having the pads launch clips…
I produce in arrangement view, and I bought my Novation Launchkey mini because it came with Live 9 intro and had pads and all that fun stuff. To this day I’ve never used the pads becuase I simply don’t proiduce that way. I use the knobs for automation, and the keys obviously for melodies. But that’s just me. Take that into consideration though.
I actually use both views. I like session view for jamming and playing with things, seeing what works. And arrangement view for putting things together and editing. I also think of the pads as a better alternative than keys for trying out some hands on percussion.
I would go for the MPK Mini. MIDI mapping in Ableton is as simple as ctrl+m (apple+m in mac) → click what you want to midi map in Ableton → Move knob on controller → done! You’ll have pads for tapping out beats, keys for keyboard roll input and plenty of knobs to map to effects/faders/sends. Luck!
I use the MPK mini, enjoy it. Not much of a keyboard//piano player so I don’t need anything more or less. Does everything I need, even messing with the parameters on instruments + effects is nice.