Drum pad controller for traktor and ableton use

DJ Gear & Hardware Hardware: Controllers, Mods and Gear
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Drum pad controller for traktor and ableton use

I am looking to add another controller to my S4 setup. I really want something that I can use as a drumpad and general controller in ableton but that can also be mapped to traktor with the Instant Gratification MF mapping and for things like FX 3&4.

I realise that the Maschine would fit the bill perfectly but it’s a bit out of my price range. I’ve been looking at the Korg Padkontrol and the Akai MPD32. Anybody use these with traktor? Any other recommendations?

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Looks you are looking for a Novation Launchpad !!

I use it with this mapping for Traktor, and it’s perfect for use with Ableton. Loving it !

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Seems like the launchpad would fit you perfectly yeah, I use it as well, although I modified the above mapping and made this Koffas Launchpad & Traktor Pro 2 (beta 0.1) (2 deck mapping, 3FX presets etc.)

That one don’t have instant grat. though, which I didn’t really use, but it shows that with a bit of mapping it can be a great little device. :slight_smile:

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Maschine is not what you want. It’s a decent controller, certainly, but what you’re paying for is the software and the huge sample library. AFAIK, Traktor can’t even use aftertouch, and I think I might remember reading that getting it to work in Ableton is a good bit of work. If you’re not going to use that, then it’s barely better than a Trigger Finger for like 6 times the price.

Along those lines, look at the Trigger Finger and the Akai stuff. I think it’s the MPD series. They’ve got some interesting features implemented in the hardware that would actually be useable in Traktor.

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Thanks for the responses. I thought long and hard about a Launchpad a while ago but decided that it wasn’t for me. I need some knobs to map to FX3/4. Something from the MPD series looks pretty much ideal. Any views on the Korg Padkontrol? I know it has no knobs but the XY could be pretty useful.

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i love my launchpads but as they’re not velocity sensitive they’re bugger all use for drum programming anyway. i use my lpd8 for that.

a while ago i was looking at some of the mpd’s, the padkontrol and trigger finger and decided i loved pads with led’s too much to consider anything but the padkontrol :stuck_out_tongue:

plus it is possible to get outputs from all (most?) of the controls on the padkontrol - tho i don’t remember the details of how. there was a thread here a while back about it.

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I looked at the MPD32 for a while and I think for what you want, it’s your best bet. It has more than enough faders and encoders for fx units 3 & 4. It also has several tools useful for drum programming such as note repeat and its got a standard 4x4 layout. If you’re looking for a little less check out the mpd26 or if you can pick up the discontinued mpd24, you would have enough encoders for your fx units, but I think its lacking the note repeat as well as a few other features.

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i have a mpd, its a great control surface but the pads need moding