Akai MPD16 USB MIDI Pad Control Surface User Reviews at zZounds

"Awesome MPC" submitted October 28, 2007

By a customer from yahoo.com

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Musician

Music Style: Whatever I want

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Sound: There is no actual sound produced by this unit. The midi signal is a midi signal so I don't think there is much to be desired their. Feature: For the money, this has all the features you need. An MPC like this is enough of a feature. It has cool things like 16 levels, full level, 2 banks, and a fader. I don't use the fader at all because I own a Frontier Designs Alpha Track, which is more than sufficient for my purposes. I barely ever use 16 levels or full level, which basically simplify the velocity of the midi signals it produces. I use this in conjunction with Battery 3 by Native Instruments and it is a match made in heaven. The only downside is that this provides no real controls to navigate Battery but it is such a complex program, a mouse is really all I can think to use. The only thing I want now, if it can compete with this unit's strong points, is the Korg padKontrol, simply because of the ability to change parameters through it and so I can have an X-Y coordinate plane for effects. Ease of Use: It is really simple to use and the software that comes with it is perfect. There is nothing I could desire with this product as for ease of use besides if it had a stronger base. It is difficult on a smooth surface to really rock out with this thing and have it stay in one place. Besides that, all the features add to its ease of use and the software allows you to easily choose what notes each pad controls as well as pad sensitivities for each pad. Quality: It is sturdy as heck. I think this could last forever. Again, with it grooving all over the table when I play it, I think it could suffer some falls and such but I was very surprised with its construction when I got it. Value: Given the current prices for such devices and how much fun and success I have had with this unit, this is fantastic value. I'm glad I got this one although I wish I had had the extra money to splurge and get the padKontrol. Manufacturer Support: Never dealt with their support. The Wow Factor: It isn't particularly attractive and it is really simple. I have owned this for a while for trying to do really good acoustic drum emulation for my band but once I saw RJD2 life ripping on his MPC production thingy, I fell back in love with this thing. Overall: I think I want the padKontrol now. Don't let that put you off. I wouldn't give up this thing for the world. In fact, I don't know whether to sell it or not if I get the padKontrol (though I probably will because I am in college). It has everything you need to lay some fat beats down. This won't make you incredible at anything, it is just another instrument and some people will excel on this and others won't. I found it to be just what I needed to really expand my rhythmic abilities. Just wish it would stay still more.

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"useful usb drum/percussion controller and easy to use!" submitted October 17, 2005

By a customer from djdynamix.com

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Musical Background: Dj/beatmaker

Music Style: Hip Hop

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Sound: No sounds included obviously... Feature: Features are pretty good overall. Although a continual trigger woulda been nice, I suppose that's just for the real MPCs... I think that the 16 level/full level feature is awesome...using the 16 level feature allows you to have subtle variations in your volumes, useful for programming things like hi hats...The included software, although I hate having to use it, is very useful also. Quality: Well made product, but I woulda preferred it to have a power switch, instead of it always being on... Value: I got my unit for under $150, so the value is well worth it. Manufacturer Support: Haven't needed The Wow Factor: I definately wanted a more hands on approach to the beats, and this just "feels better" than using a keyboard to do drums... Overall: I should say that I've never used an MPC before, so I couldn't really review this product in that sense - but as far as triggering your Midi sounds in a fun and useful manner, this product definately rocks...I endorse highly.

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"The great MPD16" submitted June 8, 2007

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: active artists

Music Style: Hip Hop/Rap

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Sound: No sounds actually come with it Feature: has all the features it needs when using with a program only bad thing is that doesn't have a note/repeat button Ease of Use: Very easy to use with the right software Quality: very durable and sturdy, pads feel wonderful but midi cord has weak connebtion other than that very greta quality Value: Great price and you get the exact value for what you pay for Manufacturer Support: Haven't needed it yet. The Wow Factor: Very beautiful machine sometimes i just stop and stare at it Overall: Very useful machine would highly recommend to anybody defintely someone using fruity loops.

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"Super-Dynomite Drum Pad Controller" submitted February 16, 2007

By a customer from aol.com

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Musical Background: Active Musician

Music Style: Hip-Hop, R&B, Dance...etc.

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Sound: N/A its a controller Feature: Set-up was fairly painless Ease of Use: Fit right in...w/ minimal exception Quality: Compact so it doesn't occupy a lot of space...pads feel great!!! Value: Though I wanted its big brother...completely satisfied with this... Manufacturer Support: haven't needed it The Wow Factor: used to black but,it suited me fine... Overall: Intergrated well with all the software I use (except "Reasons")...the utility software is a breeze to set up...so it spared my controller K/B unecessary abuse

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"Akai MPD 16" submitted October 27, 2007

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Sound: Well it doesn't come with any sounds, its a controller. Feature: Perfect for me, I just need it as a controller. Everything else I do is done on the computer. There's no features, except for one fader and thats exactly what I wanted. Ease of Use: Just plug it in and your good, only thing I didn't like was the Utility software doesn't pop-up automatically to install. You have to manually go into the contents of the CD and run the setup, fine for me but could be frustrating for others without much CPU knowledge. Quality: Well it is plastic, but its sturdy. The pads are great. Value: Definitely worth it. Basically turn your CPU into an MPC. Manufacturer Support: Haven't had to deal with it. The Wow Factor: I love it cause its real simple silver and black. Looks sharp and professional.

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"Great add-on to a home studio if you don't want to spend $1000 on a MPC, but in reality... it can't compare" submitted December 18, 2007

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: Producer

Music Style: Hip-Hop

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Sound: No Sounds, It's a MIDI device. Feature: No accessories, just a a 2 foot usb cable which i threw away. Could use the 4 banks instead of 2 but the 16 level feature is nice, and there is a short MIDI delay when using it in USB mode Ease of Use: Too easy, just installed the drivers, and i was using it in minutes Quality: Pads don't feel too solid, like if i hit on them long enough they might wear out, and the contacts inside the pads feel cheap Value: Worth the price Manufacturer Support: Haven't needed AKAI for anything, BUT i wish they had pad upgrades or replacements for the MPD like they do for the MPC... The Wow Factor: This thing is so ugly lol, if it was black... i might "lust" over it Overall: I am upgrading to an MPC soon, i just bought this to see if i would actually use the pads, they are a great thing to have especially if you are chopping up samples

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"Affordable Akai drum machine" submitted May 10, 2006

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: World -Carribean

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Sound: great tools Feature: All I need is working so far Ease of Use: Pretty much an usb drum machine Quality: The body looks fragile but don't get fooled Value: Good product for the money Manufacturer Support: I don't need it so far The Wow Factor: Maybe a black one with gray pads Overall: As long as I can do my projects. It Will be fine

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Akai MPD16 USB MIDI Pad Customer Review submitted June 28, 2009

By a customer from djtproductionsonline.com

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Musical Background: Producer, Musician

Music Style: Hip Hop, Rap

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Sound: This a midi controller. The pads are ok. Feature: It needs more banks. More banks = more programmable sounds. Ease of Use: The Utility, if used right can actually help you. Quality: A pad got stuck once, so I took it apart. Manufacturer Support: Constantly crashes computer because of a driver fault. Akai has yet to release an updated driver. If you actually use the MIDI OUT with the DC IN you won't have to worry about installing the driver.

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Akai MPD16 USB MIDI Pad Customer Review submitted January 12, 2008

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Overall: Easy to use pads and great for chopping up samples.

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"AKAI MPD-16 AMAZING" submitted December 11, 2005

By a customer from comcast.net

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Musical Background: Producer

Music Style: Everything

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Sound: IT doesnt have any sounds but if you use it with a plugin and you like pads it makes your beats sound way better Feature: I wish it had a lil'more features but the one's you have are amazing Quality: its well made can fit anywhere in my room and since i dont need a a/c adapter it takes up less room and this product is real reliable Value: THE VALUE is very amazing its very worth it Manufacturer Support: AKAI is amazing if you need help but you shouldnt need help Overall: MAN ITS THE ONLY THING YOU'LL NEED BESIDES A GOOD PROGRAM TO MAKE BEATS THIS COMPLETES MY PRODUCTION STUDIO

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Akai MPD16 USB MIDI Pad Customer Review submitted December 3, 2007

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: hobbyist producer/musician

Music Style: everything from hip hop to rock to classical to video game music

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Sound: doesn't make sound it's all based on sound samples you use with it Feature: lacking extra rotary knobs and faders of other midi pads Ease of Use: it's easy to use, but then again what midi controller isn't after you figure out how midi works in general Quality: It's pretty solid construction wise a bit heavy, but that's probably a good thing keeps it from sliding around and has nice rubber pads on the bottom to keep it from sliding as well Value: don't buy it get another midi pad preferably by a different brand akai support is terrible if you want a broken product that might crash your computer random every 5 to 10 minutes from having it plugged in go for it Manufacturer Support: support is terrible emailed them over a year ago about a driver bug called "MDP16USB.sys" that blue screen of death crashes windows and they have yet to release a updated driver they said they'd look into it basically and never did anything about it tried emailing them again asking on any progress on it and they didn't even bother replying back The Wow Factor: zero sex appeal you won't get nothing accomplished crashing your computer every 10 minutes or so

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"ADD THIS TO YOUR DAW and YOU WON'T NEED A MPC, TRUST ME!!!!" submitted December 26, 2004

By a customer from yahoo.com

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: years

Music Style: Southern State's Style Rap & Soul influenced by all genres!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Sound: No sound from the unit but sounds great with my emu 1820m 24 bit soundcard. Absolutely better than anyones mpc ran into a pro tools set up. Feature: Nothing really to brag about, but the editor is great for setting up pads. Wish it could interact with my software program to be able to do flams and repeat loops infinitely when a pad is used. Quality: great construction but needs suction feet or something to keep unit from sliding. Value: For the price of the unit, a decent 24 bit soundcard, FL Studio5 (producer edition), Battery 2, and a 2ghz or better PC, and you're running circles around a MPC 4000 production center. Savings substantial enough to buy eureka mic pre and a Studio Projects C1 Manufacturer Support: have not used them yet The Wow Factor: Unit looks like it belongs in a professional set up Overall: TERRIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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"John recomends this item to you if you own a software sampler and want to keep the live feel in your music." submitted July 1, 2005

By a customer from gmail.com

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Musical Background: Hobbyist, Active musician, Engineer

Music Style: Electronic, Hip Hop

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

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Sound: No sounds on this unit, only used for MIDI control. Feature: The editor is sufficient. It's very simple to assign the pads to different notes to sync up to your sampler. For example, you can create a kit in your sampler with a map different than standard GM kits and and customize the pads on the MPD to go along with this kit. It's pretty much got everything you need to get the job done (on a software sampler, hardware sampler users may expect more out of this unit). Quality: Pads feel durable. A tiny bit harder than a regular MPC unit but still respond to velocity just the same. Other than than that, the unit is solid. Value: To be honest, I don't know what other reviewers are so let down on. Endless triggering??? - The answer to that is you need to assign one-shots, loops and rolls on the unit you are triggering. That is the reason I recomend this unit only for triggering software instruments/samplers. It worked fine for me when creating a kit in Logic's EXS24 Sampler. Also - another reviewer stated something about having to play a whole kit to create a loop... what's wrong with that? Try practicing for once! Real musicians do more than just click buttons with a mouse. J/K (sorry, that wasn't really intended to be rude *sorry if your reading this* haha :) Actually- you can cycle record a loop if you need to in your sequencer to just keep adding parts if need be- playing live is another story- for live use I guess you could chop your loops and spread them across your pads (kick&hi hat one pad, snare&hi hat another pad, fills a third pad and so on...) The unit is a little over priced I think. I'm glad to see AKAI dropped the proce a little bit after M-Audio released a similar version. Manufacturer Support: Have not needed any. The newest driver and all documentation is available online. That's all the help I needed. The Wow Factor: The new blue model is great... I've grown tired of everything else in my studio being an ugly "spaceship grey" Overall: You can't go wrong witht this unit. The MPC is classic, however if you have a software sampler you've grown keen on... you could keep the live feel and swing in your music without forking out the money for a full MPC while keeping your soft-sampler.

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Akai MPD16 USB MIDI Pad Customer Review submitted June 3, 2003

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Sound: No sound being that it is a MIDI controller for drums. But the response is excellent on the pads when used with a sampler or sound module to trigger sounds. Feature: I wished it had four banks instead of two just like the MPC's do. 32 pads are not enough for me to assign drum samples to. One cool feature is the 16 levels mode which plays the last pad you played at 16 different velocity levels. Value: For the price I wished it had four banks instead of two. But that doesn't mean it's not worth paying for. Overall: I have to disagree with the previous reviewer who said this is just the same as controlling samples from the keyboard. The response on these pads and Akai MPC pads are totally different than triggering sounds from a keyboard. If you want an MPC unit but don't have enough money to fork for it, get an Akai S2000 (or your preferred sampler) and connect this baby to it. Combined with a sequncer and presto!!! Your own MPC unit at a low cost.

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"THERE IS A WAY TO AVOID THE PC CRASH---BUT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE ALL THE FEATURES!" submitted December 28, 2008

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: Knowledgeable Hobbyist

Music Style: Hip Hop/Rap with elements of Rock/Jazz

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Sound: n/a midi controller Feature: the full level, 2 banks, and 16 note thing is nice. Ease of Use: Simply plug in, install, and play. Quality: It's good quality---wish it had replaceable parts, don't know how long it could last. Value: I got it for 77 dollars from Jim's Music, it's definitely worth the price for the features...just wish it were compatible with VISTA. Manufacturer Support: THERE IS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH THE DRIVER AND IT CRASHES MY COMPUTER....GO FOR ANY OTHER PAD CONTROLLER BUT THIS ONE>>>> The Wow Factor: Yeah! I really wanted it until it didn't work. It only works if you hook up a midi converter to usb and use a 9 volt power supply other than that, the included cable will make your pc crash. Overall: I might go and buy the akai mpd 24 or 36---hopefully they'll work out better.

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"BUY THE TRIGGER FINGER INSTEAD!!! SAVE YOURSELF!!!" submitted November 28, 2007

By a customer from KENT.EDU

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Musical Background: ACTIVE MUSICIAN

Music Style: ELECTRONICA

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Sound: I kept reading that the pads were awesome on this. Having used the MPC line, I liked what I heard and opted for this rather than the trigger finger. Trigger finger is WAY better. See below for the exact reason! Feature: 1 fader. Yay. Ease of Use: THIS MACHINE CRASHED MY COMPUTER CONSTANTLY. THEN IMMEDIATLY CRASHED MY LAPTOP AS SOON AS I'D PLUG IT IN. NO PLUG AND PLAY - NEEDS A DRIVER (TRIGGER FINGER PLUG N PLAY NO PROBLEM ON BOTH MY COMPUTERS) LOOK UP "MPD16 CRASH" IN YAHOO - YOU'LL SEE THAT THEY KNOW ABOUT THE PROBLEM TOO!!! Quality: IT'S A PAD. I DIDN'T GET TO USE IT LONG ENOUGH TO NOTICE IF IT'S DURABLE. Value: DON'T BUY, DON'T BUY. DON'T BUY!!! Manufacturer Support: WILL NEVER BUY AKAI AGAIN

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"warning!" submitted June 16, 2005

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Sound: contains no sounds-DUH!!! Feature: to creat a drum beat it's necessary to play the whole kit. playing each seperate instrument in seperate passes is near impossible unless your music is so simple in which case you might as well step record everything. the mpd when not in full volume mode has too many velocity steps making a whole drum kit pattern literaly impossible to play ie. you can't hit all notes hard enough to even hear them.in full volume mode the notes are there but without any dynamics and occasional false triggering.for me it's useless!

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