The Akai MPD16 was recommended to me by one of the pro-sound salespeople at Guitar Center in Pasadena, CA. Since I already use the feature-rich Firewire audio-controller/midi, the M-Audio Ozonic series, I don’t need a different piece of hardware.
I wanted something with a simple purpose: I’m tired of my valve drum parts on my keyboard Compaq Presario or even piano style keys -using ozone The Akai MPD16 USB/ MIDI Control Pad gives the user access to 16 pressure-sensitive pads that have excellent sensitivity. The Akai Web site says they are the same as those in the MPC series of drum synths and controllers, and that is saying a lot. This line is well known and widely used by musicians everywhere for their drum programming needs.
But I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on something with unnecessary features for the money I already had. The Akai MPD16 fit the bill, and at a discounted $99 (you might be able to find it at or close to this price from Music Friend or similar places) it was a great value.
I use Ableton Live as a tracking and recording-based software, in addition to Audacity for mixing and editing samples. Getting the Akai MPD16 to interface with Ableton Live wasn’t as simple as I had hoped, but after a bit of digging into the Ableton forum, I found a way to assign individual pad values to any of the drums in Ableton’s Impulse. Live built in sequencer.
Once I found the correct numbers (someone with more MIDI knowledge will have no trouble coming up with these), assigning values was very easy using the editor tool included on the installation CD.
As far as the body hardware and drivers, its installation could not be easier. Just connect the Akai to an available USB port and insert the CD. The magician does the rest. If you want to use the device editor, you need to view the contents of the CD and copy it to the hard drive and then install.
I read on the forums that Mac users had a little more difficult time with their Akai MPD16. computers, but with a Compaq Presario laptop (AMD Turion 64×2 1.67 GhZ, Windows XP, 1 gig ram) it was easy.
As for latency, the most important issue in a drum controller, the Akai MPD16 scores pretty well, I just used an M-Audio Ozonic sound card to handle the inputs and outputs. The Akai MPD16, interestingly enough, does not come with an AC adapter of any kind. The device runs on USB power without problems, but if you want to plug it into your MIDI rack directly using the built in MIDI output and cable, rather than running the USB directly into your computer, you’ll need to purchase an optional AC Adapter. who books $19.99.
Once I was able to interface with Ableton Live, I was hitting some great drum lines in no time! The documentation says that the drum pads on the Akai MPD16 have 157 degrees of pressure sensitivity, plus velocity sensitivity. I could do a lot of talking very easily, in fact someone asked if there was a live drummer on one of my tracks, and I know comparatively little about audio production.
There are also many tricky things you can do with the Akai MPD16, such as cuing samples, starting and stopping individual tracks or looping or recording to the master. The two banks are separate, giving you a total of 32 usable triggers at your discretion without touching your computer or making any modifications.
My only gripe about the MPD16, other than the lack of an included AC adapter, is that the paper and online documentation is severely lacking. There is no reason why an inexperienced user such as myself should go to an online forum to do research on how to set up a machine. I can’t comment on longevity though, as I’ve only owned the Akai MPD16 for a few weeks.
Overall, I would give the Akai MPD16 high marks for an inexpensive programmer-based recording and performance tool.
