No one can tell you which is the best controllers, they can only give you account of their experience of how they use them. It is handy having 8 sliders and 6 knobs though - I have this setup as a default template for drum racks and the knobs etc control parameters. Although TouchAble now has velocity pads i believe so when i update the app I might ditch the MPD. I got this for the 16 touch sensitive pads. it is JUST a keyboard - no extra knobs/pads/sliders. Handy little keyboard for quick riffs but frustrating because its just 25 keys and no pitch bend/modulation wheel just buttons.Ī full sized keyboard with weighted keys. My studio setup is all of the above for the stated reasons, plus Plus the great thing is you have a visual account of what knobs are assigned to on your screen in the GUI - MUCH better than having to stick stickers onto your controllers per song or set. Their Automap software allows you to instantly tweak any of your plugins/effects easily. I also use a Novation Nocturn sometimes but it isnt necessary. I use TouchMidi sometimes as it allows you to create bespoke control surfaces if you need extra knobs/sliders/XY's to hand. I use the ipad to trigger scenes/clips in touchable, setup settings to tweak live with the Kapture Pad and have the ability to revert back to 'normal' at the touch of a button. This setup allows me to have a small laptop for portability.
It also all fits into my Peli 1500 Case which allows completely watertight and safe storage. If I was a girl it'd fit in a handbag haha. iPad Running TouchAble & Kapture Pad & TouchMidi (sometimes)Ī perfect setup for me that can be thrown into the smallest of record bags. I am planning on getting a smaller one for gigging as when gigging I don't need midi-in or digital-out. I've had a LOT of controllers over the years in an attempt to get a setup that suited me both in the studio and for playing gigs. There are a wealth of apps out there for controlling ableton and instrument apps that are only a couple of pound - compared to their software equivalents which may be hundreds of pounds or even hardware equivalents which may run in to the thousands of pounds. Having said that, if you are going for the mpk49 then youl get knobs n pads anyway.īuy an iPad. For pads then youd maybe want an akai MPD 18/24/32. If that really does bother you though - you can get yourself a Novation Nocturn (great with automap software and instant control over plugins!) or a korg Kontrol or similar. Check out "Kapture Pad" too - its great for playing live gigs and tweaking parameters.Ī lot of folk will argue that with the ipad you dont get the touch feedback that you get from knobs/sliders/pads. However they ARE about to announce a new app soon which might be a new 'grid' type thing which may kick ass! why wouldn't it - all their other apps are great. Liine's "Griid" has that and the clip/scene launchers too but now keyboard/drumpads/effects or parameters control - or the cool X/Y. It gives awesome control over ableton and they are adding more stuff for free all the time.