Customer Reviews

Akai MPD26 USB/Midi Pad Controller

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Where to start !

Ok the basics, This product boasts a lot of features, and for anyone who has dreamed of owning an MPC, but cant afford it this is a great alternative.

Straight out of the box this item looks good, its solidly constructed, and just looks cool.

It comes with a copy of Ableton Live LITE, which honestly is not worth using, it is very limited in what you can do and to take advantage of the MPD you really need the features of the full version.

When it comes to installation it couldn't be any easier, plug in the USB cable and away you go, the only other thing you need to do is set up Live or whatever program you are using, its just a case of selecting it from your midi devices section in your program preferences..

Once I had this set up I was already to go, or so i thought, I found that LIVE's preset instruments wern't all that great for the MPD, however after searching on the net i found some cool videos on youtube that show you how to set up preset settings in LIVE which work really well.

The next thing i found was that there was quite some delay when i would hit the pad compared to when i would hear it, which was very annoying, it made trying to time things right near on impossible, after a little more research i found out what the problem was, it is the latency, which is determined mostly by the quality of your sound card and its drivers. There is a fix for this that worked brilliantly on my setup, and on a mates who purchased the MPD 18, you need to download ASIO4ALL a simple google search and you'll find it.. This has got my latency down to near zero and i can no longer feel any delay at all.

Now that I finally have the MPD set up the way i like, and all my little hardware bugs sorted, I love this thing, It's mad addictive, and I find myself getting lost in the mix and time just dissapears.

In conclusion, this product is fan-freakin-tastic... For the price of this compared to the MPC it is definetlly worth it, Although all MPC owners out there will tell you how it is nothing like an MPD, the truth is it does everything an MPC will do but you need the computer set up in a way that allows you to do it... Im sure they will all disagree, I personally think they're just a pissed that they spent so much on something that you can do with the MPD for a fraction of the price.. Obviouslly there is the downside that you cant just pick it up and take it to a gig without having ya pc with ya, but for recording / beatmaking this thing is great.

Although it was a little tricky getting all my presets sorted, once that was done its sweet.

I'm not sure why this thing got such bad reviews on here but this thing is awesome. it's practically plug and play other than assigning the knobs and faders, even that isn't too difficult. The Note repeat function is wonderful. This is a must have for any aspiring producer.

love the sliders u can control anything with them Pads could have been a bit more sensitive but they can always be up graded.. all in all i love this product a must have if your sampling old records or if your a drummer...

The Akai Mpd26 is truly awesome. Right from the start it was easy to set up and get started. The pads could be a little thicker but besides that the pads are extremely responsive. Very happy with this controller. I recommend it.

I love Amazon- don't get me wrong. But there is no way that the list price of an MPD26 was EVER $399. When announced, Akai made it clear that the price would be only $199. You have amazing deals as it is, you don't need to make up numbers to get a loyal allegiance of customers, Amazon.

On another note, the MPD26 is a great/cheap solution for programming drums and fiddling with knobs. Highly recommended.

Well Built machine that does everything i need to do. Pads are great and the actual product itself is top notch quality. Another amazing product of Akai.

I like this thing. My only wish is that AKAI would make one specifically for Propellerhead Reason like they have one for Ableton Live.

It is generic to fit a bunch of DAWs, so some of the features it has I can't use. Other than that, it works like a charm.

You don't need a power cable! It is powered by the usb cable. This was a big factor in deciding if I wanted to buy the MPD26. The power cable is only needed (sold separately) if you are using a usb splitter, which has no power delivery to the MPD26.

Note:

This device controls DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) aka. Reason, Cubase, Logic, Fruity Loops, etc.

It requires a computer with one of those DAWs already on it.

It is not a sampler like an MPC. It doesn't come with any samples, or the ability to record samples.

If you buy the MPD26 as a stand-alone unit, you will have a nice paperweight.

Happy Shopping

So I just recieved my mpd26 and was so excited to get it tested before giving it to my 8 year old son. Everyone says just plug and play.. Well that wasnt the case with me. I tried plugin in and no sound. I even downloaded the programs and etc. I even went to trying it on my Mac Book Pro, and nothing.. I was so looking forward to seeing my sons face when he opened this one up, but I am going to send it back. Thanks a lot for nothing. If anyone can help me, I have searched all over for tutorial etc.

I had the same issue when I bought this item for my boyfriend for Christmas. He plugged it in and the screen lights up but no characters are ever displayed on the screen. The software was installed and there is still no sound or words ever displayed on the controller. I would not recommend this to anyone, considering there wasn't just an issue with one from this seller.