Akai Professional MPD18 Compact Pad Controller

This product by akai is fantastic no complaints at all amazon delivered it right to my door package wrapped neatly, plus everything works right outta the box. Install it in minutes. This beauty goes perfect with the vintage look that i want for my studio, it works well triggering all my samples and drums and one shots, it has the basic things that i need and love. Its like a little version of my MV8800 lol. The drum roll button works perfectly, and the full velocity button speaks for itself, man the pads feel great not alot of confusing unnecessary buttons either, plus the volume slider nob feels cool. Just to say you'll ain't nothing like having a drum machine in your studio it just makes performance and production that more realistic. I have no complaints the next item to grab is the spark le controller thats going to be another great edition. I recommed it to all again who want to trigger there sounds realistically get a great product great quality at a great price. Thanks again akai, amazon, my fan and supporters lets take music to the next level in Christ, amen!!!!! Djones013

I have been using the AKAI MPD18 for just about a year now. I have no problems... However, I have yet to find a use for the slider... It does nothing... Everything else is good... I use FL Studios and the sensitivity can be controlled using that software... If it is slow in response you must tamper with FL Studios Settings under Audio and move the buffer length and or change the Sample Rate (Hz)... When I fixed the problem it responded quickly and with the highest precision... I am now capable of using it in a live performance, which I will soon... When opening up the virtual Drumpad on FL Studios look for the plug-in FPC and take note that when you connect it the pads won't correspond properly... Everytime you sync it to the software you have to recallibrate the notes on the virtual pad to correspond with the notes on the real pad... The pad notes on the FPC are meant to correspond with the notes on a piano... This is true because I have tested it with my keyboard...Overall, after the inconvience of it not being able to sync up automatically and instantly with corresponding pads, it's still a pretty dang good pad for the price... Highly recommended for beginner producers and or DJs that want to sample and reconstruct sounds on a shoe string budget... It is highly compact and I like that about it... I've literally taken it to school, hooked it to my laptop, and made beats in class,... That's how convenient it is... Your not going to get that kind of convenience with just any drumpad... I recommend this product... AKAI has got a supporter right here... Great product, and I'm looking forward to upgrading...

The MPD18 is really basic, with just the buttons and note repeat. My main gripe is that the software it comes with didn't work properly for me, as in I couldn't map any sounds with the software. I don't think I am the only person to have this complaint, judging from forum posts. Not much support for it on the website, either, so I didn't even know what I did wrong. So I used it with my traktor scratch pro. Again, mapping info was limited, but managed to find some useful shares on the forums.That aside, I liked the tactile response of the MPD18. Got my eye on the MPD26 or 32 next.

I purchased this item about six months ago and have been loving it every since. It was pretty easy to get set up, the build is good and the pads feel great. Not much else to say except this gets the job done for a very low price compared to other drum machines provided you already have a computer and sequencer to use it with. The only minor gripes I have are the usb cord seems like it could get broken off fairly easy and there is no on/off switch, so if its plugged in to your computer then its on. But otherwise I would says its a great value and I would buy one again if mine broke.

I purchased the Akai MPD18 with the intention of making beats with FL Studio. Unfortunately, I found out after the purchase that Akai has legendarily terrible quality control, which means I should have known that my unit would be defective and nearly unusable.I would rate this item 0 stars if possible. I have returned the item and will be purchasing another pad controller instead. I will probably never purchase another Akai product.