System Requirements:
Win XP or Mac OSX, 1 free USB port.

Introduction

The next item in the ongoing series of reviews whereby I pretend to have some musical talent and creative skills is the Akai MPD-24. Billed as the “ultimate rhythm controller”, it is a pad controller in the same vein as Akai’s legendary MPC series – but simply acts as a MIDI interface for those who wish to have that style of control over their own sequencer or performance software. MIDI integrated dj software is becoming ever more prevalent, and it certainly makes sense to have tactile control over key software features during a hectic live performance.

Just to get things totally clear for those not familiar with MIDI controllers, this is not some kind of dummy MPC that can be powered by your computer. It holds no samples, has no audio input or output, and won’t do anything useful by itself. It just sends MIDI messages every time you touch or move one of it’s controls. The key to having fun with the MPD-24 is combining it with some software that understands what it is saying, and can turn that into some noises. I used the MPD-24 with Ableton Live v4, but any software that has MIDI assignable controls should work equally as happy once you have it configured correctly.

Main Interface + Bundled Software

The MPD-24 experience revolves mainly around the 16 MPC style pads taken right out of the MPC-2500, of which there are 4 selectable banks – which in effect gives you quick access to 64 controls. Just above these are the 6 faders, and to the right there are 8 endless rotary encoders. This gives you a hefty amount of control in a reasonable footprint size. This is not a mini-sized controller though, and is around 12”x12” in terms of area coverage.



Build quality is good, and although you do notice the plastic casing a bit when hitting the pads, it still feels solid. The pads are responsive and a bit softer than the MPC-500, so I actually found the MPD-24 a bit easier to work with in that respect. It doesn’t feel quite as rugged and ready, but given that it is ‘just’ a MIDI controller, it strikes a good compromise between weight and ‘reassuring feel when hitting it’!

There is a nice bright LCD display for navigation and displaying various status info, as well as various program and MMC transport controls nearby and at the bottom of the unit. The unit is bus powered and uses USB for MIDI in / out, but there are normal five-pin MIDI IN and OUT connectors – meaning you can use the MPD-24 as a MIDI interface for other equipment or as a controller in stand-alone mode (power supply required – not supplied).

The MPD-24 ships with a copy of FXpansion BFD Lite, which can be used as a standalone application or as a VSTi in a compatible host. The inclusion of bundled software to make use of the purchased hardware is an obvious business necessity, but I personally side-stepped it completely and went straight to my copy of Ableton Live.

In Use

Part of the problem with the unlimited world of software and PC based audio production is that there are almost unlimited combinations of hardware and software that you can throw together. Therefore, the usability of the MPD-24 really comes down to the software you decide to partner with (and your imagination). Akai have included a bunch of presets for the MPD-24 to use with some popular software, but assuming most people have their own way of working, you will probably need to spend a bit of time making your own. The manual makes it pretty clear what you need to do and I had no problem assigning the correct note numbers to the pads I wanted so that I could control the Impulse drum sampler in Ableton Live.



It was a nice contrast from using the MPC-500, in that I could perform a similar task very easily in terms of recording, looping and over-dubbing whilst playing the pads – but then being able to edit and manipulate the MIDI sequence visually on a nice big monitor was a godsend. It felt like I was getting the best of both worlds. Yes, there are many other pros and cons with an MPC – but decent MIDI control surfaces and a full DAW is a nice halfway house.

Aside from the main controls, there are a few other options that make using the MPD-24 more MPC like. There is the ‘full level’ option, which means every pad transmits a full velocity signal irrespective of how hard you hit it. There is also the ’16 levels’ option, whereby you can map one pad to be an equally spaced range of velocities across the set of pads. So you can easily get maximum velocity control over one sound. You can also adjust the pad sensitivity as well as having 4 velocity curves to choose from.

Another feature I found pretty cool was the ‘preview’ function, which you can use to essentially mute the MIDI message until you release it – meaning you can jump to another value on the faders without hitting the points in-between. Unfortunately there is no note-repeat style function built in, and I’m not sure whether I can achieve that same effect from within Ableton Live (welcome to the world of software!). Because the pads are pressure sensitive, they transmit ‘aftertouch’ information, which can help add that extra bit of expression (the sliders and knobs can also be used to send aftertouch information).

Final Thoughts

Pads seem to be everywhere these days, whether it is on items similar to the MPD-24 or just grafted onto MIDI keyboards and the like. The extra sliders, controls and LCD screen are a significant step up from the Akai MPD-16 – and provided that is what you are looking for, the MPD-24 is likely to do a great job of filling that gap in your studio. The MPD-24 functions exactly as you would expect it to without any nasty surprises, minimal fuss and no real set-up headaches provided you have a clear idea of what you are intending to use it for.

Ratings

Build Quality - 9/10
A good feel and responsive controls for the price.

Features & Implementation - 9/10
Works as expected, nice clear LCD screen and reasonably painless to integrate provided your software allows it.

Value For Money - 9/10
Reasonable cost to add a lot of extra control to your production or dj’ing environment.

The Bottom Line

The MPD-24 lets you bring some tactile control and fun back into your software world.

Thanks to Julian at Akai for the loan of the unit.