Keyboard for Drum Samples (Virtual Drums)

adam79

New member
I'm selling my VDrums in favor of a Keyboard to play Virtual Drums. If I want to physically play the drums I have a Pearl kit my friend gave me. Anyways, now to my question....

I'm looking for recommendations on a keyboard to buy to perform the above task. I don't really care if it's full size or mini. Price is my biggest factor. I'll be using the programs that came with Pro Tools 12: AIR and XPand II. I'm not looking for professional quality. I just wanna add drums/percussion to some demos and get the basic point of the songs across.

Thanks in advance for the advice,

-Adam
 
Just about anything that has decent touch sensitivity. Nektar Impact, Akai MPK or Arturia MiniLab are both under $100. You could also opt for pads, like the Korg Nanopad or the Sampson Graphite.
 
I have an Arturia Beatstep which is a really cool little controller with 16 pads. It's $99 too. I also have an Akai LPK25, but I like to tap the pads better than hit keys. The Beatstep has velocity sensitive pads and, as an added bonus, has a step sequencer built in. I thought that would be fun to play with, but I haven't found a use for it yet.
 
The Beatstep looks cool. I was seriously looking at the Akai MPK Mini Mk2, but heard that it's pads r crap. It be nice to have a key/pad combo unit, like the MPK.

Also, anyone familiar w/ Xpand2? I have that available for download via PT12 purchase. That has drum samples, right? It also has that AIR software, but I'm not familiar w/ what it is.

Thanks
 
The pads on the Beatstep are awesome. Super sensitive and responsive. I understand wanting an all-in-one unit though.

M-Audio makes one too, but I don't know if it's any good. I have an old MPD16 and the pads suck. Have to really hit hard to get them to register...which is why I bought the Beatstep.

I don't know anything about Xpand2 so I can't comment.
 
Yes, be careful with AKAI pads, their "sensitivity" is 1 at the bottom of the pad to 127 at the top. It's not how hard you hit it, but where...My experience with the MPD18
 
Anyone try the Novation Launchkey (either mini or 25)? Are the pads better (than the Akai)? I haven't read one positive when the Akai pads are mentioned. I have read great reviews of the unit as a whole (MPK Mini Mk2).
That Beatstep unit mentioned above looks rad, but I want a key/pad combo. Plus I'd like to keep it in the $100 range...definitely gonna buy used.
Thanks for the help!
 
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