What are drum pads on a MIDI controller for?

[mellotron]

Are they mostly for live performance, being able to trigger drum patterns on the fly, or do they have importance in recording also? Is there some sort of special programming you can do with it? I currently just use the drum editor in Cubase with my Alesis Micron...I don't know if there's a more time efficient way of creating drum patterns other than inputting the beats with the keys then straightening out the rhythm using quantization?

 

[wheelema]

They are just another way to trigger a sample. Use them however you wish. What's important is what works for you.

 

[benage]

I suppose the advantage over just triggering a sample by a key is its closer to a real drum like a bongo, so hopefully more fun!