Keyboards and Pads for Drum Samples

One of the most debated topics by far on music production forums is the medium to use for drum sequence input. On one side are the advocates of using standard MIDI keyboard controllers - the keys on which can be used to input control messages for drum samples - or dedicated equipment like the drum machines from Akai and other manufacturers that have flooded the market as of late.

Recently, the hat has tipped in favor of the dedicated drum samples hardware route, with new, much less expensive devices becoming popular among veterans and newbie producers alike. The Akai MPD, for example, is pretty much the same as the MPC series of drum sequencers, except that it lacks any sequencing and arranging capability, leaving that processing up to the actual host (the computer audio/midi program, such as FL Studio (formerly Fruity Loops) and Cakewalk Sonar.

On the keyboard side, we can see the advantages quite clearly. A lot of people already have great skills on the keyboard, making the transition to drum samples sequencing quite an easy choice. One of the major complains is that when hitting the keys, there is always that delay between strike and sound, something which doesn't play a major role for most people - and it is indeed minimal - but this is where the pad solutions have an advantage: the pads are right above the sensor bed, not like with keyboards where the key needs to be pressed quite far down.

We can see that the trigger response is the final drawback for those on the edge of making a decision to switch to pad systems. With the sensor timing on the keyboard, one needs to be somewhat firm with their fingers to allow the sensors to accurately place the notes. However, if your timing is not perfect, it's probably not the best platform to hone your skills on. Get some pads and at least try them out!

Devices with pads also have some issues, however. One major issue concerns the pad quality. Some of the best-received products have had a backlash of bad reviews due to pad degradation. You will probably need to shell out at least a few dollars for replacements if you're going to go with something like the MPD range of drum inputs.

More recently, there has been a trend towards integrating the two technologies and create something for both parties to meet in the middle and sort this out. The result is a hybrid product that integrates both a keyboard and pads. The pads are usually located above the keyboard for easy access, and the keyboard is in some cases even weighted or semi-weighted, but 90% of the time is just sensitive to velocity and nothing more. A major complaint regarding this merge is the quality of components. Some people have pointed out that the pads and actual keys are both lower quality than stand-alone products. So with neither the pads nor keys being really good, it's simply a gimmick. This view is share by a lot of professional reviewers.