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Akai Professional MPD218 16-Pad MIDI Pad Controller

Class-compliant USB Pad Controller with 16 MPC Pads, 6 Knobs, 3 Layers, and Bundled Software
$119.00

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Akai Professional MPD218 16-Pad MIDI Pad Controller
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Perfectly Practical Plug-and-play Pads

If you're after a straight-to-the-point USB pad controller, then you could hardly do better than the Akai Professional MPD218. The MPD218 comes loaded with 16 genuine MPC pads for that unmistakably thick and fat feel, plus you can switch between three banks for up to 48 pads worth of control. The same goes for the six assignable pots, which let you take control of 18 parameters, such as volume, pan, filter cutoff, and more. One of the other MPC features on the MPD218 that the old-school music creators here at Sweetwater dig is MPC Note Repeat, and everyone can appreciate the way class compliant USB lets you hook up your computer or iOS device totally hassle free.

Akai Professional MPD218 USB Pad Controller Features:

  • A straightforward MIDI-over-USB pad controller with 16 genuine MPC pads
  • Thick and fat MPC pads include LED backlighting for visual feedback
  • A set of 6 360-degree knobs offer hands-on control over continuous parameters
  • Equipped with classic MPC functions such as Note Repeat and Full Level
  • 3 control layers offer 48 pads and 18 knobs worth of control
  • Instantly jump between 16 configurable presets
  • USB powered and class compliant for use with your computer or iOS device
  • Software package includes free titles from Ableton, Akai Professional, and Sonivox

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Tech Specs

  • Type: Pad Controller
  • Pads: 16 x Backlit MPC pads
  • MIDI I/O: USB
  • USB: 1 x Type B
  • Hardware Requirements - Mac: Intel Multicore processor, 2GB RAM minimum
  • Hardware Requirements - PC: Multicore processor, 2GB RAM minimum, ASIO compatible
  • OS Requirements - Mac: OS X 10.7 or later
  • OS Requirements - PC: Windows 7 SP1 or later
  • Power Supply: USB bus powered
  • Height: 1.6"
  • Width: 9.4"
  • Depth: 7.9"
  • Weight: 1.65 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: MPD218

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Really Nice!

All I wanted was a set of pads to use without necessarily having to have software I don't really want or need and this fits perfectly. Pads feel great & I can use them to trigger anything I want. You do get some software with it but not necessary to operate as is. The price was right too. Highly recommend!
Music background: Professional musician/Composer
Rated 5/5

Upgrade from mpd18

I bought the mpd18 about 10 years back and it has worked well for me. I do more ambient electronic music so I dont really have a need for the more expensive machine / push 2 range. The upgrade is WELL worth it! The pads are much more touch sensitive which allows for more dynamic range when finger drumming. Also, the software drums that came with it has blown my mind! Great for sfx impacts. If you have an old mpd18 then definitely get this for a cheaper but much worth it upgrade!
Music background: Ambient Electronic
Rated 5/5

JUST WHAT I NEEDED

Exactly what I wanted. So thin, small and big thick great pads (the red and black looks amazing too). I went from an original MPD18 and a KORG microkey 25 black on black to a new 25-key keyboard and this new MPD. LOVE IT!
Music background: hip hop producer extraordinaire (S-GracE)
Rated 5/5

Perfect

Absolutely perfect. Works great! Perfect size for my needs!
Rated 5/5

Amazing Pad Controller

This controller is definitely one of my new favorite toys. The pads have a very nice texture that makes finger drumming very comfortable. The encoder knobs are very smooth and nice to turn, and can be very exact with what you're controlling. I also love the fact that the pads are velocity sensitive, as that makes for very realistic drumming.

One problem I've noticed, and in doing research a lot of others have had this problem, pads 8 and 12 only control pad 8, which it seems to be a problem on Akai's end. However, this issue is only presented in the MPC Essentials program, as well as when you have the controller's program mode set to MPC (holding down the program button and pressing pad 5).

Other than that, this is a superb product, and I could not recommend it more to anyone looking for a quality pad controller that isn't insanely expensive.
Music background: Indie Artist
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