buying my first midi/controller gear, need some help and opinions please

M

MastaChopp203

New member
Hey FP, haven't posted on here a few months. Need some help deciding on a couple of things.

Since I started producing hip-hop beats, I've been strictly using FL Studio. I've grown comfortable with it and know pretty much everything about in terms of functionality and capability.

Now I feel like I've reached a wall as far as what I can do with just the program itself, It's time for me to get some controller gear.

I've been looking around, and a few possible options have caught my eye that are within my price range.

The first thing that caught my eye is the Akai MPK Mini, from what I've read in reviews it seems like a solid machine and from what I've seen of people using it on youtube, they've come up with some pretty good stuff with it. And it seems like it would fit me well with my style being hip hop.

On the other hand, the Novation LaunchPad has caught my eye, not only for the flashing lights but for the fact that it seems crazy capable of handling live sets, which is something I am to do eventually. The downside is, from what I've seen people only really use it for EDM and I can't seem to find anyone using it for hip-hop. As far as using Ableton goes, I'm totally open to learning a new program so that is not an issue.

I have a budget of about 200$. And honestly I think I might just get both the LaunchPad mini and the Akai MPK mini because I feel I can find a way to make them both useful as an artist.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated though, anyone who has these pieces of equipment and could give me a run down would be amazing.
 
I would recommend going for the MPK 49 instead of the MPK Mini because (and correct me if I am wrong) the MPK 49 has after touch whereas the MPK Mini does not.

After touch is an additional control at the bottom of the key stroke which can be used to trigger a variation to a sound, for example let's say you have a brass sample with strings added to after touch what happens is you get brass when you press the key but when you apply a little more pressure a string section is added, you can also use it to modify synth sounds so something interesting happens when you press just that little bit harder, you can even make a sample containing two different loops and trigger the second loop just by applying more pressure to the key.
 
hollandturbine has a good point about the MPK 49, however if keys were not of utmost importance I think the MPK mini (for the price) would be your best bet. If you're looking to chop/sample things on the pad and play leads over beats with the keys then the MPK mini is perfect for that
 
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