The MPD218, by the Akai Professional Division, is a feature-packed pad controller. To begin with, the MPD2 Series is a product that has been in development for over six years. We can say that it’ll give you the creative musical expression and workflow you can expect from a full-on pro pad controller. This particular one is a MIDI over USB controller that Akai made with the music producer, programmer and DJ in mind. As a summary, you should know that it’s intuitive and flexible. Moreover, thanks to its easy USB connectivity, you can set your working platform. Overall, it’s a merge between classic beat making and software.
MPD218: Features
To give you control over your music production, Akai has made some serious improvements on their pad by adding super responsive and sensitive thick and fat MPC pads. Also, they have added a set of six knobs. With them, you can maximize the sound you’re performing. Similarly, you’ll be able to tweak control over the effects applied. Moreover, the MPD218 is class compliant and its source of power comes from a plug and play. It includes a USB cable for you to use on your selected computer Mac or Windows with no need to instal drivers. Furthemroe, you can connect it to an iOS device through the camera connection kit—although this one you’d have to buy separately.
Another great feature of the MPD218 is that with your purchase, out of the box, you’ll obtain the free software that it includes. As a result, you can start to produce right away. Examples of this software are the Akai Pro MPC Essentials, Big Bang Drums, Percussion by Sonivox, and Ableton Live Lite. The MPD2018 is MPC 2.0-ready. This means that it has a cutting-edge production suite that’ll give you the ability to do real-time stretching, have Advances MIDI editing, VST compatibility, and Standalone application on MAC and PC. And this is just not to mention audio editing, recording, and the superb DAW integration for a complete music production interface.
Image: Akai
