What is it?

Akai's LPD8 is a usb powered midi controller with 8 velocity sensitive, backlit pads and 8 Q links knobs. The LPD8 is the main competition to the korg nanoseries and the nanopad.

What's in the box?

In the no frills box you get the LPD8, USB cable and software CD.

Build quality

Surprise surprise it's made out of plastic! Despite that the LPD8 feels reasonably durable and would take a few knocks when traveling. As usual the knobs on the LPD8 are a source of worry concerning breaking off when in transit but the LPD8's are quite small so they will probably be ok.

Pads

The LPD8 has 8, velocity sensitive, backlit drum pads. The drum pads feel solid in use and are responsive when finger druming.

The backlights are orange which is great if your planning to use this live, as you could see them from a mile off.

The pads can send notes or program changes which is good news if your planning to use the LPD8 as a controller for Traktor or Ableton Live. The pads can also function as momentary or toggle pads, nice touch.

Just like the nanopad there are four banks of pads, selectable from the bank buttons on the right on side of the LPD8. Not a huge amount of banks but useful for some applications.

Knobs

The LPD8 has 8 Q-link knobs. The knobs do not roate 360 degrees which is a plus in my book as endless knobs can get on my nerves sometimes. No LED indictor but you should be able to see the value in dark lighting.

The knobs feel ok to use but thay are quite small and a little bit close together for my liking. The knobs send out CC# data and can be assigned to parameters using the software. There are four banks of knobs selectable by the the bank select buttons on the right of the unit.

Software

The software that ships with the LPD8 software which lets you edit the functions and parameters of the knobs and pads, aswell as managing presets and banks.

Loading saving presets and banks is easy by using the load, save preset buttons and the commit upload button to write it to the LPD8. This is a little bit simpler than the nanopad.

The software gives you control over a number of functions and parameters of the pads and knobs. The pads can have the note/CC#, PC# and momentary/toggle function edited and assigned. The knobs can have the CC# and the lowest and highest CC# parameter edited.

Conclusion

The LPD8 is a great, portable midi controller and excellent value for money. If looking for an inexpensive drum trigger and knob combination this is it. As expected within this price range the build isn't amazing but it should last with a little care. The backlit pads are responsive and helpful in a live situation.

This controller would be an excellent option for controlling effects in Ableton Live or dj software such as traktor or torq.

If your not sure whether to pick a nanopad or a LPD8 simply ask yourself do you want knobs or more pads? There both the same price, similar size and similar build quality.

Overall, inexpensive, good midi controller.

Akai MPK25 review

Published: 15. 05. 2008     10 comments

We take a look at the Akai MPK25 midi controller, the smallest of the Akai MPK series of midi controller/keyboard/MPC drum pad/trigger. This is a feature packed controller and promises a lot but does it live up to it's creators repretation?