What is a midi drum pad that works well with the percussion sounds

Ian27_

I have AR1 and AR Low Percussion and I would like to buy a midi drum pad to trigger the percussion sounds within these libraries. I was wondering if anyone knew of any sample pads ($100-$300) that are compatible with spitfire libraries, I would like a drum pad that doesn't run into the hit registration issues and unresponsiveness that some have with spitfire vsts when using a midi sample pad.

Morgan

Hello @Ian27_, thanks for your question! We have not designed our drum libraries with pad controllers in mind, per se. Rather, we have designed them so that percussion can be played on the keyboard which is a popular method of input as I'm sure you know. That said, you can certainly use a pad controller with our libraries but it may take some setup to get going. I personally use a Native Instruments Maschine Mk3 for percussion at times; to do this, I simply turn on MIDI mode and change the octave so that the notes I want can be played on the pads. NI sells an entry-level model of the same controller called the Maschine Mikro which is just as excellent. This is of course a workaround, there might be an easier way that I'm not aware of but this method works great for my workflow in particular. Happy New Year, and cheers!

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/maschine/production-systems/maschine-mikro/

Ian27_

Hmm, my purpose for using a drum pad was so I could use drum sticks to play rolls and other complicated rhythms that would otherwise be too complicated to play on a key board.

Morgan

Hello @Ian27_, I misunderstood your original message, apologies! When it comes to drum controllers, I am not experienced enough to provide a comprehensive answer. You might try checking on VI Control; someone there may have an answer! Hopefully that helps a little :)

stiltzwaffles

Sorry for late response, but for what it’s worth I haven’t been able to successfully trigger any of the LABS drums/percussion using my Alesis Nitro or my KAD drum pads. I tried everything, even did about a month of back-and-forth troubleshooting with the developers (who tried their best and were always quick to respond), but to this day the same issues remain and I had to go elsewhere. Just want to save you the money of buying pads if you were planning to use them for this.