Daymo
ILLIEN
ill o.g.
I’ve been thinking about getting either an MPD-16 or and Trigger Finger for triggering samples, drum programming etc and was at a loss as to which one of the two I should go for. I found this very handy comparison over at www.studio-central.com written by a guy called Megatron and I thought I’d post it here for anyone else who is currently wondering about the difference between the two units.
This review is not written by myself but copied and pasted in it’s entirety:
“so i did it. i wasn't sure which one to get, so i got both. i intend to send the loser of this battle back to the retailer in shame! llllet's get ready to rrrrrrummmble!
ROUND I price point comparison
the akai lists at around $250. the trigger finger, on the other hand, lists at or around $200.
WINNER: M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER
ROUND II ease of setup
oh MAN. the akai was a nightmare to set up. the manual that it came with looks like some 12-year old ran it off on a xerox machine, complete with toner smudges and a hasty staple job. the "driver disk" that it comes bundled with couldn't drive its way out of a wet paper bag. completely useless, and it started up in OS 9 on my powerbook G4. hello? is there anyone out there still using OS 9 for audio? then the "akai mpd16 editor" tells me that there is no device connected *ton looks down* nope, it's connected alright. so the editor doesn't work either. there is a small section in the "read me" that mentions if you are running OSX you need to go to this and this URL and download this and that. did that. okay. now at least the computer recognizes the stupid thing. unfortunately, for some reason i cannot get the data slider and the pads to function simultaneously. it appears i must choose between slider and pads. lame. and while i freely admit that a more adroit computer user than myself could have probably easily circumvented these issues, my point is that i shouldn't have to. in this day and age of class-compliant devices, i figure everything better [darn] well be plug-n-play.
The Trigger Finger on the other hand was a breeze to set up. um, plug in the USB cable provided. done. for those of you on wintel platforms, it's a little more extensive than that (but that's what you get for choosing an inferior machine lol). the included enigma librarian software allows for a virtually unlimited number of user-defined presets that can be loaded onto the unit with the click of a button. this is verrrry convenient, allowing me to only have to program my favorite kits once, save them, and that's it. it takes less than five seconds to switch saved maps. i'm still trying to get all the pads on the mpd16 to work. the trigger finger clearly blows the mpd16 out of the water in this department, allowing for gleeful thumping within minutes of pulling the thing out of the box; as opposed to hours of generally surly behavior and cursing the software engineers at akai for packaging such a bogus driver disk.
WINNER: M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER
ROUND III quality of construction
let's face it. akai didn't get to be king of the drumpad hill by producing crappy pads. the unit itself has the surface area of about the size of a two-subject spiral notebook, and is a wedge shape about 5cm at the thick and, and 1.5cm at the narrow end. the pads feel fantastic. i mean, they feel great. and i've never used an MPC product before, nor ever felt their pads. the pads on the M-Audio Trigger Finger feel slightly smushy in comparison, and the trigger mechanism itself feels like they didn't quite get it. but the midi values generated (made visible by the large bright green digital display) appeared consistent. since the akai only has one slider, i will simply say it feels okay. a little more solid than the four sliders on the trigger finger. the buttons on the akai are small and click like old ti calculator buttons. the buttons on the trigger finger, however, are large and give a good solid click when depressed. the knobs on the trigger finger, though numerous, feel very plasticky. those of you who own an ozone or oxgen 8 - the knobs are not made from the same tacky rubber but rather a fairly cheap feeling plastic. the Trigger Finger felt more stable to me when lying flat on a table, although this may or may not have something to do with the fact that the unit is just about the size of a 15" powerbook all around... the akai had a tendency to shimmy around during playing, while the trigger finger stayed stubbornly in place. in all, i have to give this round to the akai - simply due to the fact that they've been doing this for the last two decades and must have gotten something right. also, those pads just feel great.
WINNER: AKAI MPD16
ROUND IV number of features and bundled bonuses
there is no contest here whatsoever. both units have only three ports: a plug for an optional power adapter, USB out, and MIDI out.
the akai's best feature is, of course, the pads. the slider is a pretty standard slider. the only thing that comes bundled with the akai is the aforementioned useless coaster of a driver disk that includes the supposedly-functional-but-in-reality-useless mpd16 editor.
the trigger finger, on the other hand, has a large green easy-to-read display for checking note values, midi values, etc. it also has eight assignable knobs. and four sliders. and four great big buttons. the trigger finger also comes bundled with the enigma librarian software which makes swapping MIDI maps quick and painless, not only for the trigger finger but for other m-audio control surfaces as well. the trigger finger also comes bundled with ableton live lite 4, which gets you a pared-down version of ableton's soft sequencer as well as a link for $100 off your purchase of the full version ($120 off if you download it). pretty cool. the trigger finger also comes with full .pdf versions of its user manual, as well as a little quick start guide to help you get going.
WINNER: M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER
so on a scale of one to ten, one being the worst and ten the best, it breaks down kinda like this:
price point: akai 8, trigger finger 9
ease of set up: akai 2, trigger finger 9
quality of construction: akai 8, trigger finger 5
number of features: akai 3, trigger finger 7
so ladies and gentlemen... with a combined score of 30 points, a total of 9 points higher than the Akai MPD16... with a total of 1 victory, by TKO, i give you the (kinda) undisputed champeen of the USB MIDI drum pad device-controller-thingies... the
**********M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER**********
(the crowd goes wild, knocking over chairs in an attempt to get at megaton's throat, with cries of "traitor!" and "blasphemer!" megaton ducks out the back with his Trigger Finger, leaving the mpd16 to be scooped up by some kid)
seriously. m-audio should pay me for this stuff.
*bear in mind this is an amateur review. if you don't like it, i don't wanna hear about it*”
This review is not written by myself but copied and pasted in it’s entirety:
“so i did it. i wasn't sure which one to get, so i got both. i intend to send the loser of this battle back to the retailer in shame! llllet's get ready to rrrrrrummmble!
ROUND I price point comparison
the akai lists at around $250. the trigger finger, on the other hand, lists at or around $200.
WINNER: M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER
ROUND II ease of setup
oh MAN. the akai was a nightmare to set up. the manual that it came with looks like some 12-year old ran it off on a xerox machine, complete with toner smudges and a hasty staple job. the "driver disk" that it comes bundled with couldn't drive its way out of a wet paper bag. completely useless, and it started up in OS 9 on my powerbook G4. hello? is there anyone out there still using OS 9 for audio? then the "akai mpd16 editor" tells me that there is no device connected *ton looks down* nope, it's connected alright. so the editor doesn't work either. there is a small section in the "read me" that mentions if you are running OSX you need to go to this and this URL and download this and that. did that. okay. now at least the computer recognizes the stupid thing. unfortunately, for some reason i cannot get the data slider and the pads to function simultaneously. it appears i must choose between slider and pads. lame. and while i freely admit that a more adroit computer user than myself could have probably easily circumvented these issues, my point is that i shouldn't have to. in this day and age of class-compliant devices, i figure everything better [darn] well be plug-n-play.
The Trigger Finger on the other hand was a breeze to set up. um, plug in the USB cable provided. done. for those of you on wintel platforms, it's a little more extensive than that (but that's what you get for choosing an inferior machine lol). the included enigma librarian software allows for a virtually unlimited number of user-defined presets that can be loaded onto the unit with the click of a button. this is verrrry convenient, allowing me to only have to program my favorite kits once, save them, and that's it. it takes less than five seconds to switch saved maps. i'm still trying to get all the pads on the mpd16 to work. the trigger finger clearly blows the mpd16 out of the water in this department, allowing for gleeful thumping within minutes of pulling the thing out of the box; as opposed to hours of generally surly behavior and cursing the software engineers at akai for packaging such a bogus driver disk.
WINNER: M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER
ROUND III quality of construction
let's face it. akai didn't get to be king of the drumpad hill by producing crappy pads. the unit itself has the surface area of about the size of a two-subject spiral notebook, and is a wedge shape about 5cm at the thick and, and 1.5cm at the narrow end. the pads feel fantastic. i mean, they feel great. and i've never used an MPC product before, nor ever felt their pads. the pads on the M-Audio Trigger Finger feel slightly smushy in comparison, and the trigger mechanism itself feels like they didn't quite get it. but the midi values generated (made visible by the large bright green digital display) appeared consistent. since the akai only has one slider, i will simply say it feels okay. a little more solid than the four sliders on the trigger finger. the buttons on the akai are small and click like old ti calculator buttons. the buttons on the trigger finger, however, are large and give a good solid click when depressed. the knobs on the trigger finger, though numerous, feel very plasticky. those of you who own an ozone or oxgen 8 - the knobs are not made from the same tacky rubber but rather a fairly cheap feeling plastic. the Trigger Finger felt more stable to me when lying flat on a table, although this may or may not have something to do with the fact that the unit is just about the size of a 15" powerbook all around... the akai had a tendency to shimmy around during playing, while the trigger finger stayed stubbornly in place. in all, i have to give this round to the akai - simply due to the fact that they've been doing this for the last two decades and must have gotten something right. also, those pads just feel great.
WINNER: AKAI MPD16
ROUND IV number of features and bundled bonuses
there is no contest here whatsoever. both units have only three ports: a plug for an optional power adapter, USB out, and MIDI out.
the akai's best feature is, of course, the pads. the slider is a pretty standard slider. the only thing that comes bundled with the akai is the aforementioned useless coaster of a driver disk that includes the supposedly-functional-but-in-reality-useless mpd16 editor.
the trigger finger, on the other hand, has a large green easy-to-read display for checking note values, midi values, etc. it also has eight assignable knobs. and four sliders. and four great big buttons. the trigger finger also comes bundled with the enigma librarian software which makes swapping MIDI maps quick and painless, not only for the trigger finger but for other m-audio control surfaces as well. the trigger finger also comes bundled with ableton live lite 4, which gets you a pared-down version of ableton's soft sequencer as well as a link for $100 off your purchase of the full version ($120 off if you download it). pretty cool. the trigger finger also comes with full .pdf versions of its user manual, as well as a little quick start guide to help you get going.
WINNER: M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER
so on a scale of one to ten, one being the worst and ten the best, it breaks down kinda like this:
price point: akai 8, trigger finger 9
ease of set up: akai 2, trigger finger 9
quality of construction: akai 8, trigger finger 5
number of features: akai 3, trigger finger 7
so ladies and gentlemen... with a combined score of 30 points, a total of 9 points higher than the Akai MPD16... with a total of 1 victory, by TKO, i give you the (kinda) undisputed champeen of the USB MIDI drum pad device-controller-thingies... the
**********M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER**********
(the crowd goes wild, knocking over chairs in an attempt to get at megaton's throat, with cries of "traitor!" and "blasphemer!" megaton ducks out the back with his Trigger Finger, leaving the mpd16 to be scooped up by some kid)
seriously. m-audio should pay me for this stuff.
*bear in mind this is an amateur review. if you don't like it, i don't wanna hear about it*”