I have seen some discussion similar to this but thought it was different enough. I am primarily a drummer and found myself really wanting to play the Model:Cycles on the pads, but obviously they are VERY far from ideal for this. I haven’t done much dedicated finger drumming. I don’t use a computer in any way for music making, so I want a finger drumming pad that I can use 100% with no computer. I will also only be using this for drumming – it doesn’t need ANY knobs or extra effects like sequencing. What I am doing is generally fairly basic, so I want velocity obviously, but don’t need the cream of the crop and would prefer a budget option that basically gets the job done. Bonus but not necessary if it’s viable to play it with sticks – I used to have a nord drum 3 and that would have been perfect.
I am very dumb when it comes to connecting gear, and make most of my music using one piece of gear at a time. My understanding is that some controllers require USB midi connections, and I’m not sure if Model:Cycles can accommodate that. Anyways, any ideas are welcome.
Ideally, I’d like to spend $200 or less and am fine with used gear.
Just for your own sake you should add a note about what your actual budget is, or the first thing someone will say is “buy another nord drum 3” or something which may not be appropriate for your current situation.
As far as USB midi, the model cycles isn’t a host device so that means you either need to use it with a computer, or with a standalone host device in the middle in order to accommodate USB midi controllers.
It’s not impossible to do, but it adds an extra expense and a bit of inconvenience. I have a korg nanopad2 that I occasionally use with my digitakt with a USB midi host device in between them, but for your purposes. I probably wouldn’t recommend the korg unit (and I would hesitate to recommend using a standalone host unless you are really sold on one particular USB midi controller).
I probably wouldn’t want to make any recommendations without knowing what you want to invest in this, just because it won’t really help to recommend something top tier no matter how good it is if it’s not a piece of equipment you can afford to invest in.
Thanks for your reply – just added my budget, which is around $200. So far, it seems like the Arturia Beatstep (non pro edition) is one of the few options that has what I need at that price point, but I’m such a newbie when it comes to connectivity that I need to do more digging.
I think the yamaha finger drum controller is USB midi only (actually, just confirmed that it is).
You could score a secondhand beatstep pro for sub $200. I think for your connectivity preference that’s a good direction to look in, or the regular beatstep as you mentioned but BSP is a better value for functionality. Not sure how it will work with actual drumsticks but you could always give it a try.
If you are really into the idea of playing it with drumsticks I might consider looking for an Alesis “controlpad”. I don’t think you can buy them new anymore, but it has the physical midi connectivity and is a velocity pad controller geared towards drummers. Should be within your budget.
I’m sure there are others which would fit the bill but honestly, a lot of them are USB midi only, so it comes down to a choice of whether you want simple connectivity or to be tied to a second box.
Awesome, thank you! USB midi is a definite no-go unless somehow the deal is really perfect. I don’t have a personal computer so although I can set things up on a computer as a one-time thing, I can’t actually use a computer while playing the music at all. Used Beatstep pro will probably be my option, but I’ll think about it. Thank you.
Yeah, no worries. Arturia (like most) has software you might need (or just want) to use once to configure your controller for your needs but that also may not be completely necessary.
Someone else might have some other suggestions but I think the beatstep or beatstep pro are going to be the simplest way to get what you want without doing anything too complicated or overstepping your budget.
I’d go with a second hand Korg Padkontrol. Heard its got a very good response for finger drumming and it has DIN MIDI, so you can just plug a TRS-DIN MIDI cable to it and you’re set
