AKAI Professional LPD8 - USB MIDI Controller with 8 Responsive RGB MPC Drum Pads for Mac and PC, 8 Assignable Knobs and Music Production Software

The pads feel great and work flawlessly. Product is solid with good weight. Doesnt move around when used. Great for use with Logic software.

Software not too bad, thing is fun.

This is a solid and useful piece of gear. Feet have a nice grip. Knobs and pads feel good. Size is perfect. My only real complaint is with the programability.The program editor and innate design holds back a lot of customization. I was using a NI Maschine and that could be setup to do just about anything, regardless if the controls are for buttons, pads, or knobs. AKAI's customization is very limited in its scope. For example, I would love to be able to have half the pads trigger keys and others control MIDI CC, but you can only choose one or the other. The worst, thing, I think, is the fact that the LPD8 can only store 4 presets. Really? I also have the AKAI MPK Mini Play Mk3 (which I love to death) and that can store 8 presets, one for each pad! Come on...the LPD8 has the same number of pads and so it COULD trigger 8 unique presets like the MPK Mini Play, if the software allowed it. Speaking of software, contrary to other reviews, I have had no issues using the LPD8 or the Program Editor app with my Mac mini, running Sonoma 14.2. Just make sure you're using the Program Editor for the mk2 version of the controller, if you bought the new model.On a side note, I bought my LPD8 from Amazon Warehouse. No obvious signs of previous use, so it was essentially brand new. However, it didn't come with the original box, or any box, if I remember correctly. Just the tray that the LPD8 sits in, along with the USB cable and paper literature. All this wrapped in plastic. No issues, though, since this was part of a larger box with other items.Overall, I am happy. I can work around my gripes. The ability to assign custom colors to the pads is pretty nice.

I've had issues with inexpensive Akai gear in the past, so I bought this LPD8 with a bit of trepidation. But after several months of use, I am super pleased with its performance. Though the software available to program it is quite basic and not well documented, it isn't really hard to figure out. The controls are consistent and operate smoothly. Construction quality is very good overall. The small size fits very nicely above the keys on a StudioLogic SL73 and allows me to toggle patches and channels on and off and adjust synth params while I perform with Mainstage. The only missing feature that would make this unit perfect is Bluetooth MIDI and a rechargable battery inside, so that it could be operated without a cable.

I have a bunch of MIDI controllers, including some rather high-end ones (Ableton Push2, I'm looking at you!) The playability, sensitivity, and reliability of these pads are -- and I'm not exaggerating -- the best of the lot! How Akai does this at such an inexpensive price point is really remarkable.The utility for configuring the controls is also quite useful, although many people will be able to use this right out of the box.Seriously peeps, when I'm sitting in the middle of my Push2, Arturia Minilab3 and Keylab mkii, and Novation LaunchKey it's my LPD8 that I go to for doing my drum loops. Crazy! The control knobs are icing on the cake.I'd give this thing 10 stars if I could!

Awesome

I’ve had this for about a year now and it’s just an overall frustrating unit. On the surface it looks ideal. 8 pressure sensitive pads and 8 encoders that can be programmed to control anything in your DAW. However it has two big problems.1) The pads are just terrible. They are incredibly stiff and hitting them hard only registers about a 40 or 50 MIDI velocity. There is simply no give and the feel is bad.2) The software is what you’d expect from a device in 1999, not 2025. The software had to be designed and fully developed in a day, the terminology used is not clear and has caused me to have to reprogram it several times.If it had more modern software, or the pads were better, it would be a great tool. It is unfortunately not the right one for me.