Why don’t any of the keyboard controllers have pads?

LilTrizzyTreezy
LilTrizzyTreezy Member Posts: 4 Member
edited March 2022 in Komplete Kontrol

Most controllers nowadays fit pads whether 8 pads (budget keyboards) or 16 pads (high end keyboards) on their controllers to fit the new younger demographic and NI has yet to do that so I was wondering why it doesn’t.

Best Answer

  • Olihop
    Olihop Member Posts: 152 Advisor
    edited March 2022 Answer ✓

    Indeed, many nks instruments and users of their keyboards would benefit from it. It would be a good thing. Now will they do it or will they continue with the argument: if you want pads buy a maschine...

    in any case there is room for more

Answers

  • Olihop
    Olihop Member Posts: 152 Advisor
    edited March 2022 Answer ✓

    Indeed, many nks instruments and users of their keyboards would benefit from it. It would be a good thing. Now will they do it or will they continue with the argument: if you want pads buy a maschine...

    in any case there is room for more

  • LilTrizzyTreezy
    LilTrizzyTreezy Member Posts: 4 Member

    Yeah I figured that getting a Maschine is an alternative but I was just wondering why not just bundle them up.

  • Olihop
    Olihop Member Posts: 152 Advisor

    I think that economically, keeping two separate products is better for them.

    Apart from being able to trigger sounds, the presence of pads could bring additional functions like navigating through the different pages of instruments and other banks. When you have the parameters of a massive for example mapped on 16 pages it becomes complicated to navigate only with the right and left arrows.

  • JesterMgee
    JesterMgee Member Posts: 2,531 Expert

    Usually because Pads are considered a gimmick / useless idea on keyboards.

    Possibly for the younger kids but as you start to find, pads in a keyboard have far less sensitivity and expression than a decently built pad controller. This is because most pad based controllers have large metal backplanes and very thick pads so as to take a hammering and offer good velocity ranges down to very light taps.

    Keyboards are limited in space for all this and adding pads adds to the cost which many would rather not pay. Sure in some cases they can be useful, but honestly something like a Korg nanoPad will fit the bill if needed and would probably work better.

Back To Top