Mini MIDI Battle: KORG VS. AKAI
In the battle for portable MIDI controllers that will fit in front of your laptop and not bust your budget, there are 2 clear contenders: the Korg NanoSeries and the new Akai Laptop Series of controllers. To help you decide which controller might be the strongest, we pit them against each other in a battle of performance. Read on to learn who won our mini MIDI prize fight.
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT
Akai LPK25 Vs. Korg NanoKey
Tale of the Tape
Round 1: Build Quality
Both controllers can take a beating, but the aesthetic choices of the LPK25 make it a much more attractive and robust-looking controller. The extra height also means you might actually be taken seriously playing on the keys, while the nano key is truly a glorified computer keyboard with large black and white keys.
Round 2: Features
The LPK boasts one of the only clear features of these minimal devices. Its equipped with a fully-functional arpeggiator with tap tempo, 4 types of arpeggiation and 8 different note values. The NanoKey is the only keyboard with pitch bend capacity, and both have the ability to move up or down the full octave range. The LPK has a sustain button for great expression, while the Nano has a mod button for single-direction modulation.
Both controllers boast velocity sensitivity, but just as with the pads, the accuracy of that sensitivity is very different on each of these controllers. The Akai keyboard has a clear range of velocities, making it easy to play soft or loud notes, while I found it impossible get the Korg to play anything lower than 40% velocity.
Round 3: Performance
The key difference in performance is the keyboard layout and feel of each controller. The Akai is obviously structured in a more traditional keyboard layout and does look and feel like a real keyboard, including the ability to naturally play chords, which is significantly more difficult on the NanoKey. The NanoKey on the other hand has the same key action as a typical laptop keyboard. It’s responsive, but hardly the feel you want while playing a musical keyboard. For $40 street price, the NanoKey is a decent value, and an inexpensive way to get a mini keyboard, but a $20 bump in price on the Akai LPK25 provides what I’d judge to be a 200% increase in performance.
Winner
This was an easy fight to predict from the outset, as the smaller and less robust NanoKey got seriously beat up by the larger and more mature LPK25. Both controllers offer an inexpensive and portable way to get a MIDI keyboard but only one — the LPK — actually gets the job done.
TITLE FIGHT
Akai LPD8 VS. Korg NanoPad
The Tale of the Tape
Round 1: Build Quality
The LPD8 wins this round hands down. Even though they are both plastic controllers, the Akai feels like it will take more of a beating, and the pads are more sturdy and playable. Even the knobs on the LPD — although short — felt like they could take some serious turning. My biggest gripe with the NanoPad is the X/Y pad, which over time became defective. Hard button presses or pressure would send eratic data from the X/Y pad, even if my hand was nowhere near it.
Round 2: Features
The combination of an X/Y pad and 12 pads is a nice layout for controllerism and cue-point juggling. Without 6 pads per deck, it would have been hard for me to pull off my popular we will rock you routine on YouTube. The LPD8, while lacking the fun-to-play-with X/Y, comes back with a nice punch of its own: 8 knobs for greater analog control and flexibility. It’s a toss up on which feature set is really better. For sampler playback and volume control in Serato Scratch Live, the LPD8 is a clear winner, but for 5 cue points and a play toggle, the NanoPad is nearly perfect.
While both controllers profess to have velocity sensitiviy, the Nano’s velocity is not very playable and really only offers mid and high ranges. The LPD8 offers a much truer velocity range, with sensitivity down in the lowest values.
The LPD8 also features an interesting feature called CC mode, where you can play 8 analog CC’s with the pads — offering a creative way to work with FX through the pads.
Round 3: Performance
Performance is synonymous with joy of use and reliability, and in both of these departments the Akai really shines. The backlit pads light up orange when you strike them and are a lot of fun to play. They are also MIDI programable, so you can get LED feedback for things like stored loops, cue points or active FX. The Nano’s pads are firm and playable, but don’t have the same feel or size as the LD8, which are comparable to most of the other Akai pad products. The 8 knobs, while not full size, were remarkably playable and sturdy for such a low-profile product. Korg attempted the same thing on its NanoKontrol, and had much less impressive results. The only drawback of knobs with a low height is that they can only be manipulated with the finger tips — not with the full fingers. This results in a tweak-able feel and not a real performance action.
The X/Y pad on the Nano is a lot of fun to play with, and when applied to FX creates great results. Unfortunately my X/Y pad has been basically rendered useless by continuing manufacturing defects which send out random data and mess up the mix, making the X/Y pad a nice tool to look at but not to use.
Winner
Korg’s NanoPad really struck gold with the idea of small, inexpensive controllers that are portable and easy to use. However, Akai has come in late in the game and really stolen the show with a much better-quality controller that is a clear winner in 2 out of 3 rounds. With the prices basically the same, its an easy choice to go with the more robust and significantly more attractive Akai LPD8.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:12 am Quote
The Akais do kick quite a bit of butt. (that’s a tech term, ya’ll)
October 28th, 2009 at 1:06 am Quote
My korg ones broke within a few months~ the inside connector of the USB got stuffed up and now its not working. AKAI ones have been awesome so far! True, we could use a bit more buttons~ but as it is akai lpd8 is pretty purrfect
oh and by the way anyone know if theres any custom Pots for these? Would love to take off the stock knobs and swap them for bigger ones
October 28th, 2009 at 1:38 am Quote
Well… no surprise the Akai won. The product was already there, they just had to make it better, wich wasnt that hard. So to say Im still pretty much in love with my NanoKOntrol :)
October 28th, 2009 at 1:50 am Quote
I have the Nanopad and i have to say its great so far =)
October 28th, 2009 at 1:59 am Quote
Too well!
excellent comparison.
Ean u have the best dj’s blog in the planet!
without question!
I’m thinking to buy the 2 akai’s.
you think?
October 28th, 2009 at 1:59 am Quote
I’m totally buying a pad for this weekend, and chopping up some DAFT PUNK!
October 28th, 2009 at 2:29 am Quote
If just the LPK25 had more buttons…. I got a Nanopad but my X-Y is also pretty much useless (it *could* be so much fun for FX). Now if Akai got an LPK out with 8 buttons in a row (even 6 would do), I’d buy it in a heartbeat… I’d be perfectly happy even with a direct clone of the Nanopad, just really fully and reliably working :( (notebook trackpads work for years without failure)
October 28th, 2009 at 2:42 am Quote
:( (notebook trackpads work for years without failure)
October 28th, 2009 at 3:22 am Quote
Well, what hasn’t been mentioned: the nanoKEY can send control data on each key – that is certainly very useful, indeed. I like the keys of the Akai controller since they are almost like real keys. But I hate that the piece of gear is sooo thick. It really makes it ugly.
The nanoPAD is great to use with live to control the FXs – just like a KAOSS-pad.
What is missing in a way: the nanoKONTROL. The combination of all three pieces give you more functions than the two Akais.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:18 am Quote
When I get my lpd 8 I’m deffinitly going to see if I can replace those knobs for something more robust!
The lpd 8 is deffinitly the winner not to mention it will look super sexy under my vci 100 se :) Has sort of the same colour scheme going on. Now if DJ techtools could just make some super intuitive mapping for the lpd 8, maybe to utilize the two new extra effect banks in traktor…hint hint, Or maybe i could just make on myself haha. I was thinking of a mapping that could contain just single button control for short loops on the fly and some beat jump functionality. Some extra features that arent on the vci 100 se.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:45 am Quote
Hi guys, great post.
What about the nano kontrol.
I love my bcr2000 and Im looking for something with some faders and a Xfader not too big.
Any suggestions?
October 28th, 2009 at 5:50 am Quote
the akai pad looks perfect as an FX controller for TPRO – an on/off button, 3 parameter toggles, d/w and then 3 parameter knobs. perfect.
October 28th, 2009 at 6:07 am Quote
I ordered e few minutes a go… hope to have it tomorrow, so that I can begin with the mapping this weekend. Of course, i will share it with you… :)
EAN KEEP ON!! You are a pioneer!!
October 28th, 2009 at 6:07 am Quote
October 28th, 2009 at 6:35 am Quote
As you would expect i guess, the korg nano pad hasn’t the best build quality, 2 of the pads on mine don’t work anymore or when they do they work when they choose, kinda get loose and out of place after time…
October 28th, 2009 at 7:43 am Quote
f*ck the VFX-1 i’m going to pick up one of the LPD’s for 1/4 of the price!
October 28th, 2009 at 9:28 am Quote
I have been looking for a good button pad type controller. I want merge together, a bunch of samples into one mp3 file, then set cue points within each file that associates each button to certain cue point; thus making a make shift sampler within in Traktor using Decks C + D….
October 28th, 2009 at 9:45 am Quote
i have a question. with the akai’s, do they come with some type of editing software like the korg’s do? i think they call it korg kontrol or something. do the akai’s only send on midi channel 1? or is able to be changed?
cuz what if some folks want to get an lpd8 to use for effects in conjunction with whatever controller they already have, only to find the midi msg’s overlap on each device…
i didn’t see this brought up or mentioned yet, so i thought i’d ask.
October 28th, 2009 at 10:11 am Quote
The midi-channel can be assigned per Preset.
I reviewed the Akai LPD25 earlier also mentioning the software.
See here:
http://en.www.ali.dj/akai-lpd8-review/
October 28th, 2009 at 10:49 am Quote
too funny Ean! my nanopad just started acting stupid last night. This will be the SECOND one to break in one year.
However I must say that Korg is pretty great about replacements as long as you keep your receipt. They actually sent me a brand new nanoPad as a free replacement, and didn’t even ask me for the old one back.
I have a confession though. I am a shady bastard. I totally swapped out the guts of a new nanoPAD I purchased at GC with the guts of the old nanoPAD that was broken. So now I have two nanoPADs for the price of one, but the newer one is breaking now too…. =(
i guess I deserved it for being shady, but then again I originally purchased a product that is MEANT TO BE HIT. shouldn’t it work longer than a few months?
i’m going to wait on buying the Akai pads to see just how long they last. How long have you really had the Akai LPD8 to test it’s quality?
October 28th, 2009 at 12:58 pm Quote
For fifty quid the LPD 8 really is a steal for a controller:).
October 28th, 2009 at 1:03 pm Quote
Interesting article but I’m still waiting for more Traktor Pro tips/tricks.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:12 pm Quote
Thanks for this one. I’ve been trying to decide between the LPD8 and the nanoPad.
Pretty much confirms the direction that I was leaning in.
I’m pretty harsh on most hardware, so I think that if there are any durability issues at all, I’m better off leaning toward the more robust option. Definitely would prefer to have the extra pads, over the rotaries, but I can live with it. Actually, the CV mode seems quite useful for some of the stuff that I do already with the controller I have.
October 28th, 2009 at 2:13 pm Quote
Just ordered my Akai LPD8 can’t wait to play with it!
October 28th, 2009 at 3:48 pm Quote
whoops…that didn’t make sense ^^^
what i meant was I swapped out the guts of my broken nanoPAD with a new nanoPAD i purchased from GC, and then I returned the broken one and got my money back. shady, but effective.
October 28th, 2009 at 9:26 pm Quote
Fantastic comparisons. Have not used the Akai, however, the reputation of the company is legendary to say the least, and it seems the new midi boards are going to be setting more standards for others to build and improve upon. Looking forward to great new midi mapping guides for the LPD8 in the near future. Thanks Ean!
October 28th, 2009 at 11:21 pm Quote
Wish the Akai had more buttons, though. 8 is simply not enough for me.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:46 am Quote
thanks for this – was just about to replace my KORG nanopad because it broke after about half a year of sporadic use. Half the pads hang (notes that won’t stop playing) or don’t respond at all anymore!
The XY pad is fine though, so it’s now functioning as pitchbend/vibrato for my midikeyboard which lacks those 2 controls..
Anyway – gotta check out the Akai now.
jay
October 29th, 2009 at 1:05 am Quote
I dont have any issues with my nanopad (Ok Im lying, I find myself having to unplug it from time to time to reset it, but it doesnt hinder my performance. I really love using the x/y pad, AKAI needs to come up with something like that to really compete) NanoPad/Kontrol with Hercules RmX is a solid combo of midi controllers. If and when I get a VCI then I wont miss the nanopad as much since I have touch sensitive jogs to perform a similar behavior.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:20 am Quote
i reckon djtechtools should do an article on how to best map the LPD8 with traktor!
at the moment i use it like this:
Pad 1-8 : Hot cues 1-4 Deck A and Hot Cues 1-4 Deck B
Knob 1: FX wet/dry. Left FX Unit
Knob 2: Effect 1 amount
Knob 3: Effect 2 amount
Knob 4: Effect 3 amount
Knobs 5-8 : SAME but for RIGHT FX UNIT
CC1 – SHIFT (hold down and rotate knob 2/3/4 to change effects
CC2 – Effect 1 on/off Left Deck
CC3 – Effect 2 on/off
CC4 – Effect 3 on/off
CC 5-8 : SAME but for Right Deck
Im sure there are better ways to map the lpd8 than this? Anyone wanna share how they use their LPD8?
Too bad they dont fit more knobs in! Would love to have FILTER Easily accessible at anytime on a dedicated knob for both decks!
October 29th, 2009 at 6:51 am Quote
Sweet article Ean :) I have been waiting for a comparison on these devices!
October 29th, 2009 at 7:07 am Quote
I have owned all the Korg Nano stuff. I liked the idea and the size but the quality was pretty poor.
I thing the NanoKontrol had a better quality than it’s counter parts.
The NanoKey was great for extra “buttons” but a few of mine broke and I wasn,t even mashing hard on em.
I was excited about the Akai stuff before it was released. When I saw them in the store the LPK seemed ugly and bulky at the bottom. The LPD just seemed to lack pads.
Then I saw this and forgot all about NanoKeys and LPKs.
http://www.miditech.de/images/2008/i2series/GarageKey-klein.jpg
And the idea of Arcade mods seems much more attractive than a Mididrum pad to me.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:05 pm Quote
just got the lpd8 couple days ago. (sold after reading this article)
i love it but
to be honest, i have tried a few mappings for it but im still having trouble getting it to work with my vci 100 (arcade). anyone else having the same probs? any feedback would be great.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:04 am Quote
Can’t wait to buy LPD8.
Idea for ableton users (launchpad comarative) LPD16 which would be double height: 16 pads, same 8 pots, x/y pad and navigate buttons or more pots/encoders.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:11 am Quote
Just wait about 1 month and you will get the mid figher which is exactly that! W/O an XY though
:)
October 30th, 2009 at 7:28 pm Quote
Ean,
I know it’s been said already but this site is ace for digital dj’s.
I was toiling with my budget over a nano kontrol or a nano pad??? Along comes the Akai LPD8, wicked a bit of both worlds, perfect for live FX control & loops. Just bought one and I cant wait to get my grubby hands on it Mwaha-ha!
November 1st, 2009 at 11:35 am Quote
the lpd8 is quite possibly the perfect controller to control fx if you’re a dvs user.
November 1st, 2009 at 5:39 pm Quote
Can you guys put up your affiliate link at Amazon with these reviews? I’m going to buy some gear because of you, you might as well get a little scratch.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:26 am Quote
The AKAI ones really are a whole lot better because the Keys Korg uses are seriously toys.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:11 pm Quote
oh man now im excited! new product?!
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:48 am Quote
should be great to make the same comparison Dj-Tech i-Mix Reload against Vestax VCI-100 …. EAN, pls let me have yr adress , i am going to send you onr Free of charge , from HONG KONG , if you accept to make that comparison , YOUR CALL now.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:49 am Quote
I really like the look of the LPD8. It’s a massive shame that there is no indicator to tell you which bank/preset you are in, though… :-(
November 9th, 2009 at 11:31 am Quote
>Just wait about 1 month and you will get the mid figher which is exactly that! W/O an XY though
:)
Ummm…Ean can you please explain/elaborate? What is “mid figher” ??
November 9th, 2009 at 5:59 pm Quote
THE NANOKONTROL TRUMPS THEM ALL!!!
More buttons, faders, and scenes…
November 10th, 2009 at 6:33 pm Quote
I agree this site is bad ass.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:46 am Quote
OK I have have it around a week, software not that intuative to use, although u will work it out eventually, actually pretty good; I was just feeling a lil special at the time.
However, using this for FX/Loop control in traktor scratch duo is amazing (want to upgrade now ha ha), dual and triple, or even all six chained fx at once if your really feeling mental. Mapping in “LEARN’ mode couldnt be easier, just remember to export your final mappings and keep them safe!!
I have mine set up to control fx on page 1 with 2 pads for modifiers(shift keys, if you think about it its almost another 12 pads controls!) which allows me to use corresponding pads plus a modifier to select a different effect, loops & hot cues on page 2 again modifiers double the functions of pads here, cue/cup/play on page 3 and browse /load /sync on page 4. As far as scene indicators go, it lights up when you hit prog button, if you aint gonna change the scene or just wanted a heads up, just hit pad select again and return to your mix. You do kinda have to remember what controls u assigned and where. Practice makes perfect tho!!!I probably wont be using it much in internal mix mode as I use TS duo (way more fun!!).
Knobs are for fx parameters and sizes or loops or browse control. I played with settings in TS MIDI mapper eg sensitivity etc and I felt direct contols were fine. The rotary knobs are short, but I actually reckon if you swap them out you will wear the device’s solder points quicker as you will increase the leverage forces, keeping them short means you cant slam them 2 hard or accidentally damage them quite as easily. It also means u have to be precise, which should be important to anybody’s mix.
Anyway for 45 squid I its a well built, solid little masterpiece. A no nonsense launchpad thats portable and reliable. I love it, C’mon Akai!!! YAAS
November 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm Quote
I have been using the korg for a few weeks along my new vci 1000 and I love it. Pads feel right, size i cool, and the xy controller is really handful. A bit plasticky yes…. but what else can you ask for that price?
As a personal opinion I prefer having bigger and more pads than knobs on that controller because I have all the knobs I need in the vci. I also think it’s better to keep things separated. Knobs on the vci, and cue point fx control on the nanopad. But yeah, that is personal taste.
November 14th, 2009 at 12:17 pm Quote
Ooops…. I have just revealed I came from the future along my vci 1000. Haha!
No, really, just a typo error… booh
November 20th, 2009 at 8:33 pm Quote
how do you have it mapped.
i still cant seem to get it right.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:27 pm Quote
Thank you for this review. My finger is on the trigger ordering the Akai. Seeing the photo camparison, i prefer the bigger pads. I’ve had the padkontrol in the past, one of the pads started working erradic, gonna go back to Akai this round.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:55 am Quote
One thing that is COMPLETELY horrible about BOTH units is….
MINI USB.
These machines are instruments that should be built in some sort of manner that make the withstand just a tiny beating.
I just got my AKAI LPD8 two weeks ago and it’s already busted. In fact, it busted after merely setting three cue points, and about 10 minutes of use.
Maybe it busted after that but I really only used the thing lightly (and I mean lightly) for about 10 minutes just to test it out. The rest of the time it sat there in front of my djm600 on my dresser in my room…
Less than a week later, the night before my next gig, I turned my gear on to set some cue points and freshen up for the event and… VOI-LA… The thing didn’t work.
I reinstalled Serato and that wasn’t the problem… I even re-imaged my laptop and that didn’t fix it either.
I got all sorts of driver/device errors and Serato would not recognize the unit at all.
So after all that, I plugged it into a desktop PC and the device manager went berserk.
I am convinced it is either the mini USB cable, or mini USB port.
If “PRO” instrument manufacturers want to use mini USB for whatever reason, they should at least not make the connector be on the outside edge of the unit.
It should plug in underneath the unit, parallel to it’s length and then have at least 2-4 recessed alleyways with hooks so that the cable can run out of any of its four sides.
This would give the user not only the ability to run the cable out of different sides of the unit, but also make dramatic turns with the cable as it came out of the unit (as if the unit were corded).
This would give you more placing options, as well as providing more durability for the port and the cord.
If you are going to advertise a portable product that is going to be toted around and thrown in a bag as everyone demonstrates it, at least make it somewhat durable. It hardly survived my room!
Sorry if I seem a bit on edge, but this thing kept me up all night because I really want to use it.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 pm Quote
Did you unplug the unit before you tossed it in your bag? Just asking cos I too have a habit of leaving it plugged in so I dont forget any cables. But if you have a faulty unit, just exchange it. I have had no bother with mine so far….(now reaching for a piece of wood ha ha ha)