Best MIDI Pad Controllers For Making Music 2019

MIDI Controllers have come a long way in the last years of beat-making & music producing, along with the enabling of live intergration this is a perfect time to pick up a MIDI Pad Controller. 

They are now part of most musician's studio or live set-up that they cannot do you without, whether your laying down a beat or controlling your track via a DAW. Most Pad controllers these days consist of 8-16 trigger pads, value encoders, sequencing & arpeggiating, along with standard DAW control functionality.

Here at Music Matter we'll list, what we think are, the best MIDI Pad Controllers in the world today from such established brands such as Ableton, Native Instruments, Akai & more.

Not your typical Pad controller, the Native Instuments Maschine MK3 comes with it's Maschine software & therefore can be independent from a typical DAW. The big talking point is the 5D encoder that allows you to push, rotate, touch & click sideways like a joystick making browsing specifically a lot easier. The 2 high resolution screens mean there is almost no need to even look at a computer or laptop.

With Ableton Live being one of the fastest growing DAW programs being used for studio & stage it would be amiss to be without an all-encompassing Pad Controller to control every aspect of Ableton Live. With Ableton Push 2 you can make your music making workflow completely effortless, a huge array of pads & encoders along with giant LCD screens make this a must for Ableton users.

The Novation Launchpad Pro makes the most out of being an affordable route into controlling Ableton Live, coming with backlit Pads this particular Pad controller works best when messing round with ideas on the fly or within a live environment. Arguable one of the best Pad Controllers you can get for the price.

This truly budget Pad Controller lets you make beats, play virtual instruments & & trigger effects / loops with great versatilty. The included StudioOne DAW software means you can get creative straight out of the box.

Built to last, the Akai MPD 232 is an exceptionally rugged controller that includes 16 RGB Pads, encoders but sets it apart are the adjustable faders giving complete velocity & volume control. It also can be hooked up to various external instruments to give you workflow improvements to your set-up.

The Beatstep Pro is your one-stop shop for interconnectivity with your analogue gear, featuring CV/Gate inputs for Modular, Drum Machines & more. The 3 separate step-sequencers gives you a limitless array of production ideas along with it's velocity-sensitive trigger pads.