MALIK ARSHAQ
BEGINNERS GUIDE TO
MIDI CONTROLLERS
Whether you are a musician who uses a DAW during
their live performances or a producer inclined towards
programming music using virtual instruments, a crucial
piece of equipment that you need to make your workflow
as efficient and smooth as possible, is your midi controller.
A midi controller is basically a hardware device that is
used to control the DAW that you’re running on your
computer.
Nowadays, where a large majority of the music that you
hear is programmed, the significance of the midi controller
is indispensable. With new technology and elaborate,
yet intuitive, controls, you can now produce music that
sounds like it was made in an expensive studio, while
seated in the comfort of your living room. Midi controllers
make the good quality production a possibility to a wider
band of enthusiasts and professionals unrestricted by their
financial limitations.
In this edition of Beginner’s Guide, we’ll be getting into
the factors that you’d have to look into before going out
and getting yourself a midi controller and the best options
available to you in your price bracket.
The first thing that you’ve got to ask yourself is what
kind of music you plan on making with your controller.
So, the most commonly found types of controllers are
midi keyboards, controllers that have velocity sensitive
pads, launch pads, ones that have only knobs and faders
or a combination of these types. For example, if you are
a pianist or a keyboard player, then you’d want to go for
a 61 or 88 key midi keyboard so that you can play with
both hands for a full range. On the other hand, hip-hop
producers would need a controller that has velocity
sensitive pads to play the drums or to sequence chopped
up samples into a beat. The Akai MPCs were synonymous
to hip-hop production for this very reason. If you’re a
musician who uses their DAW to launch backing tracks
while performing with other instruments or even if you’re
a DJ, a launch pad would be the right way for you to go. If
you’re going to be working with different kinds of music
and prefer a controller that would give you maximum
flexibility then a midi keyboard with velocity sensitive
pads and assignable faders and knobs are the way to go.
These types of controllers are rapidly taking over because
of the ability to control your whole DAW including
changing levels on the mixer, adjusting parameters on the
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effects, laying down drums or playing a melody, all in one
controller, making them extremely versatile and ideal to
use in a live performance scenario. These midi keyboards
can also be hooked up to a foot-pedal that be assigned
to function as a sustain pedal, or an effect parameter or
even a looper. Another important factor that you’ve got
to consider while choosing a controller is the amount of
space available to you in your home studio and extent of
portability that you wish for your controller to have. For
instance, if you want to be able to produce music on the fly
then buying an 88 key midi keyboard makes no sense.
Often the playability of a MIDI controller is not given its
due importance. For instance, a pianist looking for a midi
keyboard will expect the keys to having weighted action
so that they have the same dexterity and ease of playing
as they do on a piano. You’ll need good, reliable action
to get the most from your sounds and to impart passion
and expression into your performances. Therefore it is
essential to make sure that the controller that you plan
to purchase suits your needs and does not hamper your
performance in any way.
Manufacturing companies, in trying to make a cheaper
product, often compromise on the build of the hardware
of the controller and as a result its usability. Make sure to
pick out a controller that matches up to the frequency of
your use of it; consider its portability and sturdiness of the
build if you plan to take it around with you. Nevertheless,
the external surface of the MIDI controller isn’t the only
factor to be considered. Crashing, instability, intermittent
connections are problems you may face with an unreliable
manufacturer. A little research on the manufacturer
should give you the neces