MIDI controllers come in all shapes and sizes and when it comes to choosing the one that’s best for you then it might be a little confusing. There are literally thousands of choices out there from all sorts of different developers and companies; there are pad controllers, touch screen controllers, wind controllers, guitar controllers and of course the classic keyboard controllers.
All of these controllers are built with specific needs in mind, but let’s just assume that you’re looking for something that you can use to easily get MIDI notes into your DAW (maybe with a few rotaries and faders for recording automation). The most popular controllers are the keyboard controllers that are laid out just like a piano and the pad controller that often have a set of sixteen drum pads (much like an MPC).
If you can play the piano then the obvious choice will be the keyboard controller but a lot of electronic musicians don’t have any previous experience with playing an instrument. If this is the case then there’s no harm in trying out a pad controller. Rather than learning how to play the piano you can just get stuck in and bash out beats using the pads. It’s all down to personal preference so make sure you look into them both before making your final decision.
If you have quite a large budget then there are options out there that combine both pads and keys along with other features like buttons, faders, knobs ect. like with everything else though, the more money you spend, the more you’ll get.
The video that I’ve included in this post is taken from Boy in a Band’s seven day studio series. It looks further into different kinds of MIDI controllers and how to decide which one’s best for you. If you’re looking into building your own studio on a budget then I highly recommend checking out the rest of the series here.
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