How to soften the sound of banging on the MPC?

Finger Drumming Gear / Software / Setup
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So, I’m loving finger drumming. But the extra noise generated by drumming on my Presonus ATOM, which rests on a desk, is a little obnoxious, especially when I use my open-back headphones.

Any suggestions on deading the extra thumping noise? I tried a small towel, but a softer material like that actually messes with the pads’ responsiveness. So I tried a 1/2" layer of foam underneath which definitely helped, but didn’t do as much as I’d hoped.

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I still hear my hands as well, wearing my open backed headphones. But I must say, when I set them to a very reasonable volume (but not extremely soft) the sounds my hands make are drowned out.

So what I suspect might be going on is that you’re hitting the pads pretty hard, which can be more necessary with the presonus atom than for example with my maschine mk3.

Are you really hammering down or are you just tapping firmly? Because it should sorta be that second thing.

I’m not sure ofcourse, but long term, having very sensitive pads will both solve the nooise problem and will be nicer for your fingers and hands!

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Thanks for the reply, Rob. I’ve done some troubleshooting, and I discovered some things…

  • I was tapping too hard when playing. Working on adjusting that after reading your advice, and it seems to really help.
  • My desk’s resonant frequency is exactly the same as the kick drum in the Black Oyster AD2 pack. Go figure. If I type or play my pad controller, there’s this constant low tone as the vibrations from my movements make the desk “sing.” Pretty annoying, actually!
  • Foam is actually too dense to reduce vibrations from my pad controller. Several layers of felt stuck together and placed under the controller yields a better result.

Now I can barely hear the pad controller when I play! Someday I may upgrade to an mk3 micro, but till then, this is a great workaround!

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