What’s the most portable way to do finger drumming? I mean, if I lug my Maschine Mk3, my laptop, and… an amp (?) somewhere, I guess that would work. I could also get a Mikro Mk3. But are there better solutions in terms of size and weight and value of gear you’re traveling with? Like, an Atom and… some kind of hardware synth, maybe with a speaker on it? What have people tried?
(My main goal is to be able to jam with people without it being a Big Huge Deal to manage.)
If you are satisfied with drumming with one-shot samples, and your sound doesn’t have to be amplified for a big audience, then the ATOM and and iPad with a DAW such as BeatMaker 3 works great. It’s a 30 dollar iOS app with MIDI learn you can load up with your own samples. It has a Ludwig Kit for a few dollars with some very nice sounds. Nowhere near AD2, but it does the job. I have a small Sony wired speaker and the sound quality from the iPad is fine. Throw in the USB camera adapter and a 10 foot lightning charger, and you are mobile. BeatMaker 3 as a DAW is not super easy to learn all the ins and outs, but as a sample repository for finger drumming it’s great. Lots of tutorials on YouTube for setting it up.
Huh, I didn’t think of iPads. Did you have much latency?
Also - how big are the pads on the Atom, btw?
They are the biggest pads of my my controllers. Way bigger than launchpad X but not the world’s most sensitive. Bigger than MPC One also. The ATOM is a sweet little controller. Fully integrated with Ableton. Kind of toy-looking but a nicely made. The MPC looks like it’s ready to assassinate someone and the Launchpad looks like Mardi Gras just began.
@Zephyr No latency that I can discern.
Korg Nanokey Studio: it has keyboard and 8 pads. The pads are smaller and they have no aftertouch, but you can connect it through bluetooth (or cable) to you phone or tablet to get sound out of it.
Korg Nanopad2: 16 pads (no keyboard) with similar specs.
The pads are surely not as sensitive, but if you want to practice while commuting or traveling, I think it’s they way to go.
I forgot to say but, of course, you can connect to a PC as well.
Any specific recommendations on speakers/amps/whatever? Actual portable amps seem pretty expensive.
@Zephyr How big a crowd? Will they be noisy and distracted or sitting quietly in awe of your finger drumming skills? Will they be crowded on the dance floor? What kind of venue, and do you only need to amplify yourself?
Hm. So I was mostly thinking of like, jams with a few people. But OTOH one of those people has a trumpet…
I use an Akai MPX with a teeny little portable battery and a cheapo 3.5mm input speaker that had its own built in battery, nothing special but works for me to jam on an 808 kit on hikes and long train rides etc for minimal space and weight.
Nice to have you on the Livestream yesterday! I hope you got your mobile sound system sorted out. I’m in quarantine right now in Canada, and there is a trumpet player who plays somewhere on the street below my building. I wish I could jam with him!
Hello, I’m looking for something similar and I was thinking about the ipad, the latest iPad Air 2020 has an usb-c so you can play just by connecting you midi controller. You don’t need external power supply.