That’s due FGDP pads are beginner friendly. Yamaha advertising somewhere that you can hit same pad even if another finger stay on it. Actually that is a bad thing, cause you to develope wrong technique . Regular pads dont allow hit pad once again until you raise finger after first hit. This limitation force you to develope right technique. Fingers shouldn’t stay on pad after hit.
Maybe “NoteOffMut” setting in FGDP can disable this “cheat”, I dont know. But I advise FGDP owners try to disable this “plesant” thing until you mess up your technique. Of course If you really serious in to fingerdrumming)
I tested the FGDP again with some finger rolls and pressing pads down and stuff and honestly I don’t feel like the FGDP is that much better at interpreting hits when a pad is pressed or that it’s so much better for finger rolls. The main thing with the finger rolls is just that the snare pad is very broad so there’s a lot of room.
For the rest you have to play it well and accurately because the pads aren’t that sensitive.
I would not worry too much about one way or the other being “training wheels” because there’s enough room for development on both the FGDP devices as well as something like a Maschine. The order in which you do things does not make the biggest difference.
I think you’re right, @blubgame that this is about learning to lift one finger before the other one hits it. On a real percussion instrument, it would not be different either. I will take this as a push to work on this. @HugoClubs - if I play it with one hand, it also works better for me. I just got so used to playing symmetrically (with one pad per finger) as I have only played the Launchpad and FGDP so far. And I seem to have gotten reliant on this.
"…With conventional pad controllers, if you’re playing rolls behind the beat, the pads will detect this as Aftertouch, and the sound will skip and be uneven. In other words, if you don’t have the playing skill, you won’t be able to play rolls well.
Since we’ve designed the FGDP with a dedicated set of pads for finger drumming, the pads won’t detect your rolls as Aftertouch even if you’re a little behind the beat. Instead, the rolls will be detected correctly. If you strike a pad when your other fingers are touching it , the pad will still trigger the sounds correctly. So, even if you’re still not an advanced player, you can accurately play high-speed rolls like an expert, and the rolls are translated into sound. We really hope that you’ll try playing rolls on the FGDP and see how comfortable it feels."
Might be my playing style (maybe I already do this correctly) but I do not notice this feature at all. What I notice is the pads being less sensitive and it’s therefore harder to play rolls
Playing roll on one pad is the problem for 64pad users. These players dont have to lift finger right after hit. They have one pad per finger. Roll is performing on two different pads.
You (Robert) played mostly 16pad controller, using one pad for rolls, so you have right technique. Thats why no much difference.
Since I got the Maschine+ I don’t practice on the Launchpad anymore, but when I did, I had it programmed with 4x4 layout so I could read the diagrams while playing. It was more convenient this way. (I added some extra percussive hits on the bottom for fun).
Also, I always use 2 slightly different snares, kicks and closed hats, so all the sounds on the layout are different. If I wanted to play a roll (I haven’t practiced rolls that much tbh) I had no other choice than to tap the same pad
@Robert_Mathijs : You mentioned today in the livestream the question whether you could make a course on this device in particular and you stated the reasons why it wouldn’t work out.
I agree with you (and the reasons you give), but I wonder if there is a good compromise: If you add one video to your course how to set the FGDPs up and another one how to translate the QFG layout to the FGDP, maybe that’s sufficient to promote this course as “also works for FGDP users”? As long it’s clear that it’s that compromise, I wouldn’t have an issue with this.
(Not that I’d personally need it. It’s not that difficult to map from your QFG layout to the FGDP)
Hi all. I have been building my finger drumming skills over the past few years. I have mainly used Maschine and Launchpad Pro Mk3. I immediately bought the FGDP-50 after seeing @Robert_Mathijs 's excellent review (Yamaha owes you a commission sir). The game changer for me is the ability to play seconds after the mood hits - FGDP = “couch kit”. I have also been forcing myself to use the layout as-is and after a few days I’m seeing some advantages to the tom placement. I’ve started playing toms with my thumbs leaving the finders for the hats and snare etc. This has been working surprisingly well. Seems very logical this way as normally the toms and kick are separated anyway. The other benefit here is related to the percussion kits. I find that you can get some interesting sounds by approaching the lower portion of the FGDP-50 like you would a set of bongos even hitting 2 pads with one tap as a means to layer sounds. The more I use the default layout, the more I appreciate the approach Yamaha took.
I immediately bought the FGDP-50 after seeing @Robert_Mathijs 's excellent review
Where did you buy?
I “bought” over a month ago from Thomann with delivery two weeks and now the delivery is expected on Mars in the meantime, since I wasn’t sure if it would arrive in time for Christmas, I bought Maschine micro and I’m very happy with it, but I’m still waiting for the FGDP-50 because I travel a lot. May be there are some region restrictions?
@Michal, I’m in Canada and bought from Long and McQuade which is one of the big 2 distributors in Canada. They indicated 4 days to ship but it took more like 7 days … but I had it the same day it shipped! Hope yours arrives soon.
I love my Maschine and LP Pro MK3 (will never get rid of them) but the FGDP hits a sweet-spot. Pad sensitivity is not as good as either of the others I have but it’s not off by much - easily 3rd place from the others I have tried. I find it very similar to the Maschine Micro which I tried but upgraded to the big Maschine. If you just dig in a “little” bit more everything is fine. Plus I have had zero ghost triggers. My Akai MPD218 triggers pads I don’t hit if I really dig in - none of that on the FGDP.
The only small issue I have is that I sometimes unintentionally choke the cymbals or ride. Some kits have a choke on those. If you hit the pad with no after touch (by removing your finger quickly or not changing pressure after your hit) then there is no choke, if the pad senses after touch, then it will choke. A useful feature at times, but I find if I’m digging in it will choke unintentionally. I’m sure I can configure this somehow but have not gotten there yet. I spend too much time playing now to really spend the time and figure out how to use it
Strange. Both large distributors in Canada show online stock available. Maybe some geographic demand issues are at play. You could call Yamaha and inquire.
Thomann probably didn’t order enough units for an unexpected high demand, and since we are experiencing chip shortages since covid, I think your best option is to try and find other online retailer that ships to your country.
Hi Michal. I ordered a FGDP-30 this weekend from Woodbrass (french online dealer) just because they had some in stock, where every other vendor did not. I think they ship in other countries in Europe, because there is an option to change language/country in the upper right of their website.
They fancy themselves “1st of online sales in France” but I sincerely doubt they sell more than Thomann in France. Perhaps they are 1st of the online sellers that are based in France. I don’t like this boasting especially because they have no proper return policy. The delay for returning a product is a little more than the legal delay for online sales (14 days in France) but they don’t give you a return number nor take charge of the return costs.
The good side is, they frequently have some stock when others don’t. Probably because they don’t sell that much
If you want a FGDP for christmas, perhaps you can use them, or look for a vendor with some stock in you area ?
Has anyone played with the ADGain settings? I believe this adjusts the actual trigger sensitivity settings of the pads.
I don’t own one but I’d like to know how sensitive it can get with these settings.
To me it also felt like it doesn’t increate the lower threshold. It’s more like an multiplicator of velocity for everything above this lowest threshold. So if you increase ADGain, you’ll need less force to reach full velocity.
In that regard, Launchpad Pro Mk3 or Maschine Mk3 are both better. But I think this is something you can get used to, even if it annoys you a lot in the beginning (because you’ve learned to play with less force).
in the meantime, since I wasn’t sure if it would arrive in time for Christmas, I bought Maschine micro and I’m very happy with it, but I’m still waiting for the FGDP-50 because I travel a lot. May be there are some region restrictions?
