Opens in a new window
Akai MPD218 Pad Control Unit
Additional Photos:
Product Videos :
YouTube Video
Your Price: $139.00 CDN
or from $21 CDN/mo
Akai's MPD218 feature-packed, highly playable MIDI-over-USB pad controller is perfect for producers, programmers, musicians and DJs alike. Its intuitive blend of MPC controls and technologies mesh with easy USB connectivity to bring the feel of classic beat making into the world of computer music production.
The MPD218 benefits from new, ultra sensitive Thick Fat MPC pads, creating an amazingly responsive user experience. The MPD218 also has an expanded control set of six knobs in three banks versus one control on the previous MPD18 model. This will enable you to maximize your sound and give you increased control over effects.
MIDI information is sent over its plug-and-play USB interface for use on Mac or PC, eliminating the need to install any drivers. The USB connection powers the MPD218 so the included USB cable is all you need.
Features:
• 16 Thick Fat backlit MPC pads
• 48 assignable pads accessible via 3 banks
• 18 assignable 360-dgree potentiometers accessible via 3 banks
• MPC Note Repeat and Full Level
• iOS compatible using the Camera Connection Kit (sold separately)
• 16 configurable presets
• USB powered, no AC adapter required
• Includes Ableton Live Lite, Akai Pro MPC Essentials, Sonivox Big Bang Cinematic Percussion and Big Bang Universal Drums
System Requirements:
Macintosh: 1.25 GHz G4/G5 or faster (Intel Mac recommended), 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended), Mac OS X 10.4.11 (10.5 or later recommended)
PC: 1.5 GHz Pentium 4 Celeron-compatible CPU or faster (multicore CPU recommended); 1 GB RAM (2GB recommended); Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP; Windows-compatible sound card (ASIO driver support recommended); QuickTime recommended
Available USB port
The MPD218 benefits from new, ultra sensitive Thick Fat MPC pads, creating an amazingly responsive user experience. The MPD218 also has an expanded control set of six knobs in three banks versus one control on the previous MPD18 model. This will enable you to maximize your sound and give you increased control over effects.
MIDI information is sent over its plug-and-play USB interface for use on Mac or PC, eliminating the need to install any drivers. The USB connection powers the MPD218 so the included USB cable is all you need.
Features:
• 16 Thick Fat backlit MPC pads
• 48 assignable pads accessible via 3 banks
• 18 assignable 360-dgree potentiometers accessible via 3 banks
• MPC Note Repeat and Full Level
• iOS compatible using the Camera Connection Kit (sold separately)
• 16 configurable presets
• USB powered, no AC adapter required
• Includes Ableton Live Lite, Akai Pro MPC Essentials, Sonivox Big Bang Cinematic Percussion and Big Bang Universal Drums
System Requirements:
Macintosh: 1.25 GHz G4/G5 or faster (Intel Mac recommended), 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended), Mac OS X 10.4.11 (10.5 or later recommended)
PC: 1.5 GHz Pentium 4 Celeron-compatible CPU or faster (multicore CPU recommended); 1 GB RAM (2GB recommended); Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP; Windows-compatible sound card (ASIO driver support recommended); QuickTime recommended
Available USB port
Media
Youtube video product demo
Q & A
There are currently no questions for this product.
Reviews
18.188.91.223
Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; [email protected])
Works as DJ controller 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
Features
Quality
Value
Overall
Product Experience I own it
Closest Store St. Catharines, Ontario
Use it for transport commands in Rekordbox. Works like a charm! Thanks to Jake at Long & McQuade in St. Catharines store for helping me out ;)
Posted by Dan Hipwell on Mar 3, 2024
Akai Pro arranged what was flawed with the first editions of MPDs 3 of 3 customers found this review helpful
Features
Quality
Value
Overall
Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Joliette, Quebec
The first MPD controller were good and did the job right but two things annoyed me when I was working on my MPD24 (one of these was a major flaw)
Let's start with the minor flaw, it was bulky and feel plastic but it was a USB Midi controller made something like 12 years ago so I can understand why it was made that way.
The Major flaw was big though because as a longtime MPC user it was the reason I sold it after some time with it...THE PADS !
The pads were way too big, they weren't high enough and the feeling of these was totally the opposite of the reputation Akai Pro got with their pads over the years...UNTIL NOW !
Got my hands on the MPD218 in Joliette some time ago because my MPC1000 needs some serious soldering job that would be time and money consuming so I decided to risk trying the 218 (and at that price it wouldn't be a problem if it was not good for me) and holy moly I am glad I took that risk !
It is compact, feels solid even if it is super lightweight !
The editor is easy to use so you can totally do unique configs that will satify your creations needs...and now let's talk about the reason I wrote this review title.
The Pads !!! Oh my god the pads on the MPD's second generation are totally amazing. Not the best pads Akai did but for usb controllers these are totally the best in the market ! Bigger than most MPC models so your fingers needs to get used to it if you are used to the good old MPCs. The velocity and responsiveness is not as good as a MPC1000 with JJOS but this is the only tiny complaint I have to say about these because for the price they are way better that I expected.
I would just have recommended it some months ago but now with the release of MPC Beats, it is a MUST BUY !
This software is a FREE lite version of MPC Software but the only limitation is you can just use 8 MIDI Tracks and 2 Audio Tracks per projects and with something like 8 banks instead of 4 for your Programs you can cram a LOT of stuff in it so you will never feels the software limits if you work smart ! :)
Oh and you can use MPC Beats as a VST in your favorite DAW too, so if you don't have 250$ to invest in MPC Software you will be totally an happy producer with it because I do ! I just can't believe Akai Pro made this level of quality FOR FREE because they usually are kinda greedy with their product !
---
TL;DR Pads are not the best Akai Pro did but they are top notch, the second gen MPDs are a MAJOR Evolution of the first ones and now with the release of MPC Beats anybody can experience the wonderful world of MPCs for the price of this controller so yeah...A SOLID MUST BUY !
Posted by Nicolas "XyNo" Allaire on Feb 14, 2021
Decent Pads for the price. 5 of 5 customers found this review helpful
Features
Quality
Value
Overall
Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Calgary Royal Vista, Alberta
I've owned the pads for about half a year now and have had a decent amount of use out of them. Having the 3 banks is pretty awesome and makes for a very versatile MIDI controller. However, I was warned about AKAI pads and ghost-notes. Sure enough, the pads are double-triggered often and sometimes a pad on the other side of the unit will trigger when another area is triggered. I've contacted AKAI about this without any response. Just beware of this before you purchase it, it's great for studio use and for messing around but I would never rely on it for a live or recorded performance personally.
Posted by Ryan H on Jul 30, 2020
mpd 0 of 1 customers found this review helpful
Features
Quality
Value
Overall
Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Mississauga, Ontario
yea, its very user friendly. The pads feel nice; good for finger drumming.
Posted by imperial notes on Sep 15, 2019
Protect your investment with the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty
A warranty can be a very important factor when making a buying decision. Because repairs can be very expensive in terms of parts and labour costs, manufacturers usually only provide one year limited warranties that generally only cover items that malfunction due to a manufacturer’s defect. With an important purchase such as a musical
instrument or piece of studio gear, however, many people want to have the peace of mind in knowing that their investment will be protected should the product no longer be performing at 100%.
Because of this, Long & McQuade provides our customers with a FREE one-year Performance Warranty on most of our products. The Long & McQuade Performance Warranty supplements the manufacturer’s warranty to ensure that our customers receive complete “no hassle” warranty coverage within their first year.
How does the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty differ from most manufacturers' warranties?
- Performance Guarantee: Normal wear and tear is covered, so your product will be performing as well as the day you purchased it for the entire duration of the coverage. Band and Orchestral Performance Warranty does not include replacing pads or cleaning for woodwind instruments, unless deemed necessary by our repair staff. Ultrasonic cleaning for brass instruments will be provided if deemed necessary by our repair staff, but is not routinely offered under the Performance Warranty.
- Product Replacement: If your product cannot be fixed or costs too much to fix, we will replace it with the equivalent model for no additional charge. If this is not possible, a full refund will be provided.
- No Lemon Policy: Your product will be replaced should the same problem occur multiple times.
- Convenient: Easy drop off and pick up of the product at any Long & McQuade location.
- Guitar Setup: Guitars purchased at Long & McQuade come with 1 free setup, to be redeemed within 1 year for new guitars and 90 days for used guitars.
- Loaners Available: A loaner product may be given while the product is being repaired.
- Power Surge Protection: Your product is covered even if damaged from a power surge.
- Accessory Coverage: Any peripheral devices or accessories that come with your product (i.e. foot pedal, case) are also covered.
- Commercial Use Coverage: Music and recording professionals who purchase gear for “heavy-use” commercial purposes will still be covered.
Long & McQuade reserves the right to restrict the purchase of additional years of Performance Warranty. Used products come with a 3-month Long & McQuade Performance Warranty. Some products (i.e. computers, software, cymbals and other items) are covered only by the manufacturer‘s warranty. Consumables (i.e. strings, reeds, drum sticks, batteries, tubes, cross faders) are excluded as they are designed to be replaced. Cosmetic Damage, Accidental Damage, or problems caused by Humidity or Temperature Issues are not covered. Speakers damaged by overpowering are generally not covered. Our coverage does not provide compensation for loss of use. As of June 2018 the Performance Warranty is no longer transferable. The warranty is only valid in Canada.
Purchasing additional years of coverage
Some manufacturers provide warranties for longer than 1 year; however, these are usually limited warranties that do not provide the same coverage as the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty. Customers interested in more complete and convenient (but not necessarily longer) coverage are still able to purchase additional years of the Performance Warranty.
If you are interested in receiving this coverage for longer than one year, you have the option of purchasing additional years of the Performance Warranty. The pricing is as follows:
- NEW products: Starting at 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. Starting at 4% for each additional year.
- USED products: Starting at 4% of the current new selling price to increase the warranty from 3 months to 1 year. Starting at 4% for each additional year.
- GUITARS: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year. $45 maximum. An additional free setup is not included with additional purchased years of Performance Warranty.
- BAND and ORCHESTRAL instruments: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year.
Great Additions
Reserve in Store
| Product | SKU | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| MPD218 Pad Control Unit | 446896 |
