This 16 pad USB MIDI controller is an inexpensive way to add a ton of flexibility to your system.

The MPD16 is an MPC-style MIDI pad controller. It gives you 16 touch-sensitive pads that you can add to your computer music workstation by just hooking up a USB cable. Carrying on the style of the MPC series of production workstations, the MPD16 is a self-contained unit that connects via USB and/or MIDI to computers and other MIDI devices, such as samplers or drum machines.

It hooks up in a few seconds and is easy to configure. It comes with drum program set-ups, but it’s easy to configure for custom use, too. This makes it very easy to use for entering drum rhythms, or to trigger samples. It makes a great performance tool, also, because you get immediate access to a lot of sounds.

Note that the MPD-16 is a pad control surface, but not a sampler or a workstation. It acts as a controller, and relies on the sounds within your computer, sampler or drum machine to make the actual sounds.

The MPD16 is well-built and easy to use. Programming drum beats works great, because the 16 pads are pressure and velocity sensitive. They generate Note-On events when tapped. The pads create 16 steps of velocity, too. It also has a bank switch, to switch between two sets of sounds.

Settings can be configured via a computer using USB. It’s designed with computer users in mind, because the parameters settings, such as MIDI notes assigned to pads, MIDI channel, and so on, can be assigned from a computer connected to the USB cable. Power can be provided via the USB cable, too.

The MPD16 is inexpensive and a great addition if you need a way to trigger sequences, loops, samples, or drum sounds.