In all, an onboard arpeggiator can give you a more organic approach to your music. Having an onboard arpeggiator can help you to adjust your arp parameters more fluidly. ArpeggiatorĪbleton comes with its own arpeggiator plugin for MIDI instruments, giving you the ability to turn any software instrument into a sequencer.Įven better, some MIDI keyboards come with the same thing, and the feature can be extremely helpful, especially if you’re making something like electronic music on the fly. This can help add vibrato, volume, or a multitude of other parameters to your sound, making it even more organic than before. Aftertouch can send extra data to your software the more pressure you put on the pad. One cool characteristic you should look out for when purchasing a MIDI controller with pads is aftertouch. This can make tapping out ideas or creating full-on drum breaks feel a lot more natural. You can play each of the individual samples you place there with your keyboard controller, though having pads gives you an entirely different experience, one similar to the beatmakers back in the MPC days.Ī lot of keyboards will come with 4x4 pad setups that will map to your drum rack automatically when you pull it up. It is essentially a large grid that allows you to drop in, play, and manipulate anything from drums to percussion and beyond. Drum PadsĪbleton has what they call a Drum Rack.

someone who sits and draws out automation with a mouse. This can give your music a more organic sound vs. If you’re using a software instrument on Ableton that has Macros (typically they will come with 8 macro controls), you can adjust those macros to create automation. Knobs are excellent, as Ableton has many adjustable parameters like filters, panning, warping, etc., all of which can be adjusted and manipulated using knobs. If you hop into session view, you can easily assign the software faders to the faders on your keyboard, allowing you to mix multiple sounds in real time. This can be helpful if you’re recording from another room where you can’t utilize your computer keyboard or mouse.įaders can also control functions within Ableton and give you better physical control when mixing. Some MIDI keyboards will come with buttons that act as controls for playing, recording, and stopping your music.

Now obviously you can point and click everything in Ableton to arrange and organize your tracks, though having buttons, faders, and knobs, that can integrate with your software can make your overall workflow better. What to Consider Before Buying a Midi Keyboard for Ableton B uttons, Faders, and Knobs

Best midi keyboard for pro tools