


Plus, you’ll also get a free copy of Ableton Live Lite, two virtual synths, a collection of Puremagnetik effects and 5GB of samples and loops to get started. Visual organisation features also let you colour code your clips with RGB lighting and change the scale of the grid. It offers nine faders, a five-by-eight clip launch matrix and plenty of knobs that correspond to what you’ll see onscreen. The AKAI APC40 MKII is a reliable controller to keep on your desk, particularly if you plan to be working on Ableton Live. The 11 best production controllers to buy in 2021 at a glance: Bear in mind, that while some of these might seem designed for a particular DAW, they will usually be user-assignable too. In this list, we’ll explore the best MIDI production controllers you can buy in 2021, from modest portable keyboards to expressive touch surfaces and others in-between. For example, there are plenty of emulations of hardware synths and other outboard gear that will cost you a fraction of what their real-life counterparts would. They can also save you money if you’ve already got the software to work with. And production controllers are, in essence, devices coated with things you can touch to affect the sound in your computer.

Physical controls – faders, knobs, pads and everything in-between – help bring a certain immediacy to your production, essentially extending your physical self into the music-making process. READ MORE: The best microphones for rappers and MCs.This can easily result in missed opportunities of capturing a moment of spontaneous creativity.

So, no matter how impressive the plug-in library you’ve amassed, you’re still going to be limited to controlling them with awkward mouse swipes, clicks and key pushes. If you stop to think about it, your typical keyboard and mouse setup doesn’t afford you any rotary dials to work with – not one.
