Pads on Minilab 3 a little "heavy"

Lab MiniLab
#1

Hi there,

I started using Minilab 3 and found its 8 pads a little “heavy”/“hard”.

I mean, I thought they were very soft to play, as in the videos I saw. But here they’re “heavy” and demand a bit of pressure to use.

Is this normal? I know this is very particular, and of course everything can be Ok, but I don’t know if there is some kind of level here we can tweak (hard, soft, etc).

I just thought that play drums and percussion in general would be easier, without needing to put a bit of pressure in order to activate each note. I thought we could only put a gently touch, for example.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Can I link different drum elements to different pads?
#2

On my KeyLab 61 the pads are right in the middle between soft and hard - normally you have to exert some pressure to get the Midi velocity up to a useable level - is that what you are expierencing?

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#3

So, more or less. I saw a lot of Minilab 3 videos, and the people seem to use very gently touches.

But here I have to really do some pressure, more than I thought.

For example, with some drums from Loopcloud: using the pads is not very comfortable.

There is a bit of pressure I need to exert. Of course, this can be normal and I am just not used to it. But, who knows.

#4

I had a Minilab 3 and found the pads as you did, they needed a heavy touch. I returned it for the Keylab Essential 49 and the pads on it are much more responsive and easier to use than on the Minilab 3.

#5

Yes. I feel the same, unfortunately.

#6

You can adjust the velocity curve for the pads in MIDI Control Center. The logarithmic setting might work better with a lighter touch. Try the different options and see what works best for your playing style.

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#7

Oh, I didn’t know that!

Many thanks. I’ll verify it! :slight_smile:

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#8

Hi again,

I would love to count with your help one more time.

I can’t find this setting inside Midi Control Center. Do you know where it is?

#9

It’s under device settings

pad-velocity
pad-velocity1620×940 138 KB

I hadn’t used my MiniLab 3 for pad drumming before, but I’ve just experimented with it a bit. It does need a bit of pressure to register presses, even with the velocity curve adjusted. With a Log curve, lighter presses output higher velocity than with a Linear setting, but if the touch is too light, the pad doesn’t register it at all. Comparing that with my Push 3, the Push is much more sensitive to lighter touches, which is maybe what you’d reasonably expect for a more expensive device with higher quality components. Even there, really light touches don’t register. It isn’t like a touch screen on a phone or tablet.

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#10

Ah, many thanks. I found it now!

I understood.

Well, I thought it would be different, mainly because the video I saw (with Lena playing drums while creating a little track) and the product’s description on its page (“2 banks of 8 velocity & pressure sensitive pads with RGB backlighting”).

I really thought it would be very sensitive, after all of the above. :frowning:

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#11

I should never have bought minilab 3. Pads feel like trash and some times the midi recordings act weird, changing notes out of the blue. Big waste of money!!! :frowning_face:

#12

I find the pads pretty much only useable for transport, unfortunately.

The rest of it is great. The pads, IMO, should never have been used in the final product. I have to drum on the keys instead.

Too soft, the notes don’t trigger. Too hard you’re skipping triggers.

#13

this is first time iv’e ever written on any of these forums but i hope this could be of some use:

just use “fixed” preset in the MIDI control Center and set it to the max (127).
Now you only need the pad to register the touch for full effect. hope this helps any newcomers in the future who are struggling with the same problem!