Getting back into producing/djing, need a midi pad/controller or two. HALP!

never used the korg nano series stuff but it looks kinda cool to play with. i almost bought the keys one but never did

what about the akai mpd26?

What software are you using?
What kind of music are you producing?
What do you want to use the controllers for?

I'm guessing ableton from your post.... In which case the launchpad is sweet but not really useful for anything but DJing.

Check out the Novation Nocturn, basically just a bunch of knobs, a crossfader and some buttons that automap to your software really nicely. Its well worth the money and between that and the launchpad you would pretty much be within your budget. I wouldn't fuck with the nano series if you're serious, they're not going to be that great.

Between the launchpad and the nocturn you'd have pretty much everything you need to mix, and you can record automation pretty nicely with the nocturn too which is sweeeet. Plus there's a dial that automaps to whatever you clicked on last, so if you just need to do a quick edit its really easy.

-Ableton
-House, Trance, D&B, Dubstep
-Playing around with everything I think i'm going to need a keyboard as well as some knobs, launchers, faders, etc.

also I use sylenth1, and i want to be able to control some of my LFOs and whatnot using whatever i end up getting, so compatibility with it would be great. thanks man!

I would suggest this controller:
http://www.tomleemusic.ca/main/homekeyboards.cfm?details=1&id=127&inv=143121
I just love novation stuff because it pretty much sets itself up. Automap is amazing, some controllers you have to program but the nocturn I just installed the software and drivers, opened up Logic and it all worked beautifully. Its kind of a complex system that uses the controller and its own software but it works great and I guarantee you can map it to absolutely anything you want. Plus you're not limited to only using your 8 knobs for 8 things, you can switch control mappings on the go so it is reaaaally flexible.

Might also want to look into getting a copy of Native Instruments Massive and FM8, those are two great synthesizers that about 90% of dubstep producers use. Sylenth looks like a beast of a synth though, so you could probably go without.

And for some great production knowledge:
http://dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=159713
(excision and a lot of other producers are on dubstepforum, but the big ones rarely post)
and for some seeeerious discussion:
http://www.dogsonacid.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4

READ THE FAQ ON DOGSONACID. There are links to loooong Q&A threads where people interrogate the fuck out of some of the biggest names in DnB including Noisia, and many other famous producers that you probably know much better than I do.

sweet, i'll check that stuff out! and yeah I have the native suite and I use it a bit, not as much as sylenth right now though.

anyone else have any input?

bump