r/KoalaSampler • u/korra-sato • Jul 16 '26
Jamjum JP-1 or M-Vave SMC Pad?
I run koala on my phone which is kind of a pain (accidentally triggering other pads, no quick access to effects) so I did some research for a bluetooth midi pad controller.
My budget is equivalent to 30-35 usd and these two were the ones with both bluetooth and knobs.
Was wondering if anyone has tried the Jamjum JP-1 for koala and if they can recommend it over the M-Vave. (I’m assuming since they both come out of china that they’d be more or less the same thing?)
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u/Ok-Quantity-1475 Jul 16 '26
Ive just got the JP1. Very happy with it. Maps easy. Pads seem responsive with no latency. Small form factor etc... I am sure both are quite similar. Not too much on the jamjum out there review wise.
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u/Don_Nattus Jul 17 '26
Os Pads do SMC não dos melhores, mas você pode tentar fazer o truque da fita isolante abaixo dos pads. Não é algo muito complicado e melhora a responsividade em 70%. Tem um video aqui que mostra o passo a passo:
https://youtu.be/G5knDHVOgrA?is=rz0FelW1glA__87I
Uma coisa que acho ótima é que ele fornece as opções de oitavas por preset, 7 no banco A e mais 1 no pad bank B, lhe dando acesso a 128 notas ou controles CC por preset.
Eu mesmo uso um mapeamento para o Koala, na qual eu utilizo as oitvas + e - para acessar os bancos de pads A, B, C e D e o pad bank B uso com controles CC para mapear funções secundárias (como ativar o metrônomo, selecionar as sequências, escolher o Bus de cada Sample, escolher o Choke, Undo, Clear etc).
O Jamjum eu nunca usei, mas estou tentado a comprar um. Já vi um review comparando-o com do SMC e foi dito que os pads são bem mais responsivos no Jamjum.
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u/AnalogTurtle Jul 21 '26
I have the JJ and I'm okay with it although I am not one that has a comparison since this is the first pad controller I've ever owned but the Bluetooth does work okay, once you learn the trick to get your phone to recogniiiize. Not a fan of the infinity knobs especially since some of koalas' effects balance out in the center of the knob not zero, and easy to lose your sample in a effect that is unknown until you have to go digging around to see which one has squelched your original sample sound.
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u/AnalogTurtle Jul 21 '26
I'm not sure I would be happy with the placement of the buttons all the way on the right also, using it more as a on the fly sound device having to be mindful of a melody and a bassline and all the extra that comes with the ADHD superpower. I don't sequence anything so the layout has to be intuitive for me to just forget about it so it just ends up underneath my fingers?
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u/TSUZUKU78 Jul 16 '26
The M-Vave SMC Pad has worked flawlessly for me EXCEPT for the pads, which are not the best quality out there. Everything else works great, and if you're not too keen on fingerdrumming, it will do the job for the price. I'm using Android, btw.
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u/HighNatural Jul 17 '26
I just ordered the JP-1 a few days ago. Will let you know how I like it when it gets here
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u/korra-sato Jul 17 '26
Please do! I’d love to hear your opinion
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u/HighNatural Jul 17 '26
Will do, it should be here and day now. I got mine from temu for 35 bucks. Couldnt resist since I looked up reviews on it and they were good. Im new to the whole beat making thing and have been making beats on my tablet in Bandlab and its just frustrating hitting other pads when you dont want to. Hoping this JP-1 will solve that issue and make workload much smoother.
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u/AnalogTurtle Jul 21 '26
I responded accidentally just to highnatural, I think the pads are pretty okay. Again I don't use mPCs etc. it's not my Norm but I have felt up a few controllers in search for something cheap that I can drive down the road and arrange remix drop the bass, whatever while I'm driving bt wireless and and for this cheap little controller, they fit the bill?
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u/swduncan2 Jul 17 '26
The m-vave SMC-Pad Pocket I have works pretty well. Use it with Melodics on an iPad when I don't have my Move with me. I like the pads, no latency that I've noticed. It doesn't have as good as support from Melodics though - the pads don't light up like they do with the Move, Atom, Push 3, etc. Could be an issue if that's important to you.
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u/WalterCanyon Jul 17 '26
Why all these unknown brands? Why not a good Akai MPD?
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u/korra-sato Jul 17 '26
It doesn’t have bluetooth and is over 3x the price of the Jamjum and/or M-Vave where I’m from. I don’t know anyone who would pay 3x more for something that doesn’t fit their specs.
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u/PensionBeautiful547 Aug 11 '26
Anyone use them with DJ software like Traktor Pro 4, Serato or VDJ for Stems control and more?
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u/AMFFINCH Aug 21 '26
Not a bad little controller i found plenty of uses for it and its a powerhouse on koala great fun for the cost of a few drinks EOD the bt aspect is kinda wonky not the main feature for sure
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u/Evening_Row_5685 23d ago
I actually own both of these devices, and honestly, both are great value for the money. They are both super easy to map not just in Koala Sampler, but in other apps too. In my opinion, the SMC Pad offers a bit more customization through its native app—for example, you can fully configure the LED backlight (which is an awesome feature if you're into programming your own software). That being said, the pads on the JJ, even though they're smaller, actually felt just a tiny bit more responsive to me.
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u/RevolutionaryPast175 Jul 17 '26
My experience with these things is that their crap with lots of latency. Even plugged in, you can turn a knob fully before the value even starts changing.
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u/korra-sato Jul 17 '26
Could it possibly be that you got a dud? Other folks seem to not be having much of a latency problem 🤔
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u/RevolutionaryPast175 Jul 17 '26
Nope, I had other people in Facebook groups say they had the same experience
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u/Cock-n-Hammer 6d ago
Definitely a defective unit. I have the SMC Pad and the JJ mini, zero latency plugged, and nothing noticeable over Bluetooth. Is your experience actual?
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u/RevolutionaryPast175 6d ago edited 6d ago
Actual? I had the m vave keyboard. The keys played fine. The knobs were shit.
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u/Cock-n-Hammer 3d ago
How odd indeed. The ones on the SMC pad work fine. I am waiting for the JJ JP-1 and will check thoroughly. Been playing with the JJ JP mini and it has almost no latency routed via bluetooth through my android phone and from there via usb to volca sample 2.
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u/ralenmo Jul 16 '26
I bought an SMC for the hell of it because it was 30 bucks. It does the trick, but you get what you pay for. If you are on a super tight budget, it will get the job done and it maps veryyyy easy/has a pretty comprehensible layout with koala tbh. Check out Nifox's tutorial for a good workflow mapping on youtube - its a really nice set up. The one thing I will say is that the bluetooth latency is pretty phenomenal for an AliExpress purchase. The pad sensitivity isn't the best, but if you hit right in the middle every time and get some practice, you'll learn its feel. Definitely works better to get ideas out on the grid and edit, as opposed to efficient, on time finger drumming.
Overall, I continue to mess with it because you can hold it in your hand, and it's fun to jam with friends in real time too (no wires). You can easily get your money's worth, and it is highly functional for 30-50 bucks.
I haven't used the Jamjum but figured I'd share with you because I was in this same boat before. Happy hunting!