The Akai LPD8 mk2 is small, pretty, and has 8 pads and 8 knobs. There aren't a lot of MIDI controllers that fit this description. The main problem that everyone reports is a lack of sensitivity on the pads, with no way to fix this via software. There's a pretty common looking mod that fixes this, so I decided it would be worth the effort. Here's how to do it.
First, check the sensitivity of all the pads by drumming a beat on each and seeing how many beats are missed. You can just plug it in via USB and check when the lights come on, no need to hook it up to a DAW. Make a note of which ones are good, almost good, terrible, and if any seem to "stick", staying active longer than they should. Here's one that sticks, one that misses beats, and one that's good:
Unplug the device, and remove the knobs:
Flip her over and remove the screws:
Open her up, prop the back cover on something, and remove the next set of screws:
Set aside the back and circuitboard. On the backs of the pads, you'll want to add some tape. Now, all the pads have different sensitivities. One, on my machine, is fine as-is. Some were off by a little bit, and needed only a layer of masking tape. Most needed electrical tape, a few needed two layers of masking tape (slightly thicker than one layer of electrical tape). Some want something in between these options, and I could have used packing tape to achieve this, but I didn't think of that until after. What you're going to do is make a guess, screw the circuitboard back on, test it, and iterate. More missed beats = add more tape. Sticking = needs less tape. Add or remove tape as needed. Use gloves and alcohol wipes to avoid skin oil preventing tape from sticking. Here's what I ended up with:
Screw the circuitboard back on, put the back on (but don't screw it in), and plug her in. Try out all the pads. Make a note of which ones need what. Unplug, unscrew, adjust tape, and repeat until good. Put her back together and you are good to go!
Note: I also noticed sticking being caused by screws being too tight, and also by tape being too big. I disassembled and reassembled this thing like 10 times. But it works now!