The remaining five parameters adjustable are global: MIDI Channel Pad Sensitivity Volume Curve Minimum Velocity and the Gate Time. There is one parameter adjustable for each pad: MIDI Note. Both MIDI channel and note numbers could be edited to suite the device being controlled over MIDI. The Pad 8 could only transmit on a single MIDI channel (channel 10 on power up), however each of the 14 pads is assigned a different MIDI-Note number. A unique initialization procedure, when powered on, would load a 'patch preset' and configure the Pad-8 to work with either the Roland's TR-909 or TR-707/TR-727. The controlled had no internal sound source and limited memory for four user patches.

The Pad 8 Consists of eight individual pads (divided in two rows of four pads) and six external pad trigger ports. It was an influential device at that time, allowing drummers and percussionists the opportunity to trigger virtually any MIDI sound source without the need of a full electronic drum set. Originally to be called MPC-8 (MIDI Percussion Controller 8), but was renamed Pad-8 to avoid legal implications with MPC Electronics. The first model, introduced in 1985, was the Pad-8.