Ok so I am looking for the quickest most and the most efficient way to get my playing into finale 2010.  I would like to hook up an electronic pad that I can switch between sounds, snare, BD's tenors, cymbals and have this notate in real time.  Anybody doing this already?  I would like to be able to actually play my parts in realtime and have this notated.

Thanks for your assistance!!

Honestly it's my person opinion that the fastest way to get stuff in is with a midi keyboard. You're not going to have anywhere near the input ability on an electronic controller, even if you had some crazy large Thomas Lang setup going on.

Also I've found input while playing is still pretty inaccurate unless you are secretly a cyborg who can keep perfect time, or you VERY strictly tell finale/siblius in advance what kind of rhythms you will be playing. For example, if you're doing a 16th note pattern and you tell it that you will be doing a 16th note pattern, then it will do a fine job. If you're mixing in triplets and other crazy stuff it won't turn out quite so well and you'll probably spend more time trying to fix it.

I'd personally recommend some kind of smaller M-audio keyboard (Oxygen, Axiom) to input your notes with. I have a full 88 key controller and it's actually quite irritating because I can't put it on my desk, thus decreasing the ability to see it and my screen at the same time.

Also available for a fraction of the price of the keyboards Charlie mentioned (which are also great) are the Korg Nano, Akai LPK25, and M-Audio keystation 49e.  Also, the Oxygen and Axiom lines come in a variety of sizes: 25, 49, 61, and sometimes 88.

Sweetwater would be a great place to look and their customer service is second to none. I ordered a pair of headphones from them and the guy who filled my order called me later that week to chat.

Hope this all helps! 

I drum on a Trigger Finger (M-Audio) with soft rubber xylo mallets.  It has 16 pads, and I assign them R/L to the 8 most common sounds.  If I set the tempo to around 100, it notates everything as I drum- even tuplets, rests, etc.  Oh... and I use Logic, not Finale or Sibelius, because it's the only program I've seen able to do this accurately.  :)

Jesse, I think I might give that a whirl once my new Axiom comes in. Sounds like it'd work great in a DAW environment.