producer TECH
VERDICT BUILD QUALITY
EASE OF USE FEATURES
8.0 8.5 8.0
VALUE FOR MONEY 8.0 SOUND QUALITY
8.0
HYPE Two brightly coloured boxes of
fun that take the concept of the Kaoss Pad and shrink it down into a pocket-sized box of tricks.
GRIPE Lack of MIDI support really lets
down the Kaossilator2 and limits its usefulness.
Two pint-sized boxes both with touch-pad control, one is an effects unit and the other is one of the weirdest and most fun synths we have ever seen.
8 /10 SET PHASER TO FUN
korg minikaosspad2 and minikaossilator2 are two fun-packed performance and production gizmos with a serious side. dJ Mag usa gets busy in the mix...
KORG are without doubt one of the best known brands in electronic music and we all grew up watching our favourite bands belting out melodies from a synth with the Korg name stamped proudly on the back. In recent years Korg have expanded their range of products to include — among other things — effects units like the Kaoss Pad that are of as much interest to DJs as they are to producers. The current bug to have bitten the Korg crew seems to be miniaturisation, as is evidenced by their line of Monotron mini pocket-sized analogue synths that could easily be mistaken for a child’s toy if it weren’t for the awesome sounds they produce. The latest products to get the mini-me treatment are the Kaoss Pad and the Kaossilator, which have been released as super-sweet little versions with brightly coloured plastic back casings that add to the overall look of an ‘80s hand-held video game, giving them a retro-cool vibe without sacrificing a professional layout and appearance. Not only are the miniKaosspad2 and miniKaossilator2 uber cool and super-fun effects units that will wow crowds and impress girls, they are also MP3 players complete with miniSD card slots for playback of MP3s, as well as storing sets and data settings. The addition of an MP3 player really expands the usefulness of these units as they can be used as sample and loop players as well as used to listen to MP3s, with the added bonus of being able to try out effects on tracks while sitting on a plane on the way to a gig.
By losing the bulk of the full-sized Kaoss Pad and Kaossilator Pad, Korg have managed to make a pair of devices that are much more usable on the road as well as in cramped DJ booths, and will take up so little room in a gig bag as to go almost unnoticed. The size, the functions and the overall look of these pint-sized monsters
GO WITH A THEME Soundtracks from movies can be a great source of chords and samples. Listen to the big theme tunes from famous films for hidden gems waiting to be lifted.
STOP UPGRADING AND START MUSIC MAKING It’s all well and good to have the latest version of all the fancy new toys, but the time spent upgrading and troubleshooting can often be better spent writing and recording music.
PRICE $159.99 (each)
CONTACT
korg.com
adds up to a product that begs to be taken out on the town and is just as much fun to use on a bus as it is on a stage in front of a crowd. Both the miniKaosspad2 and the miniKaossilator2 share the same case design and control surface layout, with the only differences between the two being the colour of the back case and the labelling on the buttons found next to the LCD screen. At the top of the control surface on each unit is an LCD display with two control buttons either side. The display uses Organic Electroluminescent (OEL) technology, which means they are incredibly easy to read despite their rather diminutive size, and the backlight colour is matched to the case colour to give added coolness and geek points. Moving down, we find two large backlit rubber buttons and a touch slider control strip used to browse and select presets. The pièce de résistance is the square X-Y touch-pad that takes up a full half of the size of the unit and dominates the bottom half of the control surface. Input and output duties are taken care of by a pair of stereo mini-jack sockets to provide one channel of stereo input and output. Besides the ins and outs sits an external power socket to provide a constant source of power should the batteries give out, or in situations where battery power is not to be trusted — such as during live gigs. As you’d expect, the miniKaosspad2 is an effects unit and the Kaossilator2 is a dynamic phrase synthesiser. Each of the units has a huge amount of presets of a very high quality that offer a good range of effects and sounds suitable for a wide range of genres. Of the two units, DJs are most likely to find the miniKaossPad2 the most useful for their purposes but will also have a world of fun with the Kassilator2.
DON’T OVERCOMPLICATE The most memorable melodies are often the most simple, the ones that people can remember — this is the essence of real hit records. Don’t get bogged down trying to create that all-time killer riff, just keep it simple.
www.djmag.com
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DRUMS AND BASS Dance music revolves around the beats and the bass, so it is essential to have good go-to synthesisers and samples for drums and basslines. Start here and the rest will follow.
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