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KORG PADKONTROL MIDI CONTROLLER
Korg has expanded its popular KONTROL series of MIDI Studio Controllers with the introduction of the new padKONTROL. Sleek and portable, it offers 16 trigger pads and a wide range of control possibilities for expressive MIDI performance onstage or in the studio.
The padKONTROL’s 16 velocity-sensitive trigger pads are extremely responsive to the user’s touch and can be used for a variety of control purposes, from performing natural-sounding and real-feeling drum parts, triggering audio loops or video clips, serving as function or transport controls, to sending MIDI control change messages. For additional onstage impact, the trigger pads illuminate in unique patterns as they are played, adding an entirely new visual aspect to performances.
An X-Y touch pad (based on Korg’s KAOSS Pad technology) can be used to dynamically control natural-sounding flams and rolls when creating drum parts. Any two independent MIDI control messages can be assigned to the X-Y pad for expressive real-time performances. Two knobs can be assigned to a variety of control change messages — such as pan or decay time — for additional control. An assignable pedal jack allows an optional pedal or footswitch to serve as a trigger (for kick drum or other sounds) or as a control source.
Controller assignments can be stored as one of 16 user scenes, for instant recall. The trigger pads may be used to switch among the user scenes, allowing quick setup changes onstage. Thirty preloaded scenes offer full compatibility with popular music and drum software titles. The padKONTROL comes ready to play thanks to the special dfh SUPERIOR drumkit plug-in instrument created to work exclusively with it from Toontrack. This 250 MB drumkit features multiple velocity levels, and a variety of microphone positions — 2,600 samples in all! Also included in the box is Korg’s “Creative Kontrol Pack Volume 2” including acclaimed software applications from Ableton, I.K. Multimedia, UVI, Propellerhead and Korg.
The padKONTROL connects to a Mac or Windows computer using a convenient USB connection, and can be used as a USB-to-MIDI interface for other external MIDI sound modules. The included Editor/Librarian software allows the user to easily edit and manage scene data directly on a computer. For maximum convenience, the Korg padKONTROL can be powered using USB bus power or an optional 9-Volt adapter.
The all-new padKONTROL joins Korg’s expanding line-up of MIDI studio controllers. Adding another dimension beyond traditional keyboard control, the padKONTROL is the most expressive and versatile pad controller ever!
In addition to accessing drum sounds and samples, the padKONTROL can also control soft synths and effects, trigger loops and video clips, and even act as transport controls for DAW software programs. Combining an assignable X-Y touchpad that also provides for natural-sounding flams and rolls, sixteen great-feeling illuminated trigger pads, assignable knobs and a footpedal input, the padKONTROL provides unsurpassed evocative control.
Beat It!
The padKONTROL is ideal for creating natural, organic sounding drumbeats. Each of the sixteen pads can be individually assigned a note number and MIDI channel so you can control a single drumkit or map it to control different devices in your setup at the same time. Eight different dynamic curves are available for each pad, or you can set each pad to its own fixed level. This allows you to set up certain instruments to feel as you like, and others to always play the perfect velocity, no matter how you strike the pad. You can also set up multiple pads to play the same drum but at different fixed velocities, giving you varied but predictable performance every time.
No matter how you set them up, you’ll appreciate the great feel of the pads. They respond well no matter where you strike them, not just in the center like many other systems. So you can freely play the pads with both hands, hit the edges or the center and get responsive, musical results – every time!
The X-Y pad adds real-time control of both flam and roll timing and dynamics. Moving from left to right increases the speed of the roll, or the distance between the “flammed” notes. Moving up increase the volume of the roll, or the second note in the flam. This is a highly expressive and intuitive way to produce these natural drum techniques. With an optional footswitch, you can even add real “kick” drum parts, or close a open hi-hat.
Kontrol it!
Drums are just the beginning. A MIDI message can be assigned to each pad, and they can be set for momentary or toggle operation. In addition to sending a value as the pad is touched, a specific value can be sent as the pad is released, so they can be used like buttons or switches to control any function on your soft synths and DAWs.
Based on Korg’s renowned KAOSS technology, the X-Y pad can be assigned to control any two continuous controllers in real-time. You might set the X Axis to control pitch bend on a synth while the Y Axis controls reverb depth. Or set them to control filter cutoff and resonance, or multiple delay parameters for evocative and expressive performance and mixing possibilities.
Two assignable knobs provide continuous control of two other MIDI parameters. You can easily invert the values sent from any of these controllers so you can quickly adjust them to your needs. Even the footswitch input can be set as a momentary or toggle switch for any parameter. Like the X-Y and trigger pads, the pedal also can send a specific release value.
See it!
Whenever you strike a pad or move a controller the built-in display shows what message or value is being sent, giving you accurate confirmation of what you’re doing. The pads have a striking visual behavior, which will move you to visually groove along with your playing. Pads assigned to notes light up when struck and then shut off. Pads assigned to CC messages stay lit to show their status. Three variations of the Illumination mode cause the trigger pads to light up in unique patterns. Two begin when a trigger pad is struck, and a third starts automatically when the padKONTROL sits idle for a few minutes. The great feel of the trigger pads and the Illumination mode work together synergistically to catapult your performance to a higher intensity level than ever before.
Manage it!
Thankfully, once you have all the controllers set the way you like, you can save the entire set of assignments as a “User Scene.” Sixteen User Scenes are available in the padKONTROL itself, and they can be quickly selected using the pads. In addition, thirty preset scenes are included, designed to instantly match the padKONTROL to some of the most popular music software programs.
The padKONTROL also comes with free Editor/Librarian software. Using the computer’s graphic capabilities, the Editor/Librarian software makes it easy to create, store and organize vast libraries of scenes and “scene sets.”
Software Bonuses
The padKONTROL comes with a special dfh SUPERIOR drum kit plug-in instrument from Toontracks, created to work exclusively with your versatile controller. This 260 MB drum kit features multiple velocity levels, and a variety of microphone positions – 2,700 samples in all – so you can start laying down beats as soon as you get it out of the box!
The padKONTROL also comes with the Creative Kontrol Pack Vol. 2, an impressive collection of music software from leading creators in the field. For more info on it click here.
Specifications subject to change without notice
Controllers:
16 velocity-sensitive Trigger pads with LED illumination
X-Y pad
Two assignable knobs
Assignable pedal jack*
*requires a separately sold DS-1H or PS-1
Display:
7-segment, 3-digit LED
Memory:
16 user scene memories
30 preloaded scene templates
Connectors:
Pedal
MIDI In/Out
USB (type B)
Power supply jack (DC9V)
Power Supply:
DC9V
AC adapter (optional)
USB bus power (when using the USB connector)
Current Consumption:
When using USB bus power: approximately 150 mA (maximum 180 mA)
When using an AC adapter: approximately 150 mA (maximum 180 mA)
Dimensions:
12.36” (W) x 9.21” (D) x 2.17” (H)
314 (W) x 234 (D) x 55 (H) mm
Weight:
2.12 lbs. / 960 g
Included Items:
USB cable
CD-ROM containing padKONTROL Editor/Librarian software etc.
CD-ROM containing dfh SUPERIOR Korg Edition drumkit
Software license agreement
System Requirements Windows:
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition / Professional / x64 Edition
Computer:
Computer with a USB port, satisfying the operating requirements of Windows XP (USB chipset made by Intel Corporation is recommended)
*Driver software for Windows XP x64 Edition is beta-version.
System Requirements Macintosh:
Operating System:
Mac OS X 10.2 or later
Computer:
Apple Macintosh computer with a USB port, satisfying the operating requirements of Mac OS X
padKONTROL options:
AC adapter
DS-1H Damper Pedal
PS-1 Pedal Switch
*Apple, the Apple logo and Mac are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
*Windows XP is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
*All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Specifications subject to change without notice
REMIX MAGAZINE REVIEW:
MIDI is dead. Long-live MIDI. For at least a decade, advancements in audio-manipulation technology such as Sony Acid, Ableton Live and Celemony Melodyne have threatened MIDI's relevance with expanding possibilities for raw audio control. But like rock 'n' roll, distressed jeans and Regis Philbin, MIDI has demonstrated remarkable staying power. The reliance on software in fact has made MIDI as important as ever; the still-growing number of evolving MIDI controllers amply prove this. Into this fray Korg tosses the PadKontrol, a dedicated drum-pad MIDI controller. Even though it's evident why every electronic-music and hip-hop producer would want a pad controller for drum programming, the category is still relatively new. Korg's entry is not the first, and while it doesn't include everything from some of the competition, it's sitting pretty on a higher level of customization, playability and aesthetic touches.
SURFACE LEVEL
At 2.2 pounds and with measurements of 12.4-by-9.2-by-2.1 inches, the PadKontrol makes portability a priority. Its left and right sides are indented to make little ledges for quickly and safely picking up the unit, and four rubber feet establish a base on a table or other surface. While the PadKontrol feels very solid, the plastic chassis that allows for a light weight also means that little extra care when traveling with it should be in order.
With its white faceplate, buttons that glow pink with LED backlights and a mirror backing across the top, the PadKontrol certainly rocks a unique style. By pressing one of four two-button combinations and powering up, the pads enter backlight modes that can light up in expanding patterns or domino patterns when a pad is pressed, or play a sequence of patterns after sitting idle for a couple of minutes. The fourth mode turns those lighting patterns off. While those concerns are secondary, cool lighting can be a novel touch for live performers.
Aside from the 16 Velocity-sensitive trigger pads, the PadKontrol has two knobs, assignable to any MIDI Control Change (CC) message, Aftertouch or pitch bend. The fatness of the knobs is a pleasant change of pace from often-tiny knobs on other controllers; they are comfortable and easy to grip. Two knobs may be low for some control-greedy musicians, but If you're using the PadKontrol with one of the zillions of MIDI keyboards out there tricked out with crazy knobs and sliders, it won't be a big deal.
PadKontrol's coup de gras is its x-y pad, whose two axes are assignable to any MIDI CC, Aftertouch or pitch bend. Sliding a finger the length of an axis will take that parameter from its lowest to highest setting. In addition, the x-y pad offers Flam and Roll modes, selectable via dedicated buttons, in which touching the x-y pad along with a pad will make the pad sound roll or flam (two quick hits together). The position of your finger on the pad determines the volume and speed of the roll (or tightness of the flam).
Two distinguishing hardware bonuses include a footswitch on the back that accepts a damper pedal or pedal switch (not included), so you can assign any MIDI note or CC message to activate with your foot. As a drummer, this invaluable feature made programming beats with the kick assigned to a pedal much more natural and freed up a hand to play other sounds. Whereas similar MIDI controllers have only MIDI Out, PadKontrol has both MIDI Out and In jacks, expanding its use as a full MIDI studio controller. The MIDI In jack effectively turns the PadKontrol into a USB MIDI interface, so you can incorporate non-USB MIDI devices into a computer setup.
GET IT STARTED
Despite deep programmability, the PadKontrol offers instant gratification for plug-and-play beat programming. After installing the driver off the cross-platform CD-ROM, the Apple iMac G5 2GHz test machine recognized the connected PadKontrol instantly. The controller is bus-powered, and I was able to operate with no problems from a powered USB 2.0 hub. The PadKontrol powers on in Play mode. All it took was to launch an instrument in GarageBand or Reason to instantly play beats and record MIDI tracks. There are 16 scene memories, and the PadKontrol comes pre-loaded with scenes designed for certain Korg synths and popular software such as Ableton Live, Native Instruments Battery and FXpansion BFD.
For anyone who's programmed drums only on a MIDI keyboard, the difference in using pads is stark and immediate. It's more comfortable, efficient and expressive; you'll probably never want to go back to keys again. The PadKontrol's pads feel very nice. They have a good amount of give to them but are still very sturdy. They can take a pounding without you hurting your fingers. Best of all, they respond to rapid hits all the way to the edges of the pads; I could play very fast, two-fingered triplet rolls easily.
The Fixed Velocity button sets the pads to maximum Velocity regardless of impact. The innovative Flam and Roll functions are a delight, particularly the Roll for dance music. The rolls play in sync with the tempo assigned to the software, and you can keep the roll constant while playing different pads. The response of the x-y pad was brilliant. Its effects were instant, with no latency, and that also held true for the response of the pads and MIDI knobs.
NITTY GRITTY
Custom programming the PadKontrol's deep functionality in Setting mode takes only a little getting used to and a fairly painless perusal of the slim manual. All programming can take place through the editor/librarian software or from the hardware. For any of the 16 scenes, each pad or the footswitch pedal can be assigned to any note number (C1 to G9) or any CC number (0 to 127) and can also be assigned an individual MIDI channel, fixed Velocity level, Velocity curve, switch type and MIDI port. The switch types are either Momentary (the pad turns off when you release it) or Toggle (the pad turns off when you press it a second time). Toggle works great for triggering loops, muting tracks, etc. In the default mode, it can be frustrating trying to tap lightly enough on the pads to achieve low velocities. But the PadKontrol has that covered with eight assignable Velocity curves, which manipulate the response of a pad's Velocity related to impact on the pad. The C-3 soft curve, for example, gives low Velocity values from harder taps than the default linear curve.
Similar values (with the exception of MIDI notes and Velocity) can also be assigned to the x-y pad and the two knobs. Instead of switch type, those controllers can be set to reverse their polarity. To program controller values, press the Setting key to enter Setting mode and then press the trigger pad or dedicated assign key for the knobs or x-y pads. From there, a bank of parameter buttons lets you choose whether to assign note/CC, MIDI channel, switch type, Velocity, release value or MIDI port. With one of those keys selected, the display flashes the current setting, and turning the rotary encoder lets you quickly choose the desired setting. Trigger pads can be programmed one at a time or all at once, and you can also change the fixed Velocity level from 0 to 127.
Considering the programming potential and minimal, three-character LED display, programming custom PadKontrol scenes from the hardware is surprisingly easy. All changes must be saved with a key sequence before moving to another scene, or they will be lost. There are also some handy programming shortcuts in Play mode. The bottom eight trigger pads alternate to assign common MIDI CCs such as pitch bend, pan, resonance and more to the knobs or x-y pad when you hold down the assign keys for those controllers. In addition, the top eight trigger pads are reserved for transmitting MIDI messages, such as Panic, Note Off and five user-assignable messages.
THE SOFT SIDE
Korg includes an editor/librarian utility, as well as its valuable Creative Kontrol Pack 2 suite and a special Toontracks DFH Superior plug-in exclusive to the PadKontrol. The latter includes 2,700 total samples at a wide variety of Velocity levels. This soundset has a ton of classic and usable drum kits that make the PadKontrol a sick beatbox from the start. If you want to make a Zeppelin-esque Beastie Boys jam or re-create the Billie Jean beat, the sounds are all there.
Creative Kontrol Pack 2 contains scaled-down versions software, including Reason Adapted, Ableton Live Lite 4 and IK Multimedia SampleTank 2. Any one of them adds a little icing to the cake for musicians who don't already have them. However, the highlights of the bundle are the Korg Edition of the Ultimate Sound Bank UVI plug-in and the 19 MDE-X effects from Korg's Legacy Collection. The UVI plug-in has more than 30 drum kits spanning rock, electro and jazz. The MDE-X effects — derived from Triton technology — have quick-and-easy interfaces for adding immediate polish to sounds.
Operating the PadKontrol editor/librarian software couldn't be simpler. Select a scene from a list on the left and click on one of the controls from the PadKontrol graphic to open a Parameter window in which you set values, disable pads and so on. One of the few areas for improvement here is the Control Change field. Instead of having to blindly scroll through 128 Control Changes one-by-one, a pop-up menu with all of them listed would be better. When finished, you can name scenes, save them to disc or transmit them to the PadKontrol. Or the utility can also upload the scenes from the hardware. Unfortunately, v. 1.0 of the software had frequent problems sending and receiving data from the PadKontrol to the iMac running OS X 10.4.4. Korg is aware of the problem and was working on an update to post to its Website at press time.
KONKLUSION
Straight up, a pad controller will put a smile on beat junkie's face, and the specific merits of the PadKontrol are ample. It offers a depth of MIDI programmability not yet seen in its class, wonderful pad playability, a nice software bundle and an x-y pad with the addictive Flam and Roll functions. With its easy-to-master hardware programming and MIDI I/O ports, it's equally suited for the computer-based studio and a computer-free live setup. Other pad controllers have more assignable controls, but if you're one of the many cats who already has a MIDI controller that's ballin' out with plenty of knobs and faders, you won't mind.
KORG
PADKONTROL > $299
Pros: Excellent control response. No latency. Roll and flam functions on an x-y pad. Highly programmable. Footswitch. Sixteen memories. Presets for popular software. Useful software bundle. Cool backlit patterns. MIDI In and Out ports.
KORG WARRANTY INFORMATION:
All Korg products purchased from a Korg USA authorized dealer are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship to the original consumer purchaser as listed below:
Labor: 1 Year |
Parts: 1 Year |
Tuner and Metronomes |
|
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Parts: 3 Years |
Exceptions: Tubes, AC Adapters, Foot Switches: 90 days
Warranty Requirements and Limitations:
-
Proof of Warranty - The customer must provide proof of purchase in order to obtain warranty service. The dated sales slip or copy thereof is the only acceptable proof of purchase.
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The product must be purchased from a Korg USA authorized dealer and have a valid serial number.
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Warranty valid only in the USA
Damage resulting from the following causes are excluded from the warranty set forth above:
- Misuse, including damage occurring during shipment, damage caused by battery leakage, accident, fire, unauthorized repairs, tampering, cosmetic damage or other types of damage which are the result of improper handling or abuse.
- The cleaning of controls or contacts due to exposure to dirty, dusty, or otherwise contaminated environment.
- Damage resulting from modification.
- Damage to units used for loan or rental.
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Korg USA, Inc.
316 South Service Road
Melville, NY 11747-3201
US Customer Service (631) 390-6500
US Product Support (631) 390-8737 or support@korgusa.com
