Let the Kaos Begin
As a long time fan of nifty control surfaces like Rolands “Time-Trip Pad” and those on the Korg Kaos Pad and its smaller brother I am more than a little surprised and gleeful to find that Korg have created another baby Kaos Pad spin-off… only this time it has its own sound generator. It’s known as the Kaossilator.
“The next innovation in the highly acclaimed line of Korg DJ tools has arrived! The KAOSSILATOR is a new pocket sized instrument that packs Korg’s world-renowned synth sounds along with innovative performance features into an ultra-compact unit. Anyone can instantly play musical phrases by simply tapping or sliding their finger across the KAOSSILATOR’s touch pad – no previous skills required! The KAOSSILATOR is a portable, travel friendly device that runs on batteries, so you can have fun creating music anywhere your life takes you, with seemingly endless possibilities.”
The best thing about the Kaossilator has to be the price. At only £117 including VAT it’s a low priced, revolutionary and fun entry into music for amutuers and an absolutely essential addition to the gig bag of any professional.
Without further ado here’s the rest of the blurb for your reading pleasure:
“Don’t think this little wonder is just for beginners. While the KAOSSILATOR has been designed to offer untrained musical enthusiasts a new level of musical involvement and fun, it is also aimed at keyboardists, guitarists and DJs looking for a convenient way to add fresh new elements to a band performance or DJ set. This is a portable Korg synthesizer delivering maximum flexibility in an ultra-compact body, with battery operation that allows you to jam anywhere.
Powerful sounds & features
KAOSSILATOR comes packed with 100 sound programs that combine Korg’s modelling synthesizer engine with effects from the KAOSS Pad series. Its horizontal axis is assigned to note/pitch, while the vertical axis is assigned to parameters such as: cut-off, feedback, or modulation depth, giving you a wide range of performance possibilities. In addition to classic synthesizer sounds, there are faithfully simulated piano, guitar and trumpet sounds as well as looped and one-shot drum sounds. making the KAOSSILATOR a never-ending source of inspiration to stimulate your creativity.The KAOSSILATOR offers you a choice of 31 different scales, including chromatic and diminished, as well as major and minor blues and pentatonic scales – by using the key setting function, you can play them in any key. In addition to the standard western scales, Korg has included a few more exotic varieties such as Spanish, Ryukyu, and Raga.
The Gate Arpeggiator
The Gate Arpeggiator enables you to produce specific patterns of notes in sync with user specified tempos. Then, to get your creative juices flowing, Loop Recording allows you to record a phrase with a specified number of beats to a maximum of two bars (or measures) and add layers to it. For example you can record a phrase using a synth-lead sound, and then overdub bass or drum sounds. You can build up layers of cool phrases by simply repeating this cycle of selecting, playing, and recording sounds.”
KAOSSILATOR SPECIFICATIONS
PROGRAMS: 100
MUSICAL SCALE PATTERNS: 31
KEY RANGE: +/- 12
TYPES OF GATE ARPEGGIATOR: 50
CONNECTORS: LINE OUT: Phono (RCA)
HEADPHONE: Stereo mini jack
SAMPLING FREQUENCY: 48kHz
D-A CONVERSION: 24-bit Linear
POWER SUPPLY: 4 alkaline AA (LR6) batteries (6V)
BATTERY LIFE: approximately five hours (with alkaline batteries)
DIMENSIONS: 106 mm (W) x 129mm (D) x 29 mm (H)
WEIGHT: 154 g / 5.43 oz. (without batteries)
OPTIONS: AC adapter ( DC 4.5V )