---

Life is full of little coincidences. I knew of the Korg KAOSS pad but up until Monday, I hadn't even touched one. Visiting Mista Ed's place gave me the opportunity to make them love the Rodec Scratchbox like their firstborn but also for me to experience the KAOSS PAD 2 for the very first time. And from the short play I had, I was suitably impressed that I thought it would be a good idea to get one in to put through the usual skratchworx review machine. But by pure coincidence, an email arrived from Korg Japan, telling me that they love skratchworx and that they have a new KAOSS PAD 3 coming out. So while we wait for the review unit to arrive, take a look at the official info.

Powerful sampling tools and performance effects at your fingertip

Korg’s KAOSS technology has been embraced by DJs, musicians and producers alike. No other interface is as intuitive, immediate or just plain fun to use. By simply touching, tapping or sliding your finger over the touchpad, the all-new KP3 allows you to control multiple effects parameters and manipulate samples in real time. On stage or in the studio, these gestures and moves can become powerful and expressive performance elements. More than a processor, the KP3 is a complete instrument allowing you to manage, recall, and play back samples; sample on the fly; and add dynamic processing to any audio signal or to the samples themselves.

This latest KAOSS incarnation has been completely overhauled to enhance your creativity, with significant advances in every area. New effects algorithms, synth sounds derived from our RADIAS engine, bigger and better sampling plus computer connectivity all point to the fact that the KP3 is an entirely new KAOSS instrument. A new pad lighting system places 64 individual LEDs in an eight by eight grid under the pad, providing visual cues as to the current program, held position, etc. – it can even scroll a custom message across the pad!

Killer Effects come to Life
The KP3 comes equipped with 128 great-sounding effect programs Sure, the traditional essential effects are there – delays, flangers, etc., and they sound amazing. But using newly developed algorithms, the KP3 also provides fresh, exciting effects such as a grain shifter, decimator, a vintage analog style filter with a tone-bending drive circuit, and expanded EQs that are controlled directly from the pad. And moving beyond effects, there are also drum grooves and even RADIAS-inspired vocoder and synthesizer sounds that can be played free-form on the X/Y pad.

As you move your finger across the touchpad and find that “sweet spot”, pressing the Hold button will lock the settings, so you can take your hand away to do other things. The LED grid on the touchpad will show the held location, so you can pick up where you left off without any “jumps”. Better yet, Pad Motion can memorize and repeat a fluid or complex gesture played on the pad. Once again, the new pad lighting system enhancements can actually display the Pad Motion pattern as it plays.

A separate FX Depth knob sets the overall balance between the original signal and the effect, so you can add just the right amount of processing. The eight Program Memory buttons allow you to store all of this information – Program Number, Hold button On/Off status (and coordinates), Pad Motion, and the FX depth setting – to a single button for instant access during performance.

Another new innovation in the KP3 is called FX Release. Basically, FX Release adds an adjustable delay tail when you remove your finger from the pad. In addition to being a creative performance tool, FX Release also prevents the abrupt dropping out of the effect as you transition from one setting to another, providing a smoother and more musical performance. The FX Release delay effect is automatically set to the current tempo – whether manual, MIDI, auto BPM or Tap Tempo – and the amount of the FX Release and can be set and saved individually with each program.

Superior Sampling
Four Sample Bank buttons on the front panel allow you to create, play and save both looped and one-shot samples on the fly. All samples are recorded using high resolution 24-bit converters, and are stored in16-bit/48 kHz format. Samples can be saved on a Secure Digital (SD) card or transferred to computer via USB. With both mic and line inputs, the KP3 allows you to sample from a wide variety of sources.

The KP3’s sampling system thinks and speaks in the language of music, hiding incredible technology below the surface. When creating loop samples, for example, sample length is set in terms of beats, not seconds. You can generally set the sample length up to 16 beats long (extremely slow tempos capture fewer beats). When sampling is finished, the sample will immediately start playing in sync with the sample source. As the sample plays you can adjust the start time of the sample to “fine-tune” it to the original tempo, or to dial-in time shifted playback.

Time-Slicing chops a sample into separate parts. You can use the Program Memory buttons to turn these individual slices on or off in real time, creating new rhythmic patterns from the original sample as part of your performance. Sampling and effects are totally integrated in the KP3, so you can sample through the effects, and even resample the entire output to create powerful, multi element samples.

Stay in Sync
Tempo is an integral element of the KP3. Sampling times are set in terms of tempo, and many effects are also tempo-based. All tempo-related functions are accurate to .1 (one-tenth) of a BPM for more precise matching to external devices. To keep everything sync’d up, the KP3 features auto-BPM detection from the audio input; Tap-Tempo entry, as well as a manual tempo setting. The KP3 can also send and receive tempo information via MIDI clock. This extra versatility allows the KP3 to detect BPM info from a turntable, and in turn provide MIDI clock to other devices down the line, keeping everything moving together.

Take Control
The KP3 is also a MIDI controller, sending out three controller numbers from the touchpad, and additional messages from the slider. The Sample Bank buttons send and receive note messages. Program Change commands and clock information can also be sent or received. The inclusion of MIDI IN and OUT allows even the most daring and complex KP3 moves to be recorded and played back by an external sequencer or software sequencing program.

Part of the Team
A single USB connection allows the KP3 to share sample data with a computer. An editor / librarian program is included so you can build libraries of samples, and edit them using your computer. The software also allows WAV and AIFF files to be loaded into the KP3, and includes pitch correction for samples not created at 48 kHz. This graphic software is valuable not only for editing samples, but also for creating, editing and saving programs and global data. The stereo inputs and outputs can be set so the KP3 can run in-line to an amplification system, or hooked to the effect loop jacks of an audio mixer.

Yeah I know - it's a lot to read and take in, but it's worth it. Essentially it's a sampling and looping effects box that's a whole of fun to use and one hell of an upgrade from the KAOSS PAD 2.

Should be out in October with a UK price of £315.