Introduction
Korg’s mission appears to be this - have a long hard look at the DJ scene and bring out groundbreaking unique products that challenge the DJ’s usual chain of thought. If it’s not spewing out a string of teeny weeny effects boxes, then it’s going for the real top end and popping out a couple of seriously knee trembling übermixers that define the peak on the nextlevelness graph.
Falling somewhere in between are the KM series - the KM-202 and 402 mixers. One one hand they’re most basic of 2 and 4 channel mixers you can get, lacking bells and whistles usually thrown in these days. But they grab the attention for a few reasons - the looks, the EQ options and the built in KAOSS pad. Trust Korg to put their own spin on the formula.
For the purposes of this review, there’s no point in treating the 202 and 402 as separate objects. Aside from extra channels, there’s little difference between the mixers so I’ll simply highlight 402 specific difference as and when necessary. No point in duplicating effort in the name of page impressions.
First Impressions
Seeing as the KMs are such attention grabbing mixers, first impressions are really easy:
Green and White - who’s idea was that? The Japanese market isn’t quite as conservative as the rest of the world and wackiness often rules, as witnessed by the dalliance with Orange and White last year by Vestax.
How big? The 202 model is exactly the same size as the 402, too big for a 2 channel mixer - or so I thought. I guess this is a cost saving exercise more than anything else.
KAOSS pad - the external pads are just that and it’s not always possible to send your audio through them if your mixer isn’t equipped with an FX loop.
Big EQ knob - Korg have a thing for different EQs right now and even their entry level mixers get the special treatment.
So let’s address the basics of the KM series. What you get are basic 2 and 4 channel mixers, equipped with the essentials that DJs need to get going. And by basics, I do mean that - the KMs are all about giving you bang for minimum buck.
Let’s talk styling. I think that this Green and White aesthetic is just a way for Korg to stand out in a sea of Black and Silver sameness. It also seems to be indicative of units having a KAOSS pad in from now on. We can only guess what the next KAOSS endowed product will look like. At first, I wasn’t in love with this look, but eventually I didn’t even notice it as I started to play. For some, it could be a deal breaker before even getting out of the starting blocks. Perhaps the guys at styleflip could come to the rescue. One note about the white faceplate - it chips fairly easily.
The case is much like any other but with strange plastic bolted on body panels, almost like spoilers on cars. Although not referenced in the manual, I think these are for protection and decoration. If I owned one, they’d be taken off within minutes.
The rest of the controls are a mixture of black and white knobs, of a quality that fits into this price bracket and suitable for the intended market. The knobs feel good, but are plastic stems hence wobbling a little. The logic of white fader caps and ridged knobs is a little lost on me. Something that will be handled on an all too regular basis will attract a lot of crap - handruff as we call it round here - which will soon turn the gleaming white KM into dull crap colour.
The KM-202 must be the biggest 2 channel mixer ever. At first I thought this was a bad idea but the space is very welcome, making the 202 a real pleasure to use. I’d normally have an issue with EQ knobs not lining up with the channels but with the controls being at a minimum, the 202 works very well indeed. The 402 for that matter is a pleasure as well. The channel controls all line up, with adequate space around everything to work.
From a usability point of view, the KMs are well laid out and shouldn’t cause any problems for any type of DJ.
Faders
DJs love their faders so it’s worth covering these in a little more detail than perhaps they’re worth. After negotiating the raised chrome screws (will manufacturers never learn?) popping open the faceplate showed me pretty much what I expected to see. The smooth but lightweight short bodied Alpha fader surprised me with it’s feel, but I suspect it’ll soon show signs of fatigue in the hands of a fader frenzied DJ. Underneath there’s little space for anything except a short bodied fader, but the good news is that the soon to be released Pro X Fade 2 has been tested and does fit just fine.
Bearing in mind that these aren’t aimed scratch DJs, there is a lack of fader controls with only a curve control for the crossfader. That said, the installed Alpha fader has a very sharp cut and a 2mm lag. No reverses though.
The line faders are a different matter. They’re part of the main board and have a distinct side to side wobble. However, seeing as they’re likely to be used as little more than volume controls, they should give you some long service.
Sound
Korg have a thing for EQ right now. They like offering multiple EQ styles selectable via a large control on the right of the KMs. Offering 6 different EQ settings (2 with full kills), you’ll find a style to suit your needs. You can only assign the EQ as a blanket style i.e. all channels have the same EQ style but you still get full 3 band EQ on all channels for a little extra flexibility. The overall sound quality is really good and having a few EQ tricks up its sleeves means you get more control over your output than many more expensive mixers.
Obviously being a 2 channel mixer, channel assigning isn’t an issue. On the 402, assigning the channels to the crossfader is handled with a button. Either side of the crossfader are a green (A) and red (B) LED. Pressing the CH SELECT turns it from unlit (effected only by channel faders), Green (assigned to bus A) or Red (assigned to bus B). Maybe a regular A-B slider would have been better but you do get treated to a nice traffic light style Red/Amber/Green LED display.
Cueing is handled entirely differently on each model. On the KM-202, you get a cue/master toggle, a level control and a pgm1/2 slider. Simple and logical and works just fine. On the KM-402 though, you get cue controls on all channels, with a level control and a knob to pan between cue and master output. Both work well, especially with being able to
cue all channels at the same time.
Finally monitoring - seeing as the KMs are aimed at budget minded DJs, some features have been deemed less important, and metering is one of them. the 202 has 6 part LED channel meters, whereas the 402 has the same meters but with an extra one for cue volume.
KAOSS Pad
When I first saw the KM press info, I thought the inclusion of a KAOSS pad right into the heart of the mixer was a cool idea. But then I had a terrible sinking feeling, the same feeling that I get when a manufacturer gets it very wrong. Thankfully wiring up the KM put all those fears to bed. Listen up - the effects offered by the KAOSS pad are POST FADER. YAY!
The KAOSS pad operates in much the same way as the miniKP pad. The KMs offer 99 effects of different types, all of which work post fader and in some more sound generator instances bypassing faders altogether. The manual doesn’t list what they are so it’s a matter of trial and error. If you download the miniKP manual, at the back you get a comprehensive list of what each of the effects does.
Each channel has a KAOSS button - press this and the pad is engaged for that channel. Turn the program/BPM knob to select an effect and you’re off. Dragging your finger over the pad changes the relevant parameters of the effect in question. The effect, like the EQ, are engaged for whichever channel is selected - you can’t have an effect for each channel.
With your finger, the effect applied is momentary but using the hold button, the effect is permanently on - that is until you change the effect. I think keeping the hold engaged until manually disengaged would have been better. The effects are also BPM based but this BPM isn’t measured by the KM but has to be tapped in manually. Unlike the miniKP, the KMs offer a wet/dry control for the effect. And linked to this is the FX release, essentially a delay effect that uses the current BPM to fade out the engaged effect rather than just cutting it off.
Rounding off the effects are the program memory buttons. You can store 3 effects and their parameters (including hold status and finger position on the pad) so that you can instantly recall 3 favourite effects. With so many to choose from and experimentation likely to throw up some random gems, having somewhere to store them can only be a good thing.
The miniKP is universally loved and stuffing them into mixers at a still reasonable price is a very nice thing for Korg to do.
Ins and Outs
Every expense has been spared as far as connectivity goes. With the likely users being in their bedrooms or home studios, the KM series have limited ins and outs. Each channel as line and phono RCAs (selectable via a toggle on the face) with the only outputs being RCA master and booth. There’s also a 1/4” jack for a microphone.
One minor niggle on the 402 - channel 1 is for line/mic leaving 2-4 for line/phono. Using turntables, I found this to be an illogical layout. Perhaps swapping the line/mic to channel 4 would have been a more logical solution.
Summing Up
The obvious battle to be fought here is an aesthetic one. The Green and White livery is an acquired taste and only you can decide if it's a battle you want to take on. If you can however and come through the style war unscathed, what you get is a really basic but well put together pair of 2 and 4 channel mixers with the added goodness of flexible EQs and KAOSS pad magic through in. It’s hard to get anything wrong with the established format and even after adding more EQ and effects goodness, Korg have managed to put together 2 very good mixers that will appeal to a wide section of the cost conscious DJ market.
Ratings
Build Quality - 7.5/10
Lots of plastic and potentially chipping faceplates. If you take care of it, it'll be OK though. Can't complain for the price though.
Sound Quality - 8.5/10
The multiple EQs and KAOSS pad effects sound great.
Features and Implementation - 9/10
Impressive crossfader action, post fader implementation effects and lots of EQs.
Value for Money - 9/10
It's not going to take a beating but the bang to buck ratio is high.
Bottom Line
If you want a wallet friendly mixer with effects, the KMs are the perfect choice.