Korg PadKONTROL Black - USB MIDI Controller Drum Pad Controller With X-Y Touchpad

The Korg padKONTROL (Black) MIDI studio controller offers 16 velocity-sensitive trigger pads and a wide range of control possibilities for expressive MIDI performance. The Korg padKONTROL's trigger pads are extremely responsive to your touch, and you can use them for everything from performing natural-sounding and real-feeling drum parts to triggering audio loops or video clips, serving as function or transport controls, and sending MIDI control change messages. Also cool: the trigger pads illuminate in patterns, so you've got onstage visual impact with your Korg padKONTROL.

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.

Included Software
The padKONTROL also comes with free Editor/Librarian software for Windows XP and Mac OSX. 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.”

The main features of the Korg PadKontrol include:

• 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
• 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
• 30 preloaded scenes offer full compatibility with popular music and drum software titles
• USB computer connection with USB-to-MIDI interface for external sound modules
• USB bus-powered
• Included Editor/Librarian software for easily editing and managing scene data