Use Kaossilator Pro as a sound module...Realy?!?!?

[SMK]

This is just an honest opinion but I am really curious if anyone out here in the "Kaoss Fandom" is thinking the same thing when someone posts a question; "how do I hook my cool/awesome midi key board controller to use the Kaossilator Pro as a sound module" or why can't I control the Kaossilator Pros sounds with my controller/computer or whatever". And the thing I am really thinking is; "You bought the WRONG gear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

For the price of a Kaossilator Pro you can get that awesome microKorg XL or the Micro Sampler...both of which are battery operated, you can control them with other keyboards and they are completely portable and they come with built in keyboards. Even better you can create or up load your own sounds and play across said keyboard.

The reason why some of us get the Kaossilator Pro is that it does not have keys ...it has the touchscreen with the cool auto scale tuning gimmick. Kaossilator is about a new way to play a synth...not about new sounds. There is really nothing special about the sounds in the KO Pro...there is nothing new that you can't find in a microKorg.

So this is just my opinion about the small craze going around about how to go through the "equipment hell" to get a midi keyboard controller to play the sounds on a KO Pro.

My apologies to anyone I offend but I'm just wondering; "does anyone else think the same way on this subject?

[hazabikit]

The reason why some of us get the Kaossilator Pro is that it does not have keys ...it has the touchscreen with the cool auto scale tuning gimmick. Kaossilator is about a new way to play a synth...not about new sounds.

Yes! This is why I bought the Kaossilator Pro. New, non-traditional controllers are giving people new ways to play music.
IMO this the next revolution in electronic instruments, and it's happening right now.

[Bowmoney]

agree, every time someone posts on here about how to do that, i tell them to buy new gear...or when someone complains "why can't they add a keyboard?"...

[SMK]

Cool, I'm not the only one...

You know when these guys ask for an upgrade to the OS on a KO Pro to take midi note messages it takes everything I have in myself to not post; "please korg don't listen to these people...send them over to the microKorg page; don't waste valuable time and resources on making this upgrade when there are better upgrades to focus on".

Really if there is anything to be asking for, I'd like to have the same "sound sculpting" features of a microKorg. Now that upgrade would make sense. But then again we do have the Korg DS10 for that so...that's a different story.

[hazabikit]

The only upgrade that I REALLY want on the KPro is a longer loop time... I'd even plug the memory chips in myself, if I had to!

[Keyboardplaya]

This reminds me of people who say a Moog synthesizer is "supposed" to be monophonic.

People who want to be able to use the Kaoss Pro/Pad as sound modules (like me) are not discounting the creativity and style of the device. We simply like to have more options (you know, versatility?). Sure, if you prefer to play only one key at a time on your Moog, no one is stopping you. But why isn't it okay to want to play chords as well?

Similarly, I appreciate Korg's vision, and I understand that they want their devices used in a certain way, but they are not God, or a megalomaniacal dictator. Any company, or corporation, is beholden to its consumers. If the consumers aren't happy, they won't buy the product.

So why is it so wrong to want to be able to BOTH use the touch pad, AND control it via a MIDI keyboard, depending on the application?

And what if the consumer has only a KORG miniKontrol, and wants to use the Kaossilator Pro to create and manipulate sounds?

I guess some people haven't thought of these ideas.

[xmlguy]

So why is it so wrong to want to be able to BOTH use the touch pad, AND control it via a MIDI keyboard, depending on the application?

And what if the consumer has only a KORG miniKontrol, and wants to use the Kaossilator Pro to create and manipulate sounds?

I guess some people haven't thought of these ideas.

It isn't wrong to want to be able to do that. Most of us expected that a product like the Kaossilator Pro would do that. But the Korg designers were idiots who entirely ignored any comments from existing users and just handed down what we got, a big phat disappointment. The Kaossilator Pro was designed on the cheap by recycling the KP3 tooling and design, without actually having to design a new product from scratch with the best hardware for the purpose. So instead of having a monster hit product, they got a lackluster response that a retread deserves. Some folks at Korg R&D and management are plain business idiots. They've completely screwed up the Electribe and Kaoss product lines.

[Keyboardplaya]

I was at least expecting Korg to come out with these capabilities in future versions of the Kaossilator. However, the new + model kind of shows you how "courageous" the development team has decided to be.

Think of how Microsoft works, versus Apple. I, a previous Windows consumer, am reminded of having to download different types of freeware, or mess with confusing settings in the control panel, just to set up MIDI capability. Meanwhile, ten seconds after opening the box, my Mac was communicating with my keyboard seamlessly. And this ten seconds was only required to plug in my MIDI cables, not change any settings in the software.

Can't Korg at least create a FREE third-party program to rectify this, or provide users with literature on how to do some MIDI mapping? How about updating the Kaoss Pro/KP3 editor software? That'll take about three minutes for the developers.

[bogwet]

I see your point with the kaossilator being run by a keyboard...but heres a question for you...would it not be nice to transmit from the kpro to a program like fl studio and get fl studio to trigger the kpro so you can play it back and fix small problems like note timing in a piano roll up,your point is taken to using it live but what about using it for recording,i can do cool things with the kpro using my finger,but i would still like to touch it up with editing after i have played it.

[Bald Eagle]

I would love it if the KPro would respond to note on messages. It would great to play it with a keyboard and sequence it properly. I would think that this could have been added with a relatively simple firmware upgrade but as Keyboardplaya said Korg wants you to use their gear the way they want you to. I suppose in their minds adding keyboard control would somehow create an unwanted product overlap so we have a better chance of seeing a Kronos sequencer update than getting support for keyboard control on the KPro.

[SMK]

You I can not argue against the idea that there is an advantage to having the Kaossilator Pro respond to note on messages however there are better sound modules in Korgs product line that simply do the job better.

See after serious investigating and work into this box, there is actually an inherent reason why the Kaossilator Pro simple can not receive any midi note information on the X & Y pad.

Really. the integration of having a touch pad keyboard that you can change the Key and scales at will (literally re-setting up a Prepared piano, John Cage style) it what makes this the Kaossilator Pro so damn unique and revolutionary. But this revolutionary approach to playing the keyboard as also complex in and it is not easy to satisfy every need. So that is why we go back to, do you have the correct gear to do what you want.

[thehighesttree]

Just here to chime in that the Kaossilator Pro is a gimp product with no clear purpose outside of random noodling. And it's more expensive than the KP3?? Please. Even the KP3 is pretty hobbled in having to be set to MIDI transmit mode to send anything but pad data, which apparently overrides its internal functions...what's the deal with that? Also, we don't want a worthless ROM update you capitalist pigs, just open the damn boxes to real editing!

[Bald Eagle]

You I can not argue against the idea that there is an advantage to having the Kaossilator Pro respond to note on messages however there are better sound modules in Korgs product line that simply do the job better.

See after serious investigating and work into this box, there is actually an inherent reason why the Kaossilator Pro simple can not receive any midi note information on the X & Y pad.

Really. the integration of having a touch pad keyboard that you can change the Key and scales at will (literally re-setting up a Prepared piano, John Cage style) it what makes this the Kaossilator Pro so damn unique and revolutionary. But this revolutionary approach to playing the keyboard as also complex in and it is not easy to satisfy every need. So that is why we go back to, do you have the correct gear to do what you want.

I don't see that translating note on messages would be a problem. They are doing that in the other direction when using the KPro as an external controller. However there would be the issue of what to do with the Y-axis if controlling the KPro from a keyboard but I sure something could be done. I agree that there is better gear for use as a sound module but still it would be nice.

[SMK]

I discovered the issue when I was looking at how people were designing software to allow you to control the KO Pro with a keyboard with the laptop as a middle man. What is being done is that midi note data is being routed to connect to CC velocity and release values on the X axis. Whats neat about that is imagine you have your keyboard connected this way and you have your scale on the pro set to Chromatic (no set scale) and everything plays normally on the keyboard like you would expect. Then you can change the scale on the Ko Pro to the dorian scale and guess what happens to your keyboard...the key board now plays the scale. A "C" key is not "C" anymore, it's a different note, because the scale change seemingly rewrote your midi mapping but actually your keyboard is mapped to X coordinates via CC velocity values, not notes. Add to that you can change the Key.

The KO Pro's XY pad is mapped to CC values, not to midi note. So therefor when it takes in external controller it will only accept what the XY pad sends...CC values. It is actually very complicated and yet ingenious to appreciate this functionality. The ultimate flexible keyboard.

If there was such a thing as a Keyboard controller that the manufacturer allowed each key to be mapped to CC velocity changes, that really is the solution to this whole mess. But every keyboard controller is only mapped to midi notes because who in the world would want a keyboard with keys mapped to CC's? That would totally defeat the purpose of having a keyboard, right?