I’ve always been a fan of techno but I’ve always only played folk guitar. What’s a fella to do? You go get the Korg Kaossilator, that’s what.
This amazing little box, $199 on ThinkGeek, is a tiny sequencer/synth that is about as big as the average guitar tuner. It has 100 audio presets which are basically generated sounds synthesized using an X/Y touchpad. For example, for synthesized wind instruments you can change the pitch and loudness by pressing on different parts of the touchpad. For drums you hit different quadrants for different instruments – tom, high hat, etc. My apologizes for this little demo:
[audio:kaoss.mp3]
Then you create loops. You can set the loop length, between 1 and 8 beats, and record for that length of time. It overlays the recording and repeats it until you tell it to stop, thereby allowing you to create a backbeat and then play over it. It has a headphone jack and RCA audio out and runs on four AA batteries, included.
The best thing about the Kaossilator is that it stays in pitch no matter what you do. If you pick the key of C, everything you swipe, tap, or tickle will be in key. There are no bum notes. This means you can feasibly tune your real instruments correctly and then play along to your Kaossilator-made beats, something I’ve always wanted to do.
It takes a bit of practice to actually make music but initial noodling is quite easy. It’s essentially an instrument you can pick up and play immediately but to master it – meaning use it in compositions with a mix of instruments – is a bit trickier.
If you don’t know how to play an instrument, the Kaossilator is a great place to start. Expect my cover of Don’t Fear the Reaper with Bluegrass guitars and drum and bass backbeat soon. There is, after all, a cowbell noise. Ooots ooots!
that’s pretty freakin cool.
I have one of these at work and I frigging love it. I like to hook it up and just make fun beats.
making beats is so fun, playing with bass frequencies etc amping up the SPL….
I was VERY tempted to get one of these a few months ago, but demand was so high it was nearly impossible to pick one up, so I gave up.
About two months ago I downloaded iDrum’s Ministry of Sound app to my iPhone and I ended up with what basically amounts to a Kaossilator for a whopping $6.00. If you’re an iPhone user, check out the iDrum apps before spending the $199 on one of these…it might be all you need if you are just going to use it for messing around.
Damn, I sound like I work for iDrum, eh?
No MIDI port. I’ll pass. Nice try, though.
I got one of these and it is pretty fun. Not really for the hardcore musician.
There are accessories you can add to add additional sequences – Kaos Pad I think.
You and Joel should get together and make the ultimate Bluegrassilator album.
have one and it’s amazing! to much fun!
This puppy really needs some USB action. Its such a good sketchpad but its frustrating that you cant export any midi data from it :(
No doubt the next Generation will be pluggable!
My son uses a Microkorg in his band, “Passage of the Lady Anne”. It is several quantum levels beyond this but doesn’t cost much more. Not as portable, though.
I have one and both I and my 12-year-old daughter love it. It’s really fun to output it through a keyboard so you can play along.
If you like this, check out
http://www.voxamps.com/jamvox/
The software is very well done – you drag and drop ‘components’ to create your own sounds. It also has many preconfigured settings. My guitar instructor has one – I’m saving my pennies…
This thing is totally awesome. It’s just a fun, refreshing way to mess around and come up with ideas. Not to mention it’s got killer sounds that you can sprinkle on top what you’re doing in a DAW =)
Hours and hours of fun.
Am I the only person who sees this as a flop? No person with experience with turntables could take these improvised beats and sounds seriously. The only unique attribute is that it makes the burping notes that only synthesizers can make. I could get a real synthesizer for under $200.
Kaossilator a flop? see the Marketing Punk’s comment about the demand being so hi, this is probably one of the most succesful musical toys ever. It is just that toy, but an incredible toy. Anyone can play it and that’s the point. Syncing up to a turntable would be very tricky and I agree with you but folks somehow manage do it very well. Google it and see how many hits you get compared to your $200 real synthesizer that you could get, in popularity, no competition.