Korg NanoPAD/NanoKONTROL

[Aez]

So christmas is coming up and i'm either asking a NanoPAD or a NanoKONTROL.
The NanoPAD seems fun to screw around with, and could also be useful to record some drums and percussion. The NanoKONTROL has a fair amount of knobs and sliders to link parameters to. Both of those seem helpfull.

Anyone had either of those and can tell me what they think about them? Also would a drumpad or a midi controller be more useful? (I've already got 2 midi keyboards)

Cheers

[deadly_habit]

i use the nanokontrol, handy as hell
right now i have it attached to my mic stand for the level settings and transport controls so i can record my own vocals easier as my mic is setup a lil ways away from the comp

[cloak and dagger]

I have a NanoKontrol and really like it. It does the job, works well live.


I had a NanoPad, and it stopped recognizing some of the pads or recognizing them as being held down after barely any use. I would stay far away from it.

[Phigure]

I own both. To decide for which one to get, it really comes down to what you need/want to do most.

pads:

• allows you to perform your drums
• good if you're not skilled with the sequencer
• allows you to play natural rhythms
• natural dynamics as opposed to drawing rhythms in

kontrol:

• allows you to control parameters
• love mapping synth params
• recording automation for the track is easy and fun
• tends to encourage creative modulation of parameters simultaneously, that one might not attempt if one is just drawing in automation

both are nice to travel with. they go along very nicely with a laptop oriented setup. great if you're on the go. just stick em in your laptop bag and you can work on your music anywhere/anytime. personally, i would go with the nanokontrol because it gives you the ability to modulate multiple parameters at once, something you simply can't do with a mouse. there's something that's just really cool about mapping 18 parameters from your synth and effects, and then letting the track play through and recording all the cool combinations of modulation. it makes it really easy to keep your track interesting and fresh.

drums can be sequenced just as well with a mouse, although it's not quite as fun as with pads. i own both an mpd24 and a nanopad and honestly, i still end up drawing in everything almost 95% of the time.

you could also go with a midi device that combines the two, such as the Akai MPD 24

PS - make sure you don't buy the nanokeys. they're fucking shit.

[deadly_habit]

i just wish the nanokontrol had the faders & knobs set up like the way nanolive is setup for scene changes, or at least an option. maybe then i could use all 4 scenes instead of 1
http://www.nativekontrol.com/nanoLive_II.html

[Aez]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys!

I'm probably going to get both, I found them for €35 each wich seems like a very reasonable price!
I figured I would end up drawing the drums in anyways, but it seems fun to do with a drumpad and it can be used to quickly think of some rhythms.

"[*]tends to encourage creative modulation of parameters simultaneously, that one might not attempt if one is just drawing in automation" I hadn't even thought of this and that's reason alone to buy a NanoKONTROL for me

[deadly_habit]

yea it's also handy for synth settings when you're looking for a sweet spot on a filter and resonance setting or wavetable etc

[Aez]

yea it's also handy for synth settings when you're looking for a sweet spot on a filter and resonance setting or wavetable etc

Good point, knobs and faders would for sure be more accurate than a mouse.

[deadly_habit]

yea if you use soft synths a lot midi knobs/faders/buttons are a must have imo, just speeds up work flow

[2nd chance]

I've been going back and forth on this, but hearing about the kontrol from others has tipped it. Thanks guys.

[ChrisMinority]

Definitely, I love my NanoKontrol. Akai also has a line of micro control surfaces (the LPD8 and LPK25) which in my opinion are a little bit more sturdy in their construction. I use both the Korg and Akai controls and they run perfectly with most DAWs (Reason guy, myself).

[AxL]

DON'T BUY the korg nano!!! I've buyed it and after a while some button start to not work, same things appens to other 3 friends, if you can buy the akay series is pretty the same controller as the nano but they work better, as the same price you get something better, i've buy one to my girlfriend 1 years ago and still work perfectly!

[deadly_habit]

how do you treat your gear? i've had my nanokontrol for well over a year and had no issues

[cloak and dagger]

how do you treat your gear? i've had my nanokontrol for well over a year and had no issues

mine's been good to me too, but let's not pretend that these are really sturdily built devices...loads of people have had problems with them

[deadly_habit]

how do you treat your gear? i've had my nanokontrol for well over a year and had no issues

mine's been good to me too, but let's not pretend that these are really sturdily built devices...loads of people have had problems with them

yea but for the price they exceeded my expectations
the keys is the only one that seemed and was shoddy build

[Aez]

Really the durability is just what you make of it

[cloak and dagger]

Really the durability is just what you make of it

that is completely wrong

[Aez]

Really the durability is just what you make of it

that is completely wrong

I could just throw some bricks at my computer screen right now aye?

[decklyn]

Deadly habit - did you program your nanokontrol?
You should be able to use 3 scenes at least.

I have 2x nanokontrol and 1x nanopad.
I would recommend the akai small pad controller over the nanopad - it has backlit pads and 6 knobs instead of one .

Nanokontrol is pretty sweet. I'm using it for live pa with 2 launchpads.

[cloak and dagger]

Really the durability is just what you make of it

that is completely wrong

I could just throw some bricks at my computer screen right now aye?

you can do whatever you want, but i was just pointing out that the durability of something isn't dependent on what you do to it


you can throw a brick at your computer screen and so can somebody else, if their screen is more durable than yours it will most likely take less damage