You can’t ignore it. Korg’s new padKONTROL demands your attention. Literally. Let it sit idle for a few minutes and the pads begin flashing in array of patterns until you start playing. And once you start, you won’t be able to stop.

From edge to edge, the pads are solid and responsive, with a comfortable feel that inspires you to play with confidence. Four big non-skid feet give a secure feel. Each pad can be individually set to one of eight velocity curves, or set to a fixed velocity. As a MIDI trigger, each pad can send a specific MIDI note number on a specific MIDI channel. By changing from momentary to toggle operation, the pad can be used to turn on and off looped sample grooves. Each pad can also be set to any MIDI continuous control number, with separate “on” and “release” values. Even program change or bank number messages can be sent from a single pad. The assignable pedal switch input can be used as an additional pad, making it easy to play kick drum parts, or as an additional controller.

But what truly makes the padKONTROL unique is the X/Y Touchpad, based on Korg’s KAOSS pad technology. By holding down a pad and moving your finger across the pad, you can play and create dramatic and realistic rolls, controlling both the stroke timing and dynamics in realtime. Flams can be created the same way, and a HOLD button “freezes” the current X/Y pad setting for hands-free operation. Remember that there are no MIDI commands for flam and roll – the padKONTROL is doing this all on its own! And of course, any two MIDI Control numbers can be assigned to the X/Y Pad for even more flexibility.

Up top are two additional knobs that can be assigned to anything from pitch bend to aftertouch or any MIDI continuous control number. Once you have all the controllers set the way you want them, you can save the entire set-up as one of 16 user “scenes”. An additional 30 scenes are built-in, providing fast access to many of the most popular music software titles. To make things even easier, a free software Editor/Librarian program is included, providing enhanced visual elements so you can view multiple parameters at one time. Using the Editor/Librarian software, you can also save, create and organize vast libraries of scenes and scene sets.

And to get you started, Korg has also included a special edition of the Toontrack’s dfh SUPERIOR plug-in drum kit instrument – this one equipped with 260MB of sample data! But there’s still more. Korg is also tossing in their CREATIVE KONTROL PACK (VOLUME 2) absolutely free with every padKONTROL. This music production toolkit includes Mableton’s LIVE LITE 4 Korg Edition, SAMPLETANK 2 Korg Edition, Ultimate Sound Bank’s UVI Korg Edition, Reason Adapted Version 3.0 for KORG, and the powerful MDE-X effects from the Korg Legacy Collection.