Readers of this blog know I like simplicity. I like screwdrivers that are screwdrivers. Not screwdrivers that also functions a beer opener, has a built in flash light and plays merry melodies while using it.
After my deeply unsuccessful relationship with the Novation Nocturn, I promised myself never to go for anything automatic or “intelligent” again. At least not when it comes to midi controllers.

When I was at the guitar centre a few weeks ago, the appearance of a Korg Nanopad couldn't have come at a better time. Buying my first guitar ever, I felt like a moron/teenager in a porn shop. Quickly I added to the poor sales person with the tone of somebody who knows what he is doing “and bring me one of those Nanopads when you're at it”. Pathetic.

So with one more midi controller I didn't really have any use for, I started exploring its capabilities and I found out that this little piece of hardware is actually quite cool. Although the Korg Nanopad is far from big news these days, I think it's worth a few words from your favorite tech adventurer.

Firstly. The Nanopad is compact. It's as wide as a smaller laptop – think the white MacBook and you are very close. It has twelve drum pads, one touch pad/controller and four buttons for activating some of the more niftier behavior of the unit. The construction is solid and you feel that you can gladly hit the pads as hard as you need without fear it might break apart. The Nanopad comes in either white or black so it can blend in nicely with your laptop.

After three or four minutes after unpacking I had it up running on my MacBook. Weirdly enough, it totally refused to work on my Windows computer. The drivers installed alright (at least they appeared to), but the actual ports didn't show up in Windows, Cubase or Live. But to be fair – this has probably more to do with my particular Windows installation than anything else and I have a strong suspicion there is some remainder of a Kaoss Pad 3 driver messing things up. I doubt this is a normal behavior for usage under Windows.

Compared with a normal size MPC (i.e. not the MPC 500/1000) the pads are small, but not so small it feels uncomfortable. The MPC pads measure 3,1x3,1 cm each, while the pads of the Korg measure 2,5x2,5 cm. If your hands are of an average size, you can play each pad with up to two fingers comfortably. The feeling of the pads are different from the pads of the MPC. Not bad or better. Just different. Both are firm and are built for heavy banging.

The mode buttons have three functions: Roll is the Korg adaption of the classic Akai note repeat: hold a pad and it repeats in sync to the tempo. Flam is best described as a double hit. Before the real hit comes a hit with slightly less volume. Together with a bass sound with velocity-controlled filter, Flam can actually be a seriously cool function.

The touch pad has two functions. Firstly, it can be used as a combined midi controller, controlling up to two parameters at once. The second function is a little bit more clever and works together with the Roll and Flam functions. With the Roll function you can control the speed and the velocity of the repeats and with the Flam, you control the length between the two hits and the velocity.

But what really makes the Nanopad swing is the software. The Korg Kontrol Editor allows you to program each pad and the behavior of the touch pad. With some clever thinking you can turn your Nanopad into an impressive controller. Each pad can contain notes or midi control change codes, while the touch pad can send control changes or pitch bend. 
The Scene button on the Nanopad lets you step through four different setups. Depending on your settings, it can work like a normal transpose button, or call up sets for different needs: one for bass, one for melodies, one for drums and one for control messages.

Conclusion

In one sense, writing about the Korg Nanopad is as sensible as writing about a banana. A banana can be of good or bad quality – but apart from that, it's still a banana. The Korg Nanopad is a pad controller that is simple, cheap, highly configurable and extremely usable.

It simply works.
Hallelujah.