Main

Korg KO1 Kaossilator Dynamic Phrase Synthesizer

The Kaossilator is a new pocket sized instrument that packs Korg's world renowned synth sound along with innovative performance features into an ultra-compact unit. Anyone can instantly play musical phrases by simply tapping or sliding their finger across the Kaossilator's touch pad - no previous skills required! The Kaossilator is a portable, travel friendly device that runs on batteries, so you can have fun creating music anywhere your life takes you, with seemingly endless possibilities. Learn More...

    • New $199.00
    • free ground shipping
Write a Review:

Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Individual User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Feature:
Included a set of batteries and the manuals. Given its market, should perhaps come with a carrying case, or AC adaptor, or both.

Quality:
It feels very sturdy, but I've had it only a couple weeks. Korg has been making these XY pads for a while, and the KP mini has given them experience in this for factor.

Value:
A lot of fun for the money.

Desirability:
Yep. Everyone I show it to think it's a cool toy. Fewer are convinced it's a practical instrument for laying down tracks or gigging. I use it like kids use Game Boys -- before, my best portable musical toy good for long exploration was the QY 70. Honestly, this is displacing my Game Boy, on which I used Electroplankton a lot.

Sound:
It's expressive but with no presets or effects, it doesn't afford much on-box tweaking. It's a good match to a KP3, where you can save and independently control and balance multiple samples, and apply effects.

Ease of Use:
Erase-loop recording is a good functionality, but it's awkward. First, it's hard to get a seamless loop. Second, the hand position required to depress both buttons at once is awkward, and essentially impossible if you put the unit down on a table. The manual covers the bases but could be clearer. As to playing riffs and hooks, the XY pad is just large enough to be fairly accurate, it's fun to play with. I'd just say the button placement isn't well optimized for either handheld or flat playing.

Support:
The manuals are available online, which is good. However the scale list and arpeggio list is not available online, and if you lose that packed-in plastic card you're going to find using those features much more difficult. No need for service or upgrades.

Overall:
I'd like it a LOT more if there was an onboard way to save and load loops you make. At that point, for some kinds of music at least, it could actually be a creative tool you'd use to lay down tracks. I hope in their next version they revisit the button placements as well. A small display could possibly show patch names, arp patterns and full scale names. Allowing sound design on a PC would be awesome. Finally, it would be nice if you could control the balance of new sound to previously recorded sound when you "fix" your latest gesture.

Do You Agree? Was This Review Helpful to You?

yes

no