Korg Nu:Tekt NTS-2 Oscilloscope

A combination color oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, and dual waveform generator, the Korg Nu:Tekt NTS-2 is a fun and useful studio and synth tool.

Overview

The Korg Nu:Tekt NTS-2 Oscilloscope is the modern musician's Swiss Army knife. The Nu:Tekt NTS-2 oscilloscope kit is a DIY multifunctional tool for musicians. Building on a 4-channel oscilloscope -- monitoring control voltage (CV) and audio signals alike -- NTS-2 also packs a flexible waveform generator, a spectrum analyzer, and tuner functionality into a build-it-yourself device which fits in the palm of your hand!

Check out the NTS-2's wealth of features in this video from Korg:

Originally released in a bundle with the critically acclaimed "PATCH & TWEAK with KORG", the NTS-2 is now available as a stand-alone kit. The NTS-2 is perfect for musicians and creators of all backgrounds and levels of experience navigating their musical journey, providing solid tools and precise references to cultivate your craft. The NTS-2 maximizes portability and flexibility by using either batteries or a USB-C power supply, depending on your needs.

Features:

- A studio must-have
- The NTS-2 kit is compact and easy to assemble (*), but don't let its size fool you -- it packs a real punch! The NTS-2 is an oscilloscope, tuner, FFT, and spectrum analyzer that is accurate, intuitive, and incredibly useful. But that's not all -- using its dual stereo IN, dual stereo THRU/OUT, and two separate OUTPUTs, you can wire it into your synth rig and use its dual waveform generators to give yourself an extra pair of oscillators or LFOs! It's the ideal tool for every synth lover and modular user -- from… read more beginner to pro. No soldering needed, the assembly process requires less than 20 minutes.

- The best companion for synth learners
- Even though synthesizers are musical instruments first and foremost, learning about them is easier and more intuitive if we can use our eyes to supplement our ears. Studying waveforms, frequency and time relationships, audio signals, and control voltages become clear and immediate if we can see how they change and interact, not just listen to what they're doing. Seeing these signals come alive in full color as we patch and tweak gives our learning process a huge boost! The oscilloscope, a tool for visualizing signals and voltages, has been around for many years -- but as scientific instruments, they might not seem like something a musician could easily use. Not anymore -- for the first time, an oscilloscope has been designed with the musician in mind! The NTS-2's interface is simple, clean, and easy to use; rather than twiddling knobs and trying to understand obscure parameters, you can look at your signals and understand them in a matter of seconds. That way, your artistic focus can remain where it belongs: on making your music.

- A useful toolset for musicians
- The NTS-2 includes a variety of useful studio functions, all in a pocket-sized, elegant package that you can take anywhere.

- 4 CHANNEL OSCILLOSCOPE
- With its dual stereo inputs, you can study up to four signals at once, comparing and overlapping them with ease. A variety of display modes let you see your data in color, a huge advantage over the old oscilloscopes you've seen in science fiction movies! Its user interface is clear and quick, thanks to its dedicated menu buttons and clickable encoder knob, and its 240 x 320 pixel 2.8" color LCD is a joy to watch.

- NTS-2 even has a powerful Lissajous mode - opening the door to creativity and making it possible to visualize widely available oscilloscope art, for extra fun with your device.

- FFT / SPECTRUM ANALYZER
- To further dive into analyzing any signal, the NTS-2 also comes with a dedicated FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) mode with a real-time Spectrum Analyzer. These handy tools have always been out of reach for the synth musician because they either required expensive hardware or a nearby computer. Now you can carry them in your pocket!

- DUAL WAVEFORM GENERATOR
- The NTS-2 is much more than just an oscilloscope. The flexible Wave Generator mode has 2 oscillators with dedicated outputs, so you can test your synth rig or just get creative! Each oscillator can create a variety of waveforms -- sine, square, triangle, sawtooth, pulse, and noise -- whose shape and phase can be adjusted to suit many applications.

- These sounds can be used in the audio range or as control voltage sources, and they can be set to cycle continuously or act as one-shot impulses; that means you can turn them into LFOs, envelopes, triggers, and control voltage generators, as well as sound sources. Attaching the NTS-2 to any patchable synthesizer instantly expands its power in useful ways, making it an analog synth player's dream tool.

- TUNER
- Of course, coming from KORG, this multi-functional utility kit wouldn't be complete without a precise and easy-to-use Tuner with multiple display modes!
- Being able to receive and monitor up to 4 input signals at the same time, the NTS-2 is an analog synth player's dream tool.

- Connectivity and ease of use
- The NTS-2 offers plenty of ways to connect to your studio, despite its small footprint. Besides its 4-channel input and dual waveform output features, its dual stereo THRU/OUT ports let you leave it wired into your system. It's much easier to understand what you're doing if you can see the signals and use them at the same time, rather than constantly plugging and unplugging cables. This handy function lets you maintain your signal flow at all times -- even when the NTS-2 has been powered off.

WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.p65Warnings.ca.gov.

Specs

- Dimensions: 12.9 x 7.8x 3.9 cm ( 5.08 x 3.07 x 1.53 inches)
- Weight: 130g (not including batteries) (4.6 oz)
- Power: USB type-C (2.0, 500mA max) or 2x AAA batteries (approx 2 hours running time)
- Input: 3.5mm Stereo x2, +/- 10V max
- Through Output: 3.5mm Stereo x2
- Output: 3.5mm Mono x2, +/- 5V max
- Display modes: Single, Stereo (Input1L-INPUT1R, Input1L - Input2L, Input2L - Input2R), 4ch XY
- Vertical: 10mV~5V/div, AC/DC MODE switchable
- Horizontal: 50us~1s/div
- Trigger: Auto, Rise, Fall, Single(rise), Single(fall)
FFT (Spectrum Analyzer)
- Input: mono (1L, 1R, 2L, 2R)
- Frequency: 20Hz~20kHz
Function Generator
- Wave type: sine, square, triangle, saw, noise, pulse, envelope
- Frequency: 1Hz~10kHz, Hz/NOTE mode switchable, [1ms~10s,sec/BPM switchable(pulse, envelope mode)]
- Output level: 10Vpp max, V/dB mode switchable
- Tuner Display mode: Needle, Meter
- Input: Mono, Stereo (Input1L-Input1R, Input1L-Input2L)
- Calibration: 410-480Hz

Dimensions and Weight in Packaging
Base Item: Shipping Weight: 0.67 lbs; Shipping Dimensions: 10 x 6 x 2 in; Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): NTS2OSC

Documents and Manuals

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 631-390-6800
Web: https://www.korgusa.com/support

Reviews

(1 ratings)

Submitted December 8, 2023 by Brent B in Plano, TX

"This will improve your mastery of synths"

Overall:

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Utilities are kinda boring, I get it, but hear me out. You need an oscilloscope if you truly want to expand your understanding of synths and synthesis. The ability to visualize how a particular section or module of a synth is behaving is incredibly useful. For starters, it really helps you dial in modulations, but more importantly when you can see what is happening in, for say a LFO, you can more naturally understand how it will interact or impact what it is modulating. Whenever I fire up my modular Eurorack synth this is an always on component of the system.

Sound
This is a utility device that is not necessarily designed to generate sounds (although it does have a tone generator built in). The point of an oscilloscope is to see a visual representation of the synths electrical signal path in order to more fully understand it. It is an educational tool, but also a very hand Swiss army knife for synthesizers. This particular scope has a bunch of additional features that enhance ones synth experience

Features
2ch oscilloscope is the primary and most useful function, but the on board tone generator, LFO, tuner, and audio spectrum analyzer are all super neat functions that make this a great little thing.

Ease of Use
To me an oscilloscope is an essential part of modular synthesis. If you have any of the Moog semi-modular stuff, the Dreadbox stuff, or anything else like that, you need this.… read more The learning curve is small, but it exists. The concept of visualizing an audio (or CV) signal as an electrical waveform may be pretty odd to some people, but once you realize what is happening it makes sense pretty quickly!

Quality
The Korg scope is a semi-DIY project that take approximately 5-10 minutes of time and requires only very simple tools to assemble (no soldering, etc). The components seems solid as they are made of PCB material and aluminum. Korg stuff is pretty good so I anticipate that it will last a very long time.

Value
This is great value for a future pack oscilloscope.

Manufacturer Support
Never had to interact with Korg

The Wow Factor
If you are a synth nerd its highly appealing!

Musical Background:
Weekend rockstar 20+ yrs

Musical Style:
little of everything but I rock out hard \w/

2 of 2 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?