Korg Mini Kaoss Pad

The Korg Mini Kaoss Pad is a music remix tool designed with musicians in mind, but it can be used by anyone looking for a fun, hands-on way to manipulate and add effects to audio. The original Kaoss Pad was created in 1999 and has been a mainstay of DJs and electronic musicians ever since. The Mini edition of the Kaoss Pad--which will set you back $200--is the first in the series to be entirely battery-powered and small enough to fit in your pocket. Unlike its big brother, the Kaoss Pad 3, the Mini Kaoss Pad is stripped down to its bare essentials--100 preset audio effects, RCA line in/out, a headphone jack, and the touch pad.

What does it do?
The Korg Mini Kaoss Pad is a fun and addictive way to manipulate and add effects to music. By wiring an audio source into the Korg Mini Kaoss Pad and then out to your receiver or headphones, you can use the Kaoss Pad's touch pad surface to apply and control special effects to your music. The effects range from the mundane to the bizarre, with names like Pitch Shifter & Delay, Morphing Filter, Slicer, Dub Echo, Vinyl Looper, and Broken Modulation.

Why would I possibly want this?
This is not a sound enhancer like the Creative Xmod or a high-fidelity equalization tool--this is a fun device for people who enjoy screwing around with sound. It turns the otherwise passive act of listening to music into an interactive experience, allowing you to squish, reverse, distort, and filter music simply by scribbling your finger across the touch pad. The Mini Kaoss Pad is pretty expensive for an audio novelty, but for those who have longed to apply real-time reverse turntable spins to audio from a television, video game system, or party mix, the price may be well worth it.

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