Product: Korg nanoKEY
Price Paid: GBP 35
Submitted
12/26/2008
at
04:06am
by
Will Brearley
General Features
:
10
25 keys, velocity sensitive. They're not like normal keys, if you didnt guess when you looked at it, it has computer keys, the size of the enter key on a mcabook. I got mine in white, becuase I couldn't be bothered with the black, thought I'd keep it simple. When you plug it into the usb, the little korg logo lights up, and the octave up/down buttons have a range of 4 either way and 1 in the middle. Has little tri-colour LEDs to show you where you are at a glance, the LED flashes red at 4th octave up or down, which can be confusing. Made of plastic, no flimsier of more solid than a normal computer keyboard. If you press REALLy hard it will bend a LITTLE bit. In normal playing it should be fine, you can put some paper upnder it to prop it up if you're worried. The USB cable is longer than I saw in some of the pictures of it conected to a laptop, nothing to worry about there. It easily reaches far anough to get to the table your computer is on. I haven't had it for long, but "CC" mode allows you to a ssign a non-musical MIDI message to each key. You have to download a freebie program from korg to do it, but it looks like the possibilities are endless.
Additional Controls
:
7
6 extra controls, octave up/down "CC" mode, pitch bend up and down (sometimes doesnt work with my synths but is fairly compatible. I think you could edit it so it works withmore stuff.) Modulation button, which whacks the virtual mod wheel full on. not good if your synth has insane depth of about an octave, you cant really use it like a normal mod wheel. AGain, generally OK.
Connectivity
:
3
USB 2.0, Pc and MAC compatible, installs its own drivers as soon as you plug it in. Only 1 MIDI out, and thats the USB.
Additional features
:
7
Comes with an unlock code for a softsynth, the korg M1Le. It's a light version of the virtual M1, and it more than does me. You can layer up to 4 sounds, has 32-voice polyphony and works properly with all the nano's controls (which you would expect.) Also came with a coupon bearing a code for money off ableton live, but doesnt say how much.
Overall Rating
:
8
In the few days I've had it, I havent found anything to really complain about. The keys took a bit of breaking in beofre they were smooth, but thats not a problem. Velocity: sometimes needs a good hard whack to get a full-on sound, which can scare you about breaking it. If a key pops out, you can put it back in like a computer key (unless you lose it). The keys feel like computer keys, but smooth and loose.I would't recommend it if you're a serious musician, but if you're experimenting and finding what works for you, not trying to sell records, it's a good idea. It's insanely cheap compared to some controllers out there, and does everything you NEED. It doesn't have unneccesary bells and whistles, but it does fine. theres nothing I wish it had, except maybe pitch bend and mod WHEELS, but I think its way too thin for that.
