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KP2 Kaoss Pad |
When a guy like Brian Eno starts talking positively about a piece of gear it's time to take notice. This is the case with the new Kaoss Pad KP2 effects unit. In fact the ambient master claims to use three of these units in a chain to create uncharted vocal textures. One of the main attributes of the units which he chooses to praise is the capacity for a more physical interaction with the process of electronic music making. He correctly points out that much of the physicality of making music is now reduced to moving a mouse around, whereas previously a musician had to manipulate strings or blow air to create a piece of music. How much this affects the tone of a piece is something that is worth pondering and the next generation Kaoss Pad is bound to create some talk.
The first thing that strikes me about the unit is that it looks great and feels durable with its metallic silver casing. Turn it on and the touch pad glows prompting use of the unit in an unlit environment - very Star Trek! Since it's designed to be easily understood by DJs (an industry standard euphemism for unclever people it seems), the layout is very simple indeed.
Above the touch pad are a series of buttons which allow you to access different banks of effects, and then to the right of that there is a knob which allows you to dial up a specific effect within each bank. At the bottom of the touch pad is the sample section where two samples can be recorded. Two knobs to the top left control input volume and the amount of effect being applied. You can input sound via a microphone input which is a jack, or RCA inputs which are line and phono. You can choose which input you use via toggle switch and there really isn't a huge amount more than that in the layout - very easy to get the hang of.
In terms of effects the KP2 builds on the base established by the first generation unit with a decent array of envelope filters, delays and reverbs, as well as vocoder effects and some stand alone synth sounds. The way in which the effects are applied is controlled by the user running a finger over the touch pad. This is the main difference between this unit and other effects units. A great touch is how the pad changes color, and from the user's point of view it allows a very different approach to using effects. Each time you sweep across the pad a filter sweep will sound subtly different. From an intuitive point of view and the chance to create unique effects this is an extremely strong selling point.
The actual quality of the effects is studio grade, no doubt about it. The reverbs were full bodied and the filter sweeps were interesting to say the least. I found the vocoder effects took some getting used to, but I think the trick is to hook up a mike and spend some real time experimenting. What this unit does is encourage you to try something different with your effects. Perhaps replicating them could be a problem, but I would suggest that this unit would work best in tandem with a more conventional effects setup if you're after studio applications. It could certainly give you an edge in terms of generating new sounds that you perhaps otherwise may not happen across.
Obviously another huge application is for the DJ and I would guess that this is why the two sample pads have been incorporated so a DJ can grab a particular hook and drop it into the mix at will. The only danger with this unit in the hands of a DJ is that there will be a temptation to do too much with it and clutter up a track. Used sparingly it would be a awesome weapon. And the way it has been designed, especially in terms of how it lights up in the dark, will appeal hugely to those who work in poorly lit clubs.
I love how compact this unit is and the way it looks. I love the idea behind it and the scope for actually physically interacting with the sound. I think there would be times when you would happen upon something and maybe struggle to exactly replicate it, but I think the point of this unit is to ensure that the application of effects to your music has some intuitive, serendipitous possibilities. I think if you wanted predictable, reliable effects time after time you would use this unit in conjunction with more traditional format units. You would certainly feel confident taking it out of the studio for live shows, but would have to exercise self control to ensure it isn't over used. It is so much fun to play with that you could very easily over do it. The addition of vocoder is a real bonus given the enduring popularity of this effect, the sampling feature is a nice touch, and the synth sounds were also very pleasing, although it would have been great to have more of them. Each bank of effects has just ten options to get you started, but the range of variances is so unlimited that this isn't really a problem.
Overall it is a great piece of kit that is well worth looking at if you want to try a different approach and get a bit of an edge in originality with how you use effects. The element of purely physical interaction with your music is most welcome in my view and hints at the next stage of technology where I'm sure that hands movements will be used to make electronic music - we'll have to wait and see. In the meanwhile have a look at the Kaoss Pad KP2.