The New Nano Series from Korg
Posted by jamesfrankel on June 14th, 2008
Korg has done it again. A truly remarkable new product was unveiled this past week at the LIMS Show in London (the equivalent of the NAMM Show here is the US). The Nano Series from Korg is a collection of three highly portable USB Controllers that I truly believe will make an important impact on mobile music making. The first controller is the nanoKEY: a two-octave keyboard (with mini keys of course) that is a perfect companion to a laptop. Exactly the same width and height of my MacBook Pro. The other controllers include nanoPAD: an pad controller with twelve pads and an X/Y touch pad - perfect for creating expressive drum patterns, and the nanoKONTROL: a mappable control surface with a transport controls, sliders and knobs that are a perfect compliment to all DAW software packages.
I have had the pleasure of beta testing all three of the controllers and they are AWESOME! I am not sure at all (scout’s honor) what the pricing is and when Korg plans on releasing them here in the US. I strongly recommend Googling Korg Nano Series and reading some of the many blog postings from the UK. It is quite evident that they received a very enthusiastic welcome at LIMS and I am sure that they will be a hit here in the US. Imagine having three great controllers that can easily be carried in your standard laptop bag. I am thrilled that Korg is bringing these to the market - and that they are the first company to do so.
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June 14th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Korg + Apple = Something With Great Potential
June 17th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Sign me up! I want to be the first on the block to have the nanoKey and the nanoKontrol! Jim, tell them in Japan to work on daisy chaining them for 4 octaves and more controls. I envisioning a future of them plugging right into my iPhone…
June 20th, 2008 at 6:14 am
This looks interesting. Who is this intended for, adults or children? As an educator, I can see the obvious advantages of a small portable keyboard, but I am just curious about how else they might be beneficial.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:18 am
Thanks for your comments David. The intended market for these controllers is the on-the-go music maker. While they can certainly be used in an educational setting (they will be quite affordable) I personally would rather have students on full-sized keyboard controllers. I intend on getting the whole set and bring them with me on my travels. All 3 will easily fit into my briefcase.
Hope this helps,
James