USB MIDI Controller Keyboard
Reviews : Keyboard
Korg's Microkontrol was a highly
versatile, yet compact MIDI controller — but perhaps, with its three
octaves of miniature keys, it was too compact. With its four-octave, full-size keyboard, the Kontrol 49 looks set to put that right...
Photos: Mike Cameron
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These days we are blessed with a wide choice of
brilliant, affordable music software whose power and versatility often
puts far more creativity at our fingertips than the hardware which
inspired it, and so, not surprisingly, most of us are becoming more
software-centric in our music-making. Which is why we're seeing a growth
industry in hardware control surfaces, and particularly those that are
easily configurable to work with many different programs, often
simultaneously.
Korg's new Kontrol 49 is intended as just such a
'universal' device and one particularly suited to the computer-based
musician whose wallet and studio space are both relatively modest. Its
grand title is 'USB/MIDI Studio Controller': in a nutshell, it's a
controller keyboard equipped with a fair amount of knobularity plus a
great deal of programmable MIDI intelligence enabling it to interface at
the deepest level with any music software (or hardware) you can shake a
MIDI parameter at.
If you think those sleek silvery looks are Korgishly
familiar, then you're right. Look into my eyes, look into my eyes...
and cast your mind back to the Korg Microkontrol reviewed by Paul White
in SOS March 2004. Those with long memories (or with browsers pointing to www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar04/articles/korgmicrokontrol.htm)
might recall the deal here: a neat velocity-sensitive keyboard married
to eight sliders, eight rotary controls and a master control, 16
velocity-sensitive drum machine-like trigger pads (also doubling as
data-entry buttons), plus a programmable vector-control joystick to
handle such performance features as modulation and pitch-bend. There was
also an array of colour-coded, eight-character LCD 'scribble strips'
above the faders and rotary controls to display parameter names and also
give instant feedback on changes to parameter values.
In terms of its flexibility and intuitive handling,
the Microkontrol generally earned itself a big thumbs-up from Paul.
However, it was precisely in the big thumbs department that it wouldn't
score so highly, being equipped with mini keys, and only 37 of them at
that. So Korg have administered a portion of Alice's 'Eat Me' cake, and
created the more grown-up version you see here, sporting 49 or four
octaves of full-size keys (which incidentally, can be transposed up or
down to give you a range of C1 to C9).
The keyboard itself is of the non-weighted variety,
and is velocity sensitive with eight programmable velocity curves to
suit different styles. However, a true player will bemoan the fact that
there's no aftertouch. As on a lot of keyboards/synths, pressure control
has to be applied through either the programmable modulation or
pitch-bend wheels — features which were missing on the Microkontrol. A
Vector joystick is also present with separate control messages
assignable to the X (up/down) and Y (left/right) axes. Compared to the
rest of the package, which feels solid and well-built, this control does
seem rather flimsy and lightweight to the touch.
The editor/librarian enables you to speedily
assemble sets of Scenes and gives you visual access to all the Kontrol
49's various control elements. Double-clicking on any item brings up a
smaller menu (shown top right) where you can quickly input values and
name names. When you're finished, you can upload the Scenes via USB to
the keyboard. Names of parameters appear on the LED scribble strips to
give you vital feedback on which slider/rotary control is assigned to
what, though the eight-character limit makes some descriptions rather
cryptic.
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If my maths is correct (and counting the keyboard as
only one) the Kontrol 49 offers a total of around 40 different
controllers, each of which is extensively programmable. The shorthand
for a complete set of controller assignments is the word Scene, and like
the Microkontrol, the Kontrol 49 can store up to 12 Scenes on board
with the trigger pads providing the means to switch between them. As it
comes out of the box, it's preloaded with a variety of sample Scenes
primarily designed to show off its muscles controlling the various demo
packages which are included on the installation CD-ROM. However, these
are just the tip of the iceberg: the CD-ROM has an extensive collection
of templates covering all mainstream packages from the major software
houses, including Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason, IK's Sampletank 2, most NI instruments, and the major sequencers.
Korg also include a brilliant scene-management
software package (shown below), which in terms of functionality goes
well beyond the original librarian software that was included with the
Microkontrol. This software offers complete on-screen programming of the
all Kontrol 49's assignment and functions, enabling you to very easily
modify the presets or create custom Scenes of your own, assemble them
into Scene sets and then upload them to the keyboard.
Using the editor I was quickly able to assemble the included templates into a custom Scene set, giving me control over my Cubase mixer and EQ screens, Steinberg's A1 software synth, Native Instruments' Battery, which I use as a VST instrument within Cubase, and also a Korg Electribe.
Of course, you can also use the Kontrol 49's front
panel to edit patches or create your own from scratch, but to be
perfectly honest, it really is a lot less hassle and kinder on the tips
of your fingers just to fire up the editor and do it all via the big
screen. Unfortunately, like the USB drivers, the editor software is only
for users of Windows XP and Mac OS 10.2 and above. What's more, 12
scene memories is not that many, and if you need to control lots of
different packages (or aspects of packages) then you will probably find
yourself swapping between different Scene sets quite regularly.
Summing Up
In both the Microkontrol and the Kontrol 49, Korg
have succeeded in producing a cost-effective way of providing flexible
and relatively intuitive control over a typical collection of studio
software. If you're the kind that knows your NRPNs from your RPNs and
devours MIDI implementation charts in the way others do romantic novels,
then the level of programmability you can achieve with the Kontrol 49
is impressive. But the good news is that if you're the sort who doesn't
particularly want to get down and dirty with arcane MIDI parameters,
then the included templates do seem to work straight out of the box.
Personally, I think it's actually the combination of
the hardware with the editor/librarian that really makes this an
appealing package, which makes the cheese very hard indeed if you're not
running the right operating system.
The Microkontrol deserved its positive review, and
with the benefit of its refined software and its bigger complement of
full-sized keys, the Kontrol 49 is a welcome extension (if you'll pardon
the pun) of the original offering.
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