Recently I got the Korg NTS-3 Nu:Tekt kaoss pad because I watch too much synthesizer YouTube and have too little willpower to control myself.
It’s easy to put together, even for a clumsy and careless person like me. I put it together in a cafe and attached a mobile battery by USB and I could play the oscillators straight away. I didn’t have any audio cables in my bag so the effects were a bit beyond me.
Anyway, it really does come into its own when you connect an external sound source. While I do really like the possibilities of using it as a (somewhat fragile) electronic hand drum, it is so much better when I plug my tape recorder with field recordings or obscure recordings into it. It’s also pretty amazing with my Kastle ARP synth and Japanese poetry synths. The grain shifter setting is super, the reverbs are way better than they should be at the price (Y22,000), as are the delays. The filters are wonderful, too. The looper is not super powerful, it’s more of a 1-second loop but which you can keep going while your input continues, for some pretty awesome effects.
It isn’t all roses, though. Perhaps it’s my truly crap audio interface, but there’s a lot of noise when I connect to my iPad with a USB hub for power. With battery, it is totally fine, though. Also, it is a bit fragile seeming. I haven’t sat on it (yet), but I am afraid of the day that actually happens. I am temped to put some foam cushions inside to strengthen it a bit, but I don’t know.
I was jamming the other night on the NTS-3 with the Kastle ARP and got something I liked, and mined my phone videos for the following, complete with garbage iMovie filters. Still, the animals are cute and I am satisfied with the music.
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