Korg Nanopad2: Should I buy?

[postpunkd]

I really badly want a good MIDI percussion pad, as my drum machine isn't cutting it anymore for the music I'm making. If I buy Korg NanoPad2, what are the chances that I won't be able to use it with my MacBook (from 2009) running Mavericks and the latest Reaper? I'm scared to purchase because it seems like a lot of people have been having issues with it, especially the cool XY controls.

[Lerxst]

I can't answer your question, but I do own both a NanoPad2 and a NanoKey2 (recently bought). I was using a 25 full key size controller at the console for auditioning sounds and entering small parts (drums/synth) which did not have an X/Y pad which I wanted.

Some things I can say so far about them is that they are very small and cleaned up my console exactly how I wanted. They're perfect for what I want to do at the console without having a big chunky keyboard cluttering it up. The "Kontrol" software will allow you to do some basic note number/CC mapping which I have yet to really delve into - but I will be shortly.

They came bundled with some software that is pretty cool. Some of those that I particularly like were the Korg M1LE (really nice sounds), Applied-Acoustics bundle (Lounge Lizard is a very nice Rhoads plug IMO), Digital Synsations bundle (I wasn't aware that it was bundled, and has some really nice synth plugs).

It also came with a "coupon" for Ableton Live series (which I wasn't really interested in), as well as Reason Limited, and EZdrummer Lite (which made me end up purchasing EZ2, which was discounted by $50 because of owning the lite version)

One thing I did not like was all of the registering/authorizing/iLok anti-piracy stuff with the bundled software. (It was a bit frustrating when you're used to just downloading a dll)

Another thing is that I wish they had a daisy chain USB port (like the iKey stuff), but it's a minor gripe.

For what I needed, I believe it will work perfectly. I also think for a mobile user or laptop, that these are perfect - small, but not so small that they feel unplayable. I'm happy with my purchase so far. I hope it works out for you if you decide to buy it.

[postpunkd]

Thanks for the advice. Can I ask you though, was it difficult setting it up to work with Reaper? I'm down for a challenge, but I just want to know if I have to be a MIDI genius to use this equipment. I've owned a few basic MIDI keyboards, but they were pretty much plug and play with no mapping required. Was that part of it difficult, getting it to function well in Reaper?

[Lerxst]

For me it was dead simple to set up in Reaper. I know your on a MAC so cannot speak for that (Win 7 here), but imagine it wouldn't be much different at all.

Basic functionality/setup in Reaper was easy. For example, I have TS808 VSTi - it's very basic, but once the device is enabled in Reaper the basic kit is there and playable.

I'm not sure how familiar you are with CC's or note number mapping however it's a good thing to learn and you don't have to be a MIDI genius. With the nanopad you can use the "Kontrol" software to do that. It's pretty straight forward, but you will have to learn how to map to some extent as you will obviously want your X/Y to control something like let's say a VSTi synth filter ..or whatever parameter(s) you desire.

There's some cool things you can do with scenes and I'll dig into the X/Y pad tonight to provide some insight as far as mapping. Anything in particular you are curious about regarding the X/Y mapping? Let me know I'll see how difficult or not I feel it is...

[Andy Hamm]

I have one as well, I originally bought it to use as a lighting controller, but of course it has found it's way onto my desktop. It's great for tapping out beats and there are a few pieces of free software with it that I actually used - the M1LE as previously mentioned and the other is an acoustic guitar vsti.

I can't say that the acoustic vsti is super fantastic, but I have actually used it with piano lines and it sounds fairly decent as a mix element - not something you'd want front and center, but it does a decent enough job.

I think I paid $69 for it - I would have paid that for the two VSTi's alone.