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Korg Nanokey Studio owners - whaddya reckon?
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It's been out a while now, so wondering what Korg Nanokey Studio owners feel about their purchase. Does it get regular use or been pushed aside for a more tactile keyboard? Do you find it works well with all your synths and music apps, or is really a Gadget specific thing?
I'm still tempted by one of these, as it might make a nice controller for live stuff, but they're expensive, and cheap looking things so the functionality would have to be nailed. Would be interested to hear how you're getting on with it several months later.
Comments
I'll be using mine at least until Gadget gets an on-screen Y-Axis velocity sensitive keyboard to add some dynamics.
To be honest it gets most used when I play around with Gadget and that's the sole reason I got mine...
I use it all the time. Works well with everything. I've even incorporated into my live rig.
Actually have yet to use it with Gadget.
I tentatively have this on my list for Santa.
Would somebody mind clarifying how the 'scale guide' functionality works?
I've read that when setting the scale to D minor the nanoKey will actually illuminate a C minor scale and simply transpose the midi note down two semi-tones. Is that accurate?
Thanks for the feedback. If you're using it via bluetooth, could you also run another MIDI keyboard connected via USB? I'm thinking the keys on my Microkey are a bit more user friendly, so I'd use that for playing notes and the Nanokey for knob and pad twiddling.
Has anyone added the Nanocontrol to their setup? Looks like a powerful combo.
I reviewed the original Nanos for a magazine all those years back, the first set they sent me broke within an hour, the second set they sent me kept dropping the drivers, and the third set they sent me lasted long enough to write the review, but didn't last much longer than a few weeks.
Has the build quality gotten any better ?
I have several other USB controllers in my live setup. It can absolutely be used along side of other controllers, whether you're using as a Bluetooth device or as a USB device.
Thanks for the confirmation, sounds good.
Do as I did, take your iPad with you to a music store and give it a spin, it took me about 10 minutes to decide to get it...
I love my nanoKEY, but I would say that if you are a piano player, this is not the best choice as your only controller. Your fingers are not going to be able to play this controller as well as you can on more conventional MIDI controllers like the Alesis V49 that cost less. If you play classical or jazz or the blues, this is not going to be your best option for the $$
Usually when I make music, I sit at a table with my main MIDI keyboard. The nanoKey (and nanoKontrol) have become indispensable additions to my workflow. My keyboard only has 49 keys so I can get access to different octaves and I can assign the nanoKey to a different MIDI channel and use it that way. I also get 8 more knobs.
But sometimes I sit in bed and play with my iPad. The nanoKey is great because it is wireless. Used alone it is wonderful for composing in Gadget and for using iPad instruments in general. Most of them have MIDI learn and you can set them up quickly to use the knobs.
The scales, arps, gates, etc, are already in Gadget, so that the nanoKey doesn't bring anything additional to the table beyond the lights. Personally, I find it easier to set them up in Gadget where I can see the scale and the name of the scale. But where those features are great is in using other apps. For example when I am running the presets of a newly purchased synth through their paces, I use the nanoKeys and run one of the arps.
One important thing to know is that it goes through batteries pretty quickly, so a charger is a good idea. Also, if you plug it in to power it still works through bluetooth.
It's best to play this with headphones, because it is clacky.
I love mine. Makes each gadget more musical. And i use it to record knob automations, the ones that are automapped. And it is pretty playa le and responsive. Obviously i use my bigger boards for more demanding parts but this is great.
I do wish for a korg big boy gadget controller one day,
What a great idea.
I really like mine. I'm not a keyboard player, but the external control is awesome. It connects easy, every time. Mine isn't really going through batteries that fast, but I'm not a power user using it all the time.
I'm not using it with Gadget, since I don't have Gadget.. so I can't comment on that.
Mine fits perfectly into a padded netbook/tablet case I already had. But, it seems well made and not easy to break.
Middle of nowhere here unfortunately, doubt I'd find one in a store within a 60 mile radius
The scale thing is a really unique feature, I tested my current MIDI keyboard with Gadget and it ignores any custom scale stuff. As a rubbish keyboard player the scale cheat is a real bonus to me.
The portability is another plus.
I tested my old Edirol PCR 300 with the iPad and it wasn't picking up MIDI control with a lot of my apps. With Gadget the knobs all assigned themselves to one control, e.g. resonance, so I mapped one knob and one slider, and that was my lot. Amazingly though one of my least used synths - iMini, worked brilliantly- the MIDI learn on that app is superb, and I was able to map all my knobs and sliders to separate screen controls. I wish all the apps worked that well.
Looks like I need something like the Nanokey if I want proper control over my Korg apps.
I have one, and really like it. I've found myself using Gadget almost exclusively lately, so this is a great tool for me
I am not a virtuoso pianist, so the style/feel of the keys are not an issue for me. I love the scale option, as I'm not one who has memorized all the scales. I've found that using the scale feature allows me to create melodies much quicker and intuitively.
Having tactile knobs has been a boon for me as well, as I find myself doing more parameter automation than before. This has livened up my tracks a bit.
In short, I think it's a great value for any iOS musician, but a huge win for Gadget users.
I saw in one of the demos that one can assign keys so the bottom row plays single note (in scale) while top ones plays chords which is pretty neat. Not sure whether the scale of the bottom row changes according to the top chord. Does it?
Yes, that's how it works. Not my preference by any means.
When you select Easy Scale, it maps all the keys on the bottom row to the selected scale, and maps the keys in the top row to the "7th" chords corresponding to that scale.
So, I believe the answer to your question is "no". You can't individually select chords for the top row, and you can't have the bottom row follow those. It's one setting for all the keys. One thing I wish for is the ability to at least pick "three note" chords instead of the extended four note 7th chords.
I'm pretty happy with it but for one thing. There isn't any way to simply switch the midi channel it's sending on. There are 8 presets you can configure on a PC or MAC, and you could set each of those to a channel, but that's it. And in Gadget presets don't work (in native mode) so you can't even switch between instruments straight from the controller.
For that one reason, I think I would have chosen differently if I had it to do again. But aside from that no complaints. The keys are workable, battery life is fine (assuming rechargeable batteries), and the convenience of not having to hook it up, makes it very nice to have.
Thanks. That makes sense. It would be an amazing feature if it did different chords with top and followed with bottom. Ah well.
Great stuff, thanks for the feedback
I don't use Gadget that much to be honest, but I think the controller would make it a more attractive proposition.
I'll add the controller to my xmas list for Mrs Monzo - it's in her hands now. It'll either be tweaking joy on xmas morning or the usual sock-based disappointment.
What about some bluetooth socks, with pads in the toes, you could be triggering drums with your toes, and still have the sock based disappointment
I'd still have the lack of rhythm disappointment though - my drumming's terrible!
I don't really get that. There's no one scale that's associated with any particular chord.
Do you have an app called chordion? It does exactly that!
I just ordered one now the price has dropped a little. I’ve mainly bought jt for my 12 year old daughter who’s started using Gadget on the Mac but I’ll probably give it a go too. Do you guys still rate them?
I gt one sometime after this discussion but most of what's said here holds up. I love it for blue-tooth fiddling and especially for throwing in the bag. It's been all over the place and is unmarked by the experience. The batteries also last an age. Def. a good addition.
I got one pretty cheap too, second hand, but unused
I love it. I thought it would be fiddly to connect, but it connects instantly. The Cords/Scales/Arp shabang... is somehow useful.
What I do love and hope for ALL MIDI KEYBOARDS to implement is semitone transpose. I don't know all the scales ffs... but this allows me to jam in C scale transposed to whatever song key I want.
I love mine. Very playable
I love mine too. It's a very good companion to Gadget and other apps too when I need some knobs to tweak.
It works well but the cheap build quality was a disappointment. Mine arrived with two of the keys missing, found them at the bottom of the box. They snap on ok, but pop off rather easily. Otherwise it works good.
I adore mine, if they release a different colour I may splash out.
Does anyone know if more than 1 can be connected to an ipad at once?