PHOTO BY NEONWAR VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
E F F E C T : KORG KAOSS PAD
Though the Kaoss Pad isn’t some
bizarre, unknown effect, it’s largely
unutilized by the guitar community.
The pad itself is essentially a large
momentary switch that requires an
extra hand, and the current one uses
inputs and outputs that are RCAtype. Needless to say, the Kaoss
Pad is not guitarist-friendly. This is
maddening to more experimental
players because some effects in the
KP series are unlike anything available
in a stompbox even to this day. One
solution I’ve discovered myself is using
the ball from an old computer mouse
on the pad and rolling it around with
one’s foot, but the RCA issue is still
there. Nels Cline just couldn’t take the
limitations any longer and integrated
one into his tabletop rig anyway.
Nels keeps his at arm’s length, right
next to his 16-Second Digital Delay,
using it at will in his more ambient
and psychedelic works. Nels uses the
KP2, which has quarter-inch ins and
outs, and uses its interesting timestretching and condensing effects to
get his signature sound. When paired
with the 16-Second Digital Delay—
which Nels often uses as a looper—the
possibilities are limited only by Mr.
Cline’s mind, which is to say, limitless.
ToneReport.com
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