Korg Kaossilator 4-Bar Loop Hack

@CongasJones: Thanks for the chord tip. That's a technique I use a lot even when recording melodies — recording just one note per loop to capture the decay of the sound. If you play a melody all at once, the notes can get cut off.

sorry-now left e-mail congasjones200@yahoo.com if anyone wants help on recording chords

yo-layering to get multi timbrel chords!!I have had mine 4 days now and can't put it down-thanks to everyone for the tips and advice which really does open up this little powerful beast!what amazes me is that you don't just get 100sounds-if you take time and investigate the the different sounds on the pads and scales/notes (I spent 2 nights doing this)you really find some new deeep variations on the standard sounds-I found a really nice low organ bass classic for house with some diging BUT-I wanted to tell all of you about multi timbrel possiblity!!!!I recored a long piano sound(a21)then adjusted the note from c to another note recoreded that-by the end I layered effectively a 5 note chord which sounded wonderful-yep multi timb deep and lovely sound and much beter than the mono phonic piano-did some recording chops by tapping record button while palying the loop and got a much nicer and lovely house piono chord riff-I tried it again with the strings and got the same and then tried a bass and layer it but use the same note but at the top of the pad-try it I hope to do a you tube but this just blew me apart chords yep- it does it!!!

@clubpenguin: Is there any way to get rid of a whole layer?

Yes, but only in two-bar (normal) mode, and you need to "fix" the previous layers to protect them before recording any new layers. That's what I described in my answer to Lily.

Is there any way to get rid of a whole layer? I mean to erase for example the last layer you added to your creation..I've just found an erase option that erases everything that sounds on the beats that you've been pressing the erase button.

@LilyBee: what if I want to leave everything but the last thing I added?

You can do that, but only in two-bar loop mode (the normal mode you get when powering up without holding any buttons). That's because four-bar loop mode uses the "undo" memory.

The other trick is that you need to "fix" everything before you add a new layer. To do that:

1. After you've recorded something you want to keep, hold down the Loop Func button and turn the knob clockwise until the display reads "FIX." (The X actually looks like an E without the vertical line.)
2. Release the button. The Kaossilator will store the currently playing audio.
3. Hold down the Loop Func button again and record your new layer. If you like it, "fix" it as well. If not, select "Can" (cancel) instead. To erase everything, select "Clr" (Clear).

This is all in the manual, but it is confusing that Undo is a two-step process: rather than simply undoing your last layer, you need to "fix" everything before recording the new layer. Then you can undo it.

Hi there...
My question is, is there any way to get rid of a whole layer? I mean to erase for example the last layer you added to your creation..I've just found an erase option that erases everything that sounds on the beats that you've been pressing the erase button. That doesn't make sence to me! what if I want to leave everything but the last thing I added?
(sorry I don't explain me here really well, english is not my language!!) thanks

I've been using the Kaossilator with its sibling mini-kp for effects, though I'm thinking that capturing the loops as samples on a KP3 might be rewarding as it gives you the ability to apply effects differently to up to four "parts" and sync the loops to a midi clock (to use an additional sequencer for instance.) Of course then it stops being a "pocket studio" :-)

An alternative (hardware) solution to the MIDI syncing is to use something like the "Red Sounds Soundbit Micro" that can infer the tempo of its audio input and transmit the appropriate MIDI Clock.

Some of my Kaossilator sketches can be found at: http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/1068884

@hambone: There is a spot on the circuit board for left and right input. Does anyone think this could do something?

Cool! Thanks for sharing that. I'm meeting with Korg at NAMM next week, so I'll ask. It would be terrific if the Kaossilator could record external audio into its loop memory, but even an aux input would be handy.

I opened mine up and there is a spot on the circuit board for left and right input. It's hidden by the aluminum top panel. Does anyone think this could do something or is it a "vestigial organ" left over from it's brother the kaoss pad mini's circuit board?

Just bought my Kaossilator a week ago. You can hear some results of looping here:
http://ikuinen-kaamos.blogspot.com/2008/12/gear-holic-part-2.html

@Monkey:

Great loops.... Would love to see your loop making process.

Thanks! I'm not sure I have a process so much as an aesthetic: On each recording pass, I record only a few notes or sounds. That lets me build big, interwoven textures. Often I'll change the scale or the arpeggiator pattern between overdubs to restrict new notes to just the rhythm or range I want.

Also, I rarely use Undo; if I make a "mistake," I'll wrap other sounds around it. Honor thy mistake as a hidden intention, as Brian Eno said. The interesting wiggle in the Olympus Noise example was probably a result of that.

great loops David. You've got skills. Would love to see your loop making process to see how you're putting it together.

@Factran:

Thanks for the tip. From the Babelfish translation of your page, it appears you're using a pitch-and-amplitude-to-MIDI patch in Pure Data, with data smoothing in Fruity Loops, and the Kaossilator's scale set to Off.

Hello.
Battery test and sound test :
http://mfdhdp.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-kaossilator-undocumented-feature.html

The fact that it's not midi-enabled is one of the main heard drawback of the instrument (even if I don't agree completely)
So here is a way to make it spit some midi data, via pure data.
http://mfdhdp.blogspot.com/2008/09/comment-faire-cracher-des-donnes-midi.html

@Gavin: Thanks for sharing that video. I like how you highlighted one of the other features of 4-bar mode: When you create a loop with a shorter duration and then crank up the duration to 16 beats, the Kaossilator duplicates the loop to fill out the time. The stuttering effect is fun, too, and there's a lot of cool stuff going on in the sound effect bank.

I've got a video up that shows this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADUJNYcpw7I There are also loops built in to some of the programs.

@Tim: Thanks for the links. It's amazing how this seemingly simple instrument is so deep.

One of the limitations of this hack is the fact that the PLAY button becomes PLAY/MUTE and no longer PLAY/STOP. ie, you can't start the loop playing from the top again. I wrote a brief article on it here:

http://www.timrideout.com/en-article176.html

And then I posted some cool jams here :)

http://www.timrideout.com/en-article175.html

Awesome machine

T.

@Mr. Tunes: Unreliable in what way? If you change the tempo or loop length in 4-bar mode, it does create glitches, but I view those as a creative bonus. ;-)

I found a YouTube video today in which the demonstrator used the glitching in interesting ways.

holy crap this is amazing
i've been using my kaossilator with my boss rc-2 to loop, but this means i can use the looper for other instruments whilst jamming with the kaossilator!

i've actually found this four-bar hack to give unreliable looping results :-(

your demos sound good btw - Arpeggiator+Drums = Detroit Wha Wha

@Mark: The easiest way to add effects would be to hook up a MiniKP Kaosspad, I suppose, though that would process the entire mix. To preserve loops, I started carrying a portable recorder with a line-in jack, though as you can hear above, the models I tried produced some background noise.

Also, I should point out that this isn't a permanent hack; turning the Kaossilator off and on again will return it to standard 2-bar mode.

I haven't hacked mine yet, but I love finding tips like this one. I wonder if someone will find a way to add effects. Also, one of the annoying things is that once you get a kick-ass sample set going, it erases when you restart. When I get something I really like, I'll patch it into my computer and record it, but that's not always available.