Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit: Build Your Own Kaoss Pad

19 Jan by Adam Douglas |

4,9 / 5,0 | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes

Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit · Source: Korg

Previous Next

Korg has made a kit version of its popular Kaoss effects pad. Fancy building one of your own? Now you can – and for not very much money.

Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit

Korg’s NTS line of Nu:Tekt build-it-yourself gadgets is both fun and educational. There’s the NTS-1, a monophonic synth with an engine from the Minilogue line. Next is the NTS-2, an oscilloscope. Now you can add the NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit to the series.

Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit

The Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit is exactly what you think it is: it’s a Kaoss effects unit complete with XY touch pad but in DIY kit form. It comes with “a treasure trove of built-in, distinctive Kaoss effects,” says Korg. It includes 35 total effects, including filters, compressors, delays, reverbs and modulations.

Stack Attack

You can run the effects one at a time or stack up to four simultaneously. You can also turn individual effects on and off, change routings and save groupings as presets. Additional controls include effect depth, mute, tap BPM and latch.

This is all done by dragging your fingers across the pad, which on the NTS-3 seems to be less spongy than other units. In keeping with the NTS series aesthetics, it’s probably going to be a little stiff and metallic. How capacitive it is remains to be seen.

Open Source Effects

As with the NTS-1, this new Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit features an open-source sound engine via its dedicated logueSDK (Software Development Kit), “allowing for virtually unlimited possibilities and new effects becoming available for the platform,” says Korg. User-created effects are one of my favourite things about the NTS-1. This is very exciting.

Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit

Kit, Connectivity and More

The kit itself is DIY and that’s part of the fun. It doesn’t require soldering and – if it’s anything like the NTS-1 – should go together pretty quickly. “To add some extra creativity to the assembly process,” Korg says, “we have included reversible metallic black and KAOSS reminiscent metallic red side panels so you can further personalize your NTS-3.”

Along with audio in and out, the Korg NTS-3 features sync in and out. It’s USB-powered via a USB Type-C port.

The Nu:Tekt NTS-3 Kaoss Pad Kit is now available for order from Thomann.