# Kaoss Pad

> touch based audio effects unit

**Wikidata**: [Q3192828](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3192828)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaoss_Pad)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/kaoss-pad

## Summary
The Kaoss Pad is a touch-based audio effects unit manufactured by Korg. First released in 1999, it allows users to control sound effects, synthesizers, and MIDI data in real-time by moving their finger on a touchpad. It is a multi-function device that also serves as a synthesizer, MIDI controller, and video processor.

## Key Facts
- **Manufacturer:** Korg
- **Inception Date:** 1999
- **Primary Function:** Audio effects unit
- **Core Interface:** Touchpad
- **Device Classifications:** Audio effects unit, synthesizer, touchpad, MIDI controller, video processing
- **Example Model:** The Korg Kaoss Pad 3 (KP3) was released in 2006.

## FAQs
### Q: What does a Kaoss Pad do?
A: A Kaoss Pad is an audio effects processor that uses a touchpad for real-time control. By moving a finger across the pad, a user can manipulate multiple effect parameters simultaneously, creating dynamic changes to a sound source. It can also function as a synthesizer and a MIDI controller.

### Q: Who makes the Kaoss Pad?
A: The Kaoss Pad is manufactured by the Korg Corporation.

### Q: When did the first Kaoss Pad come out?
A: The first Kaoss Pad was introduced in 1999.

## Why It Matters
The Kaoss Pad's significance lies in its introduction of an intuitive, performance-oriented interface to the world of audio effects. Before its release, real-time effects manipulation was largely confined to turning knobs and moving faders. The Kaoss Pad's X/Y touchpad provided a more expressive and immediate way for musicians, DJs, and producers to "play" their effects like an instrument.

This tactile approach allows for the simultaneous control of multiple parameters, enabling complex and fluid sound-shaping that would be difficult to achieve with traditional controls. By integrating an effects unit, synthesizer, and MIDI controller into a single, compact device, it offered a powerful and versatile tool for both studio production and live performance. The Kaoss Pad helped popularize gestural control in music technology, influencing the design of subsequent hardware and software instruments.

## Notable For
- **Touch-Based Control:** Its defining feature is the use of a touchpad for real-time, gestural manipulation of audio effects, setting it apart from devices that rely on knobs and faders.
- **X/Y Axis Parameter Modulation:** The touchpad allows users to control two or more effect parameters at once along its X and Y axes, enabling complex and expressive sound design.
- **Multi-Functionality:** The device combines the capabilities of an audio effects unit, a synthesizer, a MIDI controller, and a video processing unit into a single piece of hardware.
- **Live Performance Instrument:** Designed for hands-on use, the Kaoss Pad is a popular tool for DJs and electronic musicians seeking to add dynamic, real-time effects to their live sets.

## Body
### History and Manufacturing
- The Kaoss Pad is manufactured by the Korg Corporation.
- The first model was introduced in 1999.
- A notable later version is the Korg Kaoss Pad 3 (KP3), which was released in 2006.

### Function and Classification
The Kaoss Pad is a versatile electronic music device with several distinct functions. It is classified as an instance of the following:
- Audio effects unit
- Synthesizer
- Touchpad
- MIDI controller
- Video processing unit

### Core Technology
The central feature of the Kaoss Pad is its touch-sensitive X/Y pad. This interface allows for direct, physical control over the device's functions. As a pointing device, the touchpad translates the position and movement of a user's finger into control data. When used as an effects processor or synthesizer, this data modulates sound parameters. When used as a MIDI controller, it transmits MIDI messages to control other compatible hardware or software.

## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
2. Quora