Running Kaoss Pad using Midi

[B.C.]

Hey guys!
Got a quick question for those of you who know a good amount about MIDI. I have a Kaoss Pad vr.2. I love the thing, but I need to control the FX parameters off the board, maybe a ribbon controller or something via MIDI ports. Any ideas? Thanks

[Swimming Bird]

You can use any midi controller you like -- that is the beauty of midi. All you need is to set the channels right; any given unit should have an implementation chart.

Do you mean attaching a ribbon controller (or two I guess) to your bass? You would also want something for the hold function so you could still play at the same time. Or you could have hold always on and bypass the KP2 entirely when you're not using it.

I would run the KP2 in a bypass loop with hold always engaged and get two midi expression pedals for X and Y parameter control.

[B.C.]

Originally Posted by Swimming Bird

You can use any midi controller you like -- that is the beauty of midi. All you need is to set the channels right; any given unit should have an implementation chart.

Do you mean attaching a ribbon controller (or two I guess) to your bass? You would also want something for the hold function so you could still play at the same time. Or you could have hold always on and bypass the KP2 entirely when you're not using it.

I would run the KP2 in a bypass loop with hold always engaged and get two midi expression pedals for X and Y parameter control.

Actually, that is close to what I am doing. The KP2 is in a bypass loop, but the idea with the ribbon controller is to run the XY together (ie xy increase xy decrease.)

Are there any good ribbon controllers out there?

[Swimming Bird]

Hmm... maybe I'm going about it wrong, but I don't see any appropriate stand-alone ribbon controllers that aren't DIY. On the other hand, I did find a lot of awesome other controllers: JamBass, BodySynth, midiGun 1.0.

Let me rephrase that, I can't find a stand alone midi ribbon controller under 28" long and at least $300. The only manufacturers I can find are Kurtzweil and Doepfer. Sorry, epic fail.

[SFjonstarr]

I've got the Doepfer r2m ribbon. You can do some freaky stuff with the midi outputs but it isn't really worth the money unless you use the control voltage options. I once hooked it up to a friend's vintage voltage controlled phaser and it was pretty amazing. It's just hard to use a ribbon while playing bass at the same time. I remember reading about some guitar player that put his Kaos pad on the ground on his pedalboard and controled it using his foot. He put one of those little rubber balls on the surface and could control both parameters at once. I thought that was a clever solution.

[B.C.]

Thanks guys. The idea is to use the KP as a synthesizer, so playing and using the Kaoss Pad actually isn't an issue. What I want however, is the ability to have it at my finger tips any place on stage. You guys rock.