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M-Audio Keystation 61es
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This is a modern and typical keyboard MIDI controller that can be used with any applications that support MIDI. The unit itself does not have any internal samples, but rather acts as a master controller that gives out instructions to virtual slave keyboards, synthesizers, samplers and various other rack units that appear in applications such as Reason. It is also capabale of controlling VST instruments.
This particular keyboard has 61 keys, and looks very much like an electric piano. The keys are semi-weighted, which gives the sensation that one is playing a real piano, since it is "semi-"touch-sensitive, meaning that the note will play softer or louder depending on how fast you strike the note, but it isn't that smart in recognising varying levels of softness and loudness, hence the name "semi-weighted". It has various knobs that can be linked to the various knobs of any given virtual rack unit in Reason, for example. It can be connected to your computer via USB or MIDI. The knobs on the left are to control
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the pitch bend and vibration, two terms that we have already disucssed. It also includes a master volume knob and buttons that will let you play down or up two octaves. It is also capable of programming automations and pre-configured settings that would allow for more dynamics when changing from one section of a song to another. For example, if you want an oscillating sound during a certain section, the advanced feature is able to adjust that.
The quality of the sampled sounds that allow you to play in most octaves is actually not that sophisticated, though it does vary slightly from software to software.
So you get an idea of the sampled sound versus the actual thing, listen to this comparison; the sample on the left plays the notes E, A, D, G, B, E of a guitar from Reason while the one on the right is an actual guitar playing the same notes:
Reason's guitar | Real guitar
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Korg Kaoss Pad 3
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This device has a touchpad MIDI, which basically means that it gives out instructions on how to handle or "tweak" sounds. It has no internal sound samples, except for a couple very bad sounding drums and some cheesy synth effects, but that isn't why people buy this unit. You can pass sound through it via RCA cables or MIDI and there is even a microphone input. Whatever sound is coming into it will be manipulated however you want. You can connect anything that can be passed through any of these connectors, be it a television a video game console, a guitar, a microphone, a toy instrument, and the possiblities are probably endless. It has many wild effects that can be trigged by moving your finger across the touchpad. You can also sample a maximum of 16 bars and you can adjust the BPM (beats per minute). It also has a Sandisk SD card slot which lets you save any samples if you done.
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The way this functions is that the unit senses the coordinates of your finger on the X and Y-axis of the grid; this is output via MIDI, while the sum of X and Y can also be output.
Some of the effects it includes are delay, reverb, flanger, phasing, distortion and real-time sampling.
Here is a short clip that showcases and helps better illustrate some of the best features the Kaoss Pad 3 has to offer:
Driyun
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