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The KP3 has even more to offer than its predecessors.

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Other enhanced performance controls include the revamped Pad Motion control. Introduced on KP2, this function enabled you to flick a switch and draw some motion data on the screen. This would then loop once the switch was un-flicked, enabling you to busy yourself with other functions.

KP3 enhances this by putting the effect under a pad button, which is easier to operate.

Pad Motion data can also be reversed, so you can build-up some quite complex motion loops with the minimum of fuss. The enhanced surface really comes into its own here, as the Pad Motion is actually displayed by the running lights on the screen.

KP3 has also grown a brand-new knob on the front panel - FX Depth. This is like a dry-wet setting, enabling you to immediately blend the balance between the processed and unprocessed signal.

Whilst the rear-mounted toggle switch for selecting whether you want to run the Kaoss Pad as a direct source or mix send processor remains, this is still a great addition, and it quickly becomes a new performance tool in its own right.

Sample capacity

The Kaoss Pad's affinity with tempo-related matters has always been strong. The tap-tempo control introduced with KP2 remains, but the sampling department of KP3 also now benefits from a stricter sense of time.

Sampling is now of a 16-bit/48kHz standard and four pads below the screen enable you to trigger up to four of these at once.

Direct record mode can be selected for each pad, so it's easy to keep track of where your recordings are held. However, the clever part is that new recordings can be made in terms of beats rather than time. Before a recording is made you can select the tempo of the incoming signal and then capture up to 16 beats of audio at that tempo.

This auto-record function means it's as easy as pie to grab tempo-relevant audio files. Again, this is great for DJs and performers alike.

It's also possible to chop your brand-new audio file into slices and map these to the eight program buttons at the top of the unit, so that new loops can be created from triggering the slices in an unusual order. Resampling is possible too - your loops can be re-recorded directly by the unit through its own FX.

A new onboard SD card slot mounted at the front of the unit means that samples and data can now be easily stored or backed up. There's scope for Korg to go further in future updates, with even more sample time and a larger number of sample triggers on our wish list.

Another step forward

With the release of KP2, Korg listened carefully to the wishes and needs of its user base, and we can only praise them for the continuation of this process. The result is a tool that within a minute of startup provides intuitive control over a great range of effects programs.

Try KP3. Don't arrange anything for the subsequent three hours though. You'll be late.