Kaoss Pad

The Kaoss Pad is an audio effects unit launched by Korg in 1999.[1] Features vary across models, but Kaoss Pads generally allow users to sample and loop audio and apply effects such as pitch-bending, flange, distortion, and delay using an X/Y touchscreen.[1]

Kaoss Pad
Korg Kaoss Pad KP3
Manufacturer	Korg
Dates	1999 -
Price	~$400
Technical specifications
LFO	Yes
Aftertouch expression	no
Velocity expression	no
Storage memory	4 Memory Slots and read/write on SD cart
Effects	128
Input/output
Keyboard	none - XY-pad
External control	none

Radiohead use a Kaoss Pad on their song "Everything In Its Right Place", manipulating singer Thom Yorke's vocals into a "glitching, stuttering collage".[1] Other users include Muse guitarist Matt Bellamy (who has Kaoss Pads built into his guitars), Brian Eno, John Linnell of They Might Be Giants, Bryan Ferry, and Beardyman.[1]

According to the Guardian, while its effects technology is not new, the Kaoss Pad is distinguished by its intuitive design: "anyone can pick one up and in a matter of seconds get the hang of it".[1] Eno described the Kaoss Pad as "a way of taking sounds into the domain of muscular control" as opposed to working with computers: "It takes you into a completely different place, because when working with computers you normally don't use your muscles in that way. You're focused on your head, and the three million years of evolution that resulted in incredible muscular skill doesn't get a look in."[1]