Korg Nu:Tekt NTS-3 Build Your Own Kaoss Pad Kit

The Korg Nu:Tekt NTS-2 is truly a game-changer for anyone into electronic music; it's so much more than just an oscilloscope. This little powerhouse gives you four channels to see your audio and CV signals, plus a real-time spectrum analyzer which is incredibly helpful for understanding your sound's harmonics. What really sets it apart, though, is the built-in dual waveform generator, essentially giving you two extra LFOs or sound sources, which is amazing for expanding your modulation options. Throw in a handy tuner, and you've got a seriously versatile tool that’s easy to use, especially since the DIY kit goes together in minutes with no soldering. For the price, it’s an absolute steal and a must-have for any synth enthusiast looking to visualize, analyze, and even generate signals in their setup.

The media could not be loaded. After a short and rather simple build you have a pretty solid feeling little synth. The tiny onboard speaker lets you play around right out of the box (even if you don’t have headphones or something bigger to plug in to). This tiny little tool has some amazing capabilities for creating big sounds, definitely worth the price! With so many ways to change the tone, I’ll be having fun with this for a long time finding all kinds of new sounds. The little ribbon keyboard allows you to try out your sounds, but is not a realistic way to play any sort of music. You are going to want to connect this to a midi controller. I have only had this tool for a short time, but from playing around with it I would point out that this is a monosynth and will only play one note at a time. Do not expect to be playing chords with this, but if you’re looking to create some unique timbres and play some great lead melodies this is an excellent way to go.

This is basically the "heart" of a very good synth -- just without any limbs or a brain.By the "heart" part, I mean this has a great range of sounds and effects, as well as a nice on-board sequencer. The sound is awesome. The price on this one is worth it for that alone.But by the "brain" part, I mean that you're gonna have to just write down or remember your settings to get that awesome range of sounds. No save function on individual settings that I'm seeing. However, with a small download from Korg, you can load other oscillator designs.And by the part about "limbs," I mean that the only way to control this "out-of-the-box" is an incredibly limited ribbon interface. Ordinarily, that would be fine. However, if you want options for a better controller, you'll have to use a digital audio workstation (which means you'll have to connect it to a laptop and car that around)......OR you can connect it to a physical MIDI keyboard controller. This part is kind of a nightmare. You can't control it with a MIDI device that connects through USB. You have to use an older 5-pin connected device AND ALSO find an adaptor to convert that 5-pin to the synth's oddball type of MIDI connection. There are YouTube videos that can help you with that. Just be prepared to really research it and then find a good MIDI controller that will work with this (I got one from Arturia).Anyway, bottom line is it sounds super cool. But to unlock all those supercool sounds and really use it as a viable instrument, be prepared to do some work.

This makes anything you put through it soo much better. The reverb and delay effects are insane. If you’re an ambient or noise artist I highly recommend.

Needs better oscillator and ADSR options. The popping sounds this synth makes when a key is triggered seem unavoidable at the moment, kind of a bummer but maybe some of the custom firmware will solve this issue. Same goes for the ADSR options, they are lacking and volume is either MAX or wildly inconsistent. I think there's a setting in the menu to limit velocity variation but I'd rather keep the range and have it be less strangely sensitive. The effects are pretty decent, again I'd like more support from creators but I feel greedy asking more of this fairly impressive device.

I have coveted Kaoss pads since the 90's. Finally, I can have one! AND, it is programmable! The possibilities are amazingly endless, for me, with all this little baby version offers at a very reasonable price ($170USD as of July 2025).I had this thing bleeping out several variations of a Dub Siren (I produce Jungle DnB) within 60 seconds. Thanks to Loopop for the head start, as always. I have not even begun to explore the SDK, but that is coming up this weekend.I found a 6.1" x 4.5" x 2.2" stiff-shell case that fits perfectly, with some room for cables. This device is fairly flimsy, so protect it well. Also, since the USB power appears to be a trend that is going to stick around, I have a nice Anker power pack coupled with a cheap USB hub for supplying portable power for this sort of thing. It's really not as big an issue as some of these boomers seem to think. So, using this in a portable rig I carry around in a shaving/travel bag with a bunch of cables and splitters and few other things (Stylosette, NTS-1mkII, DelayMonotron, Sonicake PocketMaster, and Sony ICD-UX570 recorder), will be a self-oscillating paradise, when waiting at the airport or DMV or whatever.Ambient sound design is not beneath me, and this device is going to help me produce SO many new textures for popping into the background of proper songs on my MPCs.People complain about menu diving on this sort of device, but that seems to also be a trend that is going to stay. The NTS-3 actually has a great 6 digit display with some smart use of the characters, imho. I also believe the menus have been 95% laid out in an easily used manner.

Easy to assemble and has a great range of sounds. Keyboard is tricky to play, but also fun to mess with.Great little piece of kit, I've been using it with my 1010 Blackbox sampler and its a match made in heaven... easy to carry and you can sketch out and lay down the bones of a track pretty much anywhere, anytime... which might just get me fired from my day job... :)