Compact Foot Controller Mod: KORG nanoKEY for Your Feet
Compact MIDI controllers for your fingers are plentiful, but tiny foot controllers are far fewer. map~map aka Marcus Fischer decided to build his own by performing a simple but clever mod of the KORG nanoKEY. Now, personally, I find the nanoKEY the one product in the nano series that’s lacking; it feels more like a QWERTY keyboard than anything resembling a MIDI keyboard. But Marcus transforms it into the world’s most compact and portable foot controller. You may have to be somewhat delicate with your toes, but he says the solution works perfectly!
i’ve been wanting a compact usb midi foot pedal for a long time. i built one out of a usb number pad last year but it was less than ideal. tonight i popped all of the keys but five off of my korg nanokey in order to see how it would work as a pedal. it turned out that it worked really well. i cut some small pieces of plywood out to raise the key height and some scrap plexiglass to cover up the missing keys. a little spray paint and double stick tape and it was all finished.
i think it turned out pretty well. not bad for a cheap keyboard and scrap materials.
Those wooden blocks look quite lovely. KORG, you may have inadvertently created a new product.
20 Comments
Leave a Commentpeter
I almsot lost my lunch as i’ve been looking for for a compact foot controller for weeks. Pulling the trigger on one just the other day and thinking this was an actual product announcement.. whew!
October 23, 2009 @ 10:44 am
Frank Schultz
This looks great. I have been using the frag pedal for a while and it does the trick. It sends keyboard commands vs. midi but works great in live. http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2007/06/03/gwsystems_fragpedal_classic_review/1
October 23, 2009 @ 10:54 am
mapmap
thank peter,
yeah it’s a bit sturdier than you’d think. i tried the idea out the day before using some 1/2″ foamcore on the keys and it worked like a dream for controlling Ableton Live’s looper + Expert Sleeper’s Augustus Loop.
i love it.
October 23, 2009 @ 11:06 am
J. Tang
Great idea, maybe now I will get some use out of my nanokey… I had one where 3 keys wouldn’t trigger, and the replacement that Korg sent me has 1 sketchy key.
October 23, 2009 @ 12:05 pm
Kilgore Trout
Cool stuff – at first I thought it was a product announcement too! Nice work!
October 23, 2009 @ 1:32 pm
Jaime Munarriz
yes, I bought mine and then one key jumped out… replaced, and a key jumped out…
so stomping and kicking it seems a nice idea
Akai’s mini keyboard is whay this nano should have been, and I really love Korg
October 23, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
mr. tunes
genius!
October 23, 2009 @ 2:28 pm
Robotkid
Cool.
Anybody have any ideas for a small midi foot controller to hook into my V4 video mixer? I just want something to trigger the fader to one channel…
October 23, 2009 @ 3:15 pm
Mudo
…
It is a upgrade from keyboard DIY footpedal… but I think will be more useful and compact wiring DPDT switches… Do you believe that nanokey will support some many gigs and kicks?
Make it an enclousure and some switches!!!
:P
…
October 23, 2009 @ 3:33 pm
DJSDive
Are there even non DIY usb foot pedals?
October 23, 2009 @ 6:53 pm
Kim
Nice! Mine also lost a key, just after a few months of use. But stepping on them.. I would think they all would fall off pretty fast? What about the Nano Pad? I got it here, and it seems a lot more sturdy built.
October 23, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
stevieraysean
there is definitely a lack of affordable midi foot controllers out there
I took the computer keyboard approach and mounted it in a brownie tin
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38481879@N02/sets/72157622525678717/
cost about $40US all up i’d say..
October 24, 2009 @ 1:55 am
Leon Tricker
Good work! I always thought a Nanopad would work well with this kind of modification.
But where are the cheap, simple, straightforward USB footpedals from the likes of Behringer?
Surely someone could design a two or three switch unit that retails for about £30???
October 24, 2009 @ 11:03 am
J. Phoenix
I use the Behringer FCB1010 midi footcontroller regularly in my live performances, as well as transport & punch in/out.
Its about $150, and it doesn’t have a usb out, but it might serve some people’s needs. It serves mine, as its fairly roadworthy.
I do think this idea is a definite option to try if one’s Nanokey has gone awry…have definitely seen a few of those.
October 25, 2009 @ 5:51 am
bitmap
this rules!
i am an fcb1010 owner too. and while it is a good pedal, it is not very convenient. it’s huge, a pain to program & requires a midi interface.
someone totally needs to come up with a compact low cost solution for our midi foot pedal needs.
…oh wait, someone did. long live the DIY nanoPedal!!!
October 25, 2009 @ 11:24 am
john z
my nanokey lost a key after merely riding around in my backpack.
disappointed in it generally.
the idea of stomping it is appealing.
perhaps it will finally surprise me.
October 25, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
JavaJ
Sorry, but I have a nano key and it can barely handle playing with my fingers- the design is flawed as it is- if you were to accidently nick the edge of the key- it will pop off.
Now what would make more sense is to make an overlay where the raised pedal is notched under the plexiglass- thus eliminating this issue.
October 25, 2009 @ 7:30 pm
S. Dassieu
I do totally agree with bitmap : i’m a FCB1010 owner, it’s a pain to program, it require a midi interface and a power cord.
I’m waiting for long time for an good USB foot controller, with a least one expression pedal. But instead of that i’m seeing tons of keyboard/pad controllers clones here and there!
October 27, 2009 @ 4:57 am
alienjournalism
awesome, thanks.
I am also in the FCB1010 club, primarily wanted it for saxophone stomp boxes but it really is waaaay too big for the small bars I play at.
side note: has anybody had any luck soldering the usb connection socket back into a nano? ive busted two nanopads that way, now I have electrical taped the hell out of the usb cable running into my nanokontrol. its wicked sexy and fun to transport that way :-/
October 30, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
michael c
i was looking for a midi foot controller that could trigger effects and synth from my mac (logic) for live applications. does anyone have any ideas, or should i try building this?
please help.
thanks.
December 3, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
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