Many in the CDM community miss the days when big-name gear inspired real love. Peer into the studios of even the most dedicated DIY software and hardware maker, and you’ll still see products from big manufacturers. And, much as some may unfairly deride newcomers, the lifeblood of electronic music is the person who opens a box and falls in love with a synth for the first time.

Much of the Korg product line can’t inspire the kind of raw passion that its older products, and boxes from the likes of Roland and Yamaha, once commanded. But then, at its supposedly entry-level end of the pool, something magical happens. It’s hard to put into words, but people really do love some of this stuff.

It’s hard to put into words in English, anyway. For a real demonstration of why Korg is cool and beloved, look no further than Jet Daisuke, who, peering at the Internet onlookers through crazy-colored shades and hoodies and knit caps, speaks to the music tech geek in a way that transcends language (especially as the viewers often don’t speak a word of Japanese). He reviews Korg in a way that silences haters, and he does it alongside reviews of yogurt. (Not a Yogurt soft synth — just, you know, yogurt.)

First up: the microKORG XL. It’s got a silly name that’s a contradiction in terms. It’s pricier than the original microKORG, and, being a typical American, I wondered if the heavier, larger, more feature-packed R3 wasn’t better.

Well, now in translation, Jet explains why the XL is an example of superior Japanese engineering. It’s absurdly light, and ridiculously simple to operate – so who cares if the R3 does a little more? The keys feel fantastic. And when you open a box, joy comes out – certainly in his capable hands.

(For the translation of what he’s saying, you may need to click through to YouTube.)

Jet also has a lovely little jam he’s put together with the microKORG XL and GarageBand. It’s an exercise in minimalism: use what you need, and don’t bother with extra features. Have fun. (Oh, yeah … fun.) Lastly, add bright, neon colors. Awesome.

And then, he takes the nanoKEY ultra-compact controller out on a Shinkansen, the train that makes us rail lovers ready to learn Kanji and causes the Acela to cry itself to sleep every night. Personally, just as with the XL, I love that the nanoKEY is so divisive. Some people hate its action, which feels like the keyboard on a laptop. Some people have managed to break theirs. (Yeah, it’s time for a road-worthy little case, maybe made out of pressed bamboo, a material I’ve been exploring lately.) But there’s one thing you can’t argue with: it’s small. It’s too bad Korg doesn’t just offer these in six packs, so you can grab one whenever you need.

This one isn’t translated, but I think he’s speaking the universal language of music geeks. (If he says anything especially worth noting, to our readers in Japan, feel free to let us know.)

So, Jet loves Korg. And, quite frankly, we absolutely love you, Jet Daisuke. You’re an icon for everything we believe in. Keep the mobile music jams coming:

Jetdaisuke conducts the gadget orchestra [Boing Boing Offworld]

Elsewhere:
Jet Daisuke Wins the Internets

By the way, Korg, if you think this means we’re letting you off the hook and drawing your name in little hearts, we’d like to see more of the Good Korg out. For starters, you did notice that Jet picks up on the fact that the microKORG XL lacks a shoulder strap. Given that we’ve heard Roland’s upcoming keytar — erm, make that a “shoulder-mounted keyboard” — may be on the pricey side, maybe you could offer one strap as an accessory, huh?

Thanks to LA FORCE in comments for pointing this out to us. And you know what, man? You’re right.

It was inevitable: eventually, someone would figure out that mobile computer musicians wanted to be able to have a slim-line controller (particularly for MIDI keyboards) that was tiny enough to fit anywhere and take anywhere. I actually heard a rumor at one point that someone would be M-Audio, but Korg has beaten them to the punch. Our friend Ben Rogerson of MusicRadar.com (from Future, the Computer Music and Future Music folks) is at the London International Music Show and sends along the scoop:

Korg nanoSeries puts laptop users in control [MusicRadar.com]

Info at the Korg Japan Page (and yeah, I’m sure these will be huge – or, erm, tiny – in Japan!)

There are three different controllers in the line:

• nanoKEY: 25 keys, transmitting either as MIDI notes or (via a separate mode) Control Change (CC)  messages. Octave shift (natch). Pitch, modulation. And it’s supposed to be velocity-sensitive, too, although we’ll have to get our hands on one to see how sensitive it is.
• nanoPAD: 12 pads, supposedly inheriting the terrific sensitivity and feel of the padKONTROL, which is pretty much the favorite pad controller round these parts. Chord Trigger. Control Change mode (as with nanoKEY). There’s even an X/Y touch pad with roll and flam mode, favorite features of the padKONTROL.
• nanoKONTROL: 9 faders, 9 knobs, 18 switches, transport controls. (No, really.) MIDI notes, 168 CC messages. There are even attack and decay times for the switches, allowing them to work as faders, filter controls, effects settings, and the like – something I’d love to see on other (full-sized) controllers.

Additional features are available using the free KONTROL Editor software: on the nanoKEY, you get velocity curves / fixed velocity and assignment editing, and the nanoPAD and nanoKONTROL support scene editing (four of them) in addition to other assignment editing choices. There’s also a download code for the M1Le, the “light” edition of the Legacy Collection Digital Edition, for any M1 fans out there.

They aren’t terribly pretty (the nanoKEY buttons look like they were lifted off a vintage DEC microcomputer), and it’s hard to tell what the feel of that keyboard will be like, but these are indeed promising for tight spots.

Bus-powered, USB. I wonder if, using a hub, you could easily plug in two or three?

Now the bad news: we know neither when these will be available, nor for how much. Let the waiting begin.

The closest thing we’ve seen to this is the Kenton Killamix Mini, a pricey but nicely-built slim-line knob box. (MusicRadar has a review.) And, on the cheaper side, there’s also the cute Novation $99 Novation Nocturn CDM saw at NAMM, which could very well complement one of these. But the really tiny MIDI keyboard has generally been elusive, making this very interesting indeed – not to mention, any of these could sit atop a full-size MIDI keyboard if you’d rather roll that way.

I think fans of the microscopic will find a way to connect these to ultra-mobile PCs or hack iPhones or Nintendo DSes. Any takers?