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What’s up folks! I was busy cleaning up our display case the other day here in Pearl City and came across the Mini-KP Kaoss Pad and have honestly never used or played with one before…So I busted it out and tried it out! I just hooked up my iPod to the Mini-KP and went to town!  It’s pretty cool, check it out!

Paul

Making beats is what got me started on running a musical instrument store.

It has frustrated me that the very thing that got me into this (making beats) is something I just don’t do anymore.  I was feeling pretty bored and tired of making beats until this new toy by Korg came along.  I am too busy and lazy to make beats, but this thing solves that problem.  You can chop up samples and sequence a song before you could even turn your computer and get a DAW up and running or load a sound set from an Akai MPC.

It looks like a toy by Fisher Price, but it is a lot more fun than any other sampler I have ever used, and it is lot easier to learn and is more intuitive.  I am super stoked on banging out beats on the Korg Microsampler.  It is the greatest sampling device I have seen made in a long time.  It even runs on batteries.  I sampled the beats on these videos using two tracks by Tom Waits from my iphone (just added a track at the bottom from some cuts by Bebel Gilberto).  Some of the drums are me beat-boxing into the mic.

The greatest feature is the key gate feature.  You can run a sample through it, and when you hear something you like, you just press the key down.  Pressing it down starts the sample on that key, and letting it go ends the sample.  You don’t have to assign anything.  The sample is just there and saving happens at the press of a button.  I think it would be great for chopping up soul samples, rnb, and now Tom Waits.

You can also download the free librarian editor, and tie the microSampler into your computer for easy sample editing (it is pretty darned easy on the unit without this though) effects editing, and using your computer as the storage for all of the banks you will create (you can only save 8 banks on the unit itself).  I downloaded it last night, and it was a snap to get going.  You can drag and drop samples right onto the keys on the editor and transmit them directly to the unit.  It is a blast!

After listening and participating in Von Baron’s goal clinic last week, I’ve decided that my goal this year is to make a 10 track album.  With my new sampler, I think that is a definite possibility (update – I am up to five pretty catchy beats after just hours of use).

This is the first purchase I have made in a while.  I think it is worth it for a starting beat producer or for a guy who already has every toy out there (Jimmy P….I’m talking about you my friend).

I’m a dork….I know.  The sound quality is not good because I filmed this off my Iphone, but you get the idea.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s hard to believe that just over 5 years ago, when I was working at our Ke’eaumoku location, some guys who said they were TV show producers needed to buy some gear for an up and coming TV show that was being filmed in Hawaii.  They bought an acoustic guitar, a couple of cases, a guitar tuner and some other random stuff.

Little did we know that they were buying these items for the show Lost, which just had the first episode of its final season. It’s funny to see our Honolulu Airport being called LAX, the Convention Center made into another airport, and other places we see everyday on our TVs in the show. But it’s really exciting for me to see the gear that comes from my stores on the TV screen!

That guitar case of Hurley’s is a Gator GC-Dread case. And I was told they used a Korg CA-30 guitar tuner as a bomb detection device or something like that.

Have you seen any other musical items on the show?  Chances are, it came from our store!  They even rented some personal music gear from our very own Mike Wong!

I really enjoyed tonight’s episode and can’t wait to see how they wrap this whole thing up.  Any Lost fans out there?

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