Compatible controllers
KordsKontrol requires an hardware MIDI controller. It cannot be used if you don’t have any.
I do not develop or sell any kind of hardware. Instead, KordsKontrol use renowned and widespread controllers developed by popular music brands such as Native Instruments, Novation, or Korg.
Currently, KordsKontrol is compatible with almost all the range of Maschine Controllers developed by Native Instruments (except Maschine Jam), and the following Novation Launchpads: Launchpad X (MKIII) and Launchpad Pro MKIII.
KordsKontrol work also with the antique Korg padKontrol.
That represent a total of 11 controllers that are compatible for the moment.
Not all Maschine controllers have been tested.
The controllers I own are: Korg padKontrol, Maschine MKI, Maschine Mikro MKIII, and Novation Launchpad X. I have also tested the Launchpad Pro MKIII thanks to a generous loan.
Launchpad X is, for the moment, the controller of choice I would recommend for KordsKontrol.
I have tested KordsKontrol with these controllers on Windows, Mac and a small Raspberry Pie 4B running Linux.
I see no reasons why it should not work as expected on all the Maschine controllers since adaptation to the complete product family is only a matter of MIDI template created with the Native Instrument Controller editor. If you notice any mistake on one of the templates provided, please let me know. The one thing I cannot test presently if the choice of colors for the group buttons (my Mikro MKIII only have Monochromic buttons); if you see an issue, don’t hesitate to let me know.
I recommend to use KordsKontrol with a controller that support color on pads (from MKII and Studio) because it is much more user friendly.
For Novation products, compatibility with the complete family is a little bit more uncertain because each controller respond to different SYEX codes to be placed in User mode, and to recover from DAW mode (when Ableton Live is launched while KordsKontrol is running an take control of the controller if not deactivated); and the Launchpad MKII has even a different internal mapping of the buttons CC that are used to interact with KordsKontrol. I have thus limited the compatibility to the controllers I could test, but compatibility to others controller in the family can be studied.
I recommend to avoid Launchpad controllers that do not support velocity on pads (Launchpad MKII and Mini MKIII), so compatibility for those will likely not be proposed.
I haven’t developed compatibility for Novation controllers that do not have full RGB pads because the readiness of a 4 color interface of 64 pads require too much efforts and are not in line with the spirit of KordsKontrol.
In theory, KordsKontrol should be compatible with Push2, but it is a very specific implementation that I haven’t tested at all.
Push 1 should work also (although it seems that less buttons support color feedback), but, unfortunately, Novation has, in my knowledge, only published on GitHub detailed implementation resources for Push2.
Adaptation of KordsKontrol with other MIDI controllers could be studied. In theory, any MIDI controller with following characteristics could be adapted:
- 16 velocity sensitive Pads sending MIDI messages out; 64 Pads if possible to use the new interface developed with version 2.X
- Pads can be illuminated by LEDS, that can be controlled by incoming MIDI messages (to have a visual feedback interface); a RGB or indexed color illumination is a plus, making the interface easier to read.
- If possible, Pads ability to send Polyphonic aftertouch or equivalent pressure data
- Enough push buttons available on the front panel to navigate KordsKontrol functionalities (19 buttons plus an encoder for 16 pads controller, or 21 buttons if no encoder; 14 buttons plus an encoder for 64 pads controller, or 16 buttons if no encoder), also sending MIDI messages out. Having a controllable LED visual feedback on the buttons is a plus, especially if in color.
- Fast refreshing rate while receiving input MIDI for pads and buttons visual feedback
- A LCD screen would be great also, even if a simple overhead GUI is proposed by the software to make up for its absence.
- XY touch pads, strip pads and switch pedal inputs can be supported as well.
System compatibility
The software is compatible with Windows OS, Mac OS and Linux Debian.
For Maschine controllers, to be noted that:
- USB driver seems obsolete on latest Mac OS releases for Maschine I
- Some Maschine controllers seems not recognized on Linux
On Mac OS, there is a well know issue with implementation of MIDI SYSEX with JAVA (MIDI SYSEX are messages used by KordsKontrol to communicate with most of the controllers – all of them in fact except Maschine controllers).
This issue has been bypassed by using a Third-party library.
I have also found drivers issues with Maschine MKI controller on latest Mac OS versions, and have some detection issues that are not related to KordsKontrol with my Maschine Mikro MKIII controller on Mac as well
So, generally speaking, I believe that using Windows or Linux system could be a little easier for the moment.
Since all the Chords are pre-generated in a database, the software requires at least 300-400MB of RAM to run properly (depends on some settings regarding quantity of Chords and Arpeggios that can be used)
Any decent modern CPU should be sufficient.
Third parties softwares
On Windows, you may need a Third-party Virtual MIDI “loopback” cable installed on your computer, depending on your routing setup.
It has been tested with the virtual MIDI cables “loopMIDI” from Tobias Erischsen and “LoopBe1” from Nerds.
Visit here:
https://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/loopmidi.html http://www.nerds.de/en/loopbe1.html
On Mac OS, creating a Virtual Midi bus is a native function of the OS (IAC Driver; See user Guide), so you don’t need any Third-party software.
Several VST virtual instruments, hosted in Cockos REAPER DAW or Ableton Live have been used during the development: Native Instrument products, Pianoteq, Spectrasonics Omnisphere, ….
But KordsKontrol is compatible with any standalone / plugin instruments (VST, RTAS, AU, …) in virtually every DAW, as soon as the application MIDI output can be directed to its MIDI input.
It can work also with any external hardware instrument with MIDI capability, directing KordsKontrol output to its MIDI input.
Java
KordsKontrol requires Java 17 to run; but, to avoid to users to bother themselves by the installation of Java Runtime, I am using a packaging tool called JPackage to allow you to use KordsKontrol without having to install Java as a pre requisite (Windows and Mac).
Still, for Linux installation, or in case you need it, the link to Java is there:
https://www.java.com/fr/download/
As mentioned, I don’t own all the controllers, so any help is welcome to test KordsKontrol on controller I don’t have (see Support page for more details) .
I have gathered details compatibility information on the table bellow:
| Supported by KordsKontrol | Officially Tested | System compatibility remark | Overall recommendation | Number of pads | Color feedback on pads | Pads refreshing rate | Pads Velocity sensitive | Pads Pressure sensitive | Color feedback on buttons | LCD display | Sustain pedal input | XY pad or touch strip | Controller allows automatic switch to user or native mode | Controller require SYSEX messages | Controller availability | Controller price | |
| Korg padKontrol | Yes | Yes | Old controller, with no color support and only 16 pads | 16 | No | Excellent | Yes | No | Monochrome | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Very low | Cheap second hand | |
| NI Maschine MK I | Yes | Yes | USB driver seems obsolete on latest Mac OS releases | Old controller, with no color support and only 16 pads | 16 | No | Mediocre | Yes | Yes | Monochrome | No | No | No | No | No | Low | Cheap second hand |
| NI Maschine MK II | Yes | No | Compatibility on LINUX to be confirmed | A good choice even if only 16 pads | 16 | Yes | Assumed mediocre | Yes | Yes | Partial (group buttons only) | No | No | No | No | No | Good | Still somehow expensive |
| NI Maschine MK III | Yes | No | Compatibility on LINUX to be confirmed | A pretty expensive choice, only 16 pads | 16 | Yes | Assumed mediocre | Yes | Yes | Partial (group buttons only) | No | Yes | Touch strip | No | No | Excellent | Expensive Overkill for KordsKontrol use only |
| NI Maschine Mikro MK I | Yes | No | Compatibility on LINUX to be confirmed | Old controller, with no color support and only 16 pads | 16 | No | Assumed mediocre | Yes | Yes | Monochrome | No | No | No | No | No | Low | Cheap second hand |
| NI Maschine Mikro MK II | Yes | No | Compatibility on LINUX to be confirmed | A good choice even if only 16 pads | 16 | Yes | Assumed mediocre | Yes | Yes | Monochrome | No | No | No | No | No | Good | Cheaper than than Maschine MKII |
| NI Maschine Mikro MK III | Yes | Yes | Not recognised on LINUX | A good choice even if only 16 pads | 16 | Yes | Mediocre | Yes | Yes | Monochrome | No | No | Touch strip | No | No | Excellent | Moderate |
| NI Maschine Studio | Yes | No | Compatibility on LINUX to be confirmed | A good choice even if only 16 pads – Bigger than normal Maschine II controllers | 16 | Yes | Assumed mediocre | Yes | Yes | Partial (group buttons only) | No | Yes | No | No | No | Good | Moderate |
| NI Maschine Plus | Yes | No | Compatibility on LINUX to be confirmed | Overkill for KordsKontrol only, otherwhile as good as Maschine MKIII | 16 | Yes | Assumed mediocre | Yes | Yes | Partial (group buttons only) | No | Yes | Touch strip | No | No | Excellent | Expensive Overkill for KordsKontrol use only |
| NI Maschine Jam | Not supported | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Novation Launch Pad Mini (MKI) | Not supported | – | – | – | – | 4 colors | – | No | – | 4 colors | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Novation Launch Pad S | Not supported | – | – | – | – | 4 colors | – | No | – | 4 colors | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Novation Launch Pad Mini MKII | Not supported | – | – | – | – | 4 colors | – | No | – | 4 colors | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Novation Launch Pad (MKII) | Could be compatible but not targeted for the moment | No | Lack of velocity sensitivity is a significant drawback | 64 | Yes | Not tested | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | To be tested | Yes | Good | Cheap second hand | |
| Novation Launch Pad Pro (MKII) | Compatibility targeted in the future | No | Could be a very good controller – To be tested | 64 | Yes | Not tested | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | To be tested | Yes | Good | Cheap second hand | |
| Novation Launch Pad Mini MKIII | Could be compatible but not targeted for the moment | No | Lack of velocity sensitivity is a significant drawback | 64 | Yes | Not tested | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | To be tested | Yes | Excellent | Cheap | |
| Novation Launch Pad X (MK III) | Yes | Yes | The best choice – Good value for money, all the features required for KordsKontrol, nothing superfluous | 64 | Yes | Excellent | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Excellent | Good value for money | |
| Novation Launch Pad Pro MKIII | Yes | Yes | As good as Launchpad X, but more expensive due to standalone features | 64 | Yes | Excellent | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Excellent | Rather expensive | |
| Ableton Push 1 | Could be compatible but not targeted for the moment (lack of resources available online, contrary to Push 2) | No | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Probably not | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ableton Push 2 | Compatibility targeted in the future | No | An overkill controller for KordsKontrol, but seams to have all the required features | 64 | Yes | Not tested | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Pitchbend, no implementation targeted | To be tested | Yes | Excellent | Expensive |
KordsKontrol 