NanoKontrol Studio XXL by Sigabort

We first clapped our eyes on Korgs’ new NanoKontrol Studio months ago and a wave of nostalgia hit us, we’d been using the original NanoKontrol for years and had loved the ability for it to have it’s controls edited so it could mimic lots of other controllers. Plus it was so small i could even sneak it into my work bag for a sneaky little mix down at lunchtime. The only option for us was to release the NanoKontrol Studio XXL Control Surface Script as soon as we could!

Time moves on though and the latest offering from Korg takes what was good of the original and improves it tenfold, now double the height it can control Ableton Live via Bluetooth! It’s got faders, encoders, buttons and transport control along with 5 cycle modes… Now that’s where we come in!

Sigaborts been at it from the day it arrived (supplied by Owen at DJ Tech Direct, give him a ring and say Darren said Hi!) and has taken the basic premise of a mixing controller and given it multiple personalities. Once installed our Control Surface Script for Ableton Live will give you three default modes to cycle through, leaving another two cycles for your own mappings!

MIXER – As the controller comes labelled it made sense to firstly add an on screen ring focus box (which is LaunchSync Series compatible so can be locked to other controllers) so that you can see on the screen which tracks you’re controlling the Mute, Solo and Record Arm buttons for with obviously the faders taking control of track volume…

With Track Select completing the button line up we move to the other function buttons which give control over:

• Control Sends or Pan
• Fold / Unfold for Group Tracks
• Device / Clip View
• Control Return Tracks

DEVICE CONTROL – This is where things get deeper. The NanoKontrol Studio succeeds where the NanoKontrol failed to deliver on visual feedback! With a simple white LED beneath each of the buttons our script will give flashing indication to various states. For example in Device Mode the Solo Buttons are given over to Device Select and so will only light if there’s a device in a selected track, the currently selected device will flash it’s appropriate button…

In this scene the Encoders are given to AutoMapping to the currently selected device, you can bank between the groups of eight and even use our PrEditor Mapping Utility to define how the parameters are arranged within the banks if you don’t like the way Ableton have done the mappings themselves…

• Rec Arm
• Device Lock
• Clip / Device View

SESSION CONTROL – The main reason i love the NanoKontrol Studio so much is like its predecessor it’s so completely portable, i can even forget to bring the micro-usb cable with me when i travel as it runs off of batteries if needs be! But with this portability comes a need for it to be even more complete and so with our third scene we’ve developed Session Control including an 8 x 4 Clip Launch Grid…

Visible on the screen with a Ring Focus Box you can move around the set in a defined number of clips and scenes at a time (configurable with an options text file) or engage Session Overview mode where each button of the grid represents an 8 x 4 block of clips…

With the faders engaged to track volume this tiny controller can become your micro studio!!

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS – In line with our other XL Control Surface Scripts you the user can define a set of options to personalise your controller even further.

• Choose between different modes for displaying return tracks
• Set a maximum number of return tracks to display
• Set how many tracks are moved left and right when moving around the set
• Choose whether the master track is displayed, allowing master volume to be controlled

PLEASE NOTE: To activate the template for the NKS you must engage the custom mode as described on page 9 of the controllers manual – CLICK HERE