What's the colour keyboard looking thing Chris uses on the C-stage?

i second that

I am fairly certain it is a Korg Microkontrol. This is Korg's new ultra slim MIDI controller. Those keys are in the shape of a regular piano keyboard, although smaller and they react like a computer keyboards key. The regular version is colored white and black appropriately, however it looks like he has chosen to color them individually different colors.

 

This unit simply controls a sound module or computer software from a remote position.

I am fairly certain it is a Korg Microkontrol. This is Korg's new ultra slim MIDI controller. Those keys are in the shape of a regular piano keyboard, although smaller and they react like a computer keyboards key. The regular version is colored white and black appropriately, however it looks like he has chosen to color them individually different colors.

 

This unit simply controls a sound module or computer software from a remote position.

 

I'm 99% sure that this is right.

Now the blue keyboard are Korg KONTROL49 MIDI controllers. They are painted that color and with inverted keys. The function of this "keyboard" is not to produce any sound, but to control a separate sound engine, usually either computer software or a sound module of some kind. It can also cute loops and back-tracks.

 

we mean this

 

What you quoted above was my response to the questions about the main keyboards on stage. While similar in name, the Korg Kontrol 49 (blue keyboard on main stage) and the Korg Pad-Microkontrol ( what is pictured above on his mic stand) are two totally different items. It looks like Chris has taken the inverted keys version of the Pad-Microkontrol and painted them random colors. If you took away the colors the keys would resemble a musical keyboard.

http://www.skratchworx.com/images/nano_black.png

 

My apologies I mistakenly referred to it as the microkontrol, it is actually called the nano-key series. ( I Knew this just typed the wrong thing previously). These 3 come together usually. The one on the bottom in the pic is what Chris was hung vertically on his mic stand and painted the keys random colors.

Oh, okay, I get it now. :D

yanks bro

 

do he play melodies on it like strings or whatever or does he press a button to trigger a track, on the pics it looks like he's playing

Yeah...he is definately playing keyboard chords on it. Depending on what song it is (Billy Jean?) it is hard to know exactly what sound he is playing. Back when they were doing "I'm a Believer" on C-Stage he would have used this to play the organ sound. Not sure what song or voice (sound) he is using it to play here, but that little keyboard sends MIDI messages to a sound module. Think of it like a piano. When you strike a piano key a hammer hits a string inside the piano to make a sound. With MIDI you hit a key and a message is sent to a seperate sound module to play a corresponding note. MIDI can also be used to trigger loops and tracks like you mentioned but usually would be done by a different type of keypad, and like you said it is fairly obvious he is playing chords there, not triggering loops.

 

Hope that helps rather than confuse more. As a side note I think this type of controller would be extremely frusterating to play, and take a lot of getting used to the awkward design and feel of the keys.

Cheers Bearcat.

Yeh it looks a bit awkward but still rather interesting, I like how he has painted it. It doesn't look like there is any pattern to it though..

we mean this

 

 

Where was that picture taken? Was it Hampden?

wembley i think