KORG KAOSS PAD V: The Pad Is Back With New Effects, Dual-Touch Control, and Guitar Input
4,3 / 5,0 | 
Ready for a little controlled KAOSS? KORG’s new KAOSS PAD V lets you manipulate effects with two fingers and process guitar and bass directly like an effects pedal. It’s also got a new Voice FX engine and a USB audio interface for DAW integration.
KORG KAOSS PAD V
Debuting way back in 1999, KORG’s KAOSS PAD line has become a staple of modern music performances. With its fluid touchscreen and unique effects algorithms, there’s still nothing much else like it – which may explain its longevity. While other technologies of the day, like Roland’s D-Beam and Alesis’ Air FX (remember that?), are long gone, there’s still plenty of KAOSS to be found.
Now there’s a new way to play. Today, KORG announced KAOSS PAD V, the latest in the series and the successor to 2013’s KAOSS PAD 3+. (Which begs the question, what happened to number 4? Is that the KAOSS Replay, or maybe the NTS-3 kit? It’s chaos all the way down.)
KORG KAOSS PAD V: Double Touch
Although the new KAOSS PAD V retains much of the styling from the 3+ (but with a new, lighter colorway), the big selling point is the redesigned touch interface. Now offering dual-touch operation, the V lets you move two parameters at once. KORG suggests building evolving textures, such as “filter with delay, pitch with reverb, modulation with feedback, or any combination the program allows.”
KORG KAOSS PAD V: Effects Roundup
Some of the effects that you can operate this way include the new Voice FX engine, with algorithms for harmonies, vocoder layers, pitch morphing, and more. Interestingly, you can also control external MIDI gear with your voice, something that beatboxers and other vocal-focused performers will no doubt immediately put to good use.
Other effects include a curated mix of classics from previous KAOSS PAD generations, such as filters, delays, reverbs, modulation, and voice processing. The new effects processor also offers expanded sampling and looping tools, with sampling up to eight bars, real-time overdubbing, and BPM-synced Step Hold, among other features.
The V includes slots for 300 total patches (200 factory presets and 100 user), with an SD/SDHC card slot for saving loop data and presets. You can edit the sounds as well as adjust pad-LED colors.
KORG KAOSS PAD V: Many Ways to Connect
KORG probably took a look around the music-making environment and realized that there are a lot of guitarists buying pedals these days. With them in mind, the new KAOSS PAD has a Hi-Z jack for accepting guitar and bass DI. “A dedicated high-impedance input makes it easy to connect electric guitar or bass directly with no additional hardware required,” says KORG. “Explore textures like ambient swells, rhythmic modulation, time-based glitch effects, or reverb soundscapes, all shaped by simple fingertip control.”
Additional connectivity includes microphone (shared with the Hi-Z), USB audio, and the standard RCA stereo in/out pairs. You can use all of the inputs simultaneously as well, with signal blending happening internally.
There are also five-pin DIN MIDI in and out ports.
KORG KAOSS PAD V: Pricing and Availability
The new KAOSS PAD V looks like a worthy entry to the KAOSS legacy. I have to say, I’m surprised by the inclusion of the SD card (as one of the other GN editors asked, “So they’re really releasing a new product with an SD card slot in 2026, huh? Is that for retro reasons?”), as well as the lack of 6.3mm ins and outs. I imagine that most people buying a KAOSS PAD in 2026 aren’t using it with an analog DJ mixer. The Hi-Z jack, however, is very welcome indeed.
KORG expects to start shipping the KAOSS PAD V in May 2026. You can preorder it now on Thomann* for €599.
More Information
- KORG KAOSS PAD V product page
- All about KORG
- All about synthesizers
- All about effects
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One response to “KORG KAOSS PAD V: The Pad Is Back With New Effects, Dual-Touch Control, and Guitar Input”
No nooo sorry Korg. USB B in 2026?
You’ve missed a decade or two.