Any thoughts on the current state of the kordbot? I have been continually cautiously curious about it but people seemed to have totally stopped talking about it… anyone still using it if they got it? I have to say the buttons really look like they are no fun to play. I wonder if there would be an easy way to swap them all out for some trigger style buttons.
The space inside is tight and the buttons feel like a sheet with contacts that touch metal on the circuit board. I’d love to have real tact switches and a different way for velocity control compared to what is there now, but that’s not going to happen. One reason for the design was so you could ‘play’ the buttons and get different velocities, but in practice it’s very difficult to be consistent on the velocity so I end up dialing the velocity response way down in the menu to limit the range.
if you had MPC-style pads (but very small) or Linnstrument type pads, I could see that working but either option would take up more space and cost more.
IMHO, the Kordbot is a brilliant software concept wrapped in very cheap hardware that in some ways detracts from the overall experience. It still provides chord/notes/arpeggiations in a form factor that is different (and useful) compared to other things I’ve owned/tried. however, I am a NDLR Kickstarter backer, so when that arrives it may move the Kordbot out; we’ll see.
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I eyed the Kordbot, but it didn’t look playable to my fat fingers, so I forgot it…
Another good alternative might be the theoryboard, development updates seem to be steady and the hardware is looking way better than the kordbot… https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1962606435/theoryboard-music-theory-made-easy
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I still miss the promised sequencer - from a keyboard perspective its not very playable. The theory aspect of it is indeed very nice, it allows to try out different chords quickly.
If you run it through abelton, you could insert a midi velocity fx for setting the range of velocity. Its usable but i would also preferred something more playable.
Theoryboard runs 399$ for preorder … not really cheap - retail price 799$ - that is in the range of NI Maschine.
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Hmm yeah it seems interesting and a nicer built, although… they seem like they are really heavy on the scale modes which I’m not really a fan of using.
Well, if someone wants rid of their kordbot, give me a holler. 
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Hello to all Kordbot owners,
Now time has past and maybe users can tell us more about the kordbot.
- Quality of build (longevity of hardware, buttons seemed cluncky initialy)
- Interface ergonomy,
- OS efficience, was there update ?
- General opinion of the ratio goal/product abilities
- I suppose that mainly the users are not specialist (i’m not) of music theory, but maybe yes. So is that instrument covering a large panel of chords, without too much error ?
I’m still wondering if I buy one
Thanks a lot for you return
Thanks
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Bump ?
- I can’t recall the kickstarter price, but for what I paid, its build is functional and volca level durable. One membrane underneath the surface but responsive enough if you think of it as a chord calculator with loads of buttons. It is not meant to be a premium tactile surface of weight and responsiveness. Instead it is slim rubber buttons and it works reliably, but might disappoint if you are expecting something well beyond its pricepoint. I give it a +1 on that front as it fulfills its function, is frankly very cool for what was originally charged … and that is it.
- takes a bit of learning, but if your mindset is 'chord-planner, elementary strummer, more complex arp, chord memory buttons, basic rubber keyboard and a widely config-featured OS, through a relatively large colour screen with small text, another +1 … again at the pricepoint, pushing above its weight. Focus is pre-programming chord memory pads for interactive accompaniment in my view.
- A few spurts of OS update, but it has been a bit of a let down if you don’t forgive the developer for overpromising. No sequencer yet and the proprietor of Kordbot seems to take a little bit of pride in ‘taking on naysayers’. To be honest he seems a likeable guy, wish i were in his shoes living the dream and making it happen, but … as his debut product I feel he should have pushed to realise the 300% value promise people (unreasonably) expected, 150% just isn’t enough these days and if you fall short, be humble. It’s free to be humble and people buy product heavily based on the feel and soul of a company these days.
Another +1 though as this is a real start up and I got a lot more than I paid for, on time and doing its core job well. - For me, with laptop/daw/NI/VSTs etc, away in a hotel, kordbot is nearly an unparalleled compositional idea controller given how compact it is. Works great with a Squarp or any sequencer. I would imagine a pro studio person might love it too. It is the ideal punch a chord, make a progression tool, sturdy, small if not a bit overambitious. Plenty of detail to offer a tweaker, but never really rose above its core functionality - easy access to a massive amount of chords at a simple button press. For the price it is a no-brainer. It is still near top of my list if I have just one midi controller to take away and want to be creative; perfectly good for midi control of melodies too. Huge potential so it is a pity it didn’t round out the OS to something way above its weight and then launch a V2 (in aluminium case and solid buttons) and a premium price. Personally I’d love to see Isla get to that point with the Kordbot but the SP1200 new product seems to be the focus for that now. Just my speculation and I haven’t been following every cut n thrust of the comms. +1 here too as it is a unique box for composing.
- No idea what your question is! But you don’t need to be a music theorist to use it - it was designed for lazy folks who don’t want to learn how to play and transpose a chord on a piano
In sum, even not knowing what the RRP is, I’d recommend the Kordbot, but you need to specifically need a chord button controller first and foremost. My preferred use is as a tactile little box to noodle with, happy accident generation with another sequencer and I do like the strummer part of it too.
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Hey mokomo, thanks a lot for your complete and detailed answer. You gave me informations that achieved to convince me.
I really do understand that for the price we got access to a large amont of chords and more important the progression that goes with.
My main interrogation was about the build quality, because i prospect for 2nd hand more than new one. Cause with VAT and shipping (25 euros) it brings the price a bit too far for the interest I have in this product.
Futhermore, I already have a lot of sequencers very capable, but the chords haven’t ghe implementation that suit me.
I mainly intendant to use it to find my progressions and record it in Pyramid, for long session and edit it after :
- 1 noodling (as you said) and record
- 2 edit the parts that suit me
- 3 rework the progressions (with Kordbot) more precisely after finding the main chord construction that suite me.
So I think it’s a usefull tool.
I also saw the soniclab on kordbot, with GAzWilliams.
https://youtu.be/NPJDqEGVJ8E
So it remain a question : is the spread notes possibility of the arp usable in key mode ?
Cheers
Perfect summary. It gets the job done quite effectively. I think Isla was looking to hire someone to work on the Kordbot sequencer, so hopefully it’ll happen sometime in the future.
Another cheap alternative that I find very useful is Tonality iOS app. For a few $ it makes theory very easy to learn. image|247x500
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Thanks for confirm the above mokomo comment.
And for my last question… OK, ok I will rtfm:flushed:
Forgive my absolute bluntness here: My experience has been a bit iffy 
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I also bought a Kordbot when it first came out, pre-ordered even. It does what it says it will do but the build quality is lacking. The OS is unattractive and the buttons/keyboard are a bit wonky and sometimes require multiple presses. I am one of those people who went to school for music and was forced to digest music theory but the Kordbot still knows much more than me in that regard. I’d say it’s very useful in theory for theory. It does open up an array of chords and inversions that you surely would have ignored before having to only press one button- however hard you had to press. Maybe they are built better now, not sure. Though I do think the project has been ignored a bit since they started working on their sampler. I personally haven’t used it since a few weeks after I got it but I might just tinker with it now since you’ve reminded me of it…
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Yes, I learn that on videos, and I think even it’s annoying, it happen sometimes, and I will find my path.
That’s more à problem for me and maybe the thing that makes me doubting mainly if I buy 2nd hand Kordbot. I saw video in wich the player had to hardly press the buttons.
That’s the main point if my quest !
Cool side effect of the thread 
Thanks for your help, even if it makes me doubt a bit more 
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If you were in Seattle, I’d sell you mine. 
Just 8053 km of distance… 
I would have pick it up with pleasure, but it would makes the price a bit expensive.
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I got my second hand Kordbot earlier this week and I’m in love. It’s everything I expected and more. Really happy to own one. The build quality is okayish even though the rubber buttons feel a bit numb and non-reactive. The screen could be a bit brighter, the SD-card management is clumsy and updating the firmware was a bit of a nightmare.
The plus-sides still win. I love the strummer, the chord memories and the arpeggiator and in two short days I already feel like I’m learning music theory by using the Kordbot. I’d never come up with such beautiful chords and arpeggios myself. As a bonus this is a perfect midi-controller for my VJ-setup. Fits in a backpack and has a good selection of pads and encoders.
Thanks Isla Instruments and Brad for a truly innovative and beautiful product.
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Glad to see the KordBot still bringing people joy.
I got mine just last month and I’ve used it on every production. It’s a permanent part of my setup, and I am a hard man to please. Almost everything I buy gets sold within a month. Not the KordBot.
It’s not perfect - vaporware sequencer aside, it’s a bit clunky and the knobs feel really cheap. But I can’t in all honesty hold these things against it because the chord progressions are so well thought out. The whole device just clicked with my brain in a very short amount of time and I’ve been impressing my music production friends with gorgeous jazzy house chord progressions, making lo-fi instrumental hip hop ballads, spacey arpeggios and everything inbetween. Works beautifully with a Rhodes plugin like Lounge Lizard for classic progressions and I had a fab time with my Virus B and its multi patches. Bloody amazing.
I even use it to play in drums in a pinch!
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I got one for dirt cheap, so I had to try it.
Would you recommend any video tutorials on how to get a basic workflow in ?
Nah, I couldn’t find anything useful. Videos from Isla Instruments are scarce and don’t do much explaining. There are a couple of videos from people who must have been sent them to review; they’re full of errors and misinformation. I’d just use it and see what it can do for you.
Personally, I’d advise going into Key+Mod mode (Play Mode should start in this mode, if not it’s Alt+ F2), turning on Hold (click encoder 7), turning Chord Hold Time to 0%) turn encoder 7 anticlockwise), choosing a scale (gotta love those minor 7, minor 9 and minor 11 scales) and playing the keys. They’ll light up to show you chords that will sound good with your current chord. You can modulate between all the different scales with the buttons on the left. try holding a key and going from a minor to a major (like Major 11 to minor 11) and back again. Sounds epic.
EDIT: from there I like to change the Velocity Humanize (Encoder 5) anywhere between 50% and 75% for nice variations in note velocity for each chord I play. I also like to mess with the Chord Spread (Encoder 1) while recording to make variations in the chord being played. The higher I go on the keys, the more I can add notes, and vice-versa. Makes for some incredibly dramatic build-ups.
It’s really simple to use and incorporate into a setup.
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